PRX Racism Scandal Part Three
“Everyone at PRX should know that each characteristic on the list of White Supremacy Culture Characteristics is fully expressed in the workplace …” The first time I ever heard of WSC was a scandal at PRX. The story about WSC yesterday got me to take a look at PRX, and how they were doing, WSC wise, in the 30 months since the scandal broke.
When in doubt, have an outside study done. PRX hired Prince Lobel Tye LLP to investigate. “Palace Shaw, a Black woman and former employee of Public Radio Exchange, lnc. (“PRX”), sent an email to all staff in which she recounted what she described as the “systematic mistreatment” she experienced that prompted her to resign from her position. … The investigation did not uncover any evidence of unlawful discrimination or anything to suggest that any PRX policy was violated related to Ms. Shaw’s employment. However, there was some evidence that microaggressions and unconscious bias, while not unlawful, may have adversely affected Black, indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) employees, including Ms. Shaw. … there is nothing to suggest that Ms. Shaw was ever treated adversely because of her race or gender, the touchstone of a cognizable discrimination complaint based on her being a
Black woman. No singular reason emerged as to why the Black women to whom Ms. Shaw alluded left PRX. They all did so for different reasons, and none of the three cited mistreatment because they were Black women as a motivating reason for leaving PRX. However, the investigation uncovered signs of what can be described as unconscious bias and “microaggressions” that tended to make the work experience for some BIPOC employees difficult. … These types of complaints were not universal among BIPOC, and some said they had never experienced unconscious bias or microaggressions.”
“In April 2021, PRX hired Byron Green as senior director of DEI.” Current: “A October 2020 investigation … did uncover what it called unconscious biases and microaggressions that made work difficult for BIPOC employees at PRX. How have you been working to address issues of inherent biases and microaggressions?” Green: “Straight on. Notably we’ve done emotional intelligence, identity development and unconscious bias training at large. …”
PRX CEO Kerri Hoffman, whose hair-touching sparked this drama, is still in charge at PRX. Aggrieved employee Palace Shaw has turned up at Ten Percent Happier. “The Dalai Lama’s GUIDE TO HAPPINESS. We went halfway around the world to find out what it actually takes to become happier. Journey with us and learn how to train your mind to be happier over time alongside the most qualified people on the planet—including the Dalai Lama.” TPH recently featured Ms. Shaw on a podcast episode, Why The Tears, about the difficulties some people have with crying. The transcript does not include the word “white.”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. “Meeting of UCAPAWA (United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America) in Bristow OK.” Russell Lee was the photographer, in February 1940.
White Supremacy Culture
@jessesingal “2/ It is genuinely bizarre. In the case of journalists, they are making these really intense accusations against other journalists and they get super pissed when you ask them for specific examples.” @chamblee54 “Asking for specific examples is white supremacy culture.”@NotaNeoLiberal1 “And most certainly a trait from someone imbued with colonizer ideology.” The @chamblee54 comment got 115 likes. @dcherring “lol.”
“White Supremacy Culture is a form of racism centered upon the belief that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds and that whites should politically, economically, and socially dominate non-whites. While often associated with violence perpetrated by the KKK and other white supremacist groups, it also describes a political ideology and systemic oppression that perpetuates and maintains the social, political, historical and/or industrial white domination.” This is a typical description of WSC. It does not make a lot of sense. WSC is connected to WS, which is essentially anything that you say it is.
Most WSC talk centers this list of characteristics. It is from “Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, 2001.” There is a list of items that WSC embodies. “the belief that there is such a thing as being objective” “equating individual acts of unfairness against white people with systemic racism which daily targets people of color.”
@chamblee54 first became aware of WSC by reading about the PRX Racism Scandal. PRX is a foundation-funded organization that assists public radio endeavors. A young lady of color, Palace Shaw, quit her job at PRX, and issued a viral letter about her experience. PRX CEO Kerri Hoffman touching Palace Shaw’s hair was the first issue addressed in the viral letter. FWIW, this list of WSC characteristics does include hair-touching.
