Chamblee54

Another Story About Race was the story of a facebook conversation. It got ugly after the story was published. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Kevin Allison Luther, the hundreds of thousands who died in the Civil War knew the full weight and meaning of that word. The millions who fought through the Civil Rights movement in the mid-century knew the full weight and meaning of that word. I’m not sure precisely which year Wanda’s story is set, but Rodney King, Amadou Diallo, the Central Park Five… these were stories in the news in all of our lifetimes. Does “country boy” mean “imbecile”? My father is from Meridian, Mississippi. His parents, my grandparents, were people of very modest means and did not go to the best schools. Other Allisons, cousins of my grandfather, were from the Bayou country in Louisiana. Everyone in my family has always known the full weight and meaning of that word. Because we’re Americans. Rich, poor, educated, uneducated, city person, country person… we all know that word and we know it deep down in our souls.
To pretend that calling someone out for engaging in racism is as dehumanizing as racism itself is a fantasy. It ignores all of history and the societal power dynamics we’re still swimming in. And to pretend that RISK! engages in censorship because we don’t present the “other side of the story” is also some sort of mind game. If this guy “Nathan” wanted to come on the show and could speak about these same events with the level of self-awareness and emotional intelligence we look for in the stories we present on the show, he’d be more than welcome to. We see you. We hear you. And what you’re selling, we ain’t buying.
Luther Mckinnon “To pretend that calling someone out for engaging in racism is as dehumanizing as racism itself is a fantasy.” “to pretend that RISK! engages in censorship because we don’t present the “other side of the story” I have said neither of those things. I am concerned about the dehumanizing effect of all labels, both politically correct and incorrect.
Not everyone is as excited about the magic word as you are. POC use it all the time. We still don’t know what Laurel said to Nathan, to goad him into saying something he would regret. Maybe an 18 year old, put under enough pressure, gave in and said the magic word. We have not heard that part of the story, and apparently never will. I am not selling anything. I am trying to explain why I feel the way I do. You are entitled to your opinion.
SugaBusshh Smith Hey RISK!; we all know what Luther is about now. The man is an unapologetic racist. Do you really wish to give the man even more of a platform? I’m not about eliminating free speech, but I don’t believe hate speech like what Luther propagates needs any more of a platform then the presidency.I do wish someone would choose to hit the off button on this guy because his agenda is more than obvious. He is not a casual listener of the show wishing to take part in meaningful discussion. He wishes to spill vile and venom and spread his racist ideology on your group. It’s your choice of course to let him continue this nonsense, but for the mental well being of the rest of us; i truly hope you don’t.
It is odd to be called “unapologetic racist” after this thread. At no time did I say anything derogatory about people of color. I said two things: I asked for details about the Nathan-Laurel conversation. I said that labeling people, as racist, was dehumanizing. People feel self righteous about abusing their neighbor over racial values. If someone does not like your racial values, they feel virtuous in attacking you. If you criticize the white savior, you are opening yourself up to abuse.
Have you ever heard that racism is institutional? That you cannot be racist if you don’t have power? This discussion is not about economic opportunity, access to education or housing, or police brutality. This thread is about an 18 year old kid, who said a bad word. When I ask, 17 years later, if maybe he was goaded into saying this bad word, I am labeled a racist. Maybe if I quit asking for details about this incident, I will quit being called a racist. I somehow doubt it.
Have you ever heard someone say “If you don’t like being called a racist, quit being one.”? Don’t believe it. This incident took place 17 years ago. We know nothing of the way Nathan has lived his life. And yet, because he said one word, 17 years ago, he is considered a bigot. Nobody gives a damn what he thinks. Nathan is less than human, because he said one word, during a heated argument.
The psychology of anti racism is twisted. It is similar to the way homophobia works. It is well known that many homophobes are secretly gay, and not happy about it. To take attention away from their own unresolved issues, the lash out at others who they perceive to be faggots. It is an ugly situation, and yet many homophobes feel virtuous in their hatred.
Many people who call others racist are worried about their own racial values. They are afraid that they might be racist. To assure themselves that they are not racist, they lash out at others that they perceive as being racist. The standards of what is considered racist get lower everyday.
On a more personal level, this has been a tough conversation. It is one thing when someone you have never met, who you don’t care about, calls you a racist online. Kevin Allison is someone who produces a remarkable show, RISK. I have enjoyed many episodes online, and had the privilege of attending a live show last fall. I have, until now, had a great deal of respect for Kevin. It is very discouraging to see him participate in an internet dogpile. I will probably continue to listen to RISK, but I will always know about this incident.

