What can these people do to damage their credibility. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney suffers no backlash for embracing and fundraising with Donald Trump who openly questions whether the President is an American. Ron Paul published racist newsletters throughout the 90s and he’s also a politically viable Presidential candidate who must be listened to and taken seriously. Why is it open association with racism doesn’t disqualify people from running for the highest office in the land. What’s more troubling is the cynicism with which this is discussed. Race-baiting is just another tool in the American mailbox to be deployed and debated as if there are no real world consequences to American citizens or I guess Americans of any importance.
Buzzfeed’s McKay Coppins wrote about the conservative obsession with incidents of black on white violence and their efforts to paint the narrative of a race war being propagated by black people on white people. Conservative talkers such as Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh along with conservative media outlets like The Drudge Report, The Daily Caller, and others have been looking for any incidents of violence perpetrated by black people upon white people and amplifying them during the Barack Obama presidency with the implication that the election of President Obama has served as some signal to Black America that now is the time for some sort of crude revenge. Coppins goes into detail even getting a sort of admission from Tucker Carlson of The Daily Caller who delights in his attempts to leverage fear to get back at “liberals” who are concerned about racism. None of this is new however. In the 90’s Rep. Ron Paul ran a newsletter preying upon the fears of roving bands of black youth attacking white people even going so far to teach readers how to buy and dispose of a gun in case they have to kill a black youth. This fear that the advancement of rights and achievement of Black Americans will directly imperil white lives and purity is evident as far back as D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation”. While Griffith makes his point nakedly how different is Limbaugh’s declaration “In Obama’s America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering”
Disclaimer: The following are the views of a single, black father whom shares custody of his child. These views are not representative of all single fathers or black parents. These views are not meant to excuse or justify the choices or actions of any individuals. However, this discussion piece is meant to provide new perspectives and encourage dialogue. Comments are greatly appreciated..
First off…. Happy Mother’s Day to…. Well we’ll get to that part later…
Today’s post will take a non-sequitur approach to explaining a larger point; please wait until the post’s conclusion to develop your opinions about the contention made. It’s important that you are at least mildly familiar with what has already been discussed in order to understand what will be going on today… Please feel free to read the other BDC postings, because today we will find that…
After President Obama’s announcement yesterday I’ve been thinking about the LGBT community, the black community and how they intersect in doing so I’m reminded of Bayard Rustin. As someone who started the Freedom Rides, was an early practitioner and Martin Luther King Jr.‘s teacher of non-violent resistance Bayard Rustin holds an enormous place in the history of black folk here in the United States. Rustin like many black folks was also gay. This didn’t stop him from helping to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference although it did lead to him being forced from it’s leadership in 1960. Repeatedly Rustin was ostracized for his sexuality among those of his race even while joining them in fighting for the equal rights and respect as a man that they’d deny him. It seems the advocates of inequality have chosen to replicate this choice on a national level among religious African Americans and LGBT people. In far too many cases religion has won out over ethics and have led us to choose to impose our beliefs on fellow citizens in violation of the rights that should be shared equally among every person. This is one of the reasons that I don’t subscribe to the belief that black people in America are in some way more noble, enlightened or fair than the rest of Americans we are people with biases and motives just the same as the rest. While our place in society and history are unique our hearts and minds operate according to the same principles that have reigned since time immemorial. Yesterday President Obama became the first American President to support same-sex marriage. While I highly doubt this will cost him any votes among African Americans as it has been suggested I’m hopeful it will push forward the conversation about Black LGBT folk and homophobia in our community.
Here is the argument against “affirmative action” in perfect form. Opponents of affirmative action argue that the accomplishments of African Americans are questioned if there is the possibility of affirmative action is present. Even in cases that see institutions simply acknowledge race as a factor among many, without quotas or a point system, people cry foul as if they just can’t trust a black achievement unless they’re double-sure that no one ever looked upon them more favorably. Here we see this dynamic even when an African-American succeeds on a national platform where the application process is determined by the votes of millions of Americans. Even in this most transparent of hiring processes the achievement is tainted merely by the presence of melanin in the skin of the victor. In Rep. Walsh’s mind the possibility that President Obama earned his title in the same manner that 43 presidents before him did is untrue. President Obama got a “leg up” from the American electorate as a whole because he was a black person. What would a black person have to do in Rep. Joe Walsh‘s world in order to be “legitimate” success? If Barack Obama winning a national election where he was scrutinized by the media and voters and won the approval of (much) more than half isn’t an earned success then what possibly could be?
