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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDear White Folks - great piece in Ebony
Last edited Wed Apr 11, 2012, 06:15 AM - Edit history (1)
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/dear-white-folks-stop-denying-racism<snip>
Dear White folks:
Between the racist comments, the constant use of the race denial card (this country's most frequently used "race card"
and the absurd claims of White victimhood, you have really grated my last nerve.
I have heard that “we are all Trayvon Martin” over the last few weeks, yet we are not Trayvon Martin – and we never could be. White America is never suspicious. White America can walk to the store without fear of being hunted down. White America can count on justice and a nation grieving at the loss of White life. We aren't Trayvon Martin, we are George Zimmerman: presumed innocent until proven innocent.
I want you to close your eyes for a second, and imagine that your son or daughter, sister or brother, granddaughter or grandson, ventured to the corner store for some Skittles and tea but never returned? Can you imagine if Peter or Jan were gunned down right around the corner from your house and the police didn’t notify you right away? Can you imagine if little Sydney or Bobby sat in the morgue for days as you searched to find out what happened them? Can you even imagine the police letting the perpetrator go or the news media remaining silent? Can you even fathom learning about background and drug tests on your child? Can you imagine the news media demonizing your child, blaming your child for his own death?
Can you imagine the outcry if seven White youths had been gunned down by police and security guards in a matter of months? Can you imagine the extensive political interest, the media stories that would saturate the airwaves? Can you imagine Fox News or any number of newspapers reporting about a school suspension for one of the victims or doctoring pictures in an attempt to make these victims less sympathetic? Can you imagine a person holding up a sign calling these victims “thugs” and “hoodlums.”Just think about the media frenzy, the concern from politicians, and the national horror every time a school shooting happens in Suburbia or every time a White woman goes missing...can you imagine if women routinely went missing from your community and the news and police department simply couldn't be bothered?
David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. He is author of After Artest: Race and the War on Hoop (SUNY Press, spring 2012).
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Syrinx
(14,804 posts)But this writer lost me at "Dear White folks."
"White America can walk to the store without fear of being hunted down"
Depends on the neighborhood. I made the mistake of walking in a majority black neighborhood, and I considered myself lucky to escape. I was assaulted because I was white. I wasn't shot and killed, but I was pistol-whipped and threatened with being shot. And I was robbed.
Stereotypes. Are "Sydney" and "Bobby" any less offensive than Ashante or Kareem?
Aren't there a whole lot more black people killed by other black people, than by white people in the US?
Race isn't the main, underlying issue. The pervasiveness of guns, and our exceedingly violent popular culture is much more to blame.
I'm on Trayvon Martin's side. I think George Zimmerman should pay the price for his actions. But the author surrendered his credibility when he began with "Dear white folks."
zentrum
(9,870 posts)Even though not All White people are in the "privileged class"--there's still not a single White person who is fully aware of the privilege we enjoy just by being White.
For instance---if we had lost our Bobby or Mary, the morgue would indeed have called us. Had the shooter been Black and the victim, White---he'd not have been believed and would have been investigated immediately; the crime scene would have been secured.
The author is attempting to get you to imagine just a little the very different psychological space you live in---clearly without you even knowing it.
The indifference the cops showed towards the shooting of a young Black man is indeed a racist issue. That indifference rests on a bed of unconscious pre-assumptions that we White people never have to examine. And many of us seem unable to do this examination.
Your point about Black people killing Black people is completely irrelevant. That too is an effect of systemic racism that insures ghettos, poverty, inequality of opportunity, the economics of drugs---and continued police indifference. If White people were killing White people in such numbers, it would be addressed on a national level, taken up as a serious problem to solve. Our country yawns when there's Black on Black violence, or a missing Black child.
Wake up.
Mira
(22,672 posts)
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)situation, and of course, that's true for a lot of things in life.
marshall gaines
(347 posts)HEAR! HEAR!
Carolina
(6,960 posts)
Jazzgirl
(3,744 posts)You do understand. 
malaise
(294,444 posts)
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Even I had a hard time coming to terms with the facts once, TBH. But I have woken up to the fact that, systemic racism not only still exists but is unfortunately still pretty ingrained in today's America.
Response to Syrinx (Reply #1)
Post removed
zentrum
(9,870 posts)It's a typical right wing talking point. And in any event, how does it apply to the Trayvon murder? Is it supposed to somehow give the police or Zimmerman a "pass"?
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)But you cannot equate it to the racism black people feel every day by shop keepers, the police, people in authority, school administrators, etc.
You were attacked and robbed by criminals. That is very different.
You say it was a majority black neighborhood. Is it an impoverished neighborhood or middle class? Is it an area with lots of gang activity?
ieoeja
(9,748 posts)So you know what it is like for Black people walking in the 99% of America is that is majority White.
Sorry you had such a tough time. I hear about this all the time. I guess I have just been lucky as I have walked in predominately Black neighborhoods on too many occasions to count, and the only time I encountered a problem was when the police stopped me for being White.
I guess I could be like you and reply to the "driving while Black" complaints that I can also be pulled over for driving while White. But as stated in my first sentence, "driving while White" is not a crime in 99% of the country while "driving while Black" is.
Which is, I believe, the flippin' point here.
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)
uponit7771
(93,505 posts)Thx in advance for your input
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)supposedly walked in a majority black neighborhood simply invented the entire episode for rhetorical effect.
Dorian Gray
(13,849 posts)I'd love to hear a response. I walk through many neighborhoods in NYC that are predominantly black, and I've never had a problem or considered it a mistake.
brush
(61,033 posts)Yes, a lot more black people are killed by blacks than white. Why is this obvious fact always brought up in articles on race? A lot more white people are killed by whites also, same with Latinos, Asians and every other ethnicity.
brush
(61,033 posts)Yes, a lot more black people are killed by blacks than white. Why is this obvious fact always brought up in articles on race? A lot more white people are killed by whites also, same with Latinos, Asians and every other ethnicity.
olderlib
(16 posts)a lot more comfortable to change the subject, than to face the truth
and a lot of that violence comes from poverty that is a result of being on the receiving end of white privilage and racism
Atypical Liberal
(5,412 posts)It's not the pervasiveness of guns, either.