Backstory recently presented a feature, Cleanliness in America. As the title might suggest, it is about cleanliness. The location of this concept with regard to G-dliness was not discussed. While researching this story, a listener named Micheal Gambil sent a letter to the studio. This letter was read as part of the broadcast.
“This one is going to be great! My comment/suggestion may sound a little strange, but I was having a talk with my 70 year old aunt regarding female hygiene recently. She is still a believer in what is known as doucheing. YUCK! It got awkward…but it really made me think about the history of “lady products”. Flower scented sprays etc…I think there has been change on this issue. Or not…maybe it is just me and my quasi-hippy friends!”
Douching became popular in the nineteenth century. It was originally thought to be useful as contraception. As other methods of controlling fertility became available, douching became more of a cosmetic item. The corporate marketers are good at creating demand for a product.
More recently, the dangers of using this product have come to light. This awareness came into public consciousness at roughly the same time that douche started to be used as an insult. No one knows if the two developments are connected.
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is written like David Foster Wallace.

@AmishPornStar1 “Ironic that those who are most upset about athletes “dishonoring our flag” are the same ones who still like to honor this one…”
@chamblee54 “do you have any examples? who are these people you are talking about? maybe this is just another instance of facebook recreational hypocrisy”
@PhoenixRemnant “You’re trying to argue a widely displayed and discussed behavior, that ANYONE from the areas it is common in has first hand experience with, doesn’t occur because you don’t think there’s evidence for it. This isn’t a debate club, fuck off with your sealioning attempts.” The spell check suggestion for sealioning is seasoning.
@chamblee54 “twitter/facebook are full of “casual observations” about hypocrisy, media representation, and poor judicial decisions it is a cheap way to make a point, even if you are not sure what the point is if you can’t say anything good about anybody, you can talk about the media.”
Putting these examples of commodity wisdom into a recreational blog post can lead to brain damage. Facebook is a mine field of people trying to make sense of a hostile world. A lot of things are not fair. The media does not cover events in a way that pleases everyone. Some crimes are more severely punished than others. With the advent of photo challenging software on everyone’s telephone, the urge to be clever can be overwhelming. The problem comes when people feel the need to share this intellectual compost with the digital world.
Hypocrisy is a prime target for opprobrium. This is always the cheapest argument to be made. The occasional validity does not negate the annoyance of every mememonger, with an iphone, railing against the hypocrisy of whatver fingers their fee fees. The best line about hypocrisy stands unblemished. A man said to a preacher, I don’t like to go to church because too many hypocrites go there. The preacher said, yes, and we always have room for one more.
You can’t have a rant without racism. The r-word is too painful to live, and too profitable to die. Recently known troublemaker Bret Easton Ellis had a podcast episode where he said that “Black Panther” was not an especially good movie. This is not surprising to BEE listeners. What the reaction lacked in critical thought, it made up for in social justice fury.
Noted Sexist Bret Easton Ellis is also Probably a Little Racist “The entertainment press and the studio is selling the notion that ‘Black Panther’ is a grand piece of cinematic art that cannot be ignored. And this notion is being shoved down our throats and we can only smile in disbelief. Or perhaps understand that this is just the moment we’re trapped in. A joke, a hoax. It’s all fake news, folks…”
The Worst Thing About Bret Easton Ellis’s Racist Rant “What’s truly shocking about the statement is not so much its obvious racism, but that it reveals where Ellis places himself in the high/low world of art. In his mind, his position is way above that of this superhero movie, which happens to be made by a black person and stars black people and is set in a (fictional) black country. But does Ellis even know his own novels? They are packed with so much trash, have nothing that can be described as literary depth, and are written in a style that cannot be distinguished from pulp.”
Before this post goes past the attention span threshold, we have one more exchange about America’s favorite insult. This was on facebook, and the thread was deleted.
Luther Mckinnon Calling someone racist is not about them. It is about you.
Cheryl Cheavers nope. If I call an abuser an abuser, is that about me? No. Racists and racism exists. It’s exhausting and frustrating when people who’ve never experienced racism tell us how to think and feel about it and try to flip the blame back to us.
You think we can’t be trusted to reliably relate our experiences.
Luther Mckinnon what about prejudice? you never hear people name calling about prejudice, only “racism” Is prejudice and bigotry acceptable?
Marsha Warfield Prejudice is not racism. Don’t conflate terms to make a moot point.
Marsha Warfield and please try to make your points without whitesplaining racism or mansplaining to the little women.
Luther Mckinnon a moo point what do cows have to do with this?
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.

A lady called Jaimes has a local blog, and today she decided to write something uplifting. She chose as a subject a photo essay by Life magazine about “Life with Mother“. The Life feature she almost wrote about was “Famous Literary Drunks and Addicts“. PG thinks there is too much uplift in the world already, and decided to write about the literary boozers. The links shown above no longer work. Some of the details in this piece cannot be verified.
Writing can be a lonely affair, with long nights spent wringing words out of the soul. Of course, the more social arts of theatre and music produce a lot of people who cannot control their substances. (Is there anything like the phrase “controlled substances”?) Getting back to the wordsmith, writing and getting high have always gone together, and not always