“That Conversation about Race” category archive
The Anachronism 0
I find Prince Harry and Meghan Markel’s stories of how they were treated credible. After all, it was English settlers who fostered America’s original sin of chattel slavery and created the myth of white racial superiority so as to ease their consciences (and line their wallets).
What most strikes me, though, is the downright petty nastiness of the treatment they received. Even bigots are capable of being polite.
I’m a Southern Boy. I have known in my lifetime many bigots who are capable of politeness. It doesn’t make them any less bigoted, but at least they were able to dress up their bigotry in Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.
Also, I don’t get Americans’ fascination with the British royal family. Nor that of PBS viewers with soap operas set in Edwardian England. Grump, grump, grump.
Why I Put Quotes around “Social” in “Social” Media 0
Because far too often, it’s anti-social.
Susan Cousins describes a recent experience on Twitter:
Follow the link for the rest of the story.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
(Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
A Day in the Life 0
At the Hartford Courant, an American child of Indian immigrants to the United States describes the casual stereotypes and bigotry (some would call them “microaggressions,” but they are still aggessions) that she encounters every day.
If it doesn’t tear your heart out, it’s because you don’t have one.
What’s in a Word? 0
Actually, as the Angry Grammarian points out at the Inky, quite a lot. He discusses the current federal administration’s efforts to remove the language of hate and bigotry left behind in regulations, policies, and pronouncements by its predecessor. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for specific examples
Language of persecution and hate permeated government websites, press releases, and laws for much of the last four years. As the Times detailed, it’s because of Miller’s linguistic influence that President Biden has had so much work to do since taking office to change the language of government to reflect values of dignity, equity, and fairness. Biden’s team is making quick progress undoing the damage.
Craven Images 0
Trevor Hughes reports on the use of Christian symbols by right-wing extremists, whose credo is antithetical to a Gospel of love in any form (as their actions repeatedly prove), but which is entirely consistent with Leonard Hitchcock’s analysis of what he refers to as “Christian Nationalism.”
Here’s a bit from Hitchcock’s article; follow the link for the rest.
A broader underlying motivation is a deep resentment of cultural change and the ongoing collapse of a hierarchical social order in which their ranking might not have been very high, but it was secure, and lots of people were below them. For CNs, Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” signaled an intention to return to a past with which they were comfortable, a past in which the class and racial barriers between people were still intact, where Black people and immigrants, gays, atheists and women “knew their place,” and where white Protestants knew that they were the “real Americans” and were in charge.
Still Rising Again after All These Years, Santayana Redux Dept. 0
George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
I herewith propose the Hawley corollary:
Those who deny history desire to repeal it.
Know Them by the Company They Keep 0
E. J. Montini suggests that Arizona’s Congressman Paul Gosar’s actions belie his words.
Cancel Culture, Unreconstructed Style 0
As Leonard Pitts, Jr., points out (see below), until white America is willing to confront its past, it will continue to deny its present.