We have had ever-more-liberal firearm laws since 1986. But over the same timer period violent crime has declined every year and is now at 1960's levels.
Every year there are about 340,000 violent crimes committed with firearms. That's about .6% of firearm owners.
SemperEadem
(8,053 posts)In fact, all races share similar ratios. Yet there's no outrage or racialized debate about "white on white" violence. Instead, the myth and associated fear of "black on black" crime is sold as a legitimate, mainstream descriptive and becomes American status quo.
The truth? As the largest racial group, whites commit the majority of crimes in America. In particular, whites are responsible for the vast majority of violent crimes. With respect to aggravated assault, whites led blacks 2-1 in arrests; in forcible-rape cases, whites led all racial and ethnic groups by more than 2-1. And in larceny theft, whites led blacks, again, more than 2-1.
Given this mathematical truth, would anyone encourage African Americans to begin shooting suspicious white males in their neighborhoods for fear that they'll be raped, assaulted or murdered? Perhaps George Zimmerman's defenders should answer that question. If African Americans were to act as irrationally as Zimmerman did, would any rationale suffice to avoid arrest?
And why is no consideration given to the fact that Trayvon Martin, and millions of black boys and girls like him, harbor a reasonably founded fear of whites but are hardly ever provided the deference and dignity that victimhood affords?
Ka hrnt
(308 posts)"As the largest racial group, whites commit the majority of crimes in America."
This of course, makes sense; more people = more crime. But the problem here isn't about the sheer number of crimes, the problem with this case was the profiling (or at least appearance thereof). And this comes down to probabilities (rates), not the sheer number of crimes.
"With respect to aggravated assault, whites led blacks 2-1 in arrests; in forcible-rape cases, whites led all racial and ethnic groups by more than 2-1. And in larceny theft, whites led blacks, again, more than 2-1. "
The author has put out a lot of numbers (which carry authority) to distract the issue. The article has gone off the rails by a lie of omission: Whites outnumber all other races by a much larger ratio than 2-1. For example, whites outnumber blacks 6-1 (72.4-12.6, using Wikipedia's numbers). Therefore whites "should" outnumber blacks by at least 6-1; other races the ratio "should" be much larger.
"What Will, Steele and O'Reilly failed to mention is the exacting truth that white Americans are just as likely to be killed by other whites. According to Justice Department statistics (pdf), 84 percent of white people killed every year are killed by other whites. "
Again...serious math abuse here. 84% of whites are killed by whites, who make up 72% of the population. Compare that to 93% of blacks being killed by blacks, who make up 12.6% of the population. The article's own source (The Department of Justice report) points out the flaw in their argument on page 11 under "Trends by Race":
"In 2008, the offending rate for blacks (24.7 offenders per 100,000) was 7 times higher than the rate for whites (3.4 offenders per 100,000)"
SemperEadem
(8,053 posts)
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Erose999
(5,624 posts)
I've lived in a majority Black neighborhood before and never encountered a problem.
There are hollers in Appalachia that are just as violent and have just as much drug crime as the inner city ghetto.
cali
(114,904 posts)Aside from the fact that it's bullshit to claim that white Americans can depend on justice, or the entire nation grieving the loss of any white life.
This is just nonsense.
I reject totally and completely any missive that is addressed in this way whether it's dear Black Folks or Dear Muslim Folks or dear Jewish Folks or Dear Women Folks, etc
It's just wrong, wrong and wrong to lump any group together.
Ugh.
Very stupid article with mindless ranting. Offers no real solutions to today's problems.
The author did the "you people" routine. It's offensive and wrong no matter to whom it refers and it precludes any hope of mutual understanding.
cali
(114,904 posts)you are exactly right when you say "it precludes any hope of mutual understanding".
And I hate that crap about how if you're not a woman or poor or black or jewish or whatever, you can't possibly understand. People of empathy and understanding may not be able to understand precisely, but of course they can largely get it.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)you've put the other person on the defensive...and then, you've just made it real tough for any heart to heart communication to happen.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Raine
(31,125 posts)EOM.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)and I'm white.
a very poor copy-cat of the closing argument in "A Time To Kill".
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Whites have a great advantage in the justice system, and the approach the media takes towards white deaths is very different than black deaths.
It is not just nonsense, you are simply in denial about the racial realities in this country. Persons in this country have been lumped together by race since the beginning; the fact that you don't like does not make it any less so. Whites have privilege simply by being white.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)Thanks 
fasttense
(17,301 posts)It is just the rich white people that are given many of these privileges. Look how the Occupiers are treated. All occupiers are labeled as poor hippies by the media and can be safely attacked. Most of the Teabaggers are labeled as middle class by the media and they are never abused by the police, even when carrying weapons. True sometimes, poor white people are mistaken for rich white people and are inadvertently given some of these privileges, which rarely happens to people of color. But once their economic status is determined, the poor white person is treated very badly.
If you are a poor white person you can NOT count on justice, safety or liberty.
It is a very small minority of people who are given these privileges and they don't include people of color, poor people or non-christians.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)It comes with the skin color. Read up on the subject of white privilege, or do I need to dump an article on you?
On the Road
(20,783 posts)is an expression of solidarity. It is meant to show support.
Of course it's not likely that a white middle-class teenager would meet the same fate in the same way as Martin. That's kind of the point.
But if support from a good portion of the white community is not wanted -- well, OK. Good luck then.
obxhead
(8,434 posts)In their broad brush attack on white people they alienate people standing with them demanding justice. They are creating a divide where people are actually trying to bridge a gap and help.
I consider articles like these part of the problem.
Raine
(31,125 posts)is support wanted or not?
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)
retread
(3,904 posts)“what ifs” and excuses."
Reading some of the responses so far, I guess not for some stalwart DU Deniers!
cali
(114,904 posts)automatically mean that one is in denial.
Man, I really do hate gross stupidity.
Now, let me address a screed to "Dear Muslim Folks". I'm sure YOU don't have any problem with that, right?
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)You just disagree with that it's addressed to all white people?
retread
(3,904 posts)
lunatica
(53,410 posts)What's his point? That white people can never imagine what it's like? Really?
