tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post7004297520397497370..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Paula Deen And A Certain Kind Of RacismJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-59326942382370172992013-07-14T09:11:09.498-05:002013-07-14T09:11:09.498-05:00As usual a great piece of writing from you, Jim. A...As usual a great piece of writing from you, Jim. As usual I learnt even more from the embedded links, and those of your "commentors"(?, I dislike followers, sounds a bit Jim Jones to me).<br />Long Ben Averyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12382408372788942193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-533388096492106612013-07-07T08:50:40.315-05:002013-07-07T08:50:40.315-05:00There's another minority group it's still ...There's another minority group it's still socially acceptable to use slurs about. Where members of that minority group can be fired solely because they're members of it in 36 states.<br /><br />See if you can guess what it is from these figures:<br /><br />Respondents were nearly four times more likely to live in extreme poverty, with household income of less than $10,000.<br /><br />Respondents were twice as likely to be unemployed compared to the population as a whole. Half of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment or other mistreatment in the workplace, and one in four were fired.<br /><br />While discrimination was pervasive for the entire sample, it was particularly pronounced for people of color. African-American respondents fared far worse than all others in many areas studied.<br /><br />Housing discrimination was also common. 19% reported being refused a home or apartment and 11% reported being evicted. One in five respondents experienced homelessness.<br /><br />An astonishing 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide, compared to only 1.6% of the general population.<br /><br />Discrimination in health care and poor health outcomes were frequently experienced by respondents. 19% reported being refused care, with this figure even higher for respondents of color. <br /><br />Harassment by law enforcement was reported by 22% of respondents and nearly half were uncomfortable seeking police assistance.<br /><br />That was in a sample of 6500 of them.Zoe Brainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13712045376060102538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-85186947023556985502013-07-07T08:42:25.846-05:002013-07-07T08:42:25.846-05:00I'm from the South (as my IP address indicates...I'm from the South (as my IP address indicates). The real South, not the "North American South". Where the Southern Cross is a constellation in the sky, and we have to be careful of kangaroos on the road at dusk in the outer suburbs.<br /><br />I've not spent long in the USA - only a few months, in Los Angeles, Akron, Honolulu and New Orleans mainly. Four very different countries, unlike the homogenous nature of Australia. So my knowledge is scant - though I do, maybe, have something to contribute as an outsider.<br /><br />As a durned furriner - and a sometime guest - I'm conflicted. It's bad manners to criticise a host, but true friends hit you over the head with a cluebat when you screw up. Or mine do anyway. I rely on them to do that.<br /><br />I frequent many US current events sites. Not just the usual ones. I see lots of White Supremacist crap in those. I also see things like this, because if you mistreat a minority for long enough, they become as batsh*t crazy as their persecutors:<br /><br />"Why doesn’t Brother Boyce Watkins, Your Black World, Black-Blue Dog and the other black websites start talking about ways for us blacks to cease being divided and conquered by Jews and other whites, who are still extremely busy keeping us battling each other. Just as is the case of Allen West and Bill Cosby, after some white or Jew media got Cosby to stir up blacks with that article. And while we are here talking about these two blacks, there are tons of others that are also opposed to the Nation of Islam, so don’t just jump on sorry and pathetic “Uncle Allen.” Let’s jump on the white media, PERIOD, which is being run mainly by Jews, who are even dividing President Obama against black folks, since they are in full control of him. But he’s not saying or doing anything to divide the Jews, or any other whites, as he is upsetting many blacks. Even many among the Congressional Black Caucus, which includes his weak hiring practices of too few blacks, BUT TONS OF JEWS AND OTHER WHITES. And look how the white media (MSNBC) has divided Al Sharpton from being able to take on a lot of certain issues, because he’s now on their payroll, and being told to say and do what the same Jews tell Obama to say and do. And he can’t say a word about them, even if they talked about my momma, or even his own late mother. And I doubt if any of these black websites will EVER raise such issues about the domination of the media by Jews, who even control BET, and these so-calle black radio stations. And are even into black newspapers and magazines, including Essence and Ebony now. LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS DIVISION. Which is just as bad, but in a different way, as Willie Lynch’s tactics. — Rev. George Brooks"<br /><br />Insanity breeds Insanity. Poison breeds Poison. This embedded racism has borne more than one kind of strange fruit in the colour-coded underclass in the USA.