“Everyone at PRX should know that each characteristic on the list of White Supremacy Culture Characteristics is fully expressed in the workplace … For current donors/financial supporters: How much would you be willing to increase your current pledge if PRX makes necessary changes to address its white supremacy culture?” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Was Mohandas Gandhi A Racist?
A meme appeared on facebook, “GHANDI’S 7 DANGERS TO HUMAN VIRTUE.” Below the misspelled name were seven concepts, written in all caps. This got PG thinking.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (M.K. Gandhi) “was born was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town on the western coast of India.” At some point the title Mahatma was applied, and is often used as though it was his name. Exact transliterations between languages using different alphabets is tricky. What is the “correct” spelling of this man’s last name? Most sources today use Gandhi.
Another term, Gandhiji, turns up in the research. “‘Ji’ in Hindi or Urdu is a suffix used after the names of respectable persons and elders like father and mother. It is used every day by millions of Indians to address their elders. Hence Gandhiji is but Mahatma Gandhi, father of our nation, addressed reverently and respectfully. We call mother mataji. Mata means mother.”
The quote in the meme is real. It is found on page 135 of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 33. It was in an article found in Young India on October 22, 1925.
“SEVEN SOCIAL SIN The same fair friend wants readers of Young India to know, if they do not already, the following seven social sins: Politics without principles, Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice. Naturally, the friend does not want the readers to know these things merely through the intellect but to know them through the heart so as to avoid them.”
The next entry in the collected works is interesting. “79. THAT ETERNAL QUESTION However much I may wish to avoid it, the Hindu-Muslim question will not avoid me. Muslim friends insist upon my intervention to solve it. The Hindu friends would have me discuss it with them and some of them say I have sown the wind and must reap the whirlwind.”
The meme had comments. Lloyd Lachow Gandhi was intensely racist. Joanne Gibson Gandhi was not intensely racist. Fighting racism was his first cause. John Janiga Gandhi racist??? John Taylor Lloyd, were you born an idiot, or did you have to work at it?
This looks like a job for Mr. Google. When you type the phrase “Is Gandhi,” suggested searches include “sill alive” and “on netflix.” This does not help if you want to know if someone is racist.
Mr. Gandhi lived in South Africa from 1893-1915. During this time he was offended at the treatment of Indian nationals, which led to a decision to fight for Indian rights. Unfortunately, these rights were not to be extended to the native South Africans.
… there’s no doubting that Gandhi had little time for black people. During his 21 years in South Africa, he repeatedly expressed contempt for the native population, claiming they were no better than the “untouchables” of Indian society. One speech in particular stands out. In 1896, he was quoted as referring to black South Africans as the “raw kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness.” For those of you who aren’t up on your South African slang, “kaffir” is a direct equivalent of our N-word. Another time, he complained about finding himself in a “kaffir” prison, claiming Indians were “above” natives, who “are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals.”
There is the story of the Durban Post Office. “The first major accomplishment of the Natal Indian Congress was to further entrench racial segregation into South African society during a time of massive racial strife. At the time, the Durban, South Africa post office had two doors. One was for whites and the other for Indians and black natives. Gandhi was so disgusted at having to share a door with blacks that he initiated a campaign for the creation of a third door. … A year later, after the issue had already been resolved, Gandhi chose to expound upon his reasons for raising it in the first place. In his August 14, 1896 letter, “The Grievances of the British Indians in South Africa: An Appeal to the Indian Public,” he called being “put on the same level with the native” a “disability.”
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Jason Whitlock And Shaun King
This is a repost from 2016. There was a radio show yesterday. The actors were Jason Whitlock & Shaun King. It was tough to listen to. The two actors interrupted each other, and engaged in ad hominem arguments. At one point Mr. King, whose ethnicity is disputed, shouted “I’m blacker than you.” In twitter messages, Mr. King called Mr. Whitlock a “Tom ass bastard” who “will coon for cash.”
Carolina quarterback Cam Newton got media attention before Super Bowl 50. Mr. Newton had a spectacular season, leading the Carolina Cougers to SB50. On the other hand, Mr. Newton seems to be a bit of a “hot dog.” “I’ve said this since Day One, I’m an African-American quarterback that scares people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to.”
