#one is talking about the plight of being black in america

[doberbutts]

#stolen from fb #in light of the kanye controversy #actually I'll go one further #kanye's been anti-black for years and the acceptance of his anti-blackness has a direct correlation #with the 'sudden' interest in antisemitism #it's not sudden #he has been trending this way for a long long time #this should surprise no one #because these philosophies often go hand-in-hand #if one was accepted you can almost guarantee the other will be close to follow #I have two whole kanye songs both very old #and you can literally hear the difference #one is talking about the plight of being black in america #the other is complaining about his ex and really is the beginning of his antiblack leanings #where he was mostly just antiblack to black women and thus everyone accepted it #his music has shown him worsening for years and years and years #so while his behavior on social media and in the news has certainly reached a new low #it's not at all surprising to me that he's doing this #he's been #it's just that now more people care because it's more public and the targets' got a wider net #it also doesn't help that kanye is a black isrealite #which is an antisemetic group of black people stating that *they* are the *true jews* and *they* should be given isreal #they're basically a cult and they're VERY annoying and their stupid shit is so fucking widespread #big sigh

[jarviscockerssecrethusband]

One thing I love about the harringrove fandom is the agreement both that Steve is dyslexic and Billy is a MASSIVE reader.

Because while Steve’s always been surrounded by teachers or his parents or exes who either believe that he’s incapable of appreciating reading or that he just doesn’t care, Billy thinks that’s bullshit.

Because when Billy gets told to tutor Steve in English, he doesn’t start with a book for toddlers or fucking Shakespeare. They start with Billy reading him Wuthering Heights.

And at first Steve does not fucking get it. He doesn’t understand the plot, the message and especially not the dialect. But he finds himself enjoying it a lot. Billy’s a natural storyteller. He could be on stage.

Billy’s taste in books is both eclectic and weird. He’s reading Finnigan’s Wake for fun. In Irish. He likes Portuguese romance books and German surrealism and a lot of George Orwell. So much so that Steve kind of feels that love rubbing off on him.

He’d used to like reading. Before he was told he was doing it wrong. And even though he despised the books set by Hawkins High with every fibre of his being, there was this fire set in his belly, a want to impress Billy.

So he starts with The Hobbit. Eddie “Freak” Munson’s the only other dyslexic Steve knew and he loved that shit. How hard could it be?

The Hobbit is fucking difficult. It starts with a map, Steve thinks is in Elvish and some of the chapters feel like they go on forever. The words still bounce around the page and switch constantly. He likes it though. It’s weirdly fun as a story and he finds himself rooting for Bilbo.

Henderson can never know. That is the one thing Steve is certain of.

Billy doesn’t laugh when Steve tells him that’s what he’d decided to start with. He just rolls his eyes, not meanly and says he used to read that with his mom. Back in Cali. Before Neil fucked everything up.

Billy reads a lot of Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest is constantly tucked into his back, dog eared and well loved. Steve knows enough about Oscar Wilde to know what that indicates.

Billy’s a poof. A faggot. A queer.

Billy is like Steve.

He doesn’t have the courage to look out for anything gay. Nothing even that hints at the matter. Steve knows that his dad has The Iliad tucked away in his office. He’s away on business while his mom sits in the kitchen and complains about America. Even after 15 years in the States, she still misses Poland.

His daring heist after she goes to bed leads to him sitting on the kitchen floor, crying about Achilles and Patroclus. Billy’s right, classics are a fucking bummer.

Steves not as stupid as other people think. He knows that if this were a book, him and Billy are hurtling towards deaths door. Even in real life, he’s seen the guys on tv, worn down to the bone on hospital beds.

Gay does not equal a happy ending.

He resolves to never touch The Iliad again.

Billy comes to their next session with a black eye and his mullet chopped off. They don’t talk about it.

1984 is depressing. And surprisingly apt for how Steve feels that his 1984 has gone. He does feel like he’s constantly being watched. Like being in love is illegal. Like saying anything too far against the government will have consequences.

Steve asks if Billy thinks Orwell wrote 1984 about America or Russia. Billy snorts but doesn’t answer.

That’s the note they end on for the year.

Christmas comes and goes. So does New Year. Two months of not seeing Billy aches in his gut.

Then he comes back.

It’s the middle of February. Billy’s been kicked out for a week. Steves playing nursemaid.

He’s beaten up pretty bad. Still, Billy insists he’s had worse.

Steve hedges around asking why it happened. Like the confirmation might suddenly make the full scope of their plight real.

Still, eventually Steve asks. Billy looks at him like he’s particularly simple.

He’s gay. Obviously Steve. And he actually has the balls to go out there, meet men, dance. Even if it does mean getting caught by Neil.

During his explanation, Steve notices they’ve gotten closer together. Like significantly closer.

They’re grazing hands. Electric.

Then Billy moves.

Billy kisses him and Steve’s world turns into a fucking supernova.

They kiss and it doesn’t make Neil vanish in a puff of smoke, it doesn’t make the shopkeepers who sneer at his mother go away, it doesn’t make Steve magically able to read.

But it does make Steve feel like maybe they’ll survive.

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove #harringrove ficlet #dyslexic steve harrington #tw homophobic language #tw abuse

[studiodaydream]

genuinely, genuinely, in the most neutral way possible: zionism in no way claims that jews control the world. idk where you got that from. all zionism is is the belief that jews should be able to live in their ancestral homeland freely. it's not white supremacy, because not all jews are white. please stop spreading hate ❤️

There is no hate for Jews here, only for White Supremacist ideologylies like Zionism.

I have proof that Israel mutilates, and guns down African Jews, who are not the so called "Evil Muslims" that Zionist love to kill and murder for their land and resources.

Most of this is about Ethiopian Jews but the treatment of Refugees from African Countries is even more so appalling.

You cannot tell me to do my research and all I've found is Racism, Islamophobia, Genocide, Mutilation and Murder.

Talks about a Chosen Race, and Superior Bloodlines and not see the White Supremacy that has plagued America and Europe for hundreds of years.

You can not tell me to do my research about Zionism and tell me I don't know anything only to see that your so called "Jewish Nationalist Independence" came from an Antisemitic British man

So no im not spreading hate, I'm spreading facts about the White Supremacist ideology of Zionism. That believes that it shouldn't be criticized because it's Jewish White Nationalism and it's different from regular White Nationalism and if you compare the two and criticize Israel you're antisemitic and you hate Jews.

Judaism is a non violent religion. Jewish Culture is non violent. What is Violent is Zionism and its settler colonialist aggression towards its neighbors, relentlessly bombing them out of "self defense" well the world is watching what youre so called "self defense" looks like.

It looks like dead babies left in hospitals that have been bombed

Isreal's "self defense" looks like a father asking for help with his child, as his dead child's REMAINS are stuffed in bags and yet he begs for help

Israel's self defense looks like White Phosphorus being dropped on innocent civilians

https://youtu.be/geqdxdNEToU?si=js5ZGZC4eajY7uO2

These links show that Israel is not only a White Supremacist Nation like its parents The US and UK but also that Zionism is a White Supremacist Ideology.

I am not spreading hate Anon, I am spreading facts. To deny these facts is to spread hate. To deny that Israel is not a criminal empire and is simply "defending its right to exist" is to spread hate.

Antisemitism is on the rise and it's not because of people like me Anon is it because of Israel and Zionist Settler Colonialist Aggression towards the Palestinians and towards its Arab Neighbors. Israel denies the Nakba and that it stole land at all claiming that "no one lived here before we came" a "empty land with no people". Well there were people and those people had neighbors who saw what Zionist did to their defenseless neighbor with the backing of terrorist countries like the US and the UK. Terrorist Nations that destabilized and murdered millions in 3 separate nations in their "War on Terror".

White Supremacy has no ally on this blog, including Zionism.

If you want to unfollow me go ahead. I will not be swayed by Zionist Propaganda that this is all in "defense" of Jewish Nationhood, and how the only way to "defend" Jewish Nationhood is to invade other countries and murder other people who look different from them because they are the "Chosen People".

We've heard it all before, when the Europeans said they were bringing "civilization" to Africa and the Americas by enslaving our people and stealing our land and resources. When America had its "Manifest Destiny" which led to the genocide of countless Native Americans and the stealing of their land and resources. To Nazi Germany and the "Superior Ayan Race" which killed millions and invaded other nations killing millions of more.

You might be familiar with that last one, the Holocaust. Where millions of Jews were brutally and systematically murdered. But not only Jews but Black Europeans, Romanian Immigrants and LGBTQ Europeans.

But it seems like Israel has forgotten history because it does not treat African Jews equally to its European Jews and is actively Hostile to Refugees from African countries. While committing Genocide against the Palestinians as I type this out.

So if you're reading this I implore you to donate if you can or spread awareness of what's happening in Gaza

https://buildpalestine.com/2021/05/15/trusted-organizations-to-donate-to-palestine/

And your daily clicks

https://arab.org/click-to-help/

Do not allow Zionist to call you antisemitic for calling them out on their lies.

Palestine will be Free, From the River to the Sea

#from the river to the sea #palestine will be free #free palestine #free free palestine #free gaza #jews for palestine #palestinian genocide #support palestine #never again #means never again for everyone

[goldsrc-hl1]

““Lynch squad already had an excuse, but they're surely gonna go and tell more and more humans about how a Faunus murdered one of them, therefore spreading more hate””

And if they hadn’t died they’d be telling about how some Faunus beat them up,so they should go kill them, or if the Faunus had all not fought back at all, the humans would talk about how “submissive” they all are

But if the humans face consequences for their attempted attack, which I admit doesn’t require killing them, I saw that more as an in the moment reaction on Adam’s part tho, they will at the very least think twice about attacking next time because they know there will be repercussions, THAT is the goal of civil rights activism, not to,politely convince people to stop being bigoted, but to show them that their bigotry has consequences, that their oppression would always be resisted,

You know how people are still racist today no matter how many “good things” black people have done in America as a whole? Yeah, that’s evidence enough

Even making someone at Keats not be actively racist doesn’t mean they will suddenly care enough to actually stand up for Faunus rights, even if the fuanus ar e generally viewed better in mistral that doesn’t mean things have changed in a measurable,way because those humans still don’t care enough to actively do anything about it,

Frankly, even if every human on remnant wasn’t racist that still wouldn’t solve racism because racism is built into the institutions themselves, it’s systemic,

Like marrow said most humans simply ignore the Faunus’ plight because they benefit from it, they don’t all have to actively hate the Faunus they just have to not care enough to try and change anything, because honestly? That’s what most people really want, for tomorrow to be more or less the same as yesterday,

"And if they hadn’t died they’d be telling about how some Faunus beat them up,so they should go kill them, or if the Faunus had all not fought back at all, the humans would talk about how “submissive” they all are

But if the humans face consequences for their attempted attack, which I admit doesn’t require killing them, I saw that more as an in the moment reaction on Adam’s part tho, they will at the very least think twice about attacking next time because they know there will be repercussions, THAT is the goal of civil rights activism, not to,politely convince people to stop being bigoted, but to show them that their bigotry has consequences, that their oppression would always be resisted,"

That's exactly why Sienna had Adam retaliate. Keeps them safe and dissuades the humans from attacking them again. BUT, killing crosses a line that may lead to hate instead of fear.