<br /><br />I've seen the same used food in other underclasses too - in the UK, it's not skin colour, but accent that assigns you to your place in society, amidst the dregs or the scum. Underclasses become what their persecutors call them - uncivilised, violent, crime-ridden, and even those like the Reverend above who are trying to fight against that are often infected with hate and insanity.<br /><br />While talking with a waitress in New Orleans, I heard something that broke my heart. Her boy was doing really well in Computer Science at school - and she wanted him to drop the subject.<br /><br />Why? Because those arrested for "walking while Black" got light terms if they were unskilled, but much longer sentences if they were valuable as workers in the privately-run prisons. A semi-illiterate would get 3 months after deductions for "good time", a book-keeper or programmer 2 years, extended to 5 for various infractions while inside.<br /><br />It was taken for granted that of course he'd be arrested, and convicted, for something. Literally every minimum-wage worker I talked to had done jail time or was on probation.<br />Zoe Brainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13712045376060102538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-62443266662825212592013-07-06T20:33:02.843-05:002013-07-06T20:33:02.843-05:00Y'know, it might just happen one of these days...Y'know, it might just happen one of these days. I hope I'm still around to crack a gap-toothed smile.<br /><br />Sea story: A good few years ago, I was the equipment manager for the video production department of a large non-profit corporation in Oakland, CA. One of my jobs was keeping the production van (we did a lot of outside stuff) maintained and ready to go out.<br /><br />Early in my time there, one or more freelancers had abused the commercial gas card issued with the van to fuel their own cars. The company had yanked the card, so my only source for fuel was the motor pool gas station in the company parking garage...which was generally presided over by the lead parking attendant, a middle-aged black guy with a reputation for being surly and uncooperative.<br /><br />One afternoon in my first week on the job, the van came back with the needle on (E) 20 minutes before the garage closed, and had to go out again at 0600 the next morning. I grabbed the keys and hauled ass over to the garage...and yeah, got instant attitude from that attendant. Which I cut short with the basic formula of "Dude, both of us want to go home. Fill me up and you're out of here five minutes over quitting time; I still have two hours' work to do once I get the van back to the shop. Want to waste both our time giving me crap, or can we get this done?"<br /><br />He grumbled a bit - but only a bit - backed me in (the gas station was in a dark, narrow and steeply sloped bay that was NO fun to negotiate in a full-sized van with no rear windows) and fired up the pump. With a 30-gallon tank to fill, we had some time to kill.<br /><br />After eyeing me for a minute, he commented "You must be new; I'm used to seeing the big guy bringing this thing in."<br /><br />Without thinking, I said "Oh, you mean Gordon."<br /><br />I got a <i>very</i> strange look, and then "Uh...no. Not Gordon."<br /><br />Still not thinking, I said, "Must be Mike, then." "Yeah, Mike, that's the guy."<br /><br />Both the guys I named had held my job in the past. Gordon was indeed a big guy: 6'5". Mike was almost as big (6'2" and a fair bit wider.)<br /><br />Big difference (which I didn't twig to until a day later) was: Gordon was black. And that literally never crossed my mind. He was the biggest guy in the shop, therefore "the big guy."<br /><br />I worked for that same company for 5 years. I used that garage for my own car and for the shop van for the entire time - and I never had anything but a cheerful and friendly interaction with that attendant from that point onward.<br /><br />I don't present this as an example of "look how enlightened I am", but as an example of "This Is How Things Ought To Work."<br /><br />Little by little, we get it right.Don Hilliardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-57500980596135452602013-07-06T19:45:32.236-05:002013-07-06T19:45:32.236-05:00"Older people using the language of an earlie..."Older people using the language of an earlier generation" would have been my mother, who was born in 1936 and still generally used the term "Negro" (with absolutely no animus: to her, "colored" was a vile term and "black" she thought was mildly insulting.)<br /><br />"Older people using the racist language of an earlier generation" would be my paternal grandmother, born somewhere around 1912 in the wilds of Wyoming, who let the word "nigger" drop a few times in my presence over the years. (She was the exemplar of a genteel racist: one who'd never use That Word in public, but would use it occasionally in private...and probably call the police if she saw a black man within 100 feet of her house, unless she'd hired him to trim the shrubs.)