In SB50, Denver beat Carolina. It was an ugly, defense dominated game. A week later, Mr. King published a story with dirt on Denver quarterback Peyton Manning. As Mr. Whitlock sees it, trashing Mr. Manning was revenge for Denver beating Carolina in the SB50.
If true, this is ugly. The idea seems to be that a team with a black quarterback was whipped by a team with a white quarterback, so you get even by publishing dirt on the white quarterback. It is also stupid. Mr. Manning didn’t play that well in SB50. It was the Denver defense that shut down Cam Newton. If you are going to get revenge, it should be against the Denver defense. The only problem is that they are not well known names, and will not get the attention that bashing Mr. Manning will get. Nor will it fit the racial narrative … of eleven starters on the Denver defense, ten are black.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. Some of the pictures are from “the morality play “Heaven Bound,” staged by the Big Bethel African Methodist Choir, at the Atlanta Theatre (23 Exchange Place), Atlanta, Georgia, August 1937.”
Six Letter Word
This is a repost from 2013. There is yet another blog post about Shirley Q. Liquor, I’m Tired of Explaining Why I’m Offended by a Racist Drag Queen. SQL is a comic character, a black woman played by Charles Knipp, a white man. The concept is not pleasing to many people.
There is a sentence in the post which needs to be broken down. “Here’s my question: When people like me say that something is potentially racist, why do we have to defend ourselves to White people who act as the final jurist of the opinion?”
To begin, people very seldom say anything as restrained as potentially racist. The judgment is made with great force and certainty. The accuser appoints herself judge, jury, and hangwoman. There is a rush to be seen denouncing the so called racist, usually at top volume.
Racist is a six letter words. It is a word that gets attention. Racist is casually tossed around, and is filtered out by many people. Maybe, just maybe, there are better ways to deal with situations without using this six letter epithet.
Last summer, PG received a mailer that had some questionable content. It discussed the creation of a city of Brookhaven. The mailer was displayed, and the racially obnoxious aspects of it were discussed.
On election day, the voters chose to create a new city. Protest did not do any good. Would using a six letter label have made any difference? Probably not. This blog does not have that large of a readership. Also, some people who were troubled by the mailer felt that a new city was the correct thing to do. PG just wanted to let people know he was not pleased.
PG is white, and can only speak for himself. When he hears the word racist, his BS detector kicks into action. These arguments are rather one sided, with white people usually the bad guys. If you want to influence behavior, you might think twice before tossing a six letter expression into your speech.
There is a logical fallacy in that sentence. You make a statement, go past considering whether or not it is true, and go directly to asking “why.” When is a person made to feel that “we have to defend ourselves to White people who act as the final jurist of the opinion?” Do these PWOC (People With Out Color) use a weapon to force this explanation? Why would you have to explain yourself anyway?
It is *racially specific* that she says white people in this sentence. Would it be better if a POC (Person of Color) didn’t automatically believe everything the author says? PWOC PG has observed POC acting as “the final jurist” on racial matters.
When you hyperdefine a concept like racism, you run the risk of defining racism so narrowly that offensive entertainers do not fit the definition. Shirley Q. Liquor talking about her nineteen babydaddies does not affect the larger issues of white privilege. Or maybe racism is anything that annoys a POC. At some point, the six letter word does not mean very much.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Racists Got Racist
The story below is a repost from 2015. Looking back from 2023, this piece feels quaint. It appeared on Gawker. The G-blog has been through tough times, but continues to hang in there. Today’s headline: Drake Brags About Exclusive Toilet Access
“#blacklivesmatter took a dairy inclusive turn this weekend. New York City was the scene when #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Hit Whites Where It Truly Hurts: Brunch.”