That's exactly what happened with Adam. He generated hate instead of fear, and that hate led to even more violence against the Faunus instead of less.

"You know how people are still racist today no matter how many “good things” black people have done in America as a whole? Yeah, that’s evidence enough"

You know how many of those people outright deny that black people have done good things in America? Legitimately most of them just straight up don't even know American history and therefore don't know how African Americans have benefited America.

"Even making someone at Keats not be actively racist doesn’t mean they will suddenly care enough to actually stand up for Faunus rights, even if the fuanus ar e generally viewed better in mistral that doesn’t mean things have changed in a measurable,way because those humans still don’t care enough to actively do anything about it,"

If you're not racist, chances are you're not gonna, you know, support racism. If racism falls out of favor the people are gonna want to vote for racists less, leading to less racists in power. People don't vote for people they don't agree with.

"Frankly, even if every human on remnant wasn’t racist that still wouldn’t solve racism because racism is built into the institutions themselves, it’s systemic,"

If every human on Remnant wasn't racist then systemic racism would be a lot harder to pull off because people aren't gonna let that system exist, they'll vote for people who don't support that system.

"Like marrow said most humans simply ignore the Faunus’ plight because they benefit from it, they don’t all have to actively hate the Faunus they just have to not care enough to try and change anything, because honestly? That’s what most people really want, for tomorrow to be more or less the same as yesterday,"

Atlesians do actually benefit from racism, because they're not the ones working manual labor. Atlas has a much larger problem of classicism. Everyone on Atlas benefits from the plights of Mantle, because they're the upper class. That's why Robyn doesn't follow the same lesson the White Fang does, because proving them wrong doesn't matter if they benefit from it.

Mistral is a different story.

Mistral is pretty fucking poor and doesn't have the SDC. To most, there is nothing to gain from being racist. That's why being proven wrong may actually make a difference.

But for Atlas? Robyn's methods are glorified, because she's right in this case. Convincing the higher up won't do anything because they benefit from it, and Atlas holds the power, so there's no reason to bother. Mistral is completely different from that. Mistral doesn't have the SDC or slavery, it has segregation.

Segregation that exists not because it benefits but because of racism that has already been spread. Disproving that racism will do a lot more if there's nothing to gain by being racist.

People that just want the same thing won't vote anyway.

#rwby #white fang

[shannonrawls]

Stream Sponsor: $10.00 @BlackWolf Inc (thank you kindly! 🙏🏾) __________________________ “The Book of Obsidian: The Ladies Edition” chapter 7: The Plight of the Black Plain Jane chapter 8: The Curse of the Eternal Seven $25.00 @ AMAZON: https://amzn.to/3lJNAwI written by: @Mumia Obsidian Ali Ladies: You've asked for it and now you've got it! Be careful what you wish for... Fresh off the success of his debut "The Book of Obsidian: A Manual for the 21st Century Black American Gentleman", Mumia Obsidian Ali continues the raw truth telling about the state of "Black Love" out on these streets - and this time around, it's the ladies turn! In "The Book of Obsidian: The Ladies Edition", Ali dares to tell the lovely ladies what so many others in the Black Love business simply will not, in no uncertain terms! Far too many of the "experts" in the Black Love Machine won't tell the ladies the bleedingly obvious reasons for how and why they're having such a tough time out on the 21st century Black America dating and mating landscape - and the proof of this fact is borne out by the ladies themselves being increasingly dissatisfied with their prospects, romantic and relationship outcomes. After more than a decade of the most intense research and study, "The Book of Obsidian: The Ladies Edition" was written in direct response and goes where no one has gone before! If you're a 21st century Black American lady and want to get your Black Love game back on track, read "The Book of Obsidian: The Ladies Edition" - if you dare! TOGETHER…. WE ARE GOING TO READ THIS BOOK! Let’s go… #MumiaObsidianAli #BlackWomen #KnowYourWorthKing #ShannonRawls #RichPeopleRead Grab yourself a copy of this book here… $25.00 @ AMAZON: https://amzn.to/3lJNAwI (always buy the physical book so you can start building your home/mansion library) Want to talk about it LIVE? CLICK THIS LINK if you'd like a seat at the table and get in on the discussion ☎️ : http://AAR.ShannonRawls.com ~ Fashion’ing • Producing • Conversat’ing...📍L.A. ~ Motivator • Realist • Father • Nupe👌🏾 • Fitness Fanatic ~ https://bit.ly/ShannonRawls __________________________ Support the channel here 🙏🏾 : CashApp • http://Cash.app/$ShannonRawls PayPal • http://PayPal.ShannonRawls.com T-Shirts I’m Wearing: https://barzRAW.com MEMBERS: WE WANT YOU! 👈🏾 Enlist now in the S.R. ARMY and become a combat soldier. From Army Reservists to a Special Forces soldier, take yourself to the next level in this War of Life! JOIN OUR YOUTUBE MEMBERSHIP NOW: http://join.ShannonRawls.com CHAT CONTEST WINNER: If you won the LIVE Chat Contest during this broadcast, please send an email to [email protected] to redeem your prize. Your prize expires in 24 hours from this video date. Message on social media 📱 : SIDEBAR Discussions • https://www.facebook.com/groups/ShannonRawls Instagram • https://instagram.com/ShannonRawls Facebook • https://facebook.com/ShannonRawls Clubhouse • https://Clubhouse.com/@ShannonRawls Twitter • https://twitter.com/ShannonRawls LinkedIn • https://linkedin.com/in/ShannonRawls Pinterest • https://pinterest.com/ShannonRawls Email 📧 • [email protected] __________________________ If you are a new listener to Rich People Read, we would love to hear from you. Please visit http://ShannonRawls.com/Contact and let us know how we can help you today! *** Do not download, screen-record, screenshot, copy or otherwise record the content on this channel, including this video, without express written permission from Rawls Enterprises. Email us for request & authorization. *** by Shannon Rawls ☝🏾

#YouTube

[robertreich]

A THANKSGIVING TOAST

Friends,If your family and friends are anything like mine, there will be a lot of talk today over turkey. Some of it will be gossip. Some of it, about sports or jokes or jobs or plans. 

But some of your guests (perhaps even you) will want to talk about the distressing state of the nation and the world.Your cousin Sue worries about climate change and how little was accomplished in Glasgow. Your Trumpish uncle Bob can’t keep his mouth shut about Biden’s failures in Afghanistan and at the border. Your son Jared, back from college, wants to talk about systemic racism. Your friend Sid can’t stop worrying about the pandemic, or assault weapons, or hate crimes, or near-record inequality, or the opioid epidemic, or soaring homelessness, or voter suppression. Your daughter Sarah chimes in about the continuing menace of Donald Trump and lawmakers too timid to stand up to him.

All reasons for concern (except for those of your Trumpish uncle Bob), but I’d hope someone at your table also notes that America has gone through worse times, and have in some ways emerged better.

When I graduated college in 1968, I thought America would never recover. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated, as had Robert F. Kennedy. Our cities were burning. Tens of thousands of young Americans (including several friends) were being ordered to Vietnam to fight an unwinnable and unjust war that ultimately claimed over 58,000 American lives and the lives of over 3 million Vietnamese. The nation was deeply and angrily divided. Young people were tear-gassed at the Democratic National Convention. And then in November of that year, Richard Nixon was elected president. 

But we did recover. We enacted the Environmental Protection Act. Eventually we achieved marriage equality for gays and lesbians. We elected a Black man president of the United States. We passed the Affordable Care Act. In 2018 we elected a record number of women, people of color, and LGBTQ representatives to Congress, including the first Muslim women.​ ​Eighteen states raised their minimum wages. In 2020, Trump was sent packing, and Democrats took over the Senate and the House.

COVID was a horror but Congress created a safety net that prevented millions from falling into deep poverty because of it. More than 70 percent of us are now vaccinated against it. We will soon be investing over $1 trillion repairing our crumbling roads and bridges and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. And it seems likely (although hardly a certainty) that American families will get help with childcare and universal pre-K, and more.

What about the future? No one can tell, but there are some reasons for optimism. For one thing, we are on our way toward becoming a nation of startling diversity. ​Most Americans under 18 are now people of color. ​In ten years, most under ​35​ will be. In thirty years, most of us. That diversity will be a huge source of strength — as our growing diversity has strengthened us since our founding.

For another, our young people are determined to make America and the world better. I've been teaching for 40 years and I've never taught a generation of students as dedicated to public service and as committed to improving the nation and the world, as the generation I'm now teaching. 

I should also point out that ​60 percent of today’s college students are women​, an astounding achievement. It portends more women in leadership positions – in science, politics, education, nonprofits, and in corporate suites. This will also be a great boon to America, and the world.

I’m no technophile but I can’t help being impressed by what science and technology are accomplishing, such as the COVID vaccines that have saved countless lives, and solar and wind energy sources that are rapidly replacing carbon fuels. With the right laws and incentives, science and technology could solve many more of the problems that plague the nation and the world.

I don't want to minimize our current plight. I’m deeply worried about climate change, systemic racism, and growing attacks on our democracy. I’m not going to tell any of my friends or relatives over dinner today that they’re wrong to feel angry or to despair. 

But I will remind them of this nation’s resilience, and the many ways the future could be bright. And when we raise our glasses for a toast, I will ask that they never give up fighting for a more just society. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

#thanksgiving #america

[bfpnola]

Remember: acknowledging privilege is not an attack, but rather a clarion call to use your privilege to amplify marginalized voices. White denial actively contributes to the structural racism many underprivileged groups are forced to deal with everyday from the moment they are born to the very moment they die, often even after they’re gone really. White denial kills. Use your privilege for good and stand up for what’s right.

White people, please especially reblog.

Click here for over 930 free social justice, mental health, and academic resources consistently updated throughout the year. 

Stay safe and educate! ✊🏽

ID: All slides are navy blue with white text.

Slide 1: “So you want to talk about White Denial”

Slide 2: “White Denial. Antiracism education Tim Wise put it best: ‘I can think of no other way to say this, so here goes: white people need to pull our heads out of our collective ass.’ White denial -- the denial of racism. Of systemic inequalities. Of police brutalities. Of injustices. Of the plight of others on a very basic human level -- has gotten out of hand. We must address it.”