Duke University released a study on Tuesday that showed that juries are significantly more likely to convict a black man if they are all-white. While this news doesn’t constitute as shocking the good news is that the presence of one black person mitigates the affect in a significant fashion as well. The news comes as no surprise historically or psychologically we line in a nation that trusts law enforcement and the criminal justice system without question. Many people seem to believe that if someone is arrested then they are probably guilty. People feel as if innocent people just aren’t harassed or falsely accused by the law. Combine this with a group of people all judging someone that they feel is “other” than them and the high rate of convictions seems to be an obvious consequence. The presence of one black juror mitigating the effects is encouraging but when you have prosecutors who push for all white jury pools then the hope from this news is muted.
Let me take this time to disabuse some friends of other stereotypes regarding Africa as well.
- No, you can’t “just go back to Africa” especially if you’ve never been.
- No, you won’t be greeted with open arms in pan-Africanist brotherhood, the people there don’t know you.
- No, everyone does not refer to each other as “King”, “Queen”, “brother”, or “sister” or any variation thereof you’ll probably be referenced to as “the American” or “white man” if they don’t know your name.
- You are a Westerner from a Western country without regard to the color of your skin. Given that, you probably hold all the patronizing and self-serving notions in regards to Africa that is common among Westerners. Check that.
- Yes, you can get robbed, beat up, cussed out and discriminated against in Africa. It’s a continent and it’s full of people not mystical beings who hold the key to a perfect humanity. Africa and Africans aren’t here for your preferred social theories.
You likely know exactly what I’m about to say. And likely, exactly what I’m about to call out. To most of you reading, this subject isn’t a surprise. It’s not even news anymore. It’s a story that happens…and continues to happen on a regular basis. For those unaware of such activities, let me sum it up for you:
Black people have a hard time getting into “certain clubs”.
Going to college in Austin, TX, I learned these lessons at an early age. Ya see, back in 2004 when I was a freshmen, brothas were still in the blazers, long button-ups, jeans, and Air Forces.
All people are inherently self-centered. This is a truism that people apply easily to others but really can’t apply to themselves without constant work. What makes this even harder for some is when they count themselves among a group of people who see themselves as perpetually wronged. Today we are going to talk about just such a group, nerds. Yeah the free ride is over nerds. I’m calling you on your bull and I took AP classes like a Klansman who once dated a black girl I’m one of you so don’t even try to say I’m just picking on you, I’m not trying to hear it. Nerds are people who are constantly portrayed as sexless losers who are constantly picked on in high school. What makes this a problem is that as nerds grow up they gain a ton of privilege but never shed the mindset that they are perpetually under-appreciated. This leads to all kinds of self-centered behavior that basically boils down to being one of the worst kinds of asshole. The one who blames their on everyone else. Read the rest of this entry »
Social Justice- the fight for awareness and tolerance of all cultures and social groups. Social Justice can do a lot to help as well as harm certain causes. The Civil Rights Movement has propelled African Americans and many other underrepresented groups (especially white women) to be recognized as not having the same opportunities and rights as their counterparts of power. Since the Civil Rights Movement, the tactics such as marches and protest have been desensitized limiting the power of their abilities to mobilize and communicate to the masses the unjust that certain groups may be experiencing. For this reason, advocates have had to be innovative in their tactics to express their concerns. Many examples of this have been facebook and twitter campaigns as well as walkouts and boycotts of businesses. The most recent way of acknowledging an oppressed group that has caught my attention as been the recent phenomenon of the “Angry Birds” creators. Read the rest of this entry »
