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[ReiGun]

Article from Slate on the way some media outlets and individuals will deny the importance and impact of racism on modern society while simultaneous engaging in the very racist practice of victim blaming and smearing the reputations of black victims. An Excerpt:

In 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan kidnapped and killed 14-year-old Emmett Till after he reportedly spoke to a white woman—Bryant’s wife Carolyn—in their Money, Mississippi, grocery store. After the two were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury, they told their story to Alabama novelist William Bradford Huie. In their (improbable) version of events, writes historian Philip Dray in At the Hands of Persons Unknown, Till was “sassy and unrepentant.” “He showed me the white gal’s picture! Bragged of what he’d done to her,” said Milam, “I counted pictures of three white girls in his pocketbook before I burned it. What else could I do? No use lettin’ him get no bigger!” Black observers were furious:

Olive A. Adams, who authored a booklet called Time Bomb: Mississippi Exposed for the Mississippi Regional Council of Negro Leadership in 1956, denigrated the “white girlfriend” story repeated by whites as “vicious propaganda, aimed at fitting Emmett Till into the ‘sexually depraved’ category among the stereotypes into which Negroes are so often cast. It was an obvious attempt to dream up a crime to fit the punishment.”


A half century later, you saw a similar dynamic with the killing of Trayvon Martin. And while countless Americans were sympathetic to the Martin family, many others were eager to smear the deceased 17-year-old, and they found voice on Fox News and conservative talk radio. "You dress like a thug, people are going to treat you like a thug,” said Fox host Geraldo Rivera, referring to Martin’s hoodie sweatshirt. Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze website published a list of crimes Martin may have committed while he was alive (the evidence was … sparse), and right-wing websites passed around a photo called the “real Trayvon Martin,” which was quickly debunked as a photo of The Game, a 33-year-old rapper. Something similar happened with Brown: After his death, photos circulated of a young man with a gun, labeled Michael Brown. In reality, it was Joda Cain, a murder suspect in Oregon.

Full article here

 

[milquetoast]

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

 

[benjipwns]

Tribalism works and is activating because of the notion of a "threat", there's nobody worse than the "other" and nobody better than our tribe.

See: Gaming Discussion.

 

[SneakyStephan]

"You dress like a thug, people are going to treat you like a thug,” said Fox host Geraldo Rivera, referring to Martin’s hoodie sweatshirt. Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze website published a list of crimes Martin may have committed while he was alive (the evidence was … sparse), and right-wing websites passed around a photo called the “real Trayvon Martin,” which was quickly debunked as a photo of The Game, a 33-year-old rapper. Something similar happened with Brown: After his death, photos circulated of a young man with a gun, labeled Michael Brown. In reality, it was Joda Cain, a murder suspect in Oregon.

Reality keeps surpassing anything the onion can dream up

 

[Trey]

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

I think racial discussion is fine in the OT. You are free to ignore these threads.

 

[Professor Beef]

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

We also need people to stop posting in threads that they clearly have no interest in.

 

[JDSN]

For these anti-anti-racists, accusations of racism are a greater concern than actual discrimination and prejudice against blacks and other minorities. It’s not that they support racism, but that they see it as largely irrelevant to contemporary life—any problems with minority communities, in their eyes, have more to do with cultural dysfunction, not racial inequality. Moreover, if there’s a racial problem in America, it’s not against minorities, it’s against whites: “Caucasian is not one of the colors getting helped,” said Fox contributor Todd Starnes, attacking the president’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative.

Seriously, the arbitrary standards that people have into what is racism and what isnt is absurd, the paternalistic matter in which they do it doesnt help at all because right away actual victims of discrimination see it as an instigation, like this:

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

What a nice twist on the usual "Too long, didnt read".

 

[KalBalboa]

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

If anything we need a comic book sub forum.

Feel free to just not open these threads if they bother you for some reason.

 

[TAJ]

Racism is rebounding bigtime. Social media brought it out of the shadows and is teaching a lot of people to think it's ok.

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

Aw, you almost made it to 'Member'. Better luck next account.

 

[Dash27]

I thought this thread was going to be a guide on how to be racist this year.