Slide 3: “Ibram X. Kendi once wrote that ‘the heartbeat of racism is denial.’ Kendi wrote, ‘When our reality is too ugly, we deny reality. It is too painful to look at. Reality is too hard to accept.’ America’s reality has been ugly forever, but with the help of smartphones and the internet, that ugliness is accessible to almost everyone. We have witnessed, time and time again, videos of Black men, women, and children being berated, beaten, and killed by police. We have watched press conferences of families of these victims; we have lived through one mass protest after another -- Ferguson, New York City, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Oakland, Chicago, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Louisville; we have heard their names -- Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Sam Dubose, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Jamar Clark, Jeremy McDole, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others... there is absolutely no denying the pain. We must stop denying the reality.”

Slide 4: “Experts theorize that denial occurs in linear, progressive stages. These types of denial include the following: Denial of fact (’That’s not true’), Denial of awareness (’I had no idea’), Denial of responsibility (’It’s not my fault’), and Denial of impact (’That wasn’t my intention’).”

Slide 5: “Denial of Fact. White people regularly deny facts surrounding racism, some of which include: 

White privilege is real

The system was built for and by white men

Slavery still exists within American society

Police brutality

Racism is apparent in every single level of our society

How to combat this: A number of factors explain why people may hold false beliefs. One of which is confirmation bias. This occurs when we tend to look for and interpret information in ways that conform to our existing beliefs. If someone is denying facts, simply encouraging them to process information in a more conscious, unemotional and unbiased manner is all we can do.”

Slide 6: “Denial of Awareness: White people often claim ignorance about topics that there is simply no way of not knowing. For example, “I had no idea that racism was still this bad” - how? There is a difference between genuine ignorance of a situation and willful ignorance. Willful ignorance occurs when we choose to ignore something because it makes us uncomfortable or challenges our ideas of what is normal or acceptable. Let’s just be honest: there is no way to avoid the reality of racism in this country. It has enveloped itself into every corner of our society. To deny knowledge of it is simply unfathomable.”

Slide 7: “Denial of Responsibility: “Let’s talk about structural racism. ‘Structural Racism in the U.S. is the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics -- historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal -- that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy -- the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Arab and other racially oppressed people.’ White people come from a place of privilege simply because of the color of their skin. If you are trying to be actively antiracist, it is your responsibility to utilize your privilege to shut down amongst other white people.”

Slide 8: “Denial of Impact: Denying the impact that one’s words or actions have had on another person -- specifically in the sense of the racism and discrimination -- is a common scenario. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’ ‘in discussions about the definition of racism, white people will frequently argue that a particular statement or action does not constitute racism because racism was not intended. Intentionality is irrelevant. It is the impact of the action on the targeted person or group that is to be considered and take precedent.’ Self-accountability is important in every aspect of our lives, especially when it comes to taking ownership of our words and actions. Recognizing our own impact on others is vital.”

Slide 9: “Your denial has consequences. By denying the experiences of BIPOC, you are contributing to the racist system in which we all exist in. By refusing to accept racial injustices as a reality, you are subsequently supporting them and raising them up. By denying the fact that the system automatically provides privilege and power to you simply because of the color of your skin, you are minimizing the very real reality that your skin might not be a target for you, but it certainly is for others. By denying the fact that police brutality is a problem in this country and countering ‘Black Lives Matter’ with ‘All Lives Matter,’ you are simply refusing to live in the same reality as the rest of us. Your denial and inaction allows racism to live on. Denial fans the flames of racism.”

Slide 10: “Racism, racial inequality, and persistent racial discrimination are embedded into the core of America. The longer that white people refuse to acknowledge the reality that we are all living in, the longer that racism and hatred will persist.”

End ID.

#white privilege #black lives matter #blm #gen z #millenial #racism #antiracism #social injustice #good trouble #human rights #denial #poc #bipoc #history #america #police brutality #privilege

[antoine-roquentin]

Harold Cruse, in his uneven but at turns insightful 1967 polemic, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, wrote that “no literary or cultural movement today can be truly and effectively radical unless it presents a definitive critique of the entire cultural apparatus of America.” This line comes to mind whenever I read any of the recent wave of declarations of a new Black Renaissance, which tend to be rooted in the visibility (fame), white institutional acknowledgment (award nominations), and compensation (book sales, TV and film deals) of a select few rather than in any collective progress or societal shift. This supposed renaissance seems manufactured, bought and paid for, distinctly establishment. It has co-opted the language of radicalism and revolution without any of the moral underpinnings.

Cruse’s observations reverberated during the culture wars of the 1980s and ’90s. Thirty years ago, both Cornel West and Henry Louis Gates Jr. reshaped notions of the Black public intellectual and the scholar as celebrity. They joined forces at Harvard University in the hope of reinvigorating the public significance of Black intellectual culture just as some of the more gnostic ideas of race, identity, and culture (signifying, anti-essentialism, intersectionality) gained pop-cultural significance. The “Black Renaissance” of the ’80s and ’90s went by a variety of names, but was best captured by Trey Ellis’s “new black aesthetic,” an attempt to capture the rise of Black writers, artists, and musicians emerging in the wake of left-leaning, nationalistic Black cultural politics.

Gates and West were as much a part of this movement as more recognizable figures like Spike Lee and and musical acts like Public Enemy. Indeed, the professors parlayed their unprecedented visibility into conventional academic metrics of success, like programs and centers. But they also appeared frequently on talk shows, signed commercial book deals, made rap albums and movie appearances, and eventually produced television shows. Was their use of the celebrity spotlight an abandonment of Cruse’s “radical critique,” or was it an important front in an ongoing culture war? Or something in between?

Looked at from the vantage of 2021, academic celebrity — hypervisibility and mainstream popularity — has shifted the metric by which we measure intellectual success. Over the years, our Black celebrity intellectuals have tended to measure success by what white people value.

White people can afford the titillating delusion of Black radicalism and renaissance — they traffic in Black celebrity intellectuals and mascots, whom they promote to validate their own moral innocence as well as their bona fides as allies. It’s almost literally the least they can do. They can also use these mascots to antagonize and browbeat their “bad” white counterparts. It’s a tired act, but it makes for profitable theater.

But Black mascots excite Black people only so much, which explains the vastly different reactions I get from friends and colleagues by race. Many of the white ones are eager and beaming when they discuss the Amanda Gormans (and non-Black minorities like Lin-Manuel Mirandas) of the world. My Black friends and colleagues are far more cynical and frustrated. Their prevailing sentiment is that we have too much to lose to continue to indulge silliness and empty symbolism. They want collective improvement for Black Americans, not an invitation to root for a metaphorical hero in the latest media-generated movie. They want tangible change, not abstract renaissance.

The new Black Renaissance specializes in shallow personal investigations of identity, television shows and movies marked by clunky dialogue and heavy-handed storylines that seem lifted straight from social media. The Black public intellectuals and establishment radicals specialize in nebulous catchphrases: T-shirt fodder like “Black Excellence” and “Black Girl Magic” (which is also a bottle of wine now), and mumbo jumbo like “Black Abundance.” These slogans and hashtags, which can’t withstand the slightest scrutiny, seem tailored for use in dull online culture wars.

Add to that stockpile “go where you are valued, not where you are tolerated.” It’s a damned good quip. Never mind that it’s tone-deaf advice when most Black people lack the option of mobility — and rarely find any evidence of being valued. The quip and the clapback are what’s most prized online. Nuance isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s unwelcome.

It’s no mystery that the discourse, around race, Blackness, progress, politics, policy, is stultified. In step with the right, the left has leaned hard into the politics of identitarian grievance and resentment. Sloganeering plays better than serious intellectual interrogation, as do controversies that give the audience the vicarious thrill of victory over perceived enemies. Traditionally reputable media outlets increasingly default to puff pieces and Access Hollywood-style profiles of individual Black “creatives.” This neoliberal take on conservative exceptionalism highlights the accomplishments of a handful, sans context. Declarations of a renaissance are preferable to investigating the plight of the collective. In this way, the sensibilities of the white gatekeepers and white audience mold and constrict the field of Black thought. When they’re handing out Pulitzers for Black meditations on mustaches, you get down or lay down.

This has created a bottleneck effect among Black public intellectuals, who are competing to make the same obvious points about the most accessible issues, and to argue passionately against the most extreme foils. It incentivizes shamelessness, self-promotion, and shallow discourse. Self-critique has fallen by the wayside. For example, when Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, offered her dubious rationalizations about buying up millions of dollars of personal real estate despite being a Marxist, the Black-public-intellectual class was nowhere to be found. I saw a couple of softball interviews, including one in which an apologist dismissed the very legitimate criticism and questions about integrity and misallocation of resources as right-wing attacks that surfaced because “we’re winning.” Never mind that some of the criticism came from the families of victims of police murder. If this is what winning looks like, how do I quit the team?

As traditional institutions and political processes fail us, we turn with greater frequency to reality-show-styled celebrity figures to seek vicarious victories in place of the policy changes that result in legitimate collective uplift. The slogans and hashtags entrench us in the politics of resentment. They offer little more than schadenfreude. Those who use intersectionality as a cudgel conveniently forget that many things can be true at once. Instead, they lean into a selective, opportunistic, Manichean morality: If you are against ___, you must agree with the bad person on the other side. And so the foil sets the agenda.

[miskatonicaquarium]

Weird Fiction/Cosmic Horror Recommends

In a time of general uncertainty and anxiety, one thing that is certain is that weird fiction/cosmic horror has got your back. If you like to combat your growing sense of existential dread by reading about other people’s growing sense of existential dread, this is a list for you. Where texts and shows are available online, I have included links. Where they are not, I have included links to where they are available to buy.

Books

Agents of Dreamland – Caitlin R Kiernan

Government agents, ritual murders, a doomsday cult and a glitch in NASA’s interplanetary probe all feature in this deeply frightening and deftly written novella that takes classic Lovecraftian tropes and expands on them with mesmerising skill.

Wanderers – Chuck Wendig

When a sleepwalking epidemic hits America, those affected head towards a destination known only to themselves. Desperate to keep their loved ones safe, ‘shepherds’ follow the growing group to protect them on their journey. This is an incredibly rewarding read stuffed full of complex characters, apocalyptic horror and a long hard look at human nature.

Winter Tide – Ruthanna Emrys

After the government raid on Innsmouth, Aphra and Caleb Marsh are the only inhabitants of the town to survive the desert internment camps. When confidential, dangerous magic is stolen from Miskatonic University, the FBI are forced to turn to the last of the Marsh’s for help. An evocative and sympathetic novel that takes the antagonists of Lovecraft’s works and paints them in a new light.

The Fisherman – John Langan

This is considered to be a modern classic of the genre and for good reason. It’s best to go into this one as blind as possible so I’ll just leave you with this little quote: "I know Dutchman's Creek runs deep, much deeper than it could or should, and I don't like to think what it's full of."

Carter and Lovecraft – Jonathan L. Howard

A homicide detective turned Private Investigator finds himself embroiled with the last known descendant of H.P Lovecraft, Emily Lovecraft. When deaths that have an eerie resemblance to the writing of Emily’s ancestor begin to plague the area, the investigator finds himself drawn into a world he thought didn’t exist beyond fiction.