I can imagine what it's like to feel terror and anguish at all those things. If there's one thing that separates us from the animal kingdom and from human animals it's our imagination. I don't need to actually go through it all to know it's a horrible thing.
Can he imagine what it's like to be a woman who is raped or has to live with that possibility every day of her life? Can he imagine living in constant fear, being married to a man who beats you because the baby was fussy and cried and woke him up? Can he imagine being a child and molested sexually? Jesus! I'm not even scratching the surface of what all people go through.
cali
(114,904 posts)
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Or Oprah Winfrey.
stonecutter357
(13,010 posts)Dear White Folks?
treestar
(82,383 posts)It does give white people a feel for what it would be like.
meaculpa2011
(918 posts)by two young African-American men more than forty years ago. The one with the gun looked me straight in the eyes, pushed the gun into my ribs and pulled the hammer back. I can still hear that sickening click to this day and I can describe every detail of his face. If I were to write a similar essay with the same generalizations it would be just as disgusting.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)If you don't mind me asking: What made him back off, though?
meaculpa2011
(918 posts)He had no intention of shooting. He was just too stupid to understand that by pulling back the hammer the gun could go off if he belched. The pistol whipping resulted when he discovered I only had six dollars in my pocket. No real long-term effects, but I'm still on my toes when approached by two or more young gentlemen of any race or ethnic group. I must confess that hoodies and BB caps worn askew give me the creeps, but that's more of an aesthetic judgement. In NYC, paranoia just makes good sense.
wellstone dem
(4,460 posts)While I certainly hope I'm not among the "white folks" this is addressed to, I know that part of it shines on me as well. I know that I don't think about the lack of media attention to the death of black children, of the approximately 20 black people killed in Chicago since the Trayvon Martin murder. And I think that would be different if I were black. I need to do better and this is an excellent reminder.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Daniel537
(1,560 posts)like black people are. Yes, we know that. Just like we know that white people traveling on a plane won't get the amount of bad looks an Arab or a Muslim would. So what solution is he offering? Self-hatred? As a man of color, i don't feel the need to shame anybody just because they won't get the amount of bad looks i might get. Articles like this further divide us and do nothing to heal old wounds.
mucifer
(25,606 posts)I believe the article is meant to educate people and make people understand the situation better.
I bet lots of people are forwarding the article to educate others.
Daniel537
(1,560 posts)but trying to shame them usually doesn't turn into actual results. Personally, i just can't get angry at someone just because they don't experience what i experience. Just not who i am.
mucifer
(25,606 posts)I was very oblivious to these racial facts until I went to college and had more diverse friends and was shocked to learn the truth.
I was thankful that my friends opened my eyes to these facts. I wasn't angry at them for it. Reading this article reminded me
of those days 25 years ago. I'm hopeful this article can help others understand the situation.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Once I understand and accept that the problem is ongoing then I can perhaps teach my children about it. I said to my son the other day, as he was getting ready to leave, in a hoodie, that I don't have to worry every time he walks out the door that he will be harrassed, arrested or killed.
slampoet
(5,032 posts)I have three friends who were murdered and their killers were never caught. I even know who one of them was and how he did it.
But my friends were poor. And the police don't care about the poor.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)become Free Republic?
This man is simply trying to convey how THEY feel, and it is THEIR reality. You are not even meant to respond to this, because if you are WHITE, it is very hard to do.
I feel ashamed that so many of you would think this way. And even though your posts 'make sense', this is not the feeling the article was meant to bring out. He was merely trying to make you see his life through HIS eyes.
malaise
(294,444 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)I'm ashamed that some of you don't get something that basic.
It's dangerous. duh.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Because he's implying quite pointedly that all white people are racist, and we object? Are you white? Does what he say apply to you? Can you really not imagine anything he says?
GOTV
(3,759 posts)... and not what black people feel. Of course he has to describe the experiences of black people to do that but the point of those descriptions seems to be that white people cannot know what that's like.
I think the sentiment is divisive.
mactime
(202 posts)note how I address this to one person and not a whole race? You are outraged that 7 black youths have been gunned down by police and security guards over the last months but you show no such outrage when more than that are shot every weekend in Chicago or Philadelphia in black on black violence.
You are outraged that the media is using unflattering images of Trayvon from his twitter account instead of a 3 year old picture or is called a thug yet I heard no such complaints when Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom were blamed for being in a known drug area after they were kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom).
You, and many others, have take this tragic incident and are milking it for all it is worth for your own personal gain. It is time for an honest discussion about race in this country but your pity-party of fear does not provide anything helpful to this discussion.
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)whenever there's an outcry over a white on black crime, Just saying.
mactime
(202 posts)of the article. Leonard has had 5 years to comment on those killings.
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)It was a horrible, horrible crime and the perps were quickly arrested and convicted. Why the national media didn't push the story more I'm not sure, but I do know there was no institutional reverse racism involved. There was no reason for the author of this article to have commented on it. If that's your best and most recent example of white 'victimhood' you've got nothing.
mactime
(202 posts)I was merely pointing out the absurdity of the authors outrage at the media using Travyon's social media picture. There is a thread on DU right now about the gang beating and robbery of an Irish tourist in Baltimore. A DU member was kind enough to point out that he was intoxicated and therefore became a victim.
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)to show "the absurdity of the authors outrage at the media using Travyon's social media picture. " That makes no sense whatsoever.
Not to mention the author expresses outrage at the doctored photos, not his social media photos. You really sound like a straight up racist.
mactime
(202 posts)The only reason I brought up this example was because it was in the news last week because the prosecutor is in the process of deciding if the death penalty is applicable.
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)Let's just leaave it alone now
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)I cannot remember the national furor over Christopher Jones. Anybody else remember it. Who the heck is Christopher Jones?
But it is a non-story since the kid who killed him got a whole 18 months. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-06-15/news/bs-md-ar-george-hearing-20110615_1_juvenile-facility-javel-m-george-crofton-youth
What the heck anyway, It was just a terrible accident. The 16 year old did not mean to kill the 14 year old - he just wanted to beat the crap out of him. Nothing to see here, move along, nothing to see.
Generic Other
(29,078 posts)It's all there upthread proving Leonard's point. Disappointing to see.