“… a group of about three dozen demonstrators … hitting such quiche-and-mimosa joints … When they arrived, they began reading the names of black Americans killed by police to diners. … As is to be expected when such a sacred institution is so callously attacked, the protests sparked lots of fervent tweeting.” @genophilia “Racists got racist” gigantic pussy having top heavy slag @sheixx_ “It’s fine for blacks to loot, rob, rape and kill whites, but if whites complain about it, now that’s racist.” Lol
The original post has more text, which is not necessary for today’s edition. The gawker original features the type of purple prose that is less fashionable today: “It’s hard to imagine a funnier needling tactic. People are reacting viscerally to the idea that diners were targeted as racists simply for enjoying a Sunday morning meal—and if they had been subject to any discomfort beyond five awkward minutes, they’d have a legitimate complaint. But it’s just brunch, and as soon as you complain about it, you get to the heart of the issue: while some people are out there wondering whether a trigger-happy cop might decide to gun them down today, you just want to finish your capers and lox in peace.” Pictures for this bit of social justice nostalgia are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.
New Law About Voting
This is a repost from 2022. The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act failed to pass after a Senate fillibuster. … Democrats have proposed a new law about voting access. Grandpa Brandon thinks denouncing “voter suppression” is the way to build support. Unfortunately, the debate has centered around toxic, race-pandering rhetoric. Almost nobody says what the proposed new law would do. A bit of googling turned up a document from Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. If you get tired of the chamblee54 version, you can go to the original source. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.”
Most of the proposals are the federal government telling states how to run elections. The IANAL masses might wonder if this is constitutional. Another feature of this bill is that the instructions are given to the states. In Georgia, the elections are mostly run by the counties. This did not stop Democrats, or Donald J. Trump, from blaming the Secretary of State for inconvenient election results.
Lets take a look at some of the specific proposals. With regards to early voting, the bill requires the states to offer early voting for a specified time period. No-excuse absentee ballots are subject to a national standard, along with other regulations concerning mail-in voting.
Election Day holiday: “The bill would make Election Day a legal public holiday…” This sounds good in theory, but may be troublesome to many employers. One thing that might help here is to move ED to Monday. Voting on Tuesday is a holdover from days when farmers went to the county seat on a horse. Voting on Monday would make things a bit simpler.
“Voter validation: The bill would promote a national standard for states that have an identification requirement for in-person voting, allowing for the use of a wide range of forms of identification (including electronic copies) and alternative options for voter validation. States that do not impose an identification requirement would not be required to have one.” Voter ID is widely denounced as being racist. If this passage is any indication, Voter ID is here to stay. (In the controversy over Georgia’s SB202, the ID requirement was widely seen as a feature of Jim Crow on steroids. It turns out that SB202 calls for the voter writing their driver’s license/ID number on an absentee ballot application.)
“Cracking down on deceptive and intimidating practices: … It would also establish federal criminal penalties for deceiving voters…” If it was a federal crime to deceive voters, every politician in America would be in prison.
“Voting rights restoration: The bill restores federal voting rights to formerly incarcerated citizens upon their release … removing the vestiges of restrictions born out of Jim Crow.” Kentucky had a law disenfranchising felons in 1792. This was a hundred years before the Jim Crow laws were passed. There are arguments to be made on both sides of this issue. It should not be addressed with misleading racial arguments.
“Countering long lines and related discriminatory practices: The bill creates protections for individuals subjected to excessive lines on Election Day — most often Black and Latino voters — by requiring states to ensure that lines last no longer than 30 minutes …” This is more gratuitous race baiting. While the idea of lines less than 30 minutes is appealing, one wonders exactly how the feds are going to enforce this requirement. Also, since the elections are usually administered by the counties, what are the states supposed to do?
“Requiring paper records and other election infrastructure improvements: The bill requires states to replace old, paperless electronic voting machines with voting systems that provide voter-verified paper records and provides grants for states to purchase more secure voting systems.” Georgia is going to a system with a backup paper ballot. When you cast your vote, a laser printer prints out a sheet of paper with your vote, represented by a QR code. This paper is then fed through a roller into a receptacle. To this uninformed voter, that seems like a lot of moving parts. While the new system MIGHT work in a high volume election, there is a high potential for screw ups. These are Georgia elections we are talking about here.
There are sections of the bill devoted to Campaign Finance Reform, and Gerrymandering. You can look at the Brennan Center document for more information. While the new bill has good intentions, the suspicion here is that the proposals will make things worse. God is in the details.