Rosewater – Tade Thompson

The first in an award-winning trilogy that blends science fiction into the weird in near future Nigeria. When an alien biodome manifests in the landscape, a select group of people in the surrounding area begin developing psychic abilities. A winding, disturbing tale with an original setting, voice and characters; this is the perfect read for those looking for a fresh take on the genre.  

North American Lake Monsters: Stories – Nathan Ballingrud

I am hugely obsessed with this – Ballingrud uses tropes and characters we are all familiar with and uses them to tell stories that shed light on the plight of rural, poverty-stricken America. He is a masterful author with a true gift for atmospheric writing (‘Late summer pressed onto this small Mississippi coastal town like the heel of a boot. The heat was an act of violence.’) and this collection will appeal to fans of Ligotti and Barron as well as those who are unfamiliar with the genre.

The Ballad of Black Tom – Victor LaValle

This is essentially a retelling of Lovecraft’s The Horror at Red Hook (but without the blatant racism, hooray!). A slow burn, cosmic horror noir featuring a who’s who of the Cthulhu Mythos, for those interested in the genre who do not get on with Lovecraft’s writing or the man himself, this is an excellent way to get all the good stuff without the bad.

Anthologies

A Lonely and Curious Country: Tales from the land of Lovecraft

Seventeen stories about Lovecraftian horrors in the most unusual of places. Lots of these work as mini-sequels to Lovecraft’s original stories so this is a good companion for those familiar with his work.

Lovecraft Unbound

As I’ve said before, Ellen Datlow is a powerhouse of anthology editing. Featuring a great spread of familiar mythos faces and more thematic takes on the genre, Lovecraft Unbound is one of the best collections out there.

Book of Cthulhu

There are a couple of these! All feature some of the best contemporary authors writing weird fiction. Quality of individual stories sometimes varies in Lovecraftian anthologies but that is not the case here. The first is particularly good as it also contains stories from older, more obscure writers who are hard to get in print.

Shadows of Carcosa

Twelve short stories that feature everything from the land of carcosa to the traditionally Lovecraftian setting of the cursed hills of New England. All of these are shorts written by classic writers such as Poe, Stoker, Bierce, Chambers and Blackwood.

Lovecraft’s Monsters

Another collection edited by Datlow. This one is particularly fun as it features illustrations, as well as a story by Neil Gaiman. Lovecraft’s Monsters is amongst my favourite of the anthologies as it is based solely around the creatures that crawl and squirm through the mythos. It’s also available as an audiobook!

Children of Lovecraft

Fourteen short stories including authors like Stephen Graham Jones, Orrin Grey, Caitlin R. Kiernan and Livia Llewellyn. Full of body horror, dread, surrealism and one of the best opening sentences to any short story.

She Walks in Shadows

A monumental, fascinating collection comprised of exclusively female authors. Offering a long overdue look at and development of the female aspects of the mythos, this collection gives a voice to the previously unheard. For those looking for a diverse, original and often deeply disturbing reading experience, this is your anthology.

Available online for free

The Lovecraft Ezine has a great archive here of all its previous issues

Weird Fiction Review is an excellent resource for online fiction – both excerpts from books and stand-alone short stories.

The Online Books page has direct links to the issues of Weird Tales magazine published between 1923 – 192. 

TOR.COM is an amazing resource for all kinds of science fiction and fantasy shorts. This is a link specifically to Lovecraftian fiction. There’s also lots of interesting things to read under the tag cosmic horror here.

Graphic Novels

Fatale - Sex, violence, cults, cosmic horror, imaginative period settings and gorgeous artwork. Fatale is one of the best comics set in the mythos out there.

Locke and Key - Many of you will be familiar with Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s hugely popular (and now televised) series focused on a house above a portal to the plains of Leng.

Harrow County - Creepy, rural-based, folk horror series centred on a young woman who finds herself to be joined to the forest and the land in ways she could never have imagined.

The Squidder - A postapocalyptic Lovecraftian mess, I have included this because it is worth buying for the artwork alone. Ben Templesmith is an acquired taste but an incredibly talented illustrator whose work is uniquely suited to the mythos.

I have talked about these several times before but it is always worth checking out I.N.J Culbard’s graphic novel adaptations of Lovecraft’s stories, as well as the two anthologies that were released several years ago.

*** 

Films – Cosmic Horror

I have linked to the trailers for each of these, some are classics you will know, some are new. 

The Colour out of Space 

Die Fabre

The Dunwich Horror

The Endless

Event Horizon

The Void

Europa Report

Black Mountain Side 

Films – Folk Horror

The Ritual

They Remain

The White Reindeer

Night of the Demon 

Apostle

More generally, some good online resources for old/weird/out of print books are

Project Gutenberg – an online library of over 60,000 books in the public domain

Internet Archive – a great resource for obscure books (particularly historical)

Europeana – items from Europe’s galleries, museums, libraries and archives

Digital Public Library of America – similar to Europeana, but for America

Classic Literature – lots of 19th century gothic goodness in particular, but great for all the classics too!

And when it all gets too much and you feel like being your own creeping dread,  Here is a link to a fun game where you can be the rats in the walls. 

#this is an extremely long post y'all my apologies #lovecraft #weird fiction #book recommends #eldritch reads #cthulhu mythos #film recommends #graphic novels #lovecraftian #hp lovecraft

[el-oh-her]

You CAN be oppressed for being Christian. You CANT be opressed for being white: an opinion from a religion student

Okay so obviously the first thing you’re gonna want to say is how I’m wrong and just whining. That’s just an indication you don’t actually care what I have to say. 

SO, let’s talk about this distinction. 

Christians 

You CAN be oppresed as a christianity. It has happened. A bunch of times throughout history! When Christianity emerged it was an oppressed group in Rome. In Japan christians were being tortured and executed for their faith in paranoia of losing parts of their culture (fearing culteral erasure is a valid fear, murdering people is still wrong). People moved to mainland america BECAUSE they were christians fleeing religious opression. 

The fish symbol 

This, was a symbol for christians to identify each other in secret. 

Even in America it has happened. When the Irish were fleeing the famine, a lot migrated to the United States and one of the many reasons they were not liked was because the majority of them were Catholics. Catholics historically have had a terrible time in the united states, and are often blamed for a LOT of shit. JFK and Amy Coney Barret (look I don’t like the lady but it did happen with her) both faced an unusual line of questioning regarding their catholic faith that was not obersved with protestants who were applying for the same position. There’s a reason why Catholics will distinguish themselves from christians, because again it’s an idenity that unites them. So, even within the christian faith, there is a denomination that isn’t exactly loved. 

Now, it’s worth to note this hate of Catholics comes from centuries of catholic opression in europe. So, is the anger unfounded? No. Does that mean everyone should be nice to catholics? NO. It’s the catholic’s job to be better than their ancestors, and if they’re not doing that, then they’re just as much as apart of the problem. 

This same thing applies to modern christains in America. The hate and distrust towards them is due to 200 years of being oppressive. So, is the anger unfounded? No. Does that mean you should just be nice to christians? NO. If they are being assholes, they are just as bad as their ancestors. 

There are christians who are not like the shit you see on TV, I promise. But don’t be nice to ANYONE who’s an asshole because they belong to one group or another. That’s just life. There is no community that will ever absolve you from being an asshole. But also, don’t be mean to a christian just because that’s what they are. Don’t be mean to anyone because they’re apart of one group or another. That’s just not nice. And no one is going to be able to get along if you’re just mean, even if it is a group that has been on top historically. A kind person is a kind person at the end of the day, and a mean one is a mean one. 

And just to note: if someone is debating whether or not human rights belong to one group or another, that is not a nice person. I know plenty of christians (for example) who are very pro choice, pro gay, pro women, pro science etc. You don’t have to like someone if they really believe that your human rights aren’t necessary. 

Are christians being oppressed in America right now? No. No they are not. The WORST thing happening is that genuine practioners are going to have to navigate the social sphere with the lasting effect christian conservative radicles. That is a challenge that christians will just have to deal with, and is a result of letting shit like this get out of hand. 

So to conclude: Christians can and have historically been opressed, but they aren’t currently being opressed in America. 

White

Now, I am sure that after offending the liberal side, now the conservative side is angry because I said you can’t be oppressed for being white. 

Here is the important distinction: You can be a white person who has faced opression, but that opression will never be because you are white. 

The concept of whiteness is not an old concept. It’s emergence was to “other” certain minority groups. It only exists to create a distinction between groups, most noteably the difference between white and POC. 

Because when you think about it, what even is white? “White” is basically an umbrella term for “Pale skinned, usually european, usually protestant, usually straight, usually wealthy” or “Pale skinned americans who are usually european, usually protestant, usually straight, usually wealthy.” There is a white culture, but not in the way we usually talk about culture. It’s exclusionary at its base, and anyone who fits the bar gains all the benefits of being white. 

Like I hate to be that gal, but if I were asked to describe a white person I would say “A white, straight, protestant, billionare man from the south.” And that doesn’t exist for no reason. Historically, (besides the south part) the white straight protestant wealthy man was a pinacale american, and it’s only through the fight for human rights that the tearm has broadened enough to where being white is mostly just being pale. Like, make no mistake, today the only checkbox you have to tick is looking white, and you’re going to be able to go far. 

White supremecy is often tied to american patriotism. So let’s look at the things that people have said that makes others unamerican, or what is considered the socially undesireable in America in the eyes of white supremecists 

Being Gay 

Being transgender 

Not adhereing to gender binaries 

Being Mulsim 

Being Jewish 

Being homeless  

Being poor 

(in history) being a woman 

Feminine men 

Men wearing skirts and dresses 

Being black 

Being mexican 

Fighting for Social Justice 

Speaking languages that are not English (ASL excluded, since I’ve never seen it, but feel free to comment) 

So, if these are the things that the white supremecists point as unamerican or undeseraible, it’s an indication that these are qualities that are considered “not white” That is the closest thing we can get to white culture--a culture based on exclusion. 

In modern day, being white can get you far. It’s important to know that historically, being white alone wasn’t enough. we know this from the Irish who were catholic, and poor and fleeing a famine. White was this VIP club that was nearly impossible to get into. 

So, if being White is this exclusionary club that only emerged to other minority groups, then you can’t opresss it. “White” is synonomous with “Oppressor” because of this historical context. What this means is that IF people were being prejuduced for being nothing but white, they wouldn’t be white anymore in this sense. The quality of being white would no longer be something that lets you into the this exclusive club. 

And also, white people will NEVER be oppressed because that’s not really how society WORKS anymore. In a dystopic novel MAYBE, but in reality, all the oppressed groups aren’t like “kill all white people” but are rather like “hey, how about white people and anyone that’s not a white people be treated exactly the same socially and systemically.” Do you know how much WORK it would take to systematically oppress white people? Do you really think, that the people who want diveristy want to kick white people out of the circle? No! No! That’s NOT how it works! Diveristy is for everyone, even white people because guess what: there is more to you than being just WHITE! 