So many white people who do not believe justice is applied unequally. Who believe they are more victims than any black person could ever be. Who are incensed to be lumped together with others who believe as they do that being a white person does not mean being privileged. Who are never profiled. Never targeted by institutional racism. Who seem insensitive to the discrimination others face. And yet who are always hyper-sensitive about their victimization. Because the world revolves around them. Because they are the ones who are blameless.
Sad.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)We (white people) will end up reaping what they sowed.
http://nationalblackfootsoldiernetwork.blogspot.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"While Trayvon Martin is just the latest example of it, the history of the United States of (White) America is plagued with the white racial terrorism our people have faced, face and live in fear of at your people's hands. That fear that history teaches us we must fear for our lives before your so called police officers and even citizens with guns makes you racial terrorists. We have the right to protect and defend ourselves from white racial terror."
"The NBFSN neither supports violence or hate. The NBFSN supports justice.
Rhetorical: is it the fault of this community that "white" and "injustice emerged as synonyms; or, is it the fault of your own kind's reprobate, racially egotistic and morally degenerate a behavior?"
"Don't confuse George Zimmerman's Hispanic ethnicity with his racially terroristic white mindset. For we know that in this world is not blacks against whites. It's the family of the people of color against those who lack it."
"That George Zimmerman had been and is brainwashed into your kind's racially psychotic way of thinking is no surprise. There are also blacks who are still victims of this racist psychological poisoning."
"As stated: we are not your enemies. We are your victims. You set yourself against us to be our (the family of the people of color's) enemies. And this is the continued struggle for justice against the infamous white regime of racial terrorists - of which you are one."
Muskypundit
(717 posts)GOTV
(3,759 posts)Generic Other
(29,078 posts)eom.
GOTV
(3,759 posts)... and I couldn't find them myself, I think they do not exist
Generic Other
(29,078 posts)race denial card # 105.
GOTV
(3,759 posts)Generic Other
(29,078 posts)Why is it so important to you to badger a minority person who has stated that she sees people denying racism, playing the victim, and attacking anyone who offers an honest opinion. I am not the only one who found many of the comments on this thread to be an embarrassment to the DU community. Many others upthread have said essentially the same about posts I took issue with. I don't need to embarrass the posters further by calling them out by name. I don't need to give someone reason to alert on my posts. Posts that take issue with people of color for reacting to racism are silly. To tell black Americans they have no business standing their ground when whites treat them badly is ridiculous. To further accuse the black person of racism for identifying the source of the racism is ludicrous. To defend institutional racism is wrong. To falsely take offense at being labeled as part of the racist dominant culture when you clearly are a part of it based on skin color and more importantly when you daily benefit from that system is lame. To deflect blame for the problems on the victims and then get up on some high horse when one small bi-racial minority voice points it out makes you look foolish. I am half white. I am able to see that when the professor refers to white folks, it is the white folks with attitudes such as this that he is referring to. He is not referring to the white folks who get it, who know that the deck is not stacked against them as it is for people of color. I didn't take offense at his addressing white folks about racism. Who is he supposed to address? Martians? Anyone who takes offense to his words is tacitly supporting the status quo, is defending a system that has supported slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, segregation, real racial profiling, Confederate flags flying from statehouses and a thousand other daily reminders of whose skin color makes the rules in this country.
But you somehow are able to gain some form of satisfaction by badgering me to name names. If I refuse to play your game, then I must be treated with contempt by you because I don't know what racism is unlike you. You and others on this thread believe you are the victims of horrible reverse racism because someone addressed his comments to people of your race. Time to pile on and put that man in his place all the while proclaiming he is unfairly targeting colorblind you.
This is the problem with race in America. Too many white folk say they are colorblind which means minorities are invisible to them. Until a person of color dares to express an opinion about race. Then it''s "How dare you...who do you think you are?" Sputter sputter...spew.
Again, if you can't see the defensiveness, hostility and racism expressed by white "victims" in this thread, I don't see how my pointing it out will help you. Probably all it would do is give you or others ammo to mock my views. Like the judge said about porn, I will say about racism, "I know it when I see it." So do most other people of color. It seems only the racists themselves deny it. Go read some real racist websites. They also play the race denial card. And their posts read a lot like some of the posts on this thread. But you already know that.
Have a nice day.
GOTV
(3,759 posts)You made 2 claims of opinions that you said you saw exhibited in this thread
I asked for an example
You failed to deliver
That is all
Generic Other
(29,078 posts)You are the champ. Please keep defending racism. White Americans need you.
malaise
(294,444 posts) Generic Other
(29,078 posts)I think the responses to the thread illustrate how far we still have to go to make progress on issues of race. Important discussions. Brutally honest and clearly painful. I have learned things about some DUers I wish I didn't know.
Greybnk48
(10,700 posts)is that this young boy was left in the morgue for several days. That the police cared so little about this family, that they did not try to find the parents and notify them of his murder; they treated it like nothing rather than someone's family member. I simply cannot wrap my mind around that; it's brazen racism at the worst or at the least sloppy and cynical police work.
It's horrific and tragic that he was murdered by a racist nut. But the disrespect and disregard is bothering me more. It infuriates me to think about it.
malaise
(294,444 posts)
aikoaiko
(34,213 posts)
Enrique
(27,461 posts)probably don't read Ebony.
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)I can't believe how many white DUers are totally and in some cases I think willingly ignorant of this issue
DemocratSinceBirth
(101,740 posts)But one can not ignore the effect of economic class on one's fortune in life; especially when it comes to navigating the justice system.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)All people are asking for is what is rightly theirs, and wrongly stolen from them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://nationalblackfootsoldiernetwork.blogspot.com/
Illinois & Iowa City Black Foot Soldiers have issued a joint statement condemning the racist Iowa City Police terror regime's arrests of reparations activists Charles Thompson, Courtney White and Justin Marshall. Soldiers are also condemning the State's ongoing attempts to prosecute the activists and calling the sixty-four year old reparations offender targeted in the protest a piggish and vile old white devil who chose violence and white supremacy;s (sic) continued doctrine of black genocide over peace and healing the white Americans' generational racial terrorism through restitution for their race crimes.