“The bill would require strong, uniform rules for congressional redistricting, including a ban on partisan gerrymandering and strengthened protections for communities of color.” Gerrymandering is like the weather … everyone has opinions, but relatively few know what they are talking about. If you create a black district, then the districts surrounding it are going to get whiter. If you tinker with the districts to favor one group, another group is going to be unfairly affected. The bill has good intentions, that might not be well thought out. God is in the details.
“Automatic voter registration: The bill would make automatic voter registration (AVR), which 19 states and the District of Columbia have already adopted, the national standard.” In Georgia, when you get a drivers license, you are automatically registered to vote. This eliminates any of the “exact match” issues that Democrats made so much noise about in 2018. The DMV is an exact match operation. Also, paperwork at the DMV is typed. Illegible paper applications were a major reason that registration applications were thrown out in previous elections. Illegible applications were also a problem with the New Georgia Project, a voting registration program directed by Stacey Abrams.
“Same day voter registration: The bill requires states to offer same day voter registration … SDR permits eligible voters to register to vote and cast a ballot in federal elections on the same day.” The sense here is that this is not a good idea. What happens when you move, and want to vote in another precinct? Will your old registration be cancelled? How do the states/counties keep up with all this? Is there a national database, that tells Georgia to cancel your Atlanta registration because you have moved to Alabama? And how are we going to process all of this while people are waiting in line behind you to vote? Once again, SDR might be a good idea, but there are a lot of details to work out.
“Protections against unlawful voter purges: The bill provides safeguards to prevent unlawful, faulty, error-prone methods for purging voter rolls … Further, states would be required to notify within 48 hours any individual removed from the list of eligible voters of their removal, the reasons for their removal, and how they can contest the removal.” In 2018, before voters were removed from the rolls, they were sent a post-card, and asked to reply. If they did not reply, they were removed. Now, if the state could not get in touch with them before, how are they going to reach these voters now? The feds do not always think these things through.
Stanford Bad Words List
Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative arrived on a slow news day this week. Produced by a committee at Stanford University, the document lists some language that we should not be using. The screed got an unkind reaction, and was hidden from the general population. Fortunately, some thoughtful archivists saved a copy. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
EHLI comes in a three part format. First is the contraindicated phrase. Second is a suggested alternative, and third is a commentary. The replacement is usually longer, and clumsier, than the original. Is “died by suicide” really any better than “committed suicide”?
abusive relationship … relationship with an abusive person … The relationship doesn’t commit abuse. A person does, so it is important to make that fact clear.
African-American … Black … Black people who were born in the United States can interpret hyphenating their identity as “othering.” As with many of the terms we’re highlighting, some people do prefer to use/be addressed by this term, so it’s best to ask a person which term they prefer to have used when addressing them. When used to refer to a person, the “b” should always be capitalized.
American … US Citizen … This term often refers to people from the US only, thereby insinuating that the US is the most important country in the Americas (which is actually made up of 42 countries).
brown bag … lunch and learn, tech talk … Historically associated with the “brown paper bag test” that certain Black sororities and fraternities used to judge skin color. Those whose skin color was darker than the brown bag were not allowed to join.
gangbusters … very successful … Unnecessarily invokes the notion of police action against “gangs” in a positive light, which may have racial undertones.
Hispanic … Latinx, use country of origin … Although widely used to describe people from Spanish-speaking countries outside of Spain, its roots lie in Spain’s colonization of South American countries. Instead of referring to someone as Hispanic because of their name or appearance, ask them how they identify themselves first.
Karen … demanding or entitled White woman … This term is used to ridicule or demean a certain group of people based on their behaviors.
people of color (used generically) … BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) … If speaking about a specific group, name that group.
“preferred” pronouns … pronouns … The word “preferred” suggests that non-binary gender identity is a choice and a preference.
shemale … transgender woman, trans woman … This slur is often used disparagingly to refer to people who don’t conform to gender expectations. Some in the community do identify with and self-describe as the term, though.
straight … heterosexual … Implies that anyone who is not heterosexual is bent or not “normal.”
stupid … boring, uncool … Once used to describe a person who could not speak and implied the person was incapable of expressing themselves.
tranny, trannie … transgender person, trans or non-gendering conforming folk … This slur is often used disparagingly to refer to people who don’t conform to gender expectations. Some in the community do identify with and self-describe as the term, though.
uppity … arrogant, stuck up … Although the term originated in the Black community to describe another Black person who didn’t know their socioeconomic place, it was quickly adopted by White Supremacists to describe any Black person who didn’t act as “expected.”
