Dr. King And Mr. King
The other day PG stumbled onto a blog post, about a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This address was deemed “the singularly most-important speech on race in the history of this country.”
PG admires Dr. King. He is also suspicious of superlatives. There were some comments made by Rodney Glen King III. The comments by Mr King were briefer, and tougher to live up to.
While thinking of things to write about, PG realized that he had never seen the actual quote by Mr. King. It is embedded above. When you see this video, you might realize that Mr. King has been misquoted. The popular version has him saying “Can’t we all just get along.” He did not say just.
Mr. King was known to America as Rodney King. His friends called him Glen. His comments, at 7:01, May 1, 1992, went like this: ““People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids? . . . Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it.”
The circumstances of the two comments could not be more different. Dr. King was giving the sermon of his life. There was an enormous crowd, both in person and on TV. His comments were scripted, rehearsed, and delivered with the style that he was famous for.
Mr. King, by contrast, had just seen the officers who beat him acquitted. Cities from coast to coast were in violent upheaval. Mr. King was speaking to reporters without benefit of a speech writer. What he said just might have been more important. Pictures today from The Library of Congress.
I Have A Dream
PG stumbled onto a blog post about a speech. It was delivered August 28, 1963, by Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. You have probably heard the money quote many times, but how many have heard the entire 881 words. PG had not, and decided to take a look.
The speech is really a sermon. It is delivered with the cadence, and rhetorical flourishes, of the church. Dr. King was a minister. The Jesus worship church is a huge player in African America. The fact that slaves were introduced to this religion by their owners seems to be forgotten.
The term used is Negro. This was the polite word in 1963. The custom of saying Black started in the late sixties, at least partially inspired by James Brown. Negro began to be seen as an insult, along with the infamous N-word … which is really just a lazy way of saying Negro.
As the speech is working up to the climax, there is a line “But not only there; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia!” Today, Stone Mountain is a middle class black community. DeKalb County is mostly black, and the political leadership is African American. This was a long way from happening in 1963.
Twelve weeks after Dr. King gave his speech, President John Kennedy was killed. Part of the reaction to this tragedy was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The next year saw the Voting Rights Act, and escalation of the war in Vietnam. It seemed that for every step forward, there was a half step back. People lost patience with non violence. America did not implode, but somehow survived. It is now fifty one years later. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Sunday Racial Polemic
PG was spending a productive sunday morning. He created a map to the Living Walls grafitti festival. He was in a good mood. Even this link on facebook did not bring our slack blogger down.
Out of a masochistic sense of fairness, PG took a look at the link after he finished the map. “That’s Racist Against White People!” A Discussion on Power and Privilege is the usual headache producing polemic. Here is the third paragraph.
These are White folks who are claiming that the Obamacare tax on tanning beds is “racist” against White people. These are White folks who are claiming that affirmative action is racist against them. These are the White folks who honestly believe they suffer more racism than people of Color.
Lets take a look at those three links. In the first, Republican Congressman Ted Yoho complained to John Boehner about what is sometimes called the “Snooki tax”. The second link, about affirmative action, is linked to a feminist blog. The money quote “Ask any White person how they feel about Affirmative Action, and you’re almost guaranteed to hear that it is “racist against White people” and that it is “unfair” or “reverse discrimination” and that they oppose it.” This article is used as a source for the comment “These are White folks who are claiming that affirmative action is racist against them.” Is “ask any white person” prejudiced?
The last one, about PWOC thinking they suffer more discrimination than POC, is linked to an article in a British tabloid newspaper. Somebody did a study once, and that was one of the results. The study also showed “Blacks also perceived that racism against themselves had steeply declined from 9.7 in the 1950s to 6.1 in the 90s.”
One of the main points in the Everyday Feminism post was that the word racist is often misused. PG will not argue against that. The article was posted two days before a curious tweet by Chris Brown. “N**** done 6 months community service wit police and the DA racist ass crying to the judge that I didn’t do it. Fuck the SYSTEM! “
The entertainer, who is a POC, got in trouble for publicly beating up his girlfriend. He has had problems with his community service requirment. The amusing thing about this tweet is that the “DA racist ass” is a POC.
This is a repost. Very few things needed to be changed. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These images are Union soldiers from the War Between the States. The primary justification for that gruesome conflict was the abolition of slavery.