You have an ethnicity that’s not white. You’re irish, or german, or french or African or something!!!. Just fucking pick one and be proud of being THAT and not an idenity that literally exists to oppress. Being proud of being AMERICAN isn’t a fucking bad thing, being proud ot be WHITE is. 

Even if you are rich, male, straight, cisgender, and protestant, those are all still groups you belong to that can harmoniously co-exist with other groups. 

BLACK people have a black culture because, ding dong, white people took them and enslaved them. They don’t have the privlage of knowing their ethnic origin, and were FORCED to make a whole ass new one. THAT’S why there’s a black culture. It’s a direct result of white oppression, so quit bitching about it. 

PEOPLE OF COLOR have united to create a culture becuse of 2 CENTURIES of being othered by WHITE PEOPLE. THAT’S why they have a culture. Pan Indianism is a result of dumbass white people grouping them all together and stupidly thinking they’re all the same. They united in solidarity because it was the only way to keep a fragment of their idenity. The White Idenity has always tried to destory anything that doesn’t fit Whiteness. 

Why, fucking WHY would you want to be proud of that? 

You can be white and face oppression for being gay, trans, a woman, poor, akward or anything at all. YOUR SKIN COLOR WILL NEVER EVER BE THE REASON WHY YOU’RE BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY.  YOUR SKIN COLOR WILL NEVER MAKE LIFE MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOU. YOUR SKIN IS A PRIVLAGE. I don’t care how much you don’t want to believe it: it will never be becuase you’re white. It will be because of something else. 

In Summery: The concept of white is inherently tied to the concept of oppresssion, since they’ve historically tried (sometimes succesfully) to obliterate other cultures that don’t fit the white aesthetic. You cannot oppress something that’s was literally created to oppress, and is not an idenity worth being proud of. 

The conclusion 

As much as it feels like Christians can’t be oppressed, the fact of the matter is that the religion was not designed or intended to oppress others, and have been historically oppressed. That’s what makes being christian different from being white, because the concept of whiteness emerged as a method of oppression. 

This doesn’t mean you should just be nice to christians because they’re christians. An asshole is an asshole, no matter what idenities they wear. Also, christians aren’t currently being oppressed. The “plights” that the radicales think they’re facing are more so just like, the USA being secular and not appealing to them. 

I feel like they often get mixed together because of how tied up protestantism is with white supremecy. Which is fair, as being protestant is a part of this exclusionary white culture. 

Disclaimer: As I have said many many times, this is not a post that is like “Stop being mean to christians!!!!” An asshole is an asshole. Don’t be nice to people who don’t believe in your human rights. Don’t be nice to people just because they belong to this group or that group. This post, also several times, has stated that in the current climate, christians are not being oppressed, not in the slightest. So when you read about some christian talking about their oppression, it’s most likely the American Government being secular, and refusing to bend for the christian agenda. 

This post’s goal was to show you the distinction between christianity and whiteness, and most importantly show the real enemy: white supremicists. 

[leviathangourmet]

(Archive Link)

I recently attended a Washington-D.C. event focused on community-building hosted by The Aspen Institute’s Weave project, which works to reduce social isolation and build bonds between Americans. During one portion of the event, various activists described how racism had impacted their lives and their communities. Following a number of such testimonials, a white woman from southeast Ohio named Sarah Adkins spoke about her own community work, which involves raising money to provide post-trauma support to individuals affected by tragedies.

Perhaps because several speakers had discussed racism and issues related to white privilege, Adkins spoke about her own self-perceived racial privilege. “I followed the perfect mold…I did all the things, I went to college, and I keep thinking of white privilege in my head so forgive me, that’s what’s in my head right now, very much white privilege,” she said, while reflecting on her middle class life in an affluent neighborhood.

But Adkins also went on to describe the reason she originally had become involved in community work—which is that her then-husband had killed both of her sons and then later took his own life. One can only imagine how much suffering this caused her. Yet she still viewed herself as privileged due to her race.

“I was wealthy, okay, I was a pharmacist, I made a lot of money, right? So after that happened, I really wanted to understand that for me there definitely was a lot of white privilege. I had money, I had health insurance, so people came in and cleaned up my house. I was able to pay for a funeral for my children,” she said.

I wondered how someone who’d lived through such an awful tragedy could consider themselves to be in any way “privileged.” Yes, she had the funding to clean up her home and bury her relatives. But nearly everybody has at least some advantages in life. It feels perverse for someone who has suffered so much to be confessing their perceived advantages.

When activists and academics invoke the phrase “white privilege,” they typically are speaking of advantages that whites, on average, have over members of other ethnic minority groups in our society. And there is no doubt that racial inequality is both real and persistent in the United States, where I live, and elsewhere. There is a sizable racial wealth gap, a life expectancy gap, and an incarceration gap. Many of America’s most pressing social problems disproportionately harm people from minority groups.

But there is a danger that, by talking about this inequality as an all-consuming phenomenon, we will end up creating a flattened and unfair image that portrays all whites in all situations and all contexts as benefiting from unearned advantages. Indeed, it’s possible that we will cause people to confuse a structural inequality that exists on the level of group average with the circumstances of every individual within a particular racial group.

In the case of Adkins’s tragic story, it’s not even clear that being white in any way constituted a form of privilege. Recent research has found a huge surge in white working-class suicides. In 2017, whites in the United States had a suicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000; for Hispanics, that rate was 6.9; for African-Americans, it was 6.9. The only group with a higher suicide rate than whites was Native Americans, at 22.2.

The phenomenon of suicide is not perfectly understood, but it is generally believed that loneliness and alienation are driving factors. Whites in America tend (on average) to be more culturally individualistic, while those from other groups tend (again, on average) to exhibit more collectivist social values. The group of which I am part, Asian-Americans, would be “privileged” on this index, since our rate (6.6) is well below that of whites. But would it really be wise for me to tackle the social problem of suicide by zooming in on some idea of “Asian privilege?”

In fact, research recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology suggests that such an approach wouldn’t just be unhelpful. It would actually be harmful.

I recently interviewed Erin Cooley, a psychology professor and lead researcher at Colgate University, about her research for Greater Good magazine. She studies prejudice and structural inequality and her research has illuminated the ways in which persistent racism continues to negatively impact the lives of racial minorities in America. A study she recently published, for instance, shows how participants were more likely to associate poverty with blacks as opposed to whites. Her team found that this association helps predict opposition toward policies that involve economic redistribution, since it is widely believed that these policies benefit blacks over whites.

Her team was curious about the impact of teaching people about white privilege. Would it make people more sympathetic toward poor blacks? As part of their research, Cooley and her colleagues offered study participants a reading on white privilege—based partly on the seminal work of Peggy McIntosh, who originally formulated the concept in the 1980s—and then described to them the plight of a hypothetical man, identified as either white or black, who is down on his luck.

What the researchers found is that among social liberals—i.e., participants who had indicated that they hold liberal beliefs about social issues—reading a text about white privilege did nothing to significantly increase their sympathy toward the plight of poor blacks. But, as Cooley told me, “it did significantly bump down their sympathy for a [hypothetical] poor white person.” (Among conservative participants, there was observed no significant change in attitudes at all.)

What accounts for this? One possibility is that social liberals are internalizing white-privilege lessons in a way that flattens the image of whites, portraying all of them as inherently privileged. So if a white person is poor, it must be his or her own fault. After all, they’ve had all sorts of advantages in life that others haven’t.

When we talk about racial inequality, it is important to understand that we’re often talking about structural or society-wide averages, not the status of all individuals at all times. It is true, for instance, that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by poverty. That means a higher percentage of African Americans live in poverty as compared to whites. But the largest number of individuals in the United States who live in poverty are white. We can’t, and we shouldn’t, assume anything about any individual’s life solely based on his or her race, or based on larger facts about racial inequality.

Racism exists, of course, and its impact is disproportionately felt by society’s minority populations. I have personally spent a decent chunk of my reporting career documenting this. But the fact that disparate treatment is inflicted on racial minorities doesn’t prove the existence of an all-encompassing pattern of white privilege. “If you’re white, chances are seeing a police officer fills you with one of two things: relief or gratitude,” writes one advocate of a privilege-centric worldview. But around half of the people who are killed every year by U.S. police officers are white. True, police violence falls disproportionately on ethnic minorities, especially African Americans. But if you’re white and you’ve been abused by a police officer, your individual experience may be just as painful as that of a black person who’s suffered similar abuse.

If we extend the logic of privilege beyond the issue of race, it’s easy to see the flaws with this approach. We know, for instance, that 93 percent of people in U.S. federal prisons are men. In nearly every part of the criminal justice system, in fact, men on average have it worse than women do. But does that then mean we should be discussing “female privilege”? Would it be beneficial to the men behind bars for women to proclaim awareness of their “privileged” status?

A typical conservative response to privilege discourse is to downplay the very real inequalities that exist. This isn’t helpful. We can’t escape talking about inequality in a diverse society. For instance, we shouldn’t shy away from looking at high maternal mortality rates among black women and how it may be linked to inadequate cultural competence among medical staff. However, what I would suggest is that we change the way we talk about this inequality. Asking whites to publicly confess their white privilege—in a manner that often resembles a religious ritual more than anything else—may lead us to unfairly flatten the experience of whites while, ironically, actually shifting attention away from those who are underprivileged. The Cooley study shows that this isn’t just a hypothetical concern; it’s a reality that has been demonstrated through research.

One alternative to white-privilege discourse would be to focus on the causes and consequences of deprivation rather than on naming groups of people we believe to hold special advantages—and to stop referring to things that we should expect for all people as “privileges.” It is not a privilege to have a decent and safe childbirth, or avoid harassment by the police, or to have enough to eat. All of those things should be something we expect. While we can and should aggressively address inequality, we should make sure the methods we employ serve to strengthen our sense of empathy rather than sap it.

#social science #social justice #racism #critical race theory #equity #affirmative action #equality #anti-racism #article #faq

[jkottke]

Listening to Black Voices Amid Murder, Violence, Protest, and Pandemic

Hi. I wanted to take today to compile a sampling of what black people (along with a few immigrant and other PoC voices) are saying about the recent murders by police of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the threatening of Christian Cooper with police violence by a white woman, the protests in Minneapolis & other places, and the unequal impact of the pandemic on communities of color, as well as what black voices have said in the past about similar incidents & situations. This is not an exhaustive list of reaction & commentary -- it's just a sample. I'm not going to add anything to these voices, but I will share a few resources at the end of the post.

Please put your urge to judge on the shelf for a minute and just listen to your fellow human beings in all of their raw, righteous, and furious anger. I am trying to listen. Is America finally ready to listen? Are you ready?

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Of Course There Are Protests. The State Is Failing Black People.

This simultaneous collapse of politics and governance has forced people to take to the streets -- to the detriment of their health and the health of others -- to demand the most basic necessities of life, including the right to be free of police harassment or murder.