 

[totowhoa]

Completely agree. The victim blaming and reputation smearing (or baseless doubting) by the media and general populace is just as disgusting as the institutionalized racism that pervades our government/police.

I've been rely in line with a lot Slate's commentary on this that I've read or listened to.

 

[benjipwns]

I thought this thread was going to be a guide on how to be racist this year.

It's about the same as most years, but girl you are going to need to change those shoes.

 

[ivysaur12]

It's about the same as most years, but girl you are going to need to change those shoes.

10/10

 

[ishibear]

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

Username is so fitting.

 

[Mumei]

So, anyone want to try ignoring the first post? <____<

 

[TacticalFox88]

I can't figure which is worse: the racism or the so called non-racists who deny racism, or even have a victim complex.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Yeah we do need a race subforum like someone suggested.

So you don't wanna hear about racism, but don't have a concern for those who are tired of experiencing it.

 

[ishibear]

This is a very enlightening article. It really helps me feel better about speaking up for victims no matter what. I'm tired of victim blaming flourishing under the guise of "concerned citizens" or "well, looking at this rationally..." strawmen.

I've never believed it was genuine.

 

[Stinkles]

We also need people to stop posting in threads that they clearly have no interest in.

You're obviously a reverse racist.

 

[MWS Natural]

Read it earlier, just makes me upset that we have come so far but have so much further to go. There is a large portion of America still caught in a 1960s time warp or trying to get back to those "simpler" times.

 

[Gamerloid]

Article makes a good point. The media really does love to smear someone's image into the stereotypical threat. Rap music makes you potentially dangerous, can't wear a hood because it's for criminals etc. All I get from that is that they're looking for reasons to justify their beliefs on the matter, and this just causes such foolishness to spread.

When all else fails, devalue the person so you can label him the same as the others, a thug up to something bad.

So, anyone want to try ignoring the first post? <____<

That's how awful it was

 

[Trey]

I was expecting something different from the article. Like a compare and contrast of how racism manifests itself today compared to its presence in decades past. What I instead found was more of a summary of events. And I wouldn't call most of the content in the article "new" occurrences: white conservative folks have been denying systemic racism since the seventies (read: forever).

What's new is how social media, and the internet/technology, play into the proliferation of information. The author cites entrenched personalities like Bill O'Riely and Rush Limbaugh as the face of this pushback against racial allegations, but it's really all the randoms on Facebook and Twitter who will say the most vile things with their names attached to the text. That's the new element.

 

[benjipwns]

What's new is how social media, and the internet/technology, play into the proliferation of information. The author cites entrenched personalities like Bill O'Riely and Rush Limbaugh as the face of this pushback against racial allegations, but it's really all the randoms on Facebook and Twitter who will say the most vile things with their names attached to the text. That's the new element.

And they're much better spreading it and with lower quality stuff than O'Reilly or Limbaugh who have to keep some base level of public decorum / fact-checking by the nature of their position. Some random dope on Facebook doesn't need to do even the slightest bit of due diligence.

Like when the internet identified the Boston bombers six hundred times.

 

[ReiGun]

Tribalism works and is activating because of the notion of a "threat", there's nobody worse than the "other" and nobody better than our tribe.

See: Gaming Discussion.

Given the last couple weeks of the gaming community tripping over itself cause of the "evil feminists"...Yeah. Tribalism is a mother fucker.

Racism is rebounding bigtime. Social media brought it out of the shadows and is teaching a lot of people to think it's ok.

The best (worst) part of watching racial discussion in social media is not just seeing the out and out hardcore racists come out the woodwork, but also the moderates who swear racism is over and are keen to tell minorities how to deal with perceived slights. In the face of black, latinos, asians, etc. telling you exactly what they deal with because of their race, your response is to tell them "It's all good" because you don't see race or some other bullshit? Really? The willful ignorance and lack of empathy are confounding.

 

[Cagey]

Given the last couple weeks of the gaming community tripping over itself cause of the "evil feminists"...Yeah. Tribalism is a mother fucker.


