It seems like this thread should be GQ and all of the responses Exhibit A for the correct answer of “We cannot.”
To be honest, I’ve met just ONE klan person in my life. I’ve known others who say they have met one or two, mostly thru things like gun or motorcycle clubs. These guys are FEW and far between. Granted it only takes one person with a gun, a car, or to write a nasty letter to make it same like an epidemic.
Now I have met far MORE white people who work to break down barriers and who don’t have a prejudice bone in their body.
So why cant we focus on the good people instead of the bad?
Student Services would say that (Blacks or Whites only signs, blocking off building, etc.) is against University policy and it wouldn’t be allowed. At the most the result might be some stupid theme parties at off-campus frat houses.
Because it only takes a few bad people (remember the Oklahoma Federal Building) to do a lot of harm.
Because that wouldn’t make for good outrage theater?
Ok, maybe I am overblowing these incidents.
But listen, I truly feel what happened at Charleston is part of result of incidents in the news like the "Day Without whites" thing at Evergreen collegeand the push for “No Whites Allowed” safe areas at public colleges.
Didn’t that question get asked about Muslims about ten gazillion times? And what was the answer?
Probably something like this:
Some of the recent comments in this thread are absolutely mind-boggling. For starters, to compare a ‘whites only’ policy with a ‘blacks only’ policy is like conflating an alliance of predators with an alliance of prey.
For every member of the Ku Klux Klan there are hundreds or thousands of overt racists who haven’t joined the Klan. For every overt racist there are many whites who are subconsciously racist.
It shouldn’t be necessary to experiment like John Howard Griffin (Black Like Me) to understand the handicap under which blacks and other hated groups must operate.
So, to your thinking asking a member of the privileged race to miss one day of school is equivalent to the dread that blacks feel when pulled over by police, or the discrimination they face when applying for employment.
I will give you credit and assume that you are not a “racist,” Urbanredneck. But in that case your ignorance of American society is absolutely baffling. How old are you? For the sake of your own soul, I strongly suggest you climb out of your bubble. Read the Washington Post sometimes instead of the Washington Times. Read books by black authors. And when you see a post like …
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase]
There are thousands of black writers speaking out today, along with writers from other groups who find themselves targets daily. They are eye-opening. And they find no need to go in search of Nazis to find subjects worth commenting on.
[/QUOTE]
… think for a while, instead of reflexively clicking Reply to type another glib and ignorant response.
Well, doctors don’t spend all the efforts on healthy people, police officers don’t spend their days just with law abiding citizens, and plumbers rarely fix plumbing that already works.
Actually, let me offer, if I might, a more intelligent and nuances response than the one I kinda stole from Jesus. But let me lead with a question; are you a man or a woman?
OK then - as long as they have something else to say then it sucks to be black. Turns out every race can write that story if they choose to.
You believe that Dylann Roof killed nine people because of incidents like the one you linked to? If that’s the case you must also feel that 150 years of symbolism insulting to black Americans must also be triggering, no? Why is it that an incident at Evergreen can be used as an excuse for white nationalist to murder people in a church, but actual decades of Jim Crow isn’t an excuse for black Americans frustration?
Do you know many white people?
I’m white. I live in a rural area that is 99% white. As much as I hate to say it, many of the white folks I interact with each day are total assholes. A Day Without Whites sound refreshing.
Heh. We should try it on the Dope. A thread like this without white input would be fascinating indeed.
I don’t think that there will be any change in this country until people are able to put emotions aside and act according to facts rather than emotions.
Number one rule of investing: Never let emotions guide your decisions. Work off of the facts and not impulse.
I don’t believe that white supremacists are the threat that people are making them out to be. I firmly believe that they are repugnant, and in no way am I making any apologies for them, but they have become a red herring that the media stokes in order to get more views/clicks/attention, etc. Death and violence sells. That’s why the media is not filled with heart-warming stories of when people do good things.
I’ll take the Confederate statues as an example:
I think that they should be put in a museum, and that the public should not have to pay for their upkeep, especially on federal/state property. The main reason being that they should be put away, in my opinion, isn’t the slavery issue, but because it memorializes people who actually did not agree with what this country was founded on, or its principles. They were, quite literally, traitors. That alone justifies not memorializing them, without even touching on the slavery aspect.
The problem is that taking down the statues, as I can see it, will have no marked change on society. These statues were not holding people down, depressing them economically, curtailing their civil rights, etc. Were they unpleasant to look at? Sure, I could see that. But I don’t believe that they are paralyzing people’s lives by their existence.
As a Jew who had a great deal of my family killed in the Holocaust, I don’t go into apoplexy every time I see some racist waving a swastika flag around (and that only occurs on TV; I’ve never seen it in real life). I recognize them as the morons that they are, and continue on with my life, as these people are not in our government, and I’m unaware of any known white supremacist who holds a seat in the House or Senate (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).
The best way to deal with them is to do what we did in the '90s when they were virtually wiped out (W.A.R, Knights of the KKK, etc.). Let them have their marches and then laugh at them for the fools that they are. They are looking for a fight, and the biggest mistake you can make is to show up ready for battle, giving them what they want. Want to make Westboro Baptist Church a real threat? Physically engage them.
And again, I can name actual family members that were systematically murdered (and other horrible stuff), so it’s not like the offensiveness of neo-Nazis, etc., is something I’m unable to understand.
The more attention you give them, the bigger they become (often bigger in appearance than in actuality).
The old adage is “Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
That’s unfortunate. It sounds to me as if you spend so much time in a completely homogenous area you’ve come to think that skin color has a pervasive effect on one’s personality.
Perhaps not.
99% homogeneity in any attribute leads to many such people thinking that the 99% ought to be 100%. Which gets problematic when the rest of the society is more like 55% than 99% in that same attribute. With many pockets that are more like 1% that attribute.
It’s the old story of the elephant and the blind guys. Each one has ahold of their part of the elephant. The stories they each tell of their experiences are true … as far as they go. The error comes in when any of them choose to insist that the other stories are false or non-existent. Or worse yet, should be destroyed as heresy / apostacy / Wrong.
More people should follow your example. Unfortunately, too many people have been trained to be outraged and offended. It’s so ridiculous ESPN removed an employee named Robert Lee from a broadcast in Virginia. The pandering out of fear is ludicrous. And I don’t see how you can change a culture so sensitive and entitled.
There is no point in fixing the wounds until you are done operating on the patient. Harmony will not come before equality, and equality will not happen with harmony. A lot of people are going to fight to keep their power and privilege and we will have to fight against them. Equality should be the first and most important goal, figuring out how we get along comes after that.