“That Conversation about Race” category archive
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
At The Seattle Times, a holocaust survivor sees parallels between Germany then and the Unites States now. Here’s a bit of the letter he sent to his Senators and shared with columnist Jerry Large:
Wassermann wrote that the entire Nazi ideology is in place and wonders how far it will go here. “We can hope that our government of checks and balances will be more resistant than the Weimar Republic was. Don’t count on it.”
Follow the link to learn more.
Do not follow the link if you wish to pretend to yourself that today’s events are politics as usual.
Playing the Race Card 0
Thom discusses how the Republican Party chose to become the party of the New Secesh. It happened a long time ago, folks.
The Poisoning of Flint, Reprise 0
The no account just can’t be held accountable.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Henry A. Giroux sees a dark future of reaction and repression in the United States. Here’s snippet:
The repressive racial state is certain to intensify and expand under Jeff Sessions — a strong advocate of mass incarceration and the death penalty, and a white nationalist spokesman for the Old South. The Nation’s Ari Berman observes that Sessions is “the fiercest opponent in the Senate of immigration reform, a centerpiece of Trump’s agenda, and has a long history of opposition to civil rights, dating back to his days as a US Attorney in Alabama in the 1980s.”
Sessions has a long history of racist rhetoric, insults and practices, including opposing the Voting Rights Act and addressing a Black lawyer as “boy.”
Much, much more at the link.
How Stuff Works, Contracting the Franchise Dept. 0
Will Bunch listened to something Donald Trump said during his victory lap and finds a lesson for the polity. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for the rest (italics in original; bold added):
That’s right — the next president of the United States, and the future guardian of our democratic norms, praising citizens who didn’t exercise their right to vote because it helped him politically. That’s appalling, but it’s also something that Trump, still a political neophyte even after winning politics’ biggest prize, does a lot. He blurted out a basic truth of modern 21st Century elections — that Republicans win when they find ways to keep anyone who’s not part of their heavily white and older voting base away from the ballot box. It’s just that no other GOP stalwart would ever say this out loud.
Michigan Nestles in the Poisoning of Flint 0
The government of Michigan chooses profits over people.
This is what happens when you “run the government like a business.”
“No Comment” 0
There’s a reason that I do not read the comments at news sites.
Driving while Black . . . (Updated) 0
. . . is a dangerous thing to do. Here’s a bit from a report at The Root:
Pursuits are among the most dangerous police activities. They have killed more than 6,200 people since 1999. Black people make up 13 percent of the U.S. population but are 28 percent of those killed in pursuits whose race was known.
Among the findings (which strongly confirm a disparity and a likely bias in policing):
- Blacks have been killed at a disproportionate rate in pursuits every year since 1999. On average, 90 black people were killed each year in police chases, nearly double what would be expected based on their percentage of the population.
- Deadly pursuits of black drivers were twice as likely to start over minor offenses or non-violent crimes. In 2013 and 2014, nearly every deadly pursuit triggered by an illegally tinted window, a seat-belt violation or the smell of marijuana involved a black driver.
- Black people were more likely than whites to be chased in more crowded urban areas, during peak traffic hours and with passengers in their cars, all factors that can increase the danger to innocent bystanders. Chases of black motorists were about 70 percent more likely to wind up killing a bystander.
Oh me, oh my, I wonder why.
Much more at the link.
Addendum, Just a Little Later:
If these folks had been Not White, do you think police would have peppered them with spray or with bullets?
Be honest, now.
It’s Not Just the “Appeal,” It’s Also the “Appealee” 0
As I was waking up, the germ of a blog post started to grow in the back of my mind, one about the fundamental flaw in the reasoning that blames Democrats for not adequately appealing to persons who voted for Donald Trump. I was musing about how to frame an argument that such “analyses” overlook the tactics that Republicans used to attract those votes: venal appeals to selfishness, hatred, and bigotry. I question that persons welcoming such appeals would be receptive to anything the Democrats might offer.
When I got to my RSS feed reader, I found that Badtux had written the post for me. Here’s how he starts:
Not to mention that it would have been futile in the first place. Even if the Democrats had reached out to bigots, the Republican Party appears to have a lock on the bigot vote at present . . . .
Thanks to Badtux for making my day a little easier.
Averting the Eyes 0
Until the United States of America is willing to stare its racism in the face, it has no hope of redemption.
I read To Kill a Mockingbird once. It is a tale of the moral toll of racism.
I have read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn three times. Underneath the burlesque, it is a tale of redemption, of one boy’s decision to reject the racism his society has taught him. (If you have not read it, do so today.)
Facebook Frolics 0
Yet more hate-full frolics.
Truth in Labeling 0
Daniel Farmer reports that the Associated Press has issued guidelines that truthful reporting requires using truthful words. In his discussion, he gives some examples:
It’s time to call such things what they are: racist.
If you say people of color are the enemy, as the governor (Governor LePage of Maine–ed.) has, you’re a racist.
Same thing if you lie and say that black people commit 90 percent of crime in the state when the numbers don’t back you up, if you encourage violence against black men, and if you say immigrants carry disease and are terrorists.
You’re not part of the “alt-right.” Let’s be precise: You’re a racist.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, for I have noted this constancy over my years: Except for a militant few, racists don’t like to be called “racist”; indeed, most will vehemently deny even to themselves that they are racist even as the crosses burn brightly behind them.