The best (worst) part of watching racial discussion in social media is not just seeing the out and out hardcore racists come out the woodwork, but also the moderates who swear racism is over and are keen to tell minorities how to deal with perceived slights. In the face of black, latinos, asians, etc. telling you exactly what they deal with because of their race, your response is to tell them "It's all good" because you don't see race or some other bullshit? Really? The willful ignorance and lack of empathy are confounding.

Worst part indeed, because that sort of 80s Reagan-era colorblind formalism discourse just allows racism to fester and continue onward while stifling any sort of honest discussion by claiming them to be "race baiters" or formenting "race conflicts" or some other such garbage. Pointing out such actions cause a conflict that then becomes the main fight, while that whole racism issue lingers to the side while you and the formalist sort out why you were such a jerk to bring up race in the first place.

At least an overt racist is easily identified and dealt with or ignored. The "moderate" you talk about is so much more insidious.

 

[Mumei]

The best (worst) part of watching racial discussion in social media is not just seeing the out and out hardcore racists come out the woodwork, but also the moderates who swear racism is over and are keen to tell minorities how to deal with perceived slights. In the face of black, latinos, asians, etc. telling you exactly what they deal with because of their race, your response is to tell them "It's all good" because you don't see race or some other bullshit? Really? The willful ignorance and lack of empathy are confounding.

That's why I find it more irritating. Ta-Nehisi Coates put it perfectly.

The problem with Cliven Bundy isn't that he is a racist but that he is an oafish racist. He invokes the crudest stereotypes, like cotton picking. This makes white people feel bad. The elegant racist knows how to injure non-white people while never summoning the specter of white guilt. Elegant racism requires plausible deniability, as when Reagan just happened to stumble into the Neshoba County fair and mention state's rights. Oafish racism leaves no escape hatch, as when Trent Lott praised Strom Thurmond's singularly segregationist candidacy.

Elegant racism is invisible, supple, and enduring. It disguises itself in the national vocabulary, avoids epithets and didacticism. Grace is the singular marker of elegant racism. One should never underestimate the touch needed to, say, injure the voting rights of black people without ever saying their names. Elegant racism lives at the border of white shame. Elegant racism was the poll tax. Elegant racism is voter-ID laws.

"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," John Roberts elegantly wrote. Liberals have yet to come up with a credible retort. That is because the theories of John Roberts are prettier than the theories of most liberals. But more, it is because liberals do not understand that America has never discriminated on the basis of race (which does not exist) but on the basis of racism (which most certainly does.)

And elegant racism, the sort that doesn't call attention to itself but functions nonetheless, is exactly what people need to argue that it's all a mirage, and in some cases actually believe it.

 

[YesNOnoNOYes]

Great read, thank you for sharing OP

I've met a few friends in real who are genuinely nice people who unfortunately fall upon the post-racial world crowd because they don't quite recognise racism when it's not overt racism.

Will point them towards this article.

 

[Infinite]

I think the reason why shit like this happens partly because when we have discussions about racism (other isms) we only discuss individual racism. It's much easier to catch a dude using a slur, shame them, and discuss amongst ourselves how not racists we are compared to that person because we'll never call a black person the n-word. With the focus on the individual it's easy to change the narrative and make the victim seem at fault.

 

[Angelus Errare]

It's not just the flat out overt and covert racism that's the problem, but also people's apathy towards it all is a huge problem that further feeds said racism.

 

[Infinite]

It's not just the flat out overt and covert racism that's the problem, but also people's apathy towards it all is a huge problem that further feeds said racism.

The apathy is there because people only see individual racism.

 

[way more]

TL, what is SavedYouAClick's take on it, they are always good at reducing articles down to one word.

 

[Opinionatedfish]

What I gathered from the article: "Racism is jumping to conclusions and then accepting those conclusions as proof without further research." It then contained a lot of "Generally, our competitors jump to conclusions" statements.

So, we can conclude that racism is what happens when we accept our prejudices (prejudgements or first impressions) as the only "Gospel Truth" in a situation.

If you want to be a racist in 2014, quickly glance at something and then viciously defend your initial opinion of it or flat out dismiss it as having no merit without even venturing a first glance.

