“That Conversation about Race” category archive
Reflection on the Election (Updated) 0
Hate sells.
Also, too, Chauncey Devega called it weeks ago.
Addendum:
What is likely to be ignored in the general discourse is that, in the United States of America, a nation founded on chattel slavery and stained by its original sin of racism, everything is ultimately about race. A snippet from Danielle Belton:
It took two generations, but now we shall know what a George Wallace presidency might have been like.
Listen Up, Y’Hear 0
Learn about Forsyth County, Georgia, the county that chased all them darkies off into them thar hills.
As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap* (Updated) 0
The Rude One points out that the Republican Party brought Trump on themselves. (He’s so upset he doesn’t even cuss.) Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest:
Today’s Republican base is a vile and loathsome thing, and the Republican Party did it to itself.
The Republican Party created its base when Richard Nixon decided to woo racist, segregationist bigots with his odious Southern Strategy. The bright minds–at least they called themselves the “bright minds,” as the old man back home would have said–of Nixon’s Republican Party believed that they could control and manipulate the rubes and hayseeds, as no doubt they conceived of them, to short-term political advantage.
Their plan succeeded so well that the rubes and hayseeds now control and manipulate them, to the peril of the polity.
________________________
*That’s not just scripture. It’s also sociology.
Addendum, Late That Same Night:
The peril to the polity manifests itself: This is the reaping of what the Republican Party’s hate-full, apocalyptic war on the Clintons over the past two and a half decades has sown.
Where is HUAC when you need them?
They Are Afraid, but of What? 0
You have seen and heard examples of the magnetic hold Donald Trump has over many of his supporters. The Republican rank and file continue to support him, even as establishment Republicans jump from Trump. Indeed, the loyalty of many defies reality, such as the woman my brother told me of seeing on television:
She said was afraid it was her last opportunity to vote for a man with morals and ethics.
The premise of that statement, that Trump has “morals and ethics,” is not simply insupportable, it’s jaw-droppingly discounted from reality.
In Sunday’s Inky, John Kaag and Michael Ventimiglia delve into the seemingly magnetic hold Donald Trump has over his core supporters. Their conclusions echo the conclusions that Richard Hofstadter reached about American political extremism the almost 70 years ago: status anxiety and fear of loss of privilege. Here’s an bit:
This explains, at least in part, the visceral reaction that Trump and his supporters have to “political correctness.” Politically correct language is, to their ears, the soundtrack of an alien uprising . . . .
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
You’ve heard of Mosby’s Rangers?
Meet Trump’s terrorists.
“The callers were threatening to come over and burn down the building and to shoot up the building,” John Swaine, the museum’s CEO, told the News and Observer. “They’ve lessened in frequency this week, but they’re still coming in.”
(snip)
Swaine said that he denied the Trump campaign’s request for a tour on Sept. 20 because the campaign asked for the museum to be closed for five hours and for Trump to be videotaped walking through the exhibits.
“You Have To Be Carefully Taught . . . .” 0
In the Bangor Daily News, Julia Hathaway wonders why so many persons are angered by the concept that black lives might, indeed, matter. Here’s an example of what she refers to (warning: autoplay; also, disgusting). She remembers her growing up and notes that it starts when you are young. Here’s a tiny bit:
Fear Is a Defense (Updated) 0
At the Boston Review, Simon Waxman examines a recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that a black man’s running from the cops is not in and of itself an offense. Rather, indeed, it can be justifiable due to a history of police conduct. Here’s an excerpt; follow the link for the full article.
On appeal, the SJC determined that the vague description of Warren and his companion, and their flight from officers, were insufficient grounds for a police seizure. In doing so, the justices validated, to some degree, black men’s fear of police.
The ruling acknowledges that, in light of enduring police misconduct, black men have good reason to flee the police.
Addendum, Later That Same Day:
In the Vice Presidential Debate, Mike Pence said it’s better not to talk about this sort of stuff so as to avoid hurting the fee-fees of the po-po.
Addendum Afterthought:
The creative thinking of those who would defend racism and racist behavior does tend to amaze, does it not?