What are the alternatives to protest when the state cannot perform its basic tasks and when lawless police officers rarely get even a slap on the wrist for crimes that would result in years of prison for regular citizens? If you cannot attain justice by engaging the system, then you must seek other means of changing it. That's not a wish; it's a premonition.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor again reacting to "American billionaires got $434 billion richer during the pandemic":

This looting by billionaires is what sets fires and burns down stores. You do not get one without the other.

Jillian Sloane:

I wish America loved black people the way they love black culture.

Martin Luther King, Jr., The Other America (via Paul Octavious):

I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.

Bakari Sellers (click through to watch the video):

It's just so much pain. You get so tired. We have black children. I have a 15-year-old daughter. What do I tell her? I'm raising a son. I have no idea what to tell him. It's just, it's hard being black in this country when your life is not valued.

Black parents talk to their children about how to deal with the police:

Ruhel Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant and owner of Gandhi Mahal Restaurant, which burned in Minneapolis:

Let my building burn, Justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail.

DiDi Delgado:

In the time between Eric Garner's "I can't breathe" and George Floyd's "I can't breathe" police in the United States killed at least (AT LEAST) 5,947 people. #WeCantBreathe

Ella Baker:

Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons, becomes as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mother's son, we who believe in freedom cannot rest.

Peter Daou:

America, where it's okay to kneel on a black man's neck and murder him, but it's "unpatriotic" to kneel in protest of that murder.

#BlackLivesMatter #TakeAKnee

Luvvie Ajay, About the Weary Weaponizing of White Women Tears:

White people will never have to deal with the fact that their skin is considered a weapon but they use their skins as ammunition by using all the privileges that come with it to terrorize the world. White women use their tears as pity me bombs all the time and it often instigates Black people being punished.

Ajay again:

I've traveled all over the world. And have never felt as unsafe as I do at home, in the United States.

Never.

@jxparisxo:

Can we stop calling it "police brutality" it's murder, M-U-R-D-E-R

Nikole Hannah-Jones, Yes, Black America Fears the Police. Here's Why.:

For those of you reading this who may not be black, or perhaps Latino, this is my chance to tell you that a substantial portion of your fellow citizens in the United States of America have little expectation of being treated fairly by the law or receiving justice. It's possible this will come as a surprise to you. But to a very real extent, you have grown up in a different country than I have.

As Khalil Gibran Muhammad, author of The Condemnation of Blackness, puts it, "White people, by and large, do not know what it is like to be occupied by a police force. They don't understand it because it is not the type of policing they experience. Because they are treated like individuals, they believe that if 'I am not breaking the law, I will never be abused.'"

We are not criminals because we are black. Nor are we somehow the only people in America who don't want to live in safe neighborhoods. Yet many of us cannot fundamentally trust the people who are charged with keeping us and our communities safe.

Jemele Hill:

Trump to the white people with AR-15s throwing a temper tantrum over a haircut -- "Liberate"

Trump to those protesting the lack of justice in Minneapolis -- "THUGS"

A whole, racist clown.

Tarana Burke:

A few years ago me and dude are out and come back to his car to find it vandalized. He parked by a driveway and partially blocked it and we concluded that the owners had vandalized the car. I get pissed and go knock on the door. They don't answer so I'm yelling!

He's telling me to calm down and forget it but I'm pissed! A few minutes later cop car rolls by and they stop and get out. I start to tell them what happened and they walk up on him and immediately start questioning him. I interrupt and say "excuse me HIS car was vandalized!"

The cops tell me to 'be quiet' and just as I'm about to turn all the way up on them he turns to me and says "Baby, please..." firmly. Then he calmly answers the cops questions even though they are rude and invasive. They take his license and keep asking ridiculous questions...

"What are you all doing here?" "Did you get into an altercation earlier tonight?" "If I knock on these people's door what are they going to say?"

I was fuming. Now I'm nervous.

Damon Young, Thoughts on Forgiving Amy Cooper (aka 'Darth Karen'), Who Got Fired, Banned From Central Park, and Lost Her Dog:

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL...

Ibram X. Kendi (via Nicole Parker):

The greatest white privilege is life itself. People of color are being deprived of life.

Dr. Kendi again:

They say they can't be racist because they are northerners. They say they can't be racist because they are progressives. They say they can't be racist because they are Democrats.

Why are they saying they can't be racist? Because they are racist.

Dr. Kendi for a third time (he wrote a whole book about moments like these):

It feels like Black people were running for their lives from racist terror only to run into the murderous face of COVID-19, only to start running for their lives from COVID-19 only to run into the murderous face of racist terror.

Maurice Moe Mitchell:

If you have trouble imagining the concept of "police abolition," look no further than the many live experiments being played out in upper middle class white suburbs across the country where people carry on their lives with little to no interaction with law enforcement.

Ernest Owens, I Have Not Missed the Amy Coopers of the World:

I'm doing better these days because staying home alone and practicing social distancing has meant I'm avoiding many of the racist encounters that used to plague my daily life.

The video that circulated this weekend of a white woman calling the police with a false report about threats by a black man who simply asked her to leash her dog in Central Park illustrates exactly why I'm so happy to be spending more time inside.

Blair Imani:

Murder is worse than property destruction. Every single time. Don't let capitalism fool you.

Ruby Hamad, A White Damsel Leveraged Racial Power and Failed:

The damsel-in-distress archetype probably conjures up images of delicate maidens and chivalrous gentlemen. That is precisely what it is designed to do -- for white people. To people of color, and especially African-Americans who have borne the brunt of her power in the United States, the image is very different. The damsel in distress is an illusion of innocence that deflects and denies the racial crimes of white society.

J. Drew Lanham, Birding While Black:

Up until now the going has been fun and easy, more leisurely than almost any "work" anyone could imagine. But here I am, on stop number thirty-two of the Laurel Falls Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) route: a large black man in one of the whitest places in the state, sitting on the side of the road with binoculars pointed toward a house with the Confederate flag proudly displayed. Rumbling trucks passing by, a honking horn or two, and curious double takes are infrequent but still distract me from the task at hand. Maybe there's some special posthumous award given for dying in the line of duty on a BBS route-perhaps a roadside plaque honoring my bird-censusing skills.

Tyler Merritt, Before You Call the Cops:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

I'll just say it: a lot of politicians are scared of the political power of the police, and that's why changes to hold them accountable for flagrant killings don't happen. That in itself is a scary problem.

We shouldn't be intimidated out of holding people accountable for murder.

Ernest Owens:

BEFORE Y'ALL KEEP GOING: Christian Cooper could have had tattoos on his face, hated birds, been smoking a blunt and listening to Future, and #CentralParkAmy WOULD HAVE STILL BEEN AS GUILTY AND RACIST AND WRONG AF FOR TERRORIZING HIM.

Enough with the respectability politics.

Alicia Crosby:

I really can't shake how profoundly evil it is to tear gas folks protesting the suffocation of a man by the police during a pandemic driven by a respiratory disease.

Charles Blow, How White Women Use Themselves as Instruments of Terror:

At a time of so much death and suffering in this country and around the world from the Covid-19 pandemic, it can be easy, I suppose, to take any incidents that don't result in death as minor occurrences.

But they aren't. The continued public assault on black people, particularly black men, by the white public and by the police predates the pandemic and will outlast it. This racial street theater against black people is an endemic, primal feature of the Republic.

Specifically, I am enraged by white women weaponizing racial anxiety, using their white femininity to activate systems of white terror against black men. This has long been a power white women realized they had and that they exerted.

Michael Harriot (from this thread):

There has NEVER been a successful protest movement in modern history that succeeded without violence.

Not Christianity. Not democracy. Not civil rights.

The choice is, which side is going to do the donate their blood?

We're damn near out of blood to give.

So, if you want to change the system, history has repeatedly told us how to do it.

Burn. That. Shit. Down.

And amen, motherfuckers.

James Baldwin (see also How to Cool It and, like, everything else Baldwin has ever written or said):

The reason that black people are in the streets has to do with the lives they're forced to lead in this country. And they're forced to lead these lives by the indifference and the apathy and a certain kind of ignorance -- a very willful ignorance -- on the part of their co-citizens.

Several people on social media have pointed to this list of 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice, including several organizations you can donate to. Ibram X. Kendi compiled an antiracist reading list. I am not any sort of expert, but I personally have found much understanding in listening to the Seeing White podcast, reading Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, and watching Eyes on the Prize, I Am Not Your Negro, & OJ: Made in America among other things. Thanks to everyone listed here for sharing their words and works with us.

[larktb-archive]

How to Write About Africa - Binyavanga Wainaina

Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky’, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’. Note that ‘People’ means Africans who are not black, while ‘The People’ means black Africans.

Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.

In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.

Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat; monkey-brain is an African’s cuisine of choice, along with goat, snake, worms and grubs and all manner of game meat. Make sure you show that you are able to eat such food without flinching, and describe how you learn to enjoy it—because you care.

Taboo subjects: ordinary domestic scenes, love between Africans (unless a death is involved), references to African writers or intellectuals, mention of school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation.

Throughout the book, adopt a sotto voice, in conspiracy with the reader, and a sad I-expected-so-much tone. Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and mention near the beginning how much you love Africa, how you fell in love with the place and can’t live without her. Africa is the only continent you can love—take advantage of this. If you are a man, thrust yourself into her warm virgin forests. If you are a woman, treat Africa as a man who wears a bush jacket and disappears off into the sunset. Africa is to be pitied, worshipped or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed.

Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. Or corrupt politicians, inept polygamous travel-guides, and prostitutes you have slept with. The Loyal Servant always behaves like a seven-year-old and needs a firm hand; he is scared of snakes, good with children, and always involving you in his complex domestic dramas. The Ancient Wise Man always comes from a noble tribe (not the money-grubbing tribes like the Gikuyu, the Igbo or the Shona). He has rheumy eyes and is close to the Earth. The Modern African is a fat man who steals and works in the visa office, refusing to give work permits to qualified Westerners who really care about Africa. He is an enemy of development, always using his government job to make it difficult for pragmatic and good-hearted expats to set up NGOs or Legal Conservation Areas. Or he is an Oxford-educated intellectual turned serial-killing politician in a Savile Row suit. He is a cannibal who likes Cristal champagne, and his mother is a rich witch-doctor who really runs the country.

Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the dramatic moment. Moans are good. She must never say anything about herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering. Also be sure to include a warm and motherly woman who has a rolling laugh and who is concerned for your well-being. Just call her Mama. Her children are all delinquent. These characters should buzz around your main hero, making him look good. Your hero can teach them, bathe them, feed them; he carries lots of babies and has seen Death. Your hero is you (if reportage), or a beautiful, tragic international celebrity/aristocrat who now cares for animals (if fiction).

Bad Western characters may include children of Tory cabinet ministers, Afrikaners, employees of the World Bank. When talking about exploitation by foreigners mention the Chinese and Indian traders. Blame the West for Africa’s situation. But do not be too specific.