Moral Superiority Comedy
As facebook memes remind us, Jon Stewart recently delivered a speech about racism. It is embedded above, in case you missed it. The closing line is “And that shit happens all the time. All the time. Race is there, and it is a constant. You’re tired of hearing about it? Imagine how fucking exhausting it is living it.” The crowd went into hysterics.
Our media culture is strange. On the “conservative” side, buffoons like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly present news as entertainment. On the “liberal” side, comedians like Jon Stewart and Bill Maher present comedy routines as political commentary. America becomes more cynical every day.
There is another video embedded above. In this one, the former Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz says something critical about Israel. He is gleefully shouted down. Eventually, he gives up.
This video could have been made about race relations. If a white person says anything except the party line, he can expect to be called racist, and shouted down. Two wrongs become one right.
So the choice becomes not wanting to be yelled at, or not wanting to live a black life. You can yell at white people as long as you like about racism, and it will not change the way black people live. This yelling will accomplish little, except giving the dubious feeling of moral superiority. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Every 36 Hours
The issue of black people killed by police is in the public eye. PG saw a tweet, saying that a black person was killed by the police every 28 hours. There was a link to a report, Report on Black People Executed with out Trial by Police, Security Guards and Self-Appointed Law Enforcers January 1 – June 30, 2012. The report looks at 120 POC between 01-01-2012 and 06-30-2012.
There is a list of cities where these incidents took place. Atlanta is on top, with 10 deaths. The 10 deaths is actually for Georgia, with one incident taking place near Savannah.
Here are the ten deaths from Georgia. Bear in mind that the information presented here is from the report. For eight of the men, a link is given to a news report.Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
1/1/2012 Canard Arnold, 17, Atlanta GA ~ A white security guard, alleged he felt his life was in danger when Arnold was involved in a shooting with another man, so he fatally shot Arnold. Witnesses say that Arnold was unarmed and running away from a gunfight that others were involved in. Also witnesses say that Arnold never confronted or threatened the security guard. He was shot in the back.
3/1/2012 Freddie Burton Jr, 24, Clayton County ~ Burton allegedly robbed a Jamaican restaurant of $200 at gunpoint. As he was running away from police, he discharged his weapon and escaped. Then he carjacked a vehicle and jumped out of it while it was moving resulting in the car crashing into a house. Burton finally barricaded himself in his sister’s house. A SWAT team failed at negotiating his surrender. A shootout resulted in his death.
3/24/2012 Ervin Jefferson, 18, DeKalb County ~ As he was trying to protect his sister, Jefferson was shot by two security guards who impersonated police officer.
3/27/2012 Tendai Nhekairo, 18, Cobb County ~ Zimbabwean teenager attended Campbell High School. There were conflicting reports about whether his bizarre behavior threatened anyone. Police shot him while he was naked. They alleged he had a knife.
6/16/2012 Marcus Bell, 26, Jonesboro ~ Officers responded to a call about a domestic disturbance. Bell barricaded himself in his apartment but allowed the woman to leave. She showed signs of assault. After a two-hour standoff, officers obtained a warrant for the woman’s assault and forced their way into the apartment. Bell apparently never fired a shot.
6/21/2012 name not released as of 6/29/12 Mount Zion Road, Clayton County ~ Police stopped a car with 5 passengers. One had outstanding warrants. When the officer asked him to step out of the car, suspect allegedly pulled gun from waist and started shooting. One officer and the driver of the car were shot before the suspect was killed.
6/26/2012 Deshone Lamar Travis, 20, Port Wentworth GA ~ Police went to Travis’ home to question him about a robbery. He was uncooperative. Officers “feared for their life” because Travis backed his car towards them. Officers fatally shot him. Witnesses said Travis was driving no more than 5mph and was no threat.
6/27/2012 Christopher Calhoun, 38, Atlanta GA ~ Calhoun was wanted on drug and theft charges in Mississippi. Based on a tip, police found him in the parking lot of an Atlanta mall. Police shot and killed him when he allegedly pointed a gun at them.
6/27/2012 Trevion Davis, 13, Clayton County ~ Police responded to a call about a residential break-in and found three young men in the backyard. The police alleged Trevion “presented that handgun. Subsequently officers fired upon that individual.” One officer shot Trevion in the head. Police later found that the “firearm” was a BB gun
6/28/2012 David Foreman, 31, Brookhaven ~ DeKalb County officers responded to a 911 call about a “domestic dispute”. When officers confronted an agitated Foreman, he held a pistol to his own head. Then he allegedly pointed the weapon at officers who shot him 3 times.