In several of the categories, you are invited to ask the person how they wish to be identified. This reinforces the “otherness” of people in these categories. English speaking White people are assumed to be the norm, and in no need of categorization. This is precisely the privilege that initiatives like the EHLI purport to be fighting, when in reality they do the opposite.
“Karen … demanding or entitled White woman …” Many of the banned words claim to be fighting the white=good trope. In the case of Karen, EHLI goes in the other direction, suggesting “entitled White woman” as an alternative. At least EHLI capitalized White. EHLI also capitalized “Latinx,” while leaving “country of origin” in lower case.
EHLI is clearly … all commentaries on social justice issues must say clearly … the work of a committee. They … assuming that is the correct pronoun here … have good intentions. Unfortunately, as we all know in 2022, it is outcome that is important, and not intentions. Maybe someone should just yell bingo, and go cash in their card.
Are My Racial Attitudes Your Business?
PG was living his life when see saw something on facebook: “And another thing: if you are going to claim NOT to be racist, I feel like you should familiarize yourself with some contemporary writings and definitions of racism, not just what Mirriam Webster says.” The first reaction was to ignore this. If you reply to a comment about racism on facebook, you are asking for trouble. Life is too short to be wasting time on such unpleasantness.
But the thought engine had been kickstarted, and continued to idle in the background. When PG pulled into the Kroger parking lot, the idea hit full force. Maybe it is none of your business.
Some people say that a PWOC is not affected by racism. If this is the case, then why should the racial attitudes of a PWOC affect another PWOC? If a person treats you fairly, do you really need to know this person’s attitudes about race?
The fbf ex-fbf does not say what the context of this claim is. Did anyone ask you whether or not you were a racist? If not, are you assuming that they are interested? Maybe someone assumed the listener was interested. Maybe the proper response to look bored, and say TMI.
The comment mentioned “contemporary writings and definitions of racism.” Who are the people who set themselves up as arbiters about what we should think about race? What are the qualifications? Who asked them what they thought? How do we know that these people are dependable?.
Maybe the answer is to show compassion and kindness to your neighbor, and don’t worry about their racial attitudes. If you are proud of your racial attitudes, please refrain from boasting. Not everyone is interested. This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Your Racism
This is a repost from 2014, and the Mike Brown case. … Last night, in anticipation of the Grand Jury presentation, chamblee54 published Freedom Lies Bleeding. “grand jury renders opinion ~ national hissy fit begin again ~ when justice is popularity contest ~ freedom lies bleeding in street”
There was a comment. Anonymous said, on November 25, 2014 at 2:28 pm (Edit) “Thanks Luthor… you’re racism never disappoints!” The name was misspelled. The spell check suggestion is Author.
There is both style, and substance, to consider here. Is Freedom Lies Bleeding racist? Who knows? The definition of racism is growing, in carcinogenic fashion, as we speak. Some say it is systemic institutions of oppression. Some say it is jokes about toothpaste flavor. Maybe the best definition is that racism is anything that you do not like.
The poem was directed at the concept of mob rule. As President Obama said, “We are a nation built on the rule of law, so we have to accept this decision was the grand jury’s to make.”
A few years ago, O.J. Simpson was accused of murder. Many people thought he was guilty. After a long trial, he was found innocent. Should popular opinion have overruled the jury? No, it should not. The jury saw the evidence, and heard the arguments. The people can protest and debate, but they cannot take the place of a jury.
Is a dependence on a system of law and order racism? Anonymous seems to think so. Is they qualified to make this judgment? If racism is anything that you don’t like, then Anonymous is qualified to make the call. Maybe they knows something we don’t.