Broad brushstrokes throughout are good. Avoid having the African characters laugh, or struggle to educate their kids, or just make do in mundane circumstances. Have them illuminate something about Europe or America in Africa. African characters should be colourful, exotic, larger than life—but empty inside, with no dialogue, no conflicts or resolutions in their stories, no depth or quirks to confuse the cause.

Describe, in detail, naked breasts (young, old, conservative, recently raped, big, small) or mutilated genitals, or enhanced genitals. Or any kind of genitals. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked dead bodies. And especially rotting naked dead bodies. Remember, any work you submit in which people look filthy and miserable will be referred to as the ‘real Africa’, and you want that on your dust jacket. Do not feel queasy about this: you are trying to help them to get aid from the West. The biggest taboo in writing about Africa is to describe or show dead or suffering white people.

Animals, on the other hand, must be treated as well rounded, complex characters. They speak (or grunt while tossing their manes proudly) and have names, ambitions and desires. They also have family values: see how lions teach their children? Elephants are caring, and are good feminists or dignified patriarchs. So are gorillas. Never, ever say anything negative about an elephant or a gorilla. Elephants may attack people’s property, destroy their crops, and even kill them. Always take the side of the elephant. Big cats have public-school accents. Hyenas are fair game and have vaguely Middle Eastern accents. Any short Africans who live in the jungle or desert may be portrayed with good humour (unless they are in conflict with an elephant or chimpanzee or gorilla, in which case they are pure evil).

After celebrity activists and aid workers, conservationists are Africa’s most important people. Do not offend them. You need them to invite you to their 30,000-acre game ranch or ‘conservation area’, and this is the only way you will get to interview the celebrity activist. Often a book cover with a heroic-looking conservationist on it works magic for sales. Anybody white, tanned and wearing khaki who once had a pet antelope or a farm is a conservationist, one who is preserving Africa’s rich heritage. When interviewing him or her, do not ask how much funding they have; do not ask how much money they make off their game. Never ask how much they pay their employees.

Readers will be put off if you don’t mention the light in Africa. And sunsets, the African sunset is a must. It is always big and red. There is always a big sky. Wide empty spaces and game are critical—Africa is the Land of Wide Empty Spaces. When writing about the plight of flora and fauna, make sure you mention that Africa is overpopulated. When your main character is in a desert or jungle living with indigenous peoples (anybody short) it is okay to mention that Africa has been severely depopulated by Aids and War (use caps).

You’ll also need a nightclub called Tropicana, where mercenaries, evil nouveau riche Africans and prostitutes and guerrillas and expats hang out.

Always end your book with Nelson Mandela saying something about rainbows or renaissances. Because you care.

#Long Post #lillypad.txt #This is old but wow

[militantinremission]

Time 4 Real Talk

The World has responded to the 'New Age' Lynching of George Floyd. The man lived a simple Life, but in Death, he was celebrated on a scale that matched James Brown's Homegoing; possibly a testament to his wealth of Spirit. His Death was horrible, but his Legacy is already bearing fruit. All four Officers involved in his death have been charged, & a National Spotlight has been trained on American Police Tactics.

It's very interesting to see how the 'Powers that Be' go about the business of shifting a narrative. Group Organizers have 'The Masses' calling for Police Reform, but they are missing the point. Police Officers aren't 'The Problem', they're only following protocol. Some Officers are more aggressive than others, but Society has allowed an acceptable range of violence when it comes to Black America. It's cool that Whitefolk (& some POC) have learned the phrase 'Systemic Racism', but that is just a byproduct. The phrase they should become acquainted w/, is White Supremacy.

The System of White Supremacy, is the true Dragon that needs to be slayed. News Flash: America is not a Democracy- It's a Capitalist Republic. A Republic built on the blood & bones of Black/ Indigenous (Copper Toned Aborigines) People that depends on their continued disenfranchisement. White Privilege, can be viewed as a method of wealth distribution & social autonomy. Modern day Law Enforcement Officers were assembled to uphold the racist principles (State & Federal Laws) that keep Blackfolk in that space between Human Being & untamed Animal.

White Privilege doesn't guarantee Whitefolk an escape from adversity. The wealthy White Class, classically called WASPs (White Anglo- Saxon Protestants), wanted poor Whites to take solace in the fact that no matter how bad Life gets for them, they will always be above Blackfolk. A lot of programming went into making this a reality, & Americans either have selective memory, or incredibly short memory spans... Now we are not so naive that we are blind to the fact that Law Enforcement Agencies exist to protect Corporate Interests, while The Military exists to expand Corporate Interests.

What we are saying, is that while the multiple Ethnic Groups that make up America compete w/ each other for a higher spot on the Food Chain, they All agree that Black America belongs on The Bottom. Nothing is absolute, so we know that we have always had allies; i'm just pointing out that each Federally Mandated attack on Black America, since the Hayes- Tilden Compromise (aka 'The Great Betrayal') of 1876 has been sanctioned by the (collective) silence of White America. They for the most part, stuck their heads in the sand, when it regarded the plight of Black America.

Schools featured books like "Uncle Tom's Cabin" & "Huckleberry Finn", Theaters ran 'Minstrel Shows' for nearly 100Yrs- even the modern day clown can be traced to Minstrel (Black faced) performers that mocked emancipated Slaves that traveled the rails in tattered clothes (i.e. Hobos). All of these images allowed the typical American to have little to no compassion for Us before The Civil Rights Movement. Television Cameras were as instrumental in that 'Revolt', as Phone Cameras are in this current one. Back then, Southern Whites were the mean villains in The Story, just as Police Officers are today. Northerners gasped in astonishment @ the atrocities being done in plain sight.

Then a funny thing happened- attention to Black Oppression shifted to Northern Cities. The Black Codes were here as well. We were Redlined into industrial areas, far away from the white picket fences. Blackfolk took to the Streets, & Northern Whites weren't so supportive anymore. Blue Collar Workers felt that Black migration North was jeopardizing their job security. 1968 brought 'The Great Exodus'- White Democrats in Northern States, particularly in the current Rust Belt States fled en mass to the Republican Party.

Ronald Reagan read the tea leaves as well then, as Donald Trump does now, & acted on White America's 'collective vibe' of That's enough for Black America... [*Note: Joe Biden embodied this sentiment literally up to the point when he joined the Obama Ticket in 2008]. Reagan, like Trump, pushed a Conservative Agenda that starved the Middle Class & rewarded Corporate Elites. Donald Trump became a rock star during this time. Reagan blamed the Recession he caused on Black Welfare Cheats & 'Bleeding Heart Liberals'; Trump blames Barack Obama's policies. Joe Biden was a prominent player in Reagan Era Legislation. By his own admission, he had a hand in every Anti- Crime Law on the books since 1976. Each Law played a role in systematically destroying Black Families; together, they decimated a generation of Black Men.

The Conservative Agenda for Black America was pretty clear- 'No Soup for you!' They never hid their intent. Liberals on the other hand, preached a brand of Coalition Politics that required Black Votes, but advanced a non- Black 'Minority' Agenda. The focus was on: White Women, White LGBTQ..., People of Color, & Black Women- in that order. Black Men were targeted by the Liberal Party's 'Tough On Crime' Legislation. Mandatory Minimum Sentencing kept Black Men out of Society, & Felony Convictions ensured they would have a hard time getting back in. Middle Class Black Communities were hit as hard as White Communities, but White Families were able to weather the hardship as a Family Unit; Black Women were forced to assume the roles of Mother & Father, in the face of rising drug & gang activity .

Its pretty awesome to see so many people of different ethnicities & social backgrounds coming together to protest Racism in general, & Anti- Black Racism specifically. Black America has been oppressed by White Supremacy for 400Yrs & counting; We need more than justice, We need to be indemnified- made whole. It's a total insult for the American Gov't to tell Us 'No' to Reparations, after watching European Jews, & Japanese receive payment for far less than we endured. An even bigger insult, is this notion that ALL 'Afrikan Americans', & Native Americans should get a share of what is specifically owed to Us. American Descendants of (Chattal) Slavery (ADOS) are a specific group w/ a specific need. No one else shares Our experience in America.

This plays into the White Supremacist view that whatever we give to Black America, we can give to Everyone else. This is how Affirmative Action Programs for Black Americans became Diversity Initiatives for 'Minorities'. It's no surprise that the Immigration Act was passed the same Year that the Civil Rights Law went into effect. White Supremacy thrives on the misfortune of Black People. America has used immigration as a weapon for over 150Yrs to slow any progress in the Black/ ADOS Community. They have not been able to kill Us off, so they are perpetually watering down Our overall percentage of the population.

Immigrants are offered Grants & Services that are denied to Black America/ ADOS. Immigrant Enclaves in Cities & Suburbia are thriving, while Black Communities are starved of resources, leaving them vulnerable to 'gentrification'- modern day Homesteading. These same Immigrants set up Stores in Black Communities, where they are welcomed, but Blackfolk are critiqued when we enter these Immigrant Communities- much like the way we are, when we enter White areas.

The Black- Brown Alliance sounds heart warming, but honestly, most use this 'Alliance' to profit off Black Effort & Dollars. A lot of these people identified as 'White' on past Census rolls. 50Yrs ago, Black Men were the focus of that attention; today, it's Black Women. Divide & Conquer is a tried & true weapon of White Supremacy. Black America flounders because of the inner conflict instigated by this method over the Centuries. I'm aware that every group had to endure this assault, but Black America is the one target that Everyone else seems to agree on exploiting. There's no hiding from this.

While i'm happy to see multicultural crowds globally protesting anti- Black racism, I can't help but wonder how far will support go? If We judge by past acts, not far enough. Resources are necessary, & Society has a limit to how much it's willing to spend on Black Problems, before extending those same resources to Everyone else. Politicians talk about Equality, but never about Equity. To be honest, Black America only needs to be left alone. Our Story is one of perpetual 'Arrested Development'. Black Codes, Klan violence, Jim Crow, Redlining, Imminent Domain, & Benign Neglect created the current State of Black America. So called 'Empowerment or Opportunity Zones' are disingenuous @ best... I'm not sure what Society will do, but one thing is certain- as Black America goes, so will the Black Diaspora.

#ADOS

#B1

[bootymacaroni]

Colorism: Anti-blackness in the Black Community

Racism is something that there is no hiding it still very prominent in the world today. Black folx and POC do not face the same burdens as our ancestors, but there seems to be this notion among Black Americans that we must be black before anything else. We must carry the burdens of our past on our backs even if we are not still facing the same burdens as those that fought for use to have the life and privileges that we have now.  

We all know that know that racism is real, alive and sadly apart of our “American Culture”, but what no one seems to want to talk about or admit to being a real thing is that anti-blackness and racism in the Black Community. 

Colorism or shadeism is a real problem, not only here in America, but also in Latin America, East & Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa. 

