# Living while black in America

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [July 9, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611 "2018-07-09T21:17:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 59

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**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1163 "2018-09-19T09:08:44Z")

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> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> Aah, “schreeching” [sic] and “scolding”, is it ? You sure you’re not secretly **[octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21208203&postcount=949)** :dubious:?
> 
> Or more seriously - this is the Pit, tone policing is a dumb idea here. Just ask **octopus**.  
> GD is that way -\> no-one’s stopping you having a meaningful discussion. This didn’t start out as one.

Im addicted to the compulsive crawl-back. What can i say?

Just a couple quick responses, just to clear up a bit of apparent confusion (its so _weird_ how often that seems to happen on these boards, innit?).  
.  
To start with, my criticism of BB was not at all limited or really even about his posts in the Huey thread. He barely had any. I was definitely not “tone policing”, in the pit nor anywhere else. I just found myself unable to hold my tongue any longer after his latest one-trick-pony show of nails on slate. Luckily it just so happened to be in the pit which gave me the leeway to speak freely. But I wouldnt have said a damn thing if this hadnt been the one that made me just say “fuuuuck you”. I don’t tone police anyone else either. So its a non-issue.

Also, I really have to believe you didnt read jack shit to get up to date in this thread. Otherwise you would obviously know it was not _me_ who was making the appeals for civility and calm dialogue in the pit, it was BB. I was only noting that he showed his true colors of not _really_ being interested in what he was so stridently trying to shame everyone else into by simply going on a manic tear of high speed link dumping, in which he never once contributed one single word of his own thought to any of this link-dump posts. And then when this was brought to his attention, he defensively asserts that since that’s how the troll started this thread, that was how he wss going to continue it. 'Cause, ya know, all _that_ had turned out smashingly well. :rolleyes: He didnt want a convo. He wanted to berate.

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1164 "2018-09-19T09:19:05Z")

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I’ve been reading. But there’s a difference between appealing for discussion (which he did do) and tone policing. Calling how BB posts screeching is the latter, IMO.

I was also pointing out to you, and indirectly to everyone else, _including_ **BB** , that if that was what any of you really wanted, the Pit isn’t really the place for it. Meaningful dialogue _can_ happen here, but _everyone_ has to want to play along. You think a thread on _race_ is going to go that way?

But that was a separate point from commenting on the tone policing. I mean, think about it, **Ambivalid** - do you _really_ want to be like **octopus** as a poster, in any way, if you could possibly avoid it.

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**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1165 "2018-09-19T10:09:18Z")

</div>

> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> I was only noting that he showed his true colors of not _really_ being interested in what he was so stridently trying to shame everyone else into by simply going on a manic tear of high speed link dumping, in which he never once contributed one single word of his own thought to any of this link-dump posts.

…I’m not trying to shame anyone.

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> \<sigh\> White folks.  
> [Black man](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/396601-black-man-asked-to-leave-his-own-pool-by-cop-in-viral-video), Shane Holland, asked to leave his own pool by police officer. Un-fucking-believable.

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> Neighbors call cops on [12 year old black kid](https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/neighbor-calls-police-over-family-delivering-papers-in-upper-arlington/1292271082) delivering newspapers.
> 
> White man deliberately ran over[Jason Numley](https://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13849247-74/north-versailles-man-charged-for-driving-through-antwon-rose-protesters)during the Antwon Rose protests. Other white folks carefully considered the evidence will charge him with a misdemeanor.
> 
> This one gets an honorable mention:
> 
> Virginia lawmaker,[Rep. Scott Taylor](https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/article_27c35caa-8120-11e8-8d40-7b16b368467c.html), insists he can’t be racist because his son is named after a black man. The name? Sterling. Not exactly the blackest name there is. But alright.