There is the style of the comment to consider. While Anonymous did not give their name, there was an I.P. address. The IPA is connected to a .edu server. Apparently, this is a workplace computer. Leaving insulting comments from your employer’s computer does not reflect well on the institution.
Anonymous is entitled to an opinion. However, leaving a name calling comment does not speak well for this individual. The six words say more about Anonymous than they do chamblee54. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The Ta-Nehisi Coates Video
There is a video, Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don’t belong to everyone It is being praised to high heaven. PG has some issues with this entertainment. The transcript is from vox, Ta-Nehisi Coates has an incredibly clear explanation for why white people shouldn’t use the n-word. This is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress.
Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates gave an interview once, The Playboy Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates. “The n$$$$$ thing? I understand if you’re black and you say, “Man, I had white people call me this shit all my life. … But that ain’t everybody’s experience. I’ve never had a white person call me a n$$$$$. I had somebody call me le négre here in France, but I was 38 years old and I couldn’t have cared less. It didn’t mean anything. So not all of us come out of that experience.”
The monolog starts off with a discussion about how some words are appropriate for some people to use, but others should not say them. “My wife, with her girl friend, will use the word bitch. I do not join in. You know what I’m saying? I don’t do that. I don’t do that. And perhaps more importantly, I don’t have a desire to do it.” The question arises: is his wife a four legged dog? Unless she is, then the b-word does not apply to her.
“Coates pointed to another example — of a white friend who used to have a cabin in upstate New York that he called “the white trash cabin.” “I would never refer to that cabin” in that way. I would never tell him, ‘I’m coming to your white trash cabin.’” Of course, a person with an upstate cabin is likely to be far removed from the trailer park. He is using *white trash* with irony, and would not be the least offended if TPC called it “the white trash cabin.”
“The question one must ask is why so many white people have difficulty extending things that are basic laws of how human beings interact to black people.” (Is TPC saying that black people are not human beings?) … “When you’re white in this country, you’re taught that everything belongs to you. You think you have a right to everything. … You’re conditioned this way. … the laws and the culture tell you this. You have a right to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, be however — and people just got to accommodate themselves to you.”
At this point, PG turned off the video in anger. He has never been taught that everything belongs to him. Nobody that PG knows has been taught that. PG does not know anyone who teaches that message. This is a lie. It makes PG not want to believe anything else that TPC says. Maybe there is some privilege/culture mumbo-jumbo that explains this concept.
Lets go back a minute to the white trash cabin. TPC does not want to use this phrase. And yet, he feels entitled to make a sweeping generalization like “When you’re white in this country, you’re taught that everything belongs to you.” It is wrong to say white trash, but ok to slander white people.
“So here comes this word that you feel like you invented, And now somebody will tell you how to use the word that you invented. ‘Why can’t I use it? Everyone else gets to use it. You know what? That’s racism that I don’t get to use it. You know, that’s racist against me. You know, I have to inconvenience myself and hear this song and I can’t sing along. How come I can’t sing along?’”
“The experience of being a hip-hop fan and not being able to use the word ‘n$$$$$’ is actually very, very insightful.” To begin with, why do you assume that PG is a hip hop fan? Many people think hip hop is garbage. If you are forced to listen to music that you do not enjoy, why would that make you want to use a forbidden word? The logic of TPC is falling apart, faster than the Falcons pass defense in the Super Bowl.
“It will give you just a little peek into the world of what it means to be black. Because to be black is to walk through the world and watch people doing things that you cannot do, that you can’t join in and do. So I think there’s actually a lot to be learned from refraining.”
If you are in the mood to get yelled at for a half hour, you can ask someone about “things that you cannot do, that you can’t join in and do.” There might be some. If you go along with the rhetoric so far, you will probably believe what you hear. You might even understand why not using a nasty word will give you “a little peek into the world of what it means to be black.” As for PG, he seriously doubts this. He is not someone who says that this video is “an incredibly clear explanation for why white people shouldn’t use the n-word.”
Once upon a time, cigarettes were advertised on television. One new brand was a cigarette for women, Virginia Slims. The ability to kill yourself with tobacco was presented as being a privilege. Some wondered why women would want to take up this filthy habit. Today, African Americans have the privilege of using the n-word. What a deal. A nasty word, which degrades both the speaker, and the spoken of. Why would anyone want to use that word?