The too long; did not read on this would be as follows: "Haste makes Waste. Waste leads to racism."

 

[benjipwns]

What I gathered from the article: "Racism is jumping to conclusions and then accepting those conclusions as proof without further research." It then contained a lot of "Generally, our competitors jump to conclusions" statements.

So, we can conclude that racism is what happens when we accept our prejudices (prejudgements or first impressions) as the only "Gospel Truth" in a situation.

If you want to be a racist in 2014, quickly glance at something and then viciously defend your initial opinion of it or flat out dismiss it as having no merit without even venturing a first glance.

The too long; did not read on this would be as follows: "Haste makes Waste. Waste leads to racism."

Pfft, what a post with no merit.

 

[Opinionatedfish]

Pfft, what a post with no merit.

Frankly, I am shocked and I shall tweet my outrage to my millions of followers.

Spoiler

Bravo, I smiled at your response.

 

[way more]

Pfft, what a post with no merit.

Now that's a SavedMeAClick

 

[Valhelm]

This, along with the lined Ta-nehisi Coates article, is something everyone should see. So many white people (maybe Asian people, as well?) have the misconception that racism is primarily a matter of individual cruelty rather than systemic prejudice. I've posted pretty extensively in the past about how the American school system portrays racism in a very problematic way, by basically suggesting that racism ended with MLK. Because of that, millions and millions of Americans have a very twisted idea of what racism is.

Until I was about sixteen, I was under the impression that racism had to be conscious. I used to defend characters like the "Cole Train" from Gears of War, because I knew they weren't created with malice in mind. Obviously that's a really, really shitty attitude to have about racism, but I think many white people never grow out of it. Because racism is associated with evil, it's believed that racism must always be deliberate and malicious. That's a problem in itself, but it also leads to clearly intentional examples of open racism (a cop yelling the n-word, for instance) being brushed aside with a bullshit excuse like "He was really upset and it just slipped out!"

Now that's a SavedMeAClick

lol

 

[Opinionatedfish]

This, along with the lined Ta-nehisi Coates article, is something everyone should see. So many white people (maybe Asian people, as well?) have the misconception that racism is primarily a matter of individual cruelty rather than systemic prejudice. I've posted pretty extensively in the past about how the American school system portrays racism in a very problematic way, by basically suggesting that racism ended with MLK. Because of that, millions and millions of Americans have a very twisted idea of what racism is.

It's the quick burst and initial prejudices backed up by a long set of tiny ideas that complete racism. You're right about people being taught that racism is some sort of evil, GIANT boogie man. So, we look at it as something over the top.. when it's really quick, little, and subtle. It creeps in, little bits at a time, and becomes ingrained.

To the point where we don't realize it. It becomes just normal, everyday, and "defensible."

Spoiler

I wrote the paragraphs with extra spaces between the words and then the forum AUTOCORRECTED the spaces. Wow. Technology....

 

[PhoenixDark]

I really dislike the term "new racism" and notice it has popped up quite a bit lately. There's nothing new about this racism. it's been standard operating procedure for quite some time. If anything it's more effective now because of the perceived level of equality ("we have a black president").

It's very easy to admonish overt, pathetic racism; you wouldn't have much trouble rallying people against cross burning, for instance. But once you start talking about institutional racism the debate goes to hell.

 

[Infinite]

This, along with the lined Ta-nehisi Coates article, is something everyone should see. So many white people (maybe Asian people, as well?) have the misconception that racism is primarily a matter of individual cruelty rather than systemic prejudice. I've posted pretty extensively in the past about how the American school system portrays racism in a very problematic way, by basically suggesting that racism ended with MLK. Because of that, millions and millions of Americans have a very twisted idea of what racism is.