Skimpy Evidence
#prayforhim ~ The opening story is of a history class. They are discussing the origins of civilization. They say Africa is not mentioned. Isn’t that the continent that contains Egypt? ~ That is just one problem with this article. It makes a lot of sweeping assumptions, based on skimpy evidence. I agree that cultural differences should be taken into consideration while teaching. I also suspect that it goes on a lot more than that correspondent sees. There is also the matter of what might be called the subtle bigotry of low expectations. Are black students held to the same standards as white students? Maybe they should not be. Or maybe we are cheating them out of a good education. I am not always smart enough to know the answer. I have been away from public schools for a long time, so I don’t really know what is going on. I just have a sense that this article is off target in a lot of ways. ~ I am also leery of displaying skeptical thought on facebook. This is the home office of ad hominem attacks. ~ Carmen Miranda ~ The broccoli issue reminds me of the jesus issue. People with christian privilege assume that you share their obsession with life after death. They think that telling you endlessly about it will change your mind. It is like yelling at a hispanic person in english. No matter how loud or insulting you are, they simply do not understand what you are saying. Just like I do not find ad hominem attacks to be refreshing. Either to my face, or otherwise. ~ leftover coffee – works better with a gas stove – microwave discharge – 26 mins · Edited · Like ~ You wrote a story once about what you wore to your “first gay party.” ~ Are the stairwells booby trap locked? In some buildings, the stairs are only for emergencies. It is a security thing that I do not understand. ~ ” Because you don’t go for cynical, boring, corporate marketing ploys.” That would mean not reading The Matt Walsh Blog ~ Time and again, ______’s efforts to find a pliant _____ partner that is both credible with _____ and willing to eschew violence, have backfired. Would-be partners have turned into foes or lost the support of their people. ~ Jodie did you mean “bionic in the spine”? A typo can change the meaning completely. ~ bionic in the spin sounds like a dance ~ You have been blocked from following this account at the request of the user. ~ The goat boutique sure has changed. ~ Maybe it is a rogue lone cell of the IDF which drops fragmentation bombs on a civilian population ~ A physical therapist told me, when my L5S1 was in disarray, not to sit down. This puts pressure on the lower spine. I am not familiar with your situation, and this might not apply to you. ~ I wrote a feature recently, The end of racism There was a quote from Dr. McWhorter. “When decrying racism opens no door and teaches no skill, it becomes a schoolroom tattletale affair. It is unworthy of all of us: “He’s just a racist” intoned like “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!”” ~ we are all oppressed in certain ways, and we all occupy the position of the oppressor in other ways. But in some attempt to reconcile this contradiction, we want to believe that victimhood gives us carte blanche, that we are automatically on the more inclusive, aware, and equitable side of the curve. ~ The pictures for this feature are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
The End Of Racism
One of the touted TED talks in the weekly email is Color blind or color brave? It is by Mellody Hobson, a POC in the investment business. It is the standard call to talk more about race. Talk, talk, talk, and talk some more. The word listen is not used.
At the 3:13 mark, Mrs. Hobson makes a remarkable statement. “Now I know there are people out there who will say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity, right?” It is possible that someone has said that. There are also people who say the earth is flat.
PG asked Mr. Google about this. The top two results are about the TED talk. The third result is an article in Forbes magazine, Racism In America Is Over. It is written by John McWhorter, one of the “black guys at Bloggingheads.tv.” Dr. McWhorter does say racism is over, sort of. The problems that remain are a lot worse. Too much food for thought, for a population with intellectual bulimia.
There is a quote in the Forbes article that is pure gold. “When decrying racism opens no door and teaches no skill, it becomes a schoolroom tattletale affair. It is unworthy of all of us: “He’s just a racist” intoned like “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!””
There are a lot more results. PG is getting tired of looking. If you want to see for yourself, google “the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity.” Except for a rogue title editor at Forbes, almost nobody has said that. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The Problem Of Anti-Racism
Some people are proud of being anti-racist. This is not always something to be proud about. Often, as in anti communism and homophobia, the struggle against the unseen enemy is worse than the problem you are fighting. When you denounce someone as racist, you might be talking about yourself.
The discussion that follows should not be seen as pro racist. People should treat people with kindness. The word people does not need an adjective. This kindness should be extended to those who do not share your opinions about racism.
Maybe you should lead by example. Instead of worrying about how your neighbor thinks, worry about how you think. If you don’t like the nasty word don’t use it.
