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6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
131–140 of 199 posts
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder who censored the word, if it was The author, the original blog or NPR.
It wasn't NPR, as it was that way in the blog post linked.
Also, it's a very editorializing expletive deletion. Relatively serious* news organizations like NPR tend to avoid that sort of thing. If it was their edit, one would expect a simple "[expletive deleted]", or a rewording that didn't call attention to itself.
*In using the word "serious", I only mean that NPR is among the organizations that are commonly perceived to be among the most serious news organizations. I'm not being ironic. Neither am I making a personal value judgement.
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#133Silicon Valley is a ridiculous festering pool of hypocrisy. Instead of trying to train and hire underprivileged blacks from right next door, Oakland, they fly or outsource them from half way around the world in India. Yet they think they are liberal and caring because they upvote stories like this.
Why should people care less about Indians than people from Oakland? Are Indians lower beings than Oaklandians?
Given that the US is the wealthiest country in the world, with (in many ways) the world's best educational opportunities, and India is very poor, it is likely that somebody in India had to struggle much harder than somebody in Oakland to obtain a quality education. Hence the Indian is likely more employable.
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is absolutely unreasonable. When you say it "works out more often than not" I would ask "For whom?" Many snap judgments based on race lead to the death of unarmed black men and women. Studies have shown that resumes with black-sounding names get fewer callbacks and we treat black men like white men with a criminal record. Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873 N…
>Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? That's impossible to say on an individual level, but it is very likely. If you phrase the question differently, there's a pretty clear answer: >On average, are two white people more employable than two black people? Without knowing any further info about the possible candidates - Yes. Looking at education statistics in the US, it becomes clear pretty quickly…
Two white people are definitely more employable on average, even if they're felons and the black people have college degrees!
We perpetuate those statistics on work experience, etc., because the playing field is uneven to begin with. We have a nice little system in which further discrimination is "taking reality into account" once we've ensured a substandard elementary education and reduced chances at a good first job. Read the study: it, of course, controls for educational and work experience.
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#135I deal with this from the exact opposite perspective. I have a very midwestern sounding name and people are often surprised when they meet me in person to see that I am a big black guy.
I can be in a waiting room and when my name is called, the person calling me is sometimes surprised when the 6'2" 250 pound black guy responds. I don't really see shock but I do see surprise.
I admit, I have been guilty of this as well. When I was working my way through college, I took a summer job at a machine shop. I was told that I'd be working with "Jorel" on a particular shift. I was expecting, for all the world, a black guy. Well, I showed up for the scheduled shift and I met Jorel. He was a young white guy. It immediately made sense to me. I said to him "Your dad is a comic book fan, isn't he?" and Jorel confirmed that he was. Then I said "With that name, people usually think that you're black, don't they?" and again he confirmed that they did. For us, that was the end of it. He was a nice enough guy and we worked well enough together.
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hm. My wife (Italian descent) reports differently. During her southwest upbringing she was treated as anything but white. I guess it depends upon your environment.
Perhaps I'm too quick to assume my experience is universal on this point. At school growing up, the white people were fairly mixed in actual ethnic background. Statistically, though, any researcher would consider Italian white if they used "white" as a category. Would it be too personal to ask what she meant? Was she taken for Hispanic, or did people use anti-Italian stereotypes?
The 2nd. She was not welcome everywhere in town; she was viewed with suspicion in stores; her family's social circle was several notches lower than expected from her fathers' position (scientist at Los Alamos Natl Labs).
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#137I don't think the other people are at fault here. I think it's reasonable to assume that someone with a stereotypically black name is black, just like it's reasonable to assume that a random IT professor is male based on the fact that 90%* actually are. As long as you owe up to your error when you notice it (and e.g. apologize). It's a reasonable optimization that works out more often than not. The problem only start…
"No, I'm not Japanese, you idiot; 100% white European descent, in fact!" "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Shigeru Kobayashi, I just ass ... " "Yes, like other members of the rubble, you just assumed, thereby making an ALL out of U and ME."
'I just ass'
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#138Couple of off the cuff thoughts: Why can't people use the expression "niger" in context? It was clearly meant as a racial insult, and I think people need to remember that that is the way it is commonly used. Replacing it with a placeholder doesn't make racism go away or make the word less racist, all it does it soften the racism used in that instance. His TSA story is more likely fiction. Is he saying that there are…
Why can't people use the expression "ni[g]ger" in context?
People can use the expression in context and many do. Speaking as a black guy (but not representative of all blacks), I have a visceral reaction to the word[0] so when outlets self-censor, I see it as a small sign of respect and I appreciate it. YMMV of course.
I understand the arguments that "n-word" or "horrific racial expletive deleted" is awkward or may be seen as patronizing, but I see "nigger" (in nearly all contexts) as insulating. It's a tradeoff, and from my POV not using the work is preferable. Again, YMMV.
[..] all it does it soften the racism used in that instance.
I think you're correct, it does soften the racism, but I also think it improves relations. I'm okay with that.
Just to be clear, I'm just offering my own perspective here, I'm not trying to convince anyone to self-censor. If someone wants to scream "nigger, nigger, nigger" from the rooftops, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to ever listen to you.
[0] Yes, even when other blacks use it
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#139Silicon Valley is a ridiculous festering pool of hypocrisy. Instead of trying to train and hire underprivileged blacks from right next door, Oakland, they fly or outsource them from half way around the world in India. Yet they think they are liberal and caring because they upvote stories like this.
Valley politics are not about politics, they're about social positioning. The trendy viewpoints are just a under-informed belligerent narrative stapled onto mostly center-left positions by low-rent bloggers that can feed them anger-bait.
(Not that NPR is that blog (I meant gawker-level properties) but this mental masturbation is one of the more worthless things NPR runs. Lingering racial expectations based on from someones name isn't news when there are ongoing race riots elsewhere in the country.)
Re: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal I'm White'
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not that guy, but I've considered changing my name so it sounds more exotic and unique. From what I've seen, people with "generic" or biblical names don't seem to get chosen as often as they used to when it comes to academic and prestigious stuff. It would be nice if people could use two or three names legally. Like when you use multiple emails.
I was born with an uncommon last name. It caused me a lot of distress because nobody could properly spell or pronounce it. I had electric bills come in with my last name misspelled. My apartment complex had to tear up a lease and reprint it because they misspelled my last name (I caught it before I signed it, fortunately), and I'd been living there for over half a decade when that happened. Edit: it was also a varian…
Wow. I actually remember you commenting on the Ross Ulbricht story and you gave an explanation of how you changed your name.