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> \<sigh\> More pain today.
> 
> [Two 26 year old white twins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G9KFbEAto8) attacked Carlos Ruiz and his family. Two young women started screaming “racist things” across the street, questioning how it was possible that Mexicans could have enough money to afford a home in that neighborhood as well as the cars that Ruiz and his family own. When his mother started walking back to her home, Ruiz says the two women ran across the street and began physically attacking her by punching her and pulling her hair. His sister saw what was happening and came outside to help her mother. That is when the two women began attacking his sister as well. His sister was actually able to physically defend herself, so of course, the two seemingly drunk and/or drugged out white girls began playing the victim. They informed Ruiz’s family that they are going to call the police and taunt them by saying “Who do you think they are going to believe?” You can see Carlos Ruiz’s posts[here](https://www.facebook.com/juan.ruiz.52035/posts/1963775123655180) and the Youtube video [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G9KFbEAto8).
> 
> Black man,[Kevin Brooks](https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2018/07/12/vta-fires-bus-driver-following-racial-incident), denied entry to Martha’s Vineyard “because you’re black”. The driver was fired but we know how white folks act. He’ll be rewarded with a better paying job in the next district over.
> 
> White man, [Glenn Halfin](https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/07/12/north-texas-man-pleads-guiltyl-hate-crime/), hangs noose outside black neighbors house.
> 
> [White male thot](https://nypost.com/video/white-men-built-these-streets-man-goes-on-racist-rant-in-seattle/)screams at minorities that “White men built these streets”.
> 
> [White woman in airforce says she is “hunting niggers” while on a hunting trip](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-news-waitress-booted-air-force-20180615-story.html)  
> Honorable Mention:
> 
> White folk decide to re-open the[Emmett Till case](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/us/emmett-till-death-investigation.html). Given these hoes actually thought[Frederick Douglass is alive](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/02/02/trump-implied-frederick-douglass-was-alive-the-abolitionists-family-offered-a-history-lesson/), I suspect rape charges against his corpse will be filed next week.

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> [George Gomez](https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/crime_police/article_a1fcd11c-8f90-11e8-9c40-7304e4f8e390.html)was brutally beaten by two off-duty cops for wearing camouflage (yes, you read that right. for wearing camo). “He asked me if I was American. I told him yes, and he got mad because he said I was fake,” said Gomez, who described himself as a U.S. native who was raised in Honduras before returning to live in New Orleans. Gomez, who speaks Spanish as well as English with an accent, also described being asked if he served in the military. Gomez said he did serve, including with the Louisiana National Guard, but the man who took issue with his clothing wasn’t satisfied with any of his answers.
> 
> [Police chief](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article215589545.html)admits to framing two innocent black men for a crime. Previous history? This police chief, Raimundo Atesiano, pled guilty in excessive force in 2013 when he hit a handcuffed suspect,
> 
> Black mother dies 5 days after giving birth because [paramedics assume the mother couldn’t pay for the ambulance](https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/Hillsborough-suspends-four-paramedics-in-treatment-of-stroke-victim-30-who-later-died_170253710).
> 
> GOP Candidate [Corey Stewart called New Orleans, Memphis, and Baltimore “shitholes”.](https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-candidate-corey-stewarts-spokesperson-called-majority-black-cities-shitholes)
> 
> [Minneapolis Police Officers](https://kstp.com/news/protesters-interrupt-hennepin-county-attorney-mike-freeman-news-conference-thurman-blevins/5010365/) that shot and killed a\* fleeing \*black man, will not be charged. (I cannot find the names of the officers)
> 
> After Sacha Cohen revealed the town of Kingman, AZ as racists, the [town has the nerve to issue a statement promising to “change”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/07/25/sacha-baron-cohen-made-an-arizona-town-seem-racist-now-officials-are-promising-change/). One person said “He’s saying that black people in Kingman, they aren’t welcome there either, but we tolerate them".
> 
> Republican [Kieran Lalor](https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2018/07/27/fox-segment-dismisses-racial-justice-protests-guest-claims-there-nothing-worse-being-called-racist/220819) says that “there’s nothing worse than being called a racist”.
> 
> Honorable Mentions:
> 
> [Police officers](https://abcnews.go.com/US/dashcam-footage-shows-mississippi-police-officer-firing-stun/story?id=56845367) use stun gun on handcuffed suspect.
> 
> [https://www.harvarddcdp.org/about](https://www.harvarddcdp.org/about)