<br /><br />Paula Deen is younger than either of those two would be were they still alive. Even adjusting for a Southern background...she's of an age to know better.Don Hilliardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-40609459721140199352013-07-06T17:22:16.381-05:002013-07-06T17:22:16.381-05:00Deen's "benevolent" racism needs to ...Deen's "benevolent" racism needs to be chastised just as the heinous kinds you illustrated. We've been burdened with this nonsense for centuries. I want my fellow countrymen to live up to the words in our founding documents, equality, freedom, etc. Deen has made a ton of money with her folksy charm. She needs to recognize how awful her actions truly are. Leslienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-26302246173226704582013-07-06T16:50:06.363-05:002013-07-06T16:50:06.363-05:00This speaks volumes about the argument I've (p...This speaks volumes about the argument I've (pointlessly) tried to make to the Deen defenders who insist she's too old to be held accountable or just too dang sweet to be a real racist. I have family in the deep south and when I first visited them as a teenager, I was shocked to witness these "I'm not a racist, but ...." attitudes. The people I met there (as well as a couple of my family, unfortunately) would use the "n" word in front of me - assuming it was ok - and tell race-based jokes. Had anyone said, "Wow, you're racist!" they would've been shocked and insulted. They would trot out the friend example Jim Wright used but end the notion with how, despite the "good" kind of black folks out there, there are so many that ARE "n" words and it's not a white person's fault for recognizing this. And, as always, the jokes are just jokes, people, get a sense of humor! Nothing was meant by it!<br /><br />It's these "aw shucks, I'm not a racist" defenses coming from people who truly do not see their attitudes for what they are that are recipes for blood boiling on the parts of others. <br /><br />If someone wants to point out she made a "mistake" and the old glass houses defense, why can't they also take line of thought to its natural conclusion? Sometimes when someone fucks up, there are consequences. An apology is not an automatic get-out-of-jail-free card from any consequences. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-34593090825940162222013-07-05T23:40:23.574-05:002013-07-05T23:40:23.574-05:00I thought your explanation of soft racism was exce...I thought your explanation of soft racism was excellent. I struggle to work through my own version of soft racism as a white almost 50 woman.<br /><br />I think my children will be and already are examples of a younger generation who will be free from much of that. Thanks for your thoughtful words.<br /><br /><br />Cheryl Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11643077096675159960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-88530964489528554172013-07-03T16:40:18.044-05:002013-07-03T16:40:18.044-05:00@Jerry A...I had a thought for another reply: &qu...@Jerry A...I had a thought for another reply: "I'm just trying to be the best me I can". What do you think?<br /><br />CT YankeeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-30894451703723912952013-07-03T12:32:45.635-05:002013-07-03T12:32:45.635-05:00The Amish refer to non-Amish, including Jews, as &...The Amish refer to non-Amish, including Jews, as "Gentiles." Just sayin'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-23061329460558092682013-07-03T12:19:52.521-05:002013-07-03T12:19:52.521-05:00I think Paula Deen and others of her ilk are have ...I think Paula Deen and others of her ilk are have been made comfortable by their lifetime of white privilege (of which they may not be consciously aware), which allows them to be nostalgic for a South that never was - sittin' on the veranda in the evenin', a soft breeze through the magnolias, bein' handed a mint julep by Hattie, an' listenin' to the outside help gathered in the shade, singin' old songs - "Weep no more, my lady. Oh, weep no more today."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-3148720402930027352013-07-03T12:06:39.198-05:002013-07-03T12:06:39.198-05:00I think your reference to the "paper bag test...I think your reference to the "paper bag test" is a little off. I would first say that in many, if not most, societies (even within Africa) lighter skin color correlates to higher status and privilege. The "paper bag test" in particular has been secretly (or not so secretly) applied within sororities at predominantly black schools as a rule to maintain exclusivity, i.e. they will not admit anyone whose color is "darker than a paper bag." It's dehumanizing and demeaning to be sure, but it is not exclusive to unreconstructed whites.<br /><br />Just sayin'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29957787110138365262013-07-03T08:42:19.626-05:002013-07-03T08:42:19.626-05:00The key is recognizing your biases. I do not resp...The key is recognizing your biases. I do not respect members of the far-right and very few, if any, members of the GOP. But that is based on the hate politics of Nixon, Reagan and the scrubs. <br /><br />As for "closer to Paula Dean" than we like to admit, we all face temptations... to cheat, steal, to let bigotry control us, etc. The key is not falling into temptations and passing that along to our children. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18117837896972479819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-69728815229511809852013-07-03T08:33:42.575-05:002013-07-03T08:33:42.575-05:00I really never have understood her popularity to b...I really never have understood her popularity to begin with....omg! that awful accent! <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-83820070812327115582013-07-03T08:27:42.037-05:002013-07-03T08:27:42.037-05:00I was born in the deep South in the 1950s. My lif...I was born in the deep South in the 1950s. My life was shaped by a black woman who was a major part of my life from the time I was 7 until I entered high school. I had too much respect for her to ever call or refer to any Black person by the n-word. To me, to use that word would be insulting her. But I heard that word often growing up. Now I never hear it... even my family no longer uses it in my presence. Part of it may be that I was willing to speak out against the use of the n-word in my presence. Or maybe they grew up.<br /><br />I respect Ms. Jackson for speaking out on the Dean family. It is not just bigotry - the Dean family has absolutely NO RESPECT for anyone. <br /><br />As for the idiots of the far right ........ if slavery is such a great thing, then maybe they should become slaves. I hope this revisionist history of slavery gets what it deserves - a quick flushing. But the far right does have this thing with owning stuff - like their wives and women in general. Several years ago, a member of the Sons of the Confederacy put out the story that Black men flocked to serve in the Confederate Army. It actually garnered some support until reality set in. In the 1860s in the South did anyone actually believe that white men would actually give loaded weapons to black men??? <br /><br />Great piece. Jim. wish more would read it.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18117837896972479819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-49407838212972410922013-07-03T03:51:12.054-05:002013-07-03T03:51:12.054-05:00Mmmmm...I started my remarks with an objection tha...Mmmmm...I started my remarks with an objection that your comments on the North were not sufficiently critical: segregation outside of the original South was a matter of "ethnic cleansing," (my words) not "concentration" or "migration" (your words.) So how do you get to "My point was and is that white suburbanites as well as people up North and out West are deluding themselves if they think racism is only a Southern problem?" I am not arguing that! Is anyone in this thread?<br /><br />It remains true that, in the aftermath of Shelby County, it was Southern states that were quick off the mark in proposing various techniques to keep blacks from voting. It is also true that black refugees from Katrina were shot at Danziger Bridge in New Orleans. There was nothing comparable in New York after Sandy. All the "racial reconciliation, understanding, and progress" you talk about--they haven't stopped that. Maybe in another generation, they will.<br /><br />Sometimes one can become blind to a place's faults by knowing and loving it well.Raven Onthillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-26715524351737160202013-07-02T20:13:37.877-05:002013-07-02T20:13:37.877-05:00And shifted to the straight Republican ticket as s...And shifted to the straight Republican ticket as soon as LBJ signed the the Civil Rights Act of 1964...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-36111832321608320302013-07-02T20:11:18.135-05:002013-07-02T20:11:18.135-05:00I am originally from Kentucky, and I was originall...I am originally from Kentucky, and I was originally somewhat racist. I like think I have recovered from both now.<br /><br />I am now from New York and on a recent return to Kentucky, was quite repelled. My son (17) who had no knowledge of this on our drive back, on re-entering the Great State of New York said, totally unprompted:<br /><br />"Wow. It's good to be back to Civilization."<br />JCJackChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08555459102129888601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-10876499703984547752013-07-02T20:05:36.682-05:002013-07-02T20:05:36.682-05:00I am from TN. The phrase "showing your ass&qu...I am from TN. The phrase "showing your ass" does not mean " uppity" to me. I have told my children that because they were, in fact, misbehaving. I abhor the word she used but I also abhor songs that call women " ho's" and speak of various sexual acts. If we only lived in a perfect world...<br />Until then I teach my children by example. I do not support the things I find offensive but I live in a glass house so until I am perfect I won't judge anyone I don't know. That being said, I do not have to support them either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-85000153139596729572013-07-02T19:51:28.325-05:002013-07-02T19:51:28.325-05:00Hey - SOME people hunt with a rifle. I use a Canon...Hey - SOME people hunt with a rifle. I use a Canon.