According to pro white media sources: On October 8, 2009 John E.Versypt of Cordova, Illinois was working on one of his properties at 1958 Broadway St in the #C building when he was shot and killed. Soldiers, however, say Versypt himself was responsible for the violence that resulted in his death.
"The denial of reparations that reparations offender John Versypt supported is rooted white supremacy's historical campaign of genocide against our people," Whiteside County Black Foot Soldier Elijah Dillard says in the statement. "Therefore we know that this smiling devil John Versypt was a Holocaust denying white supremacist whose apparent violence during this certainly peaceful protest resulted in his own death. Our citizens are certainly safer without this reparations offender, supporter of black genocide and generational race criminal alive. We praise God for the brave young men who attempted to stand up against his racial terrorism."
{ snip }
Aerows
(39,961 posts)We live on this planet together, and I for one am glad we do. When we smile and laugh together, we make this world a better place 
malaise
(294,444 posts) FightForChange
(44 posts)I think that there is a lack of understanding and that we white people often do take for granted the privileges we enjoy. But everyone is right who said that you can't lump a group like that together. Remember, white college students had a lot to do with the civil rights movement and helping attain equality for people of all races. However, I believe his intentions were good in writing this article because he is right to say that we are NOT Trayvon Martin. There are differences between us, but that doesn't mean we cannot fight together for equality. Everyone is different, but at heart we are all brothers. Racism is a big issue, but an even bigger issue lies below. Classism. As soon as we come to our senses and realize we are all in the same boat, we'll see that we are together and our enemy is the same.
99Forever
(14,524 posts).. that the author's point gets lost by his approach.
Oh, btw...
Could you direct me to where I can cash in some of my "white privilege?
DemocratSinceBirth
(101,740 posts).
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)It does not mean you have wealth or live on easy street. It means that when compared to a black person who lives a life that is equal to your in most ways, your life will be less stressful and easier to navigate, simply because you are white.
Take every stress in your life and heap a pile of racism and prejudice on top of it.
That is what white privilege means.
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)ieoeja
(9,748 posts)Real Story #1:
Woman ran out of the house screaming, "he killed my baby."
"He" turned out to be a dog and the "baby" turned out to be a cat. But people reasonably called 911 when they heard the first screaming.
People gather.
Cops show up.
There is one Black man in the crowd. He is wearing a city bus driver's uniform. The cops handcuff him and stuff him in the patrol car.
I have related this story to several cops over the years. And without a single exception they assured me they would have done the same thing because, "almost all Black men are dangerous criminals".
-----------------------------
Real Story #2:
A local White man shot a home intruder. He was universally hailed as a hero. The NRA rushed to town and used this man as an example for liberalizing gun laws.
A couple weeks later a local Black man shot a home intruder. "Probably a drug deal gone wrong," everyone in the media speculated. He came under intense scrutiny. The NRA tuck tail firmly between legs and slipped away. Ultimately, the police determined the shooting was justified. But not before the man was convicted in the eyes of the public.
------------------------------
Real Story #3:
An unarmed Black teenager was gunned down by a White Hispanic male while returning from a convenience store. Millions of people across the country came to the killer's defense.
Have you ever seen that occur when a Black man killed an unarmed teenager? Can you even imagine such a thing occurring? Isn't the fact that millions of people want to defend this killer almost as disgusting as the killing itself? And don't you hate the fact that this mass defense of the killer really isn't all that shocking?
malaise
(294,444 posts)One of my sisters is a professional without kids - she told me last week that she had no idea that Afro-American parents lecture their children to keep them safe when they're walking while black. She has lived in the US for over 40 years,
99Forever
(14,524 posts)... Zimmerman or the either inept or more likely corrupt, bigoted cops in Sanford? On this thread or any other?
Is there racial prejudice in our society and legal system? Well duh.
But when some act as if just the mere fact of being born Caucasian somehow gives people some kind of free pass in life, I have to say it is pure, unmitigated BS. If your point is to try and alienate and divide people along racial lines, then you are doing quite well. I know the REAL demon is economic status and the ever increasing gap between the 1%ers and the rest of us and the effect it has on our legal AND political reality.
I could give you tons of examples of cops hassling myself and many of my friends, including being cuffed and held captive for no damn better reason than they didn't like the length of our hair. If you actually think that blacks or Hispanics or any other ethnic group are the only ones who get treated like shit by LE, then you just aren't seeing the real world entire picture.
ieoeja
(9,748 posts)... you just aren't seeing the real world entire picture.
White Privilege doesn't mean all White people are treated with kid gloves. It means that, everything else equal, we will generally get better treatment.
And your example demonstrates the existance of White Privilege! You and I know that it is our right to walk through this country without being hassled just because we happen to wear our hair long. And when those rights are violated, we are justifiably pissed. Were we Black men we would expect to be hassled no matter what we do.
For instance, you may recall the "Beer Summit" a couple years ago after a wealthy, well maintained Black professor was harrassed by the police. His crime? He exists.
99Forever
(14,524 posts).. discuss something with me, stick to what I actually say and not something you make up. You have absolutely no clue as to what I actually think, clearly.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)If you're ever a defendant in a criminal trial, you can thank your privilege that the jury is a sea of faces that look generally like you (and me).
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)Look, are you telling me that "we are all Trayvon Martin" isn't an appropriate reaction? Is apathy better? What would you have me (a white person who largely agrees with you) do?
Tell you what, I'll express my support in the way that feels appropriate to me, and you can either approve or not. But if you're going to disapprove, it would be more productive if you could offer an alternative.
LaydeeBug
(10,291 posts)RZM
(8,556 posts)He must have grown up in the 70s.
annabanana
(52,802 posts)is fooling themselves. The very best we can be is empathetic towards their plight.
This YouTube pretty much nailed it for me:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002523908
"I am Not Treyvon Martin"
cali
(114,904 posts)And you don't need to completely live in another's skin. Compassion, understanding, having experienced suffering should open a window.
Baitball Blogger
(51,946 posts)Unfortunately, it won't be printed where it would do the most good.
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)Too bad really, the points that are buried in among the hubris are well worth making.
Hopefully someone else comes along soon and does a better job of it.
