“That Conversation about Race” category archive
Forensics, Schmorensics 0
Elie Mystal comments on Attorney-General Sessions’s decision to abolish the the National Commission on Forensic Science, created by President Obama just a few years ago to raise standards for forensic science. In the light of the work of the Innocence Project and similar groups, those standards seem sorely in need of raising, or maybe of being created in the first place(PDF from Virginia Law Review). Here’s an excerpt from Mystal’s post:
“Benefit of the Doubt” 0
Responding to a recent kerfuffle about white privilege and its effects on the local economy, Tim Hurley writes with sensitivity and perception of his own experience, as a white man, of white privilege. I commend the article to your attention. Here’s a bit:
This is how we can contribute to the systems of white supremacy without any swastikas or pointed hoods. It is an insidious part of our daily lives, regardless of creed or ideology. You can be a Democrat, a Republican, a liberal or a conservative and contribute to a culture of white supremacy. The actions can be ugly and intentional or small and unthinking – judging the name on a resume, overlooking certain students in a classroom – but the cumulative impact is devastating . . . .
Walleyed 0
Dick Polman thinks Trump’s border wall is a non-starter for many reasons. Here’s one of them; follow the link for the rest.
I’m waiting for Trump to say, “Nobody knew the wall could be so complicated.”
But the biggest problem is that most Americans don’t even want the wall. Turns out – and I know this comes as a shock – that the enthusiasm for walling us off from Mexico was largely confined to the subset of citizens who flocked to Trump’s rallies. Turns out that when it comes to wall spending, most of us are actually fiscal conservatives.
Trump’s proposed budget calls for a $1.5-billion down payment on the wall. According to a new national poll released today, only 28 percent of Americans like the idea. And 58 percent do not.
The Court Is in Sessions 0
Solomon Jones watches Jeff Sessions bring back the good old days.
Read the rest.
Ethnicity 0
Many years ago, I read in one of Bennett Cerf’s books a story about a European author who was visiting the United States in the days of Jim Crow; it was so long ago I can’t remember who the story was about.
He was in a bus station with a friend when he needed to use the restroom. He headed towards the door labeled “Colored” (I’m old enough to remember doors labeled “Colored”).
His friend, somewhat panicked, said, “That’s for colored people!”
He answered, “I am colored. I am pink.”
Rights for Me but Not for You 0
In The Roanoke Times, Virginia Tech history professor Peter Wallenstein explains how Southern states favor of “states’ rights” except when they are not.
If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0
In these parts, there have been several instances of black persons imprisoned for minor, almost miniscule crimes, dying in jail from neglect, with this being perhaps the most unspeakably egregious case.
Meanwhile, a rich white banker convicted of bribery and bank fraud gets a “Get Out of Jail Free” card because he has high blood pressure.
The editorial cartoonist for my local rag is not amused.
History 0
I’m a Southern Boy. I grew up under Jim Crow and went to segregated schools, as I have mentioned from time to time in these electrons. I had ancestors who owned slaves. My degree is in history with a concentration in U. S. Southern.
As I’ve added experience to my studies, I have more and more concluded that race and racism are constant undercurrents (and sometimes overcurrents) in American politics, however energetically white Americans try to pretend otherwise.
A half century ago, Richard Nixon’s odious Southern strategy caused the Republican Party to morph into the party of racism and bigotry.
Nixon thought that he could use Southern bigots and racists to cement his power (that worked out very nicely, did it not?); now, half a century later, his strategy had come full circle and the powers that he invited into his party have consumed it. Bigotry and racism are fundamental elements underlying Republican polices and positions, central elements to their campaign strategies.
This week, the results of Nixon’s decision to open Republican doors wide to racists played out quite publicly in Republicans’ failed attempt to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, the health care law that Republicans chose to refer to as “Obamacare,” for reasons that Atrios summed up brilliantly yesterday so I don’t have to.
Trumpling Freedom of Religion 0
(Link fixed.)
In The Seattle Times, Rabbi Daniel Weiner reflects on the recent anti-Semitic vandalism of his synagogue, in which the words, “Holocau$t is face hi$tory,” were spray-painted on its wall. He responds to persons who believed that he unfairly blamed Donald Trump for the deed. Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added):
There has been much documented about the intersections between Trump associates and the “alt-right” — a cleansing euphemism for white supremacy. Trump’s actual regard for vulnerable populations, Jews among them, is inconsequential to his intoning of the classic “dog-whistles” of anti-minority tropes. If he is truly aware of the implications of his words, it is troubling. If he plumbs the abyss out of mere political expediency, it is equally dangerous, displaying a reckless disregard for truth and propriety unworthy of the office he currently holds.
When you blow a dog-whistle, don’t be surprised when the dogs respond.
Race in the Presidential Race 0
The discussion does not accept the poll’s result uncritically, but does dig into the methodology and possible flaws in the poll.
A Ruse by Any Other Name . . . . 0
There’s nothing new about new about rebranding–“old wine in new bottles” is a cliche, but cliches become cliches because they express a truth succinctly. “Alt-Right” for “white supremacist” is a rebranding effort. The rebranders hope that you will forget that behind the shiny new label is the hate bottled from the same cesspool they’ve been swimming in for centuries.
At Above the Law, Elie Mystal excoriates another contemporary attempt to rebrand bigotry, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/trump-travel-ban.html. A snippet:
This might come as a shock to the Witch King of bankruptcy, but “Rebranding” doesn’t work either. Not in front of a judge. You can stick a funnel on a horse and call it a unicorn, Mr. Trump, but you can’t make it s**t rainbows. You’re dealing with educated people now, not just fleecing yokels anymore.
Immunity Impunity, Politzei uber Alles Dept.
0
Perhaps you heard about the cop who tried to roust an Uber driver who refused to get out his car when ordered and who recorded the incident to boot; the driver turned out to be a Not Black lawyer. Here’s bit from the story as reported in the Raleigh News and Observer:
There is no such law.
Now comes Barry Sanders a-wondering:
Follow the link for his answer.
Shunned 0
The Girl Guides (that’s “Girl Scouts” in USAn) of Canada have had enough of Trump and Republican “mean for the sake of mean.”
The ban does not mention the latest Executive Order by President Trump barring travel to “the States” by citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries, and imposing a 120-day moratorium on accepting Syrian refugees.
“While the United States is a frequent destination for Guiding trips, the ability of all our members to equally enter this country is currently uncertain,” GGC executives Sharron Callahan and Holly Thompson said in an advisory Monday afternoon.
More at the link.
The Enabler 0
Elie Mystal argues that Donald Trump brings out the worst in people.
Decoding De Code 0
Farron Cousins translates Jason Chavetz:
Speaking of Alternative Facts 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., shreds Ben Carson’s referring to America’s African chattel slaves as “immigrants.” A nugget:
But the slaves were no more “immigrants” than rape is making love.
Read the rest.