If you don’t have anything good to say, you can talk about the n-word. This *trigger* word is an aphrodisiac for the american body politic. Recently Ta-Nehisi Coates performed in a video, Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don’t belong to everyone There is much praise for this entertainment, like this: @SneakerWonk “#TaNehisiCoates has an incredibly clear #explanation for why #whitepeople shouldnt use the #nword.” PG has a few paragraphs, about this video, in the text above.
PG has written about racism, anti-racism, and racial attitudes on many occasions. People get angry, and call PG rude names. He must be doing something right. Later, there was a double feature about James Baldwin. In the first half, Mr. Baldwin expresses a few opinions about that word. In the second half, PG substituted racist for the magic word, with interesting results.
One item that keeps coming up is speculation about who invented the n-word. Negro means black in Spanish, and is derived from a latin word. The Oxford English Dictionary has some usages going back to 1577. “1577 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. (new ed.) 389 The Massagetes bordering vpon the Indians, and the Nigers of Aethiop [Sp. los negros en Ethiopia], bearing witnesse. ~ 1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft vii. xv. 153 A skin like a Niger. ~ 1608 A. Marlowe Let. 22 June in E. India Co. Factory Rec. (1896) I. 10 The King and People [of ‘Serro Leona’] N$$$$$$, simple and harmless.
The TPC video is based on the concept that white people want to use the magic word, but should not. This assumes a great deal. Chamblee54 published a piece about the n-word, that spelled out why he does not like to use this noun/verb/adjective/adverb/interjection. Here are four reasons for a white person to refrain from saying america’s favorite dirty word.
1- The n-word hurts people’s feelings. PG has known many fine Black people. He does not want to say anything that will hurt these people.
2- Being heard saying the n-word can cause all sorts of problems. This can include physical retribution, loss of employment, lawsuits, and having to listen to enough loud angry words to make you wish you had never learned how to talk.
3- It is not a fair fight. There is no equivalent phrase for a Black Person to say to a White person. Why give that power to another group of people … to turn you into a mass of incoherent rage, just for hearing a six letter word. The closest thing is “Cracker”, which PG only recently found out was an insult. There used to be a minor league baseball team, the Atlanta Crackers.
4- The use of the n-word demeans the user. When you say an insulting word about another human being, you make yourself look bad. For a Black person, using the n-word degrades them as the object, as well as the speaker. Why would a person would want to do that?
Putting The N Back In Twitter
@JoshuaPHilll “Elon Musk: I love free speech!! The free speech:” “Use of N-word on Twitter jumped by almost 500% after Elon Musk’s takeover as trolls test limits on free speech, report says” This message was dutifully retweeted, and showed up in my feed. The bs detector will not quit buzzing. The Washington Post is the source for Business Insider.
WaPo relies on a tweet by Network Contagion Research Institute. @ncri_io “Evidence suggests that bad actors are trying to test the limits on @Twitter. Several posts on 4chan encourage users to amplify derogatory slurs. For example, over the last 12 hours, the use of the n-word has increased nearly 500% from the previous average.” The only documentation offered is a bar graph.
What to make of this? We don’t know who is using the magic word. It might be #BlackTwitter, which is permitted to use America’s favorite naughty word. Does The Washington Post see twitter as competition for ad revenue? Other people might have a motive for bashing Mr. Musk.
@kevinhoff Replying to @BusinessInsider “I bet anything it is manufactured. Tune the bots to post the word over and over and over again. Write a post about it. Blame @elonmusk Continue to turn a blind eye on all diverse communities. Rinse and repeat. I will also bet this will all change once everyone gets verified.” There are plenty of possibilities to consider.
Who is the NCRI? It appears to be a well funded operation, with plenty of A-list clients. Two of the displayed studies deal with COVID: “Russian disinformation campaigns are trying to sow distrust of COVID vaccines, study finds” (Paywall) “QAnon’s corrosive impact on the U.S.” The CBS article has a header ad for Pfizer. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Chamblee54 
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