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> This is an omnibus thread to cover the injustices that black people and other minorities experience in this country. Here are a sampling of this month’s grab-bag. I will add more as time permits.
> 
> On May 31st, a Sherell L. Lewis Jr. was struck by [Martin Matthew](https://nypost.com/2018/05/31/motorist-brags-about-running-over-some-n-r-on-snapchat/). He knew that Sherell had died on the way to the hospital and had openly bragged about it on Snapchat. Matthew wrote on Snapchat “y’all i just hit a whole guy on the highway,” followed by three sob emojis. He referred to the person who died as “some nigger”.
> 
> On July 3rd, State Rep [Janelle Bynum](https://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2018/07/black_oregon_state_rep_says_he.html) had to police called on her while canvassing in a predominately white neighborhood for her re-election campaign.  
> [On July 4th,](https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article214526429.html)Rodolfo Rodriguez, a 92 year old Hispanic-American was beaten with a brick. During the attack, the assailant said “Go back to your own country.”
> 
> Late June, a white couple - the Krakoras - in Ohio called the police on an 11 year old boy because he mowed a part of their lawn. 11 days later, [on July 4th, the white couple called the police _again_](https://mic.com/articles/190120/white-ohio-family-that-called-911-on-black-boy-mowing-lawn-calls-police-on-him-again-july-4#) because the children allegedly wetted their house while playing outside. The couple said “We have always been told by the police that if we feel threatened, ‘Don’t confront these people, just call us[.]" and "We’re a slightly older couple. We have a white couple in their eighties next to us. If we feel it’s going to be more of an issue to go over trying to talk to somebody, for our safety, we just call the police.”
> 
> In California,[District Attorney Michael Selyem](https://www.ocregister.com/2018/07/06/top-san-bernardino-county-gang-prosecutor-under-fire-for-offensive-social-media-posts/) wrote of Maxine Waters, “Being a loud-mouthed cunt in the ghetto you would think someone would have shot this bitch by now …”
> 
> On July 4th,[Devonte Ortiz](https://www.statesman.com/news/local/breaking-austin-police-arrest-man-fatal-shooting-teen-over-fireworks/HVqz3qjmjqZUGi8kG3jn5N/) was killed by a 41 year old white man. The white man claimed self-defense but the video that the police have indicate a different story. The video allegedly shows Ortiz, the white man, and the white man’s father arguing over firecrackers. The white man is seen unholstering and holstering his gun multiple times. The white man’s father attempts to intervene leading to shoving between Ortiz and the white man’s father. The white man’s father falls to the ground, and the white man responded by shooting Devonte Ortiz to death.
> 
> On July 4th, [Larry Lappin](https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/07/05/racist-rant-latin-music-july-4th/) was recorded flipping out because he heard Mexican-Americans celebrating the holiday with Spanish music. “Sometimes I wish they would assimilate more. I hear them playing [Spanish language] music in the backyard all the time and it doesn’t bother me. Because of the day and what July 4th means to me, I felt disrespected,” Lappin said.
> 
> On July 4th,[Adam Bloom](https://nypost.com/2018/07/05/white-man-calls-police-on-black-family-at-neighborhood-pool/) demanded the identification of a black woman and reported her to the authorities when she refused.
> 
> On July 7th an African-American millionaire, [Frank Davis](https://nypost.com/2018/07/07/african-american-millionaire-finds-note-with-racial-slur-in-hotel-room/), found a note with a racial slur in his hotel room.