Until I was about sixteen, I was under the impression that racism had to be conscious. I used to defend characters like the "Cole Train" from Gears of War, because I knew they weren't created with malice in mind. Obviously that's a really, really shitty attitude to have about racism, but I think many white people never grow out of it. Because racism is associated with evil, it's believed that racism must always be deliberate and malicious. That's a problem in itself, but it also leads to clearly intentional examples of open racism (a cop yelling the n-word, for instance) being brushed aside with a bullshit excuse like "He was really upset and it just slipped out!"



lol

Fully agree

 

[way more]

This, along with the lined Ta-nehisi Coates article, is something everyone should see. So many white people (maybe Asian people, as well?) have the misconception that racism is primarily a matter of individual cruelty rather than systemic prejudice. I've posted pretty extensively in the past about how the American school system portrays racism in a very problematic way, by basically suggesting that racism ended with MLK. Because of that, millions and millions of Americans have a very twisted idea of what racism is.

Until I was about sixteen, I was under the impression that racism had to be conscious. I used to defend characters like the "Cole Train" from Gears of War, because I knew they weren't created with malice in mind. Obviously that's a really, really shitty attitude to have about racism, but I think many white people never grow out of it. Because racism is associated with evil, it's believed that racism must always be deliberate and malicious. That's a problem in itself, but it also leads to clearly intentional examples of open racism (a cop yelling the n-word, for instance) being brushed aside with a bullshit excuse like "He was really upset and it just slipped out!"

I like this because the Ferguson cop who shot that boy was not a racist. The cop was not a racist but the policies and institutions he was ordered to serve led to his death. The shooting of a innocent black teen was inevitable.

Policies and institutions are the new battleground and the people of Ferguson recognized that. Policy is the strongest word in politics and I expect those policies to be changed. The public isn't asking if cop with badge 53456 is racist and should be reprimanded. We are asking if the institution, the program, the training and bureaucracy needs to be change.

I feel like there was a change here. Instead of blaming the one cop we are pointing fingers to the institution, the policies, the politics. Institutions and policy are the words I've heard instead of bigot and asshole. I really hope this is a change. One where we stop asking if the cops are racist or if the institution that they abide by forces them to be.

 

[Valhelm]

I feel like there was a change here. Instead of blaming the one cop we are pointing fingers to the institution, the policies, the politics. Institutions and policy are the words I've heard instead of bigot and asshole. I really hope this is a change. One where we stop asking if the cops are racist or if the institution that they abide by forces them to be.

I hope a change has happened. There was an interesting disconnect in reactions to the Ferguson protest. Huge amounts of people felt personally attacked by the language used by demonstrators, needing to say that "Bad cops are racist", and not "American police is racist." Because of the belief that racism is based on personal beliefs and conscious actions, a lot of people in real life and on Facebook felt compelled to point out that "only some cops are racist". Some of these people were even Black.

But the issue is with the entire police system and its way of business, not the beliefs of individual officers. It's entirely possible that the officer who killed Michael Brown was not racist, but he was still operating within a racist system. This is why an African American officer who frisks Black people is still perpetuating racism, even though he or she obviously has no bias against other African Americans.

 

[Yrael]

For these anti-anti-racists, accusations of racism are a greater concern than actual discrimination and prejudice against blacks and other minorities. It’s not that they support racism, but that they see it as largely irrelevant to contemporary life—any problems with minority communities, in their eyes, have more to do with cultural dysfunction, not racial inequality. Moreover, if there’s a racial problem in America, it’s not against minorities, it’s against whites: “Caucasian is not one of the colors getting helped,” said Fox contributor Todd Starnes, attacking the president’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative.

Ah yes. I've seen many instances of racism being rebranded as a "culture problem" instead. It usually goes like this:

1. Person is shown an example of racism towards a minority.
2. They explain it by saying "well, black/Latino/Aboriginal Australian/etc culture is largely lazy/aggressive/promiscuous/violent, which gives people a negative impression of people belonging to that ethnic group."
3. They then argue that's not being racist, because "culture isn't innate."
4. "Therefore it's a class issue - racism doesn't exist."

Unfortunately, the fact that class and race issues are closely intertwined precisely because of systematic and pervasive racism at every level tends not to be well understood, and is often countered with the "bootstraps" argument ("hard work can overcome everything") or deflected with personal anecdote ("I'm white and have been discriminated against too!").

 

[studyguy]

I would love a race subforum.

Spoiler

I mean... has GAF has never watched rally racing or the Le Mans24? Stuff deserves it's own forum!