Julie
madokie
(51,076 posts)Any of us has to be concerned about anyones color, nationality or the language they speak. This is America and I gave up 15 months of my life, I thought to help ensure that what I'm say here is true
Thanks for this thread and the link
Us white folk has no idea as to what its like to live with darker skin or slanted eyes and its time this shit stops
bemildred
(90,061 posts)
Starry Messenger
(32,380 posts)
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)he is an example of white privilege. if he was black, there is no way in hell he would not have been arrested...or killed by the police. that he is still free, and has the support of other racist assholes is the best, and most glaring example of white privilege imaginable.
Uncle Joe
(64,625 posts)Thanks for the thread, malaise.
malaise
(294,444 posts)Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin - it blew my brains.
John Howard Griffin, a 39-year old white journalist of Sepia Magazine, changed his skin color and stayed for seven weeks in Deep South, USA among the black population. The year was 1959 prior to the Washington March and passing of the major civil rights bill in 1964.
When published in 1961, this book caused a major controversy: Mr. Griffin was persecuted by his whites by betraying their own race. Remember that at that time, Deep South states, e.g., Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia were still in racial segregation. The discrimination worked both ways, blacks stay away from whites and vice versa. I have read a number of books on this and still remember two: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou but this one, being a non-fiction, brought a totally different impact. That scene when Mr. Griffin first looked at his face on the mirror as a black man brought a deep insight on the discrimination he did not know existed even inside himself. He did not like the person staring back at him: black and bald.
Mr. Griffin died in 1980 at the age of 60. He left a legacy that generations will be benefiting from: the lessons from the astounding experiment culled in this truly beautiful classic book - Black Like Me.
Uncle Joe
(64,625 posts)Thanks for the tip, malaise, I will check it out.
Peace to you,
Uncle Joe
(64,625 posts)We had been discussing the Trayon Martin case, my friend is originally from Texas, he's religious and a conservative Republican.
After I told him about "Black Like Me," he looked it up on Wikipedia, kind of freaked out about the author being forced to move to Mexico from the residual hate and bought it on line for both of us to share.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me
malaise
(294,444 posts)That's great news - enjoy.
marshall gaines
(347 posts)EXCELLENT
aspieextrodinare
(82 posts)I will start to put more stock into articles like these when this nation starts to regard the killing of people like George Hodgins (I know it was a murder-suicide, but I could come up with a few examples where it wasn't and the murderer didn't receive more than a manslaughter charge, if that) in the same light as Trayvon Martin. This is not to say that the murder of Trayvon Martin isn't a horrible tragedy, it is, but so was the murder of George Hodgins, which in the initial report from the Autism Society... his name wasn't even included.
As a white male, who happens to be autistic, my mother could come here and kill me tomorrow... and would likely not be punished for it, and if she was it would be a light punishment. Thankfully she never would, but that is a really scary thought. I know I am said to be privileged... but really... where is the privilege when all that is true.
cali
(114,904 posts)aspieextrodinare
(82 posts)Or at least not that illegal. There was a website up a couple years ago (I think they are still around but moved) called This Way Of Life, and had a page all about the murder of autistics. They found that even the murders of children with autism went unpunished. I think the average sentence was around 2 years, with that being a bit top heavy due to a couple 10+ year sentences. Compared to the average sentence for "normal" children being over 20 years (and they even removed the cases involving pedophilia). Yea, I will consider myself privileged for being white, when I can't legally be killed.
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)i sympathize with your lot, more than you can know, but i hope you will look into the lot of black autistic people.
(since this is a generalization, i add that there are, of course, autistic people of every ethnicity who are more or less fortunate by chance, but that is a small minority, and so, not the point here.)
aspieextrodinare
(82 posts)They have told me the main difference that makes it harder for them is cultural, not having to be afraid of anything (African-American populations tend to use a lot of non-literal speech that is hard for autistics to fully understand). When you can legally be killed and not have an outcry over it (because we are such a small minority, the outcry of the autistics who can speak well enough to be heard at all doesn't go very far) what else is there to be afraid of?
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)stacked against autistic blacks. that is the essence of white privilege in this case.
there are worse things than being killed. things to fear more. for instance, being used as a human guinea pig in drug and brain mutilation/mind control experiments, which has been done to black boys diagnosed as hyperactive and/or other of the autism spectrum disorders. - among too many other atrocities.
not even going into length on the history of medical atrocities against black people, absolutely unspeakable horrors, consider even just the fact that "Although early intervention is key, African American children with autism are one to two years older than white children before they're even diagnosed." "White kids were diagnosed at 6.3 years old, compared with 7.9 years for African American kids."
important site:
http://www.autisminblack.com/medical.html
the whole point in this discussion is that the trials, challenges, horrors one faces in life are increased by racial prejudice and discrimination against them.
please be certain i recognize the atrocity you speak of living under. we are fortunate you are here to inform us on autism as one who is living it.
thank you for discussing, and for your tone discussing, aspieextrodinare!
maddezmom
(135,060 posts)
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)You are white and autistic. You have to deal with alot of stess and crap every day.
Imagine if you were black and autistic, you would still have to deal with all that stress and crap, but it would be multiplied racism and prejudice.
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)thank you, again, Marrah_G!
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)It's really easy to get hung up on a word and miss the meaning of the phrase.
aspieextrodinare
(82 posts)Instead of 95% like I have heard its at now. I am sorry, I doubt that things could get that much worse.
Response to malaise (Original post)
americaninohio This message was self-deleted by its author.
cali
(114,904 posts)hey wittle freepwad, want to provide some actual evidence for your stupid claims. And man are they stupid. Oh and racist as hell, honeypie.
Now go away you racist piece of dog shit.
Tveil
(108 posts)now what?
Generic Other
(29,078 posts)Do you think that means other white folk think we are white? I suspect the one drop rule still applies where many are concerned. It's sad that so many will go to any lengths to defend themselves against the collective shame that is the legacy of institutional racism. Seems like rather than be so snarky about it, we should all work toward changing attitudes, starting with ourselves.
I am not trying to pick on you for posting the "I'm half a white folk too" comment, but I do think you of all people should be more sensitive to what the OP's post was trying to say.