Outside of the US, colorism is seen more from a class perspective than White Supremacy, White skin was seen as superior due to the ruling classes at the time having lighter complexions. Peasants developed tans from working outside, and because of this, having light skin meant you were able to receive employment opportunities, while their darker counterparts did not.

In order to even begin fighting against colorism, we need to first define it, it’s origins and its history. 

For starters, colorism has been around since as early as 1619, but back then it was more commonly referred to as colorphobia or “Negreophobia”. It wasn’t until Alice Walker,  an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist best known for her publication for the novel “The Color Purple”, was credited for being the first to use the word colorism. Walker defined colorism as, the prejudicial or preferential treatment of the same race of people based solely on their skin tone. 

There is no denying that colorism originates as lighter skin tones being more favorable than darker skin tones. Colorsim began because during slavery times, light skinned slaves had the privilege of working doing domestic tasks, while dark skinned slaves worked in the fields. Light skinned children were not acknowledged as the offspring their slave owners, which still lead to them being treated better than darker skinned slaves. This meant that light skin was considered to be an asset in the Black Community. 

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the “Paper Bag Test” was introduced in order to see if you were going to be permitted into special social clubs for those considered to be “free slaves”. A paper bag was placed up to your skin and if you were the same color of the paper bag or lighter you were granted access to the spaces and were considered for hire. If you were darker, you were not granted access and looked over for hire. 

Colorism also stemmed from the fact that black slaves were not allowed to be educated. This lead to black individuals believing that having an education was “anti-black”. Many believed that “schools and blacks don’t go together”. Many black kids were teased and mocked for “acting white” because they were viewed as thinking they were better than their peers. Kids were sought out and asked to spell words or answer math questions and if they answered correctly they were beaten up. Gifted black students had to choose between peer acceptance or intellectual achievements. Most chose acceptance. This is why many believed that kids didn’t do well in school. 

Along with all of this, the black community struggles with internalized racism. Internalized racism or internalized oppression is a conscious or unconscious acceptance of racial hierarchy in which whites are constantly ranked above POC. This can be shown by having beliefs in racist stereotypes, adaptations of white cultural standards, and thinking that supports the status quo ( denying that racism exists ). 

Because of this internalized racism, black women, more commonly dark skinned black women, are seen as incapable of processing information, thinking or succeeding independently, are unintelligent, undesirable or beautiful, need to be dominated or “tamed”, and are constantly talked down upon and insulted, and because of this white skin became greatly desired. 

White skin was so coveted that skin lighten creams are some of the best selling products in the US, Asia, and many other Nations. 

None of this is a secret when it comes to the history of dark skinned black women, but still more knowledge, understanding, compassion and acknowledgment are needed around these subjects and they pertain to dark skinned black women and the racism and colorsim they have faced for decades and still continue to have to deal with today. 

With that being said, there is another aspect of colorism we still need to face because too many in the black community either think it is not a thing, or do not wish to believe it is a real problem and that is the black eraser of light skinned blacks. 

Creoles in Louisiana were told “You’re too white to be black and you’re too black to be white”. We are all aware that racial features play power roles in who gets ahead in the world and who does not. These factors determine who gets hired, who gets convicted and who get elected. We still can not separate these very painful stereotypes of colorism from misogyny, mostly because of the fundamental fact that light skinned blacks heritage in the US stems from the practice of sexual slavery, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation in American Slavery. Because so many slave owners were having offspring that were still considered slaves, rules such as the One Drop Rule were put into place. The One Drop Rule stated that if even one of distant relative was black, you were black, or at the very least “definitely not white”. 

There seems to be this notion that a light skinned black is somehow not black, but at the same time they are not white? So what are they? I have been told many times that I have to refer to myself as mixed, I’m not allowed to identify as black, but that I have to refer to myself as bi-racial. Yes, I am bi-racial, meaning i am 2 races, black and white, I am both, and at the same time neither. When it comes to mixed black individuals they are looked down on by those that, don’t suffer the same plight as, but understand the harsh situation because they suffer their in the own way. There seems to be this century long pissing contest to see who will win the most oppressed Olympics and its disheartening to see that after all theses years we as a community can not word to dismantle this internalized racism. 

Dark skinned black folx and light skinned black folx do not suffer in the same ways, but they should acknowledge the suffering of each other. The more we a divided among ourselves the harder it is going to be for us to actual heal, and grow. We as a whole need to work together to dismantle colorism before it destroys us. 

The following are ways that we can work to dismantle colorism:

1. SELF: Do you show preference? Do you assign hierarchy to skin tone?

Work on your own self hate

Be mindful of your reactions

Take pride in people that look like you

Mourn how you have been treated

Acknowledge your privilege

2. Family, Infant & Colorist Language

Do not make comments on your infants hair texture. Refrain from comments like “I hope their hair isn’t nappy” or “I hope you get your moms straight hair”

Do not make comments about your infants nose. A large nose is seen as “too African”. There have been studies that have shown mothers pinching the bridge of their babies nose in order to make it smaller.

It is a well ingrained belief that the ears, knuckles and knees are the areas that are strong indicators of how dark your child will turn out. “I hope he doesn’t get too dark“

3. Family & Colorist Language:

We can actively check the members of our family for their use of colorist language. “My sister is beautiful the way she is. Saying she is pretty for a dark skinned girl is hurtful”, “Kinky hair is great hair. Texture is normal. White/Latin/Asian parents, do not lose your composure when doing your child’s hair. Watch some tutorials if you are struggling. Speak up and protect even if you are scared you will meet resistance. 

4. Men. Black men have no idea how painful it is to men and women when they scan a room and make it obvious that their choices are based on colorism. 

Acknowledge your privilege in this area. Men carry the bulk of the power in maintaining colorism inside the community. No matter how many times the womanists may clap back, most black women who want a black man as a lover/life partner/husband, seek to be considered desirable to the men in their culture. The rejection by men because of the womans’ hue is most painful. While it is not fair that colorism was handed down to men, a contribution towards dismantling it will go a long way - for generations to come.  Avoidance of a woman for the concern of how the children will come out is akin to eugenics.

5. Church If possible, ask the pastor if you can read these solutions to the congregation. 

6. Young Children

Control the TV to the best of your ability for your younger children so that they don’t internalize colorist messages. Small children are impacted by pictures more than words. Images on TV permeate so powerfully tot he point that black children continue to view a white person’s image as superior to that of a black person’s image. 

7. Children

Teach boys not to assign girls value based on color hierarchy. Girls are more like to be on the receiving end of being permanently placed on colorist base hierarchy. 

Teach girls not to make fun of dark skinned boys. We cannot afford anymore Tommy Sotomayors. We owe it to the next generation. 

Teach boys and girls about colorism and how to not use colorist language. 

8. Rich Black Hollywood/Alanta

They have the power and money to produce films and cast any way they wish. Let them know that there is no need to pander and beg for casting and EGAT awards. Produce and lead. Issa Rae has already demonstrated that content is king, no matter the medium

9. Employment

Employment law is indeed on the side of stamping out colorism. It can’t be denied that lawsuits are correcting colorism in the workplace. Nothing can put cooperate America in its place more than a lawsuit. It’s well known that companies actually have to abide by protected class laws and protect black people from discrimination experienced in the workplace not only from white people but also from black people. 

“In short, radical protest through calling out the perpetrators of colorism is necessary. We may lose some friendships but it will be worth it for subsequent generations to not being raised with self-revulsion and to heal. We need to do this in order to better our communities and ourselves.” - Suzanne Forbes-Vierling

#racism #black women #black men #colorism #Mental Health #Social Justice #Black Lives Matter #psa #podcast

[bvlavender]

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – 09/30/20: No Acquittal

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the Viens report. Broadly speaking, it can be thought of as a Québec-specific version of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The Viens report was sparked by the same promises that led to the National Inquiry, in addition to local pressure fuelled by the disappearance of Sindy Ruperthouse and incidents of police abuse aimed at indigenous peoples. Like the National Inquiry, the Viens report is damning in its extensive detail of the suffering of indigenous peoples – and both reports are only a small step in the long and fraught journey that must be made towards reconciliation.

Two days ago, Joyce Echaquan was murdered. Prior to her death, she went live on Facebook, allowing for the nurses verbally abusing her to be caught on video. After being given an injection of morphine she loudly and vocally did not consent to, she had an allergic reaction, and died. This was not the first time she had livestreamed from the hospital, as she had grown suspicious of the health care system. She leaves behind a husband, seven children, and countless loved ones in Joliette, Québec.

As of today, one of the several nurses involved in her treatment have been fired. No one has been criminally charged.

~

As of today, I have written about 15 stories tagged “black lives matter”. The earliest of these was To Cops (05/27/20), and the latest was a bigot’s justification for inaction (08/26/20).

As of today, I have written about 2 stories tagged “indigenous”. One story, O Kanata (07/01/20), was written in mock celebration of Canada Day, a parody of the national anthem. The other story was Cause of Death (09/29/20), written in the wake of the murder of Joyce Echaquan.

These statistics trouble me.

Extrinsically, these numbers are to be expected. Black issues are far more widely discussed than indigenous issues. While the slow in my stories about that topic is distressingly correlated to the slow in media stories about that topic, I have repeatedly affirmed that Black Lives Matter no matter how much I or anyone else has been talking about it.

Intrinsically, these numbers are also understandable. Not only am I black, but I have also accumulated in my spare time a large amount of knowledge regarding the many forms racism takes in America, most of which was anti-black specific. I have more to draw upon in terms of personal stakes, and familiarity with the facts makes writing about them easier.

I have no such familiarity with indigenous issues. Even though I am somewhat uneducated in the plights of other ethnic groups (e.g. Latinx, Indian, Asian, etc.), I at least have the experience of being a second generation immigrant. And while that gives me no insight into the culture-specific nuances of the struggles they face, it is something, especially when next to almost nothing.

~

For personal reasons, I have been trying for some time now to learn more about the problems plaguing my country in particular. My life experience has left me nearly caught up in some fields, and woefully unprepared in others. Simultaneously, it has led me to realize what a dearth there is in the representation of those experiences, especially in the “woefully unprepared” regions.

The number of stories I have written are representative that dearth. And while those numbers might be understandable for many reasons, it does not make them any less telling. Justification is no acquittal.

So I would like to make a commitment. I have already made it to myself, but this shall be documented.

I support indigenous peoples, Idle No More, and reconciliation.

I will continue to actively learn about the land I walk upon, and the peoples who have walked it before me.

Indigenous lives matter. Regardless of whether I, the media, or anyone else is talking about them.

And the only way we can make sure that they matter is to understand why they haven’t for far too long, and do something about it.

#astoryadaykeepsCOVIDaway #coronavirus #covid-19 #writing #writers on tumblr #justice pour joyce #justice for joyce #Joyce Echaquan #indigenous #fnim #first nations #inuit #metis #indigenous lives matter #idle no more #stolen sisters #missing and murdered indigenous women #anyone who objects to the phrase “Joyce Echaquan was *murdered*” #I will meet you in the pit #orange shirt day