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> High schoo[l football player](https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/football-player-spews-racial-slurs-pledges-support-trump-shocking-video/)spews hate on twitter. Sparks a boycott of the games.
> 
> Rich, white getaway driver,[Cameron Terrell](https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/07/23/cameron-terrell-acquitted-palos-verdes-estates/), gets away with murder. Get away driver
> 
> [Nazi flag](https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/01/us/nazi-flag-laramie-wyoming-trnd/index.html)raised in public park in Wyoming.  
> [Washington State Utility](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/pse-sends-racial-slur-to-black-woman/803894220) company sends black woman a racial slur as a temporary password.
> 
> [Gay man](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Gay-man-believes-he-was-targeted-in-Montrose-13125981.php) beaten in Texas with rocks and belt. Blessed Be the Fruit, I guess. Blessed Be the Fruit.
> 
> [Black woman](https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/07/woman_shot_killed_estranged_hu.html) stands her ground and goes to jail.
> 
> [Ohio judge](http://https://fox8.com/2018/07/31/cuyahoga-county-judge-orders-mans-mouth-taped-shut-during-sentencing/) orders black man’s mouth to be taped shut.
> 
> [Black woman](https://wsvn.com/news/local/woman-allegedly-kicked-by-off-duty-officer-while-pregnant-speaks-out/) attacked by off-duty cop, kicked in the stomach and went into premature labor.
> 
> Honorable Mention:
> 
> White man, [Cleon Brown](https://wwmt.com/news/local/city-of-hastings-settles-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-against-police-officer), who is 18% black, received a $65,000 settlement after experiencing racism from his fellow white employees. (lol, only because he probably didn’t think racism was real until he told people he was part black)

This thread is full of “link dumps”. There are many, many more from other posters, not just Huey. This thread was just like the “Controversial encounters” omnibus thread. Thats how these threads tend to work.

I’m not shaming people. I’m putting my money where my mouth is, choosing to “ignore the trolls” and bringing the thread back on topic.

Do you want to learn something? Do you actually want this thread to be productive?

Then read every link I’ve linked too. Then understand that for every link I’ve linked to there are thousands of more stories that nobody really actually hears about. Think about why it took Huey of all people to actually start this thread. And why other people of colour maybe avoiding this thread. Read the threads about how unwelcoming this board can be for women. Then imagine what it could be like for people of colour, indigenous peoples, and other marginalised folk.

I know you’ve got your story as well and I respect you and everything you fight for. I’ve got no bone to pick with you man. I mean that sincerely.

But this topic is really fucking important. And I’m not going to apologise for fighting to bring it back to what it was all originally about.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1166 "2018-09-19T10:33:36Z")

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> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> …its more than “just venting.”
> 
> Its keeping it in the conciseness of the American people.
> 
> I follow a lot of people on Black Twitter. And the stories are still coming. But the stories have dried up in this thread. Why have they dried up?
> 
> Because people have stopped caring. It no longer has news value. The anger, the outrage, the discrimination all still exists. The outrageous videos are all still being posted online. But the news cycle has moved on. And we’ve moved on as well.
> 
> And if you are comfortable with moving on, and if you can live with moving on, then carry on as you wish.

Great, just as the thread really picks up, I have to go away for a few days.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1167 "2018-09-19T10:44:48Z")

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I’m glad to see the thread going back in the direction of showing examples of the shit black people have to deal with in this country, and I’m sorry if I contributed to any hijack that took it away from that.

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**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1168 "2018-09-19T11:23:13Z")

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> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> OMG, that post is rife with low-hanging fruit, just begging to be plucked and devoured. But I-see-no-point. You are a talented gamesman, I’ll give you that. The way you litter your posts with obvious thick irony, self-contradictions, logical fallacies, hypocrisy, you name it. You do this intentionally! Like other gifted internet trolls, you are a talented person who seems to squander that talent on totally inconsequential, trifling pursuits it’s too bad. Imagine all the meatspace lives you could be making better. Instead, you’re online, wasting time and intellectual capita _doing absolutely nothing_. Hey, me? I’m at home, on mandatory bed rest, recovering from a spleen injury. I gots an excuse. . .

Would you rather he take that talent into politics? Be thankful he’s found a mostly harmless outlet for his psycopathy.

> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> I’m glad to see the thread going back in the direction of showing examples of the shit black people have to deal with in this country, and I’m sorry if I contributed to any hijack that took it away from that.

+1.

And hey, what good is this post without a contribution?

> **[The Botham Jean shooting exposes a major problem with discussions of police...](https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/9/18/17874868/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-botham-jean-shooting-dallas)**
>
> Sen. Ted Cruz recently said Democrats are "quick to always blame the police officer."

> [@](#):
>
> Lee Merritt, an attorney representing Jean’s family, called the warrant’s contents evidence of a “smear campaign” against Jean. In an interview with the Washington Post, Merritt said that the warrant fit into “a familiar pattern” seen in police shootings involving black victims. “It’s a systemic issue,” Merritt said. “We’ve been conditioned to associate black people with crime.”
> 
> While the Jean shooting differs from other high-profile police shootings, it’s telling that similar narratives — and fights over them — have emerged. And it has fueled a growing concern that in an incident where Botham Jean was killed in his own home, Amber Guyger is largely being presented as a victim.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![HelenTroy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helentroy/32/86_2.png) [@HelenTroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenTroy)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1169 "2018-09-19T11:27:51Z")

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> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> …this thread was started by a black American to discuss the shitty things that are happening to black Americans.
> 
> What you suggest is America in a nutshell. Hijack the thread. Marginalize the OP. Declare it “too poisoned” and then open a newer, cleaner, sanitized version of this thread. With white people writing the OP.
> 
> Fuck that bullshit. This thread can be easily saved by just fucking the fuck off.

Read this post. Now read it again. From one following along, I can tell you this is what I am seeing. A bunch of white people so up in their feelings about a black man not playing nice about his frustration to placate them that they focus in HIM and not the real issues he posts about. When people want to know the problem with many of us “white liberals”, just point to this thread. Tone policing at it’s finest, but I guess it’s OK because it’s not towards women. Damn, I guess it’s a twofer with highlighting “white feminism”. Anyone have bingo?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1170 "2018-09-19T14:41:08Z")

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> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> …that can be easily rectified by starting a pit-thread dedicated to Huey and taking that nonsense to that thread.

At least this thread hasn’t attracted the recipe posting brigade.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1171 "2018-09-19T14:48:21Z")

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> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> I’ve been reading. But there’s a difference between appealing for discussion (which he did do) and tone policing. Calling how BB posts screeching is the latter, IMO.
> 
> I was also pointing out to you, and indirectly to everyone else, _including_ **BB** , that if that was what any of you really wanted, the Pit isn’t really the place for it. Meaningful dialogue _can_ happen here, but _everyone_ has to want to play along. You think a thread on _race_ is going to go that way?
> 
> But that was a separate point from commenting on the tone policing. I mean, think about it, **Ambivalid** - do you _really_ want to be like **octopus** as a poster, in any way, if you could possibly avoid it.

I’m not going to speak for anyone else but I think it’s better to be a free speech advocate and a generally pleasant creature than a paranoid loon with an admittedly huge vocabulary.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1172 "2018-09-19T15:40:28Z")

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> [@octopus](#):
>
> I’m not going to speak for anyone else but I think it’s better to be a free speech advocate and a generally pleasant creature than a paranoid loon with an admittedly huge vocabulary.

If you know someone like that, please invite them to the Dope.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1173 "2018-09-19T16:20:34Z")

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> [@octopus](#):
>
> I’m not going to speak for anyone else but I think it’s better to be a free speech advocate

I _do_ enjoy frozen _P. persica_. Not sure how well it goes with Dutch eggnog, but you do you.

> [@](#):
>
> and a generally pleasant creature

I thought you weren’t speaking for anyone else. But this description can _only_ apply to some other poster

Because I’m certain the “singularly unpleasant creature” dictionary entry has a picture of a behatted octopus next to it. Well, pointy hoods are a _kind_ of hat, anyway.  
.

> [@](#):
>
> than a paranoid loon

The test of paranoia is whether there, are, in fact, people out to get you. The existence of racist fucksticks gives the giant lie to that one.