Peace.
malaise
(294,444 posts) 
Kurska
(5,739 posts)White, Black, Mexican or otherwise, it is never okay to lump together the thoughts feelings and experiences of an entire people loosely linked by the color of their skin. You don't know the content of any one's man character, it is idiotic to ascribe to him experiences, beliefs, attitudes or capabilities based on the color of his skin.
That is why this article is trash.
Generic Other
(29,078 posts)The Confederate flag does so.
Liquorice
(2,066 posts)southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)to go anywhere at anytime you want to and no one should stop you. I would feel the same way going through an all black area. I think african-americans in this country have been treated terrible. Racism isn't gone. Just because we voted for a black president doesn't change that fact. I will vote for him again. I don't see the president as a black man or a white man. He is a good man that wants the best for all of us. I pray he gets reelected.
malaise
(294,444 posts)by virtue of their color.
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)american family. My parents had all kinds of friends and never was told I could play with some kid growing up. Heck I even had slumber parties with my girlfriends of color and my white friends all together. We had a ball. Really we had a ball. We all went to the movies together on saturdays afternoon. We went skating together. Played softball together. It was so much fun. The only difference between us was the color of our skin. Everything else was the same.
malaise
(294,444 posts)in my group of friends and all of us who hung out together from we were five years and up still get together every few years. Some joined the group later in high school or were neighbors but we have all remained very good friends.
Skittles
(170,365 posts)much of white America -specifically the women - often can NOT walk to the store "without fear of being hunted down". Women are ALWAYS on guard.
Crunchy Frog
(28,220 posts)ellie_belly
(47 posts)I can never be black, but my children as Asian and I've seen discrimination up close. I'm sorry that I can't walk a mile in their shoes, or those of a black person, but the fact is that I can't.
I want to subscribe to Ebony and I think they're missing a big marketing opportunity, to bring in white subscribers who care and want to try to understand.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)while he derides others for not being able to walk in his shoes?
It's not just race, but other things, like how you're dressed, how old you are, the time of night, the neighborhood, how you're acting...a lot of things may put any person in danger. Race is just one of them.
It would be reasonable to assume that I, a woman, would be far more likely to be killed during a midnight walk that any black man. Add to that the fact that a lot of homeless people being boldly killed these last few years have been mainly white men.
What a load of bull that artile is.
napoleon_in_rags
(3,992 posts)Yeah, that was a line from somebody who's never been the white guy dressed in scruffy clothes in the upper class place. Albeit I can shave and put on a suit and nobody will ask to see my birth certificate, but I think this article downplays the underlying issue of class too much. Its really not that racists dislike black culture per say, its that when blacks aren't being associated with the criminal class, they are too often being associated with the lower class. At some point authors like this have to stop yelling at whites, (including the few white guys in the ghetto) and start asking why there IS a ghetto.
malaise
(294,444 posts)If you dress up you get a pass - a middle class black youth has no such chance.
That said poor whites do face discrimination.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)to be regarded as ordinary and not suspicious.
Famous feminist Bella Abzug once said that the mark of the end of discrimination against women was not whether some women at the top finally get paid what men at that level are paid; it's when the female schmuck gets paid what a male schmuck gets paid.
I agree with her. It's tough on women & minorities when they aren't special in some way, enuf to rise to the top. You have to dress a little better, speak a little better, behave a little better, produce work that's a little better, just to come close to the respect that a well dressed white male gets.
It doesn't help the middle class black youth that there is a high crime rate among that group. That is something women don't have to contend with. People are more suspicious of a black youth who is unkempt and doesn't speak well or behave well, because of the criminal element. A young white female who is dressed the same way and speaks the same way wouldn't be offhand thought of as possibly a criminal because, well, there aren't many young white female criminals, esp. violent ones. But there again, it's more because of the way the guy is dressed, speaks, and behaves.
None of this applies to Trayvon Martin, though. He clearly was a middle class youth just going on his way, not doing anything. Unfortunately, he was a stranger in an area plagued by burglaries, and he was wearing what some say young criminals often wear - a hoodie. No reason to stalk him, for sure. I have several hoodies myself, in several colors. They're practical, they're fun, they're inexpensive. I wear them a lot. But there aren't many female middle aged burglars around, so I'm not going to be mistaken for a burglar.
napoleon_in_rags
(3,992 posts)"If you dress up you get a pass"
I get a day pass. When I start talking and they find out about my car, where I live and work, than the pass gets revoked. I can't take the day off and go golfing with them. I can't go with them on the ski trip to Aspen, it costs too much. Class is a big divider.
"no such chance"
I think that's too strong a statement. I feel like Obama has been really speaking to me lately, when he says wealthy guys like him don't need more tax cuts on the backs of poorer folks like me. But at the same time, if you stand back and look, that's a wealthy black man behind that podium having compassion for a poorer white guy like me. The thing is you have those white people in the ghetto and prison, and you have people of color in wealth and power. Its true there is a skew, disproportionate amount of blacks in prison and so forth, but they aren't ALL black. The rich and powerful aren't ALL white, Obama is a highly visible example. And that's enough for me to acknowledge that there is some racism going on, but to feel the most important issues are economic.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)The essential difference.
Obama, if unknown, might still have trouble catching a cab in New York, simply because of his skin. You wouldn't have to have that problem.
and where are there white people in a ghetto?
napoleon_in_rags
(3,992 posts)When you stand back and look at what the ghetto is, you see poverty, people sidelined from society. There are plenty of whites in that same situation, it just more often takes the form of a mobile home with cars broken down outside in the middle of nowhere. But there are white people who are poor, disconnected.
Here's a good chart that shows that black people are getting generally more screwed than whites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States#Over_time_-_by_Race_.26_Sex
Go to 2004 on the right, look at median income for blacks and whites. But remember, that number is the median number. So every white guy you see working at Wal-mart, or McDonald's is making way less than the average white worker, but also less than the average black worker. So 50% of whites are making less than the average white worker, and maybe 30% are making less than the average black worker. So there is prejudice at play, (whites on average do better) but also there are still white people really bad off. Surely you've seen a white guy somewhere with a beard pushing a shopping cart. I'm saying we have to look at the poverty that effects all of us regardless of race.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)just disagree about the ghetto concept, as whites were never confined to an area by housing codes or anything else. There is white urban and suburban poverty, and there is much rural white poverty that I have seen myself. Much of this happens with people left behind when jobs leave smaller towns and cities with nothing to replace them, and when farming becomes more marginal and less lucrative than it used to be.