To some, racism is the ultimate taboo. It is the worst charge you can make about a person, and the quickest to be made. Once accused, you are guilty until proven innocent. It does not help that the definition of racism is expanding all the time. What one person considers racism is normal thinking to another. It used to be that racism was when you treated someone poorly because of their ethnicity. Now is is a multi faceted boogieman about power and prejudice. Keeping up can be a full time job.
Anti-communism has been compared to anti-racism. To our younger readers, there used to be a system of government called communism. It was alleged to be involved in a cold war with the United States. This cold war was the justification for a bloated military industrial complex. Many crooked politicians were elected on the basis of being anti communist. Often, the fight against communism was worse than the actual system of government.
Anti-racism is the new McCarthyism. Guilt by association is the rule. Difficult to refute charges are made against people. The charge of racism is used as a red herring.
Homophobia is compared to anti-racism. In both cases, the accuser has a set of standards. If the accused does not meet those standards, then the accused is considered fair game for abuse. The accused and the accuser may not agree on these standards. That does not matter. If someone wants to make the accusation, then they will, and will feel righteous about doing so.
It is frequently speculated that the homophobe is secretly gay. The need to be heard badmouthing gays stems from a perceived need to prove heterosexuality. Could this be the case with the anti racist? Maybe the anti-racist is secretly afraid that he/she might be a racist. The “calling out” of others, for perceived racism, is an effort to overcompensate for his/her own shortcomings.
Some things need to be said one more time. People should treat people with kindness. The word people does not need an adjective. Shaming and guilt mongering, because someone does not share your attitudes about race, is not appropriate. To use an anti-communist expression, there are better ways to win hearts and minds. This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
FFBF/SJW
The first thing I did when starting this post was to look for another post. I typed post rac into google advanced search. The suggested search was POST RACIAL, in all caps. Somehow, shouting that phrase seems appropriate.
It is a facebook mainstay. Someone will put up a link, and tell you to show this to anyone who says America is post racial. I was going to find an example of this. I fell into an internet rabbit hole.
There is this former facebook friend. This post tells part of the story. FFBF might be a SJW, or social justice warrior. In the words of the Urban Dictionary: “SJW Social Justice Warrior. A pejorative term for an individual who repeatedly and vehemently engages in arguments on social justice on the Internet, often in a shallow or not well-thought-out way….”
It looks like the chamblee54 plan for amerika becoming post-racial is going to have to wait. When you look for something on the intertubes, you might spend all morning not finding it. The line about amerika not being post-racial was not there. There was a link to a helpful feature, 23 Quotes That Perfectly Explain Racism (To People Who Don’t “See Color”)
Hyperbole in article titles is alive and well. I read the article. I also see color all the time, except in the black and white photographs that illustrate this feature. (“The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ) I read “23 Quotes,” and am more confused than ever.
There was a quote from the king of Twitter, Teju Cole. “People of color, women, and gays — who now have greater access to the centers of influence that ever before — are under pressure to be well-behaved when talking about their struggles. There is an expectation that we can talk about sins but no one must be identified as a sinner: newspapers love to describe words or deeds as “racially charged” even in those cases when it would be more honest to say “racist”; we agree that there is rampant misogyny, but misogynists are nowhere to be found; homophobia is a problem but no one is homophobic. One cumulative effect of this policed language is that when someone dares to point out something as obvious as white privilege, it is seen as unduly provocative. Marginalized voices in America have fewer and fewer avenues to speak plainly about what they suffer; the effect of this enforced civility is that those voices are falsified or blocked entirely from the discourse.”
This is not completely true. There is a social media revolution. Anyone with internet access, and too much free time, can preach to the world. This contradicts one line… “Marginalized voices in America have fewer and fewer avenues to speak plainly about what they suffer” The truth is, the marginalized not only have voices, but a PA system that reaches a billion people.
Newspapers are dying. They are being replaced by facebook, twitter, and the latest dot com opinion monger. Unfortunately, many of these people do not think before they tweet.
Mr. Cole says “newspapers love to describe words or deeds as “racially charged” even in those cases when it would be more honest to say “racist”” The trouble is, people read twitter much more than the fishwrapper. And in many cases, what should be described as racially charged is described as racist. And people in social media just love to say racist.
Racist has become the all purpose insult. It is used to describe all sorts of things, few of which have anything to do with institutional systems creating oppression. When you label something as racist, there is no more thinking. The judgement has been rendered. If nothing else, amerika would be better off if we used the words racism/racist less often, and with a bit more, um, discrimination.