 

[Juicy Bob]

Wow. The parallels in that OP between Till and Martin are pretty frightening.

 

[DC R1D3R]

racism is evil. But a racist might just be an ignorant person.

however, once any person of moderate intelligence does any form of history backtracking and still finds they have racist views, then they are truly wicked.

evil/wicked hearted people have no place on this earth.

 

[Rastafarian42]

That highlighted Emitt Till quote really says it all regarding this portrayal of black men in society as soon as you put them in that "dangerous" stereotype it's hard to for people to perceive them as innocent in cases like these shit PERIOD. This needs to be brought to a bigger audience because this shit is despicable and must stop Emitt Till was enough.

 

[cyclonekruse]

Part of the issue is our faulty psychology. We are subject to problematic biases and flawed pattern recognition. We extend generalizations too far. And we work from incomplete data which creates an incorrect view of the world.

For example, a given white person might say racism is wrong (and fully mean it) but at the same time associate black people dressed as "thugs" and start jumping to all kinds of conclusions. We are pretty used to seeing people dressed like thugs be arrested. And so some people's brains start to associate the two. But if we also saw all the people (the majority) who dress similarly and are not criminals then those people might not be so quick to jump from the stimulus to the unfounded conclusion. So growing up in those neighborhoods offers a perspective not readily available to folks living in rural (and very white) parts of the country.

But by the same token some people also extend generalizations about cops too far. It works both ways. The unfortunate thing is that when a copy makes a hasty inference about a black person, the cop has the power to arrest or kill him/her. When someone makes a faulty conclusion about cops it might just make them uncooperative. They don't have the power to cause the cop harm. But then being uncooperative makes the cop suspicious and it spirals from there. Same cognitive biases on both sides but sometimes tragically different outcomes.

 

[Slayven]

That highlighted Emitt Till quote really says it all regarding this portrayal of black men in society as soon as you put them in that "dangerous" stereotype it's hard to for people to perceive them as innocent in cases like these shit PERIOD. This needs to be brought to a bigger audience because this shit is despicable and must stop Emitt Till was enough.

The words might change but the tune stays the same.

 

[Mumei]

That highlighted Emitt Till quote really says it all regarding this portrayal of black men in society as soon as you put them in that "dangerous" stereotype it's hard to for people to perceive them as innocent in cases like these shit PERIOD. This needs to be brought to a bigger audience because this shit is despicable and must stop Emitt Till was enough.

That's the thing. Just look what happens:

In a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers asked college students and police officers to estimate the ages of young children who they were told had committed a crime (both misdemeanors and felonies). In both groups, respondents were far more likely to overestimate the ages of young black boys than young white boys; they were also less likely to view black children as innocent.

&#8220;Children in most societies are considered to be in a distinct group with characteristics such as innocence and the need for protection,&#8221; study author and professor of psychology at UCLA Phillip Atiba Goff said of the study. &#8220;Our research found that black boys can be seen as responsible for their actions at an age when white boys still benefit from the assumption that children are essentially innocent.&#8221;

The goal of the study, according to researchers, was to determine the extent to which respondents dehumanized young black children, and how this racist dehumanization can lead to violence and unjust treatment. &#8220;f human childhood affords protections against harsh, adult-like treatment, then in contexts where these children are dehumanized, they can be treated with adult severity&#8221; &#8212; specifically in the criminal justice system, researchers wrote.

As Philip Bump at the Wire notes, college students tended to overestimate the ages of young boys who were presented as having committed a felony by 4.53 years, meaning that 13 and 14 year old children were determined by respondents to be legal adults. Police officers tended overestimate these boys&#8217; ages by 4.59 years. Overall, researchers note, participants viewed black children aged 10 and older as &#8220;significantly less innocent than other children of every age group.&#8221;

There was also a correlation between the police officers&#8217; responses and their record of using force against people suspected of a crime, specifically young black boys, though Goff noted that &#8220;future research should try to clarify the relationship between dehumanization and racial disparities in police use of force.&#8221;

 

[Darkgran]

Here is a great example of this. I think this is the blogger that is mentioned in the article.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/cons...-streak-with-michael-browns-instagram-photos/