<br /><br />(Been wanting to use that for a while now....)<br /><br />JCJackChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08555459102129888601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-63182116849389142942013-07-02T17:20:31.369-05:002013-07-02T17:20:31.369-05:00Danny, thanks for clearing that up and giving me a...Danny, thanks for clearing that up and giving me a laugh at the same time. I'm considering whether I'm a procrastinator, too. I'll think about it and get back to you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-74063048747602122602013-07-02T17:16:52.132-05:002013-07-02T17:16:52.132-05:00I'd like to share a story that demonstrates wh...I'd like to share a story that demonstrates what it means to be truly non-racist.<br /><br />When I was a child, between the ages of 5 and 13, I lived in East Africa, where my father taught in a fairly awful secondary education system. My family (mother, father, sister, brother and me) had an idyllic "post-colonial" lifestyle and lived in a big house with lots of land and a servants' quarters built a few hundred feet from the house. We had a 'house-boy', a 'shamba-boy' (gardener) and an "aiya" (a kind of nanny-cum-baby-sitter). The 'house-boy' and 'shamba-boy' were both adults and it is only recently that I have come to appreciate the significance of the term 'boy' in that situation.<br /><br />Anyway, the point of the story is that when we returned to Britain for a brief vacation after being in Africa for 2 years, my young brother, who was only 4 years old, was asked by a neighbor what it was like living with "nig-nogs'. My brother looked puzzled and didn't answer, so the question was rephrased. "What's it like living with black people?"<br /><br />My brother's answer was as priceless as it was innocent: "What's a black person"?<br /><br />When society becomes as blind to colour as was my brother, only then will racism be truly vanquished.<br /><br />Of course, it just ain't gonna happen.grumbleweedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01497860332463980147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-75692995244511920842013-07-02T16:41:26.526-05:002013-07-02T16:41:26.526-05:00ceijei,
Sorry, my point was that it was not on...ceijei,<br /><br /> Sorry, my point was that it was not only southern states that were implementing the voter ID laws. I believe saying that all people of a particular label are a certain way is not applying critical thinking. All Republicans are not homophobic, all Democrats are not in favor of Abortion, all Russian policemen do not take bribes. All people who live in my house, that are named Danny tend to be slight sarcastic, and tend to procrastinate. I would not apply those descriptions to all Dannys in the world.<br /><br /> Interesting links. Thanks.<br /><br />DannyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-2711605754500883202013-07-02T15:38:34.479-05:002013-07-02T15:38:34.479-05:00One more comment and I think I am done on this sub...One more comment and I think I am done on this subject. Black Enterprise Magazine has been rating the best communities for African Americans to live, work, and play in. As of 2007, eight of the top ten communities are in the South. <br /> <br />http://www.factmonster.com/us/states/top-ten-cities-african-americans.html <br /><br />Looking around on the interwebs I found something called the Black Agenda Report which rates the worst communities for African Americans based on racial disparity in incarceration.<br /><br />"The states with the fifteen highest disparity rates between black and white incarceration show some interesting characteristics. First, none of them are in the South. Secondly Blacks make up a negligible percentage, 6% or less in ten of these high disparity states. Thirdly, the other five high-disparity states either contain or are adjacent to three of the five largest concentrations of African American population in the US, namely the metro areas of New York, Chicago and Philadelphia."<br /><br />http://blackagendareport.com/content/2008s-ten-worst-places-be-black <br /><br />Finally, if the entire South is such a rotten place to live, it begs the question: Why are African Americans returning to the South in what has been dubbed the New Great Migration? According to USA Today "This migration is pushing the percentage of the African-American population living in this region, where they have deep roots, to the highest point in 50 years."<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-61301277229872324112013-07-02T14:45:44.227-05:002013-07-02T14:45:44.227-05:00It is probably true that there will always be raci...It is probably true that there will always be racism, sexism and all the other isms. There will always be people who hate other people. But, and this but is important, I don't have to stand for it. I can raise my children to accept and love the diversity in the world and I can vote against those people who tolerate hatred.<br /><br />Thank you Jim for speaking out and for helping those who agree with you find the words to speak out also.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com