How Redneck Are You?
The quiz, How Redneck Are You?, had to happen. PG had too much free time, and took the test. He might lose points for writing a blog post about it. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The test is eleven multiple choice questions. PG did not give a correct answer until number fo-wer, “Do you own camo clothes?” The camo cargo shorts were purchased at Walmart.
Other questions that worked for PG were seven … “What role does WD-40 play in your life?” … and ten … “Is NASCAR a real sport?” PG was just kidding when he said that NASCAR was rigged. Number eleven was close. “Do you really care what other people think of your lifestyle?”
The full set of teeth did not seem to hurt none. “You are 60% Redneck. We ain’t sure if you’re a real redneck or not, but you sure could pass for one if pressed. Just need the right uniform… “
In an curious act of political correctness, race was not mentioned. Most rednecks do not appreciate African Americans. That is probably the most polite way of saying this.
This was discussed in the comments. “…just because someone is redneck doesn’t mean they are racist. ~ true but it doesn’t hurt.. ~ Agreed 100 % why do idiots have to bring rasicm into everything ~ because they have been brainwashed by race baiters.”
James Baldwin And The Six Letter Word
In the spring of 1963, KQED filmed a show, “Take this hammer”, about James Baldwin. The snippet in the video above seems to have been the last three minutes of the show. Here is a transcript. Mr. Baldwin discusses a six letter insult. The n-word is more about the speaker, than the spoken of. A 2010 blogger had this to say.
What resonated with me about this particular video though, is the universal experience we’ve all had being referred to, thought of as, or called something we inherently are not. Not because of something we’ve done, mind you – but because of the way others “interpret” us. Those of us that “transgress” gender norms are often given titles and names that don’t fit who we are – but are more representative of the fears and desires of others. I’ve often felt that people’s projections of me are oftentimes just that – their projections. However, Baldwin’s ending sums up a solution to this perfectly: “But you still think, I gather, that the n****r is necessary. Well he’s unnecessary to me – he must be necessary to you. Well, I’m going to give your problem back to you…you’re the n****r, baby…not me.”
It is now 2013. (All discussions of race must mention the year.) The TV show was fifty years ago. A few things have changed. To many white people, overt expressions of racism are seen as bad manners. The n-word is taboo in polite company. The overall attitudes may not have changed, but most white people are careful how they say things.
African America is keeping the n-word alive. But it is still about the speaker, not the one spoken of. When people say the nasty word, they are talking about themselves. They are now the people James Baldwin is talking about. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. These men are Union soldiers, from the War Between the States.
A few weeks ago, this blog published a feature, James Baldwin And The Six Letter Word. At the center was selection of James Baldwin talking about the n word. There was a transcript available, which makes today’s exercise a lot easier.
Mr. Baldwin was discussing this nasty word, and offered an insight into who the user of this nasty word was really talking about. Now, there is another nasty word being casually tossed about these days. This other nasty word is racist. What would happen if you took Mr. Baldwin’s talk, and substituted racist for nasty? It is an interesting way to look at things. What follows is not a perfect fit, and may be offensive to some. A few times, it is very close to the truth.
Who is the racist? Well i know this…and anybody who has tried to live knows this. What you say about somebody else (you know) anybody else, reveals you. What I think of you as being is dictated by my own necessities, my own psychology, my own uhm fears…and desires. I’m not describing you when I talk about you…I’m describing me.
Now, here in this country we got somebody called a racist. It doesn’t in such terms, I beg you to remark, exist in any other country in the world. We have invented the racist. I didn’t invent him, white people invented him. I’ve always known, I had to know by the time I was seventeen years old, what you were describing was not me and what you were afraid of was not me. It had to be something else. You had invented it so it had to be something you were afraid of and you invested me with it.
Now if that’s so, no matter what you’ve done to me I can say to you this, and I mean it…I know you can’t do any more and I’ve got nothing to lose…and I know and I have always known you know and really always..…I have always known that I am not a racist…but if I am not the racist…and if it is true that your invention reveals you…then who is the racist?
I am not the victim here. I know one thing from another. I know that I was born, am gonna suffer and gonna die. And the only way that you can get through life is to know the worst things about it. I know that a person is more important than anything else. Anything else. I’ve learned this because I’ve had to learn it. But you still think, I gather, that the racist is necessary. Well he’s not necessary to me, so he must be necessary to you. So I give you your problem back. You’re the racist baby, it isn’t me. This is a double repost.
Chamblee54 
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