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How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

theguardian.com

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Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#11

Post by brudgers »

tjr225 wrote: post #8
Mononokay wrote: post #3

Altered headline aside: yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh; speaking as someone with a bit over a decade of experience with Missouri, if I was anything other than white or Asian I'dn't touch anywhere in it besides St. Louis and Kansas City. And even then, I'd still not touch it if I had to. This is all anecdotal, of course, but from my experience: the average culture of the state is apathetic at best to things that'd…

I'd tend to agree. I spent two years in KCMO even there found the stark black/white racism to be blatant (I'm white and I lived just east of Troost, actually really enjoyed it). I've left for a variety of reasons, aside from the weird race relations. For those not in the know, Troost is the major divide between the black and white regions of the city. Interestingly, these divisions seem to exist all over urban Americ…

Vi Hart and Nicki Case's Parable of the Polygons provides a model that suggests why segregation occurs even when people are willing to accept some diversity. http://ncase.me/polygons/

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#12

Post by dreta »

craftyguy wrote: post #6

> “I prayed that she’d look white, and she does,” he says. “She will be safe.” This is incredibly sad to read. I wish this government would take a zero-tolerance to racism (like they do with 'terroism'), but we seem to be regressing lately.

You can’t make the law any more strict than it already is without sacrificing everybody’s basic rights.

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#13

Post by ScottBurson »

craftyguy wrote: post #6

> “I prayed that she’d look white, and she does,” he says. “She will be safe.” This is incredibly sad to read. I wish this government would take a zero-tolerance to racism (like they do with 'terroism'), but we seem to be regressing lately.

Very sad indeed. Can you imagine praying to God that your newborn daughter won't look like you?

I don't think I could do what he's doing: staying in a place where he so frequently encounters threats of violence. But I'm glad he's doing it.

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#14

Post by istjohn »

dang wrote: post #4
Mononokay wrote: post #3

Altered headline aside: yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh; speaking as someone with a bit over a decade of experience with Missouri, if I was anything other than white or Asian I'dn't touch anywhere in it besides St. Louis and Kansas City. And even then, I'd still not touch it if I had to. This is all anecdotal, of course, but from my experience: the average culture of the state is apathetic at best to things that'd…

I appreciate the real experience in your post. But going into prejudicial generalization of your own (edit: that was before it was edited) helps nothing and is sure to create a flamewar. It may not be as bad as the prejudices discussed in the article, but it's bad enough to give us nothing but scorched earth, so it breaks the site guidelines. If you'd take those to heart when commenting here, we'd appreciate it. This…

I would hope calling cruel bigots in Missouri or anywhere else "some of the worst of humanity" is not divisive.

> In 2014, a group of 15 white schoolgirls blacked up their faces for a game of football. A few months previously, as riots blazed in Ferguson after the police shooting of Michael Brown, a group of Sullivan residents, Wehmeyer’s neighbour among them, staged a KKK march through town.

In as much as his comment makes an observation from his own experience that is congruent with the thrust of the article: the American South continues to be flush with cruel, unabashed racists, I'm not sure why it is being censored. Does it cross the line to say in plain language what the article says circuitously?

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#15

Post by ScottBurson »

istjohn wrote: post #14
dang wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate the real experience in your post. But going into prejudicial generalization of your own (edit: that was before it was edited) helps nothing and is sure to create a flamewar. It may not be as bad as the prejudices discussed in the article, but it's bad enough to give us nothing but scorched earth, so it breaks the site guidelines. If you'd take those to heart when commenting here, we'd appreciate it. This…

I would hope calling cruel bigots in Missouri or anywhere else "some of the worst of humanity" is not divisive. > In 2014, a group of 15 white schoolgirls blacked up their faces for a game of football. A few months previously, as riots blazed in Ferguson after the police shooting of Michael Brown, a group of Sullivan residents, Wehmeyer’s neighbour among them, staged a KKK march through town. In as much as his commen…

Note that the original post has been edited (see sibling comment to yours).

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#16

Post by kiliantics »

dreta wrote: post #12
craftyguy wrote: post #6

> “I prayed that she’d look white, and she does,” he says. “She will be safe.” This is incredibly sad to read. I wish this government would take a zero-tolerance to racism (like they do with 'terroism'), but we seem to be regressing lately.

You can’t make the law any more strict than it already is without sacrificing everybody’s basic rights.

They did that with terrorism, i.e. the Patriot Act. But that usually only applies to terrorism that isn't based on white supremacy, since white supremacists are useful to the state. See the recent collusion of police in CA with neo-nazis.

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#17

Post by Mononokay »

ScottBurson wrote: post #15
istjohn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would hope calling cruel bigots in Missouri or anywhere else "some of the worst of humanity" is not divisive. > In 2014, a group of 15 white schoolgirls blacked up their faces for a game of football. A few months previously, as riots blazed in Ferguson after the police shooting of Michael Brown, a group of Sullivan residents, Wehmeyer’s neighbour among them, staged a KKK march through town. In as much as his commen…

Note that the original post has been edited (see sibling comment to yours).

He was referring to the original. Hence the comment on "some of the worst of humanity," a bit of wording I used in the original post, not the edited one.

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#18

Post by istjohn »

dreta wrote: post #12
craftyguy wrote: post #6

> “I prayed that she’d look white, and she does,” he says. “She will be safe.” This is incredibly sad to read. I wish this government would take a zero-tolerance to racism (like they do with 'terroism'), but we seem to be regressing lately.

You can’t make the law any more strict than it already is without sacrificing everybody’s basic rights.

No way. But you wouldn't even have to pass new laws. If we aggressively enforced laws that are on the books already, things would be much better. But our laws aren't self-executing, and often the people most in need of legal protection are least able to obtain it. Lawyers aren't cheap.

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#19

Post by stevenwoo »

craftyguy wrote: post #6

> “I prayed that she’d look white, and she does,” he says. “She will be safe.” This is incredibly sad to read. I wish this government would take a zero-tolerance to racism (like they do with 'terroism'), but we seem to be regressing lately.

We haven't gotten that far given that yesterday's front page article on the US version of the Guardian was something about California highway patrol/local police working with Nazi groups to prosecute anti-fascists who fought with Nazis at a white nationalist rally and the prosecutor defending the act of not going after the Nazis who used knives to attack the anti-fascists, making the older Rage Against the Machine lyrics still ring true "Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/09/california-pol...

Re: How black people still need to outwit racists in rural America

#20

Post by ActsJuvenile »

dreta wrote: post #12
craftyguy wrote: post #6

> “I prayed that she’d look white, and she does,” he says. “She will be safe.” This is incredibly sad to read. I wish this government would take a zero-tolerance to racism (like they do with 'terroism'), but we seem to be regressing lately.

You can’t make the law any more strict than it already is without sacrificing everybody’s basic rights.

It's more about setting the tone. If top figures in the government and legislature take an inclusive stance and stamp out any racists issues, populous tend to pick up on that vibe.
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