> [@](#):
>
> with an admittedly huge vocabulary.

Fuck, yeah, you know it, motherfucker!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1174 "2018-09-19T17:59:04Z")

</div>

I’m going to respond to your points, but I’ll add back the context that seems to have disappeared.

You posted this. To my eye, it appeared to state that white people should not touch this thread, or start a new one, or write an OP.

> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> …this thread was started by a black American to discuss the shitty things that are happening to black Americans.
> 
> What you suggest is America in a nutshell. Hijack the thread. Marginalize the OP. Declare it “too poisoned” and then open a newer, cleaner, sanitized version of this thread. With white people writing the OP.
> 
> Fuck that bullshit. This thread can be easily saved by just fucking the fuck off.

My response and your answers,

> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> > [@Sunny\_Daze](#):
> >
> > What exactly is the problem with taking a good idea and starting fresh anyway?
> 
> …whats exactly the problem with continuing the discussion here in this thread?

Got it. No new thread.

> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> > [@Sunny\_Daze](#):
> >
> > We have a requirement that only black Americans can write it?
> 
> Nope.

Well, you had a big problem with white people touching it earlier.

> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> > [@Sunny\_Daze](#):
> >
> > A person of color won’t do?
> 
> Speaking on behalf of myself only, as a person of colour, I wouldn’t start it when this thread already exists.

> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> > [@Sunny\_Daze](#):
> >
> > A person of color won’t do? Well, we have some. I’m sure one would be willing if asked nicely.
> 
> :: waves ::
> 
> Hello! I’m right here in front of you!
> 
> But its okay, I’m used to being ignored. For fucks sakes.

Poor you. I was referring to the fact that only blacks are apparently good enough for you to have this conversation. You are not the only person of color in this thread. For fucks sake.

> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> It isn’t about me.
> 
> If you want to start a new thread go for it: I’m not fucking stopping you.

No but it would really, really piss you off because lord knows we can’t have a thread with discussion. We need a thread that just lists things off, like **PaulinQatar** ’s murder list. Anything else would be the white folks oppressing the black folks or something something NOT people trying to have a dialogue with each other.

> [@](#):
>
> You have agency.
> 
> Just stop the hijack. Pit Huey. Post a link here and go abuse him over there.
> 
> Simple. Its all in your hands really.
> 
> Because I don’t have a fucking clue what you guys are talking about here. I really don’t. I struggle to parse Huey’s posts when he’s speaking on topic. When its as off-topic as it is right now I don’t have the foggiest what he is saying, let alone what the replies are all about.
> 
> What part of “take the hijack somewhere else” doesn’t make any sense to you?

You know what, fuck that shit. If **Huey** wants to have a discussion about some random bullshit that he posts, and I, or anyone else here, wants to answer it, then that’s how it is. If you want to have a clinical list, then you go start it.

Also, you go fuck the fuck off, not in a mean way, naturally.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1175 "2018-09-19T19:29:18Z")

</div>

> [@HelenTroy](#):
>
> they focus in HIM and not the real issues he posts about.

Eh. No crap it’s about him; this is the way pit threads go when started by folks who are some weighted combination of grossly incoherent writers with idiosyncratic ideas and outright trolls. There is no other option.

I think Ambivalid is disabled. If he started a thread like this about rights of the disabled — including the straight faced claim that non-disabled folks are sufficiently inbred to increase incidence of neurological impairment — that thread would become about him.

If a white liberal started a thread about something white liberals cared about, but did it like a babbling crazy person, that thread would become about him/her too.