Response to malaise (Original post)
Post removed
Number23
(24,544 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)unexplained accusatory McCarthy like statements, dear. OK?
Number23
(24,544 posts)And love how you think that you accusatory, hyper-sensitive posts all up and down this thread somehow don't prove EXACTLY what the OP was talking about.
alas, yes, Number23.
i was just heading to that thread in AAG to acknowledge your post on that there.
Number23
(24,544 posts)((shaking my head))
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)wow, Number23. mind-boggling.
mimi85
(1,805 posts)showed far more grace than many, if not most, comments on this thread. As his mom said (paraphrasing here) that all hearts are red. I'm not into their religious beliefs, but whatever gets you through the night is fine by me.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)I wonder if there is some kind of statistical evidence that DU posters who have been here the shortest time are more likely to be attacked by a racial minority.
malaise
(294,444 posts) nofurylike
(8,775 posts)coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)sociological discovery. Conversely, maybe it is DU posters who have been here the shortest time who are most prone to racist fabrications.
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)i appreciated having a chance to read it.
malaise
(294,444 posts)
thank you!
cali
(114,904 posts)so will dishonest. this was both.
nofurylike
(8,775 posts)what is "dishonest" about it?
or "stupid," for that matter?
i ask that you please step outside of yourself and read with earnest, heartfelt caring:
your son or daughter, sister or brother, granddaughter or grandson ... in the morgue for days as you searched to find out what happened them? .... police letting the perpetrator go or the news media remaining silent? ....
.... can you imagine if women routinely went missing from your community and the news and police department simply couldn't be bothered?
constantly, day in and day out, NOT as isolated failures and incidents, but as the normal, INTENDED COURSE OF INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM!!!!!
PLEASE FEELTHAT even a fraction as fiercely as you feel your hot, sharp, reaction.
does the mere suggestion that white privilege exists cause such a fierce response in you?
does the fact that white privilege is real and more destructive, cruel, all-pervasive than words can possibly express cause you discomfort?
Scuba
(53,475 posts)6000eliot
(5,643 posts)
HipChick
(25,595 posts)nofurylike
(8,775 posts)
aikoaiko
(34,213 posts)There is no evidence that any white person who wears the "I am Trayvon" rallying motto is actually claiming that they have the equal life experience of Trayvon or someone like Travyon.
Its patently obvious to say that in reality we are not Trayvon.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)That his is larger point, and he is correct in that. No strawman.
None of us in reality is Trayvon, whether we are black or white.
Those of us who are not black can't experience what it is like to be treated as black people are treated in this country. This author is making the distinction between treatment of the different races that does exist in this country. That is the main subject of this article.
olderlib
(16 posts)
MellowDem
(5,018 posts)Starting off with "dear white folks" equal complete failure, because many "white folks" already know and understand the idea of white privilege, and the vast majority of people, of any color, fail to acknowledge their own privileges.
Now, I wonder how many minds this article will change or open up? Not many. Not with this sort of bumbling rhetoric.
Also, to assume saying "we're all Martin" means that white people think they would be treated the same in the same circumstances is a mighty crazy presumption to make.
Anyways, as usual, an author articulates the idea of privilege in probably the least effective way possible, and overgeneralizes while doing it.
If you want to start convincing people to examine their privilege, whatever it is, try to do more good than harm please. These terribly written articles aren't helping at all.
Hell, at least address the arguments your opponent makes. The biggest rebuttal from conservatives I see about the Martin case is that there is far more black on black crime that the black community doesn't seem to care about at all. Hell, that deserves quite a rebuttal as well as an explanation of privilege. I wish we had smarter, more savvy people on our side. This shit just makes it worse.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)You say:
The biggest rebuttal from conservatives I see about the Martin case is that there is far more black on black crime that the black community doesn't seem to care about at all. Hell, that deserves quite a rebuttal as well as an explanation of privilege. I wish we had smarter, more savvy people on our side
This rebuttal is a non-rebuttal, and I am amazed you honor it. The subject of black-on-black violence is IRRELEVANT to the Trayon Martin case, which ISN'T black-on-black violence, is it? Martin was racially profiled by Zimmerman, who took the law into his own little vigilante hands, and approached Martin because he was a young black man. Would this have happened if Martin was white? Of course not.
And how do you know the black community doesn't care about black on black crime? Because you haven't read about it? Have you looked for such commentary? I don't think so, because it is easy to find.
olderlib
(16 posts)anyone who is white has no idea
olderlib
(16 posts)I don;t see why do many whites are so resistent to the idea of acknowleding white privilage
I really think that anyone who still cant admit it after the last few months has racist issues
malaise
(294,444 posts)Welcome to DU
olderlib
(16 posts)Zax2me
(2,515 posts)Like all 'white folk' are the same.
And are never targeted because of skin color.
"White America can walk to the store without fear of being hunted down."
Not true.
White people are killed as innocent bystanders, going to the store, etc.. In some cases, by non-whites. In some cases, targeted because of skin color.
Thandiwe had been involved in an altercation with a building visitor, as Channel 2 said he “assailed a visiting courier with racial epithets and had to be physically restrained by company personnel from striking and causing harm to visitors.”
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/court-records-show-race-may-be-motive-shooting-ram/nMT3K/
http://midtown.patch.com/articles/did-accused-midtown-shooter-target-victims-for-being-white#photo-9558620
Injustices aren't equal, everyone gets that part.
They can also often be colorblind.
NashvilleLefty
(811 posts)it's saying that simply "imagining walking a mile in someone's else's moccasins" is still not enough. Simply because it's impossible to imagine unless you've actually experienced it.
That makes sense to me.
It also puts the lie to "reverse discrimination" charges.
I'm a White person. I can try to imagine what it's like to be viewed "in the negative" the minute I walk in the door. I can try, but I'll never understand it unless I've "been there" and experienced it not once or twice, but every single time.
Food for thought for every white person.
malaise
(294,444 posts)I think it's a thoughtful piece and by no means is he suggesting that all white people practice discrimination.