Fourthed.

For what it’s worth, I feel pretty darn tainted and debased* by the actions of white people past and present. I’ve been committed to the continuous education of my own (white, privileged) kids about the shameful actions of our forbearers and current ‘brethren’ against people of color in hopes that their generation will be a better one. Still doesn’t feel like enough sometimes.

I’m astounded at how resistant people are to simply saying, or even feeling, sorry. When I see black people in every day life, being white, I often think, “I’m so sorry for the crap you must have endured in your life.” I too am trying to teach my son about “the shameful actions of our forbearers and current ‘bretheren’.” As I’ve said elsewhere, it’s one reason I won’t let my brother near my son anymore. My brother just constantly spouts vile, racist crap and I drew a line. Plus, I don’t want to be around it myself either. It’s like having a real-life Archie Bunker in my life, which I don’t want. /datedculturalreference

Certainly evidenced by his refusal to observe the First Rule of Holes.

Exactly. As is often said, “intentions are not magic.”

I disagree: Everyone who lives in a racist society is racist to some degree. Ergo, JT is almost certainly racist, simply due to being immersed in the racism of North American society.

Yes, I include myself in that.

What matters isn’t so much whether you’ve been infected by cultural racist memes. What matters is whether or not you recognize the power dynamics at play, whether or not you acknowledge that the racism in our society is in fact racist, and whether or not you try to fight racist tendencies in yourself. I am nowhere near as good at any of those as I’d like to be. JT shows no sign of the first, only superficial signs of the second, and since I’m not in his head, I can’t testify to the third.

Don’t forget that she brought that dog whistle from completely out of nowhere too. Mandisa Thomas’s talk wasn’t about crime at all. The women just felt entitled to bring the “black-on-black crime” talking point in because Thomas is black.

I’ve been bugged hugely ever since JT’s post came out by two assertions of his: Firstly, that the woman in question was “well-meaning”, and secondly, that the woman was “polite.”

I don’t think she was well meaning, because to be frank, as a white person in North America, I hear a lot of conversation in white-only company from those who think I share their beliefs. I’ve learned first-hand what the dogwhistles are. People don’t parrot Fox News that uncritically in my region of the continent unless they’ve got some sort of racist axe to grind. I’m not convinced the woman in question was as well meaning as JT and company claim.

Secondly, even if she was as well-meaning as they claim, I think it’s extremely fucked up that implying a person’s entire race is a bunch of violent thugs who don’t care about the law through dog-whistle racism is “polite” so long as no curse words are said, but defending oneself against such slander is a rude outburst.

To me, its a fuck of a lot less polite to attack someone’s humanity than it is to defend your humanity, no matter what the language used.

Which is, I think, my major issue with the Civility Warriors. In their bizarro-world sense of “fairness” and “compassion,” it’s A-okay to imply someone is sub-human, but using curse words? Never! For shame!

I can’t accept those definitions of fairness or compassion, that say that the woman in question was being polite, and that Crutchfield was being uncivil, uncompassionate, rude, and unfair to her. I can’t.