So is that all ya got? Sucks for black folks. Has sucked, does suck, and will continue to suck, hopefully less. We all need to do our part as individuals and as part of our identity groups. Getting mad that a thread turns against a crazy person? That’s just pissing in the wind.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Huey\_Freeman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/huey_freeman/32/251_2.png) [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1176 "2018-09-19T22:10:07Z")

</div>

> [@HelenTroy](#):
>
> Read this post. Now read it again. From one following along, I can tell you this is what I am seeing.\*\* A bunch of white people so up in their feelings about a black man not playing nice about his frustration to placate them that they focus in HIM and not the real issues he posts about.\*\* When people want to know the problem with many of us “white liberals”, just point to this thread. Tone policing at it’s finest, but I guess it’s OK because it’s not towards women. Damn, I guess it’s a twofer with highlighting “white feminism”. Anyone have bingo?

(emphasis mine)

This.

And it’s partially the reason why I _only_ post in the BBQ Pit. It’s _easy_ for two reasons. The first is the most obvious: the other forums are traps because debating can lead to getting a warning even if you slip up; here, in this folder, you can debate freely - even call people thots and trolls - and not get a warning. Frankly, I remain nonplussed why everyone else posts in the other forums. Second, like you touched on, it’s difficult to debate people who think you’re anti-white, conspirator or an agent provocateur from a foreign government. It’s on some cartoon Aladdin-type shit. Here, it appears, you’re expected to reveal you are and then, and only then, will they consider your points. I ain’t got time for that cult shit. Literally, I don’t have time. I agree that to we should keep this thread as an omnibus and have another thread where these clowns can get in their two minutes of hate. Though, to be real, I don’t have as much as time as clearly all (or most) of you. On my end, I’m going to make a conscientious effort to post and comment on the thread’s topic.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1177 "2018-09-19T22:26:16Z")

</div>

> [@Huey\_Freeman](#):
>
> (emphasis mine)  
> I ain’t got time for that cult shit. Literally, I don’t have time.

Bullshit. If you didn’t have the time, you wouldn’t be posting here in the first place.

Stop acting like you’re on a mission from God - this is just a message board, and a fairly obscure one at that. You aren’t going to change the world from here; in fact, nothing you do here will ever be even slightly important. So chill.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1178 "2018-09-19T22:31:37Z")

</div>

Thots. lol

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1179 "2018-09-19T22:37:04Z")

</div>

What the fuck’s a thot?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1180 "2018-09-19T22:58:00Z")

</div>

> [@Alessan](#):
>
> What the fuck’s a thot?

[Thot](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Thot&amp=true&defid=10880132) is a slang term with a few different shades to it’s meaning but the 4th definition seems like the most comprehensive of the lot. “That Ho Over There” aka T.h.o.t.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Huey\_Freeman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/huey_freeman/32/251_2.png) [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1181 "2018-09-20T01:49:34Z")

</div>

Nevermind

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1182 "2018-09-20T02:32:50Z")

</div>

[Texas School District Superintendent’s racist writing](https://apnews.com/1b31ba521e04476da769e78693a05ff3):

> [@](#):
>
> Lynn Redden is superintendent of the Onalaska Independent School District in the Piney Woods, about 75 miles north of Houston. In his post in the comment section of a story written by the Houston Chronicle and posted on Facebook, Redden referred to the last play of Sunday’s game, in which Watson let the clock run down before completing a pass to DeAndre Hopkins in a 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
> 
> Redden’s full post read: “When you need precision decision making you can’t count on a black quarterback.” It was quickly deleted, but not before another reader took a screenshot of it and sent it to the newspaper.

The young man himself was very classy:

> [@Deshaun Watson](#):
>
> That’s on him. May peace be with him. I worry about me, so I’m not worried about what he has to say.

But his coach’s response made me smile:

> [@](#):
>
> Coach Bill O’Brien was asked on Wednesday what he thought about the post.
> 
> “I really don’t want to waste a lot of time responding to outdated, inaccurate, ignorant, idiotic statements,” he said. “I’ll just let Deshaun (Watson’s) proven success on the field, his character off the field, speak for itself. He’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever coached. He represents everything that’s right about football, about life.”
> 
> “His teammates respect him, his coaching staff respects him, and in this day and age, it’s just amazing that this B.S. exists,” O’Brien continued. “But it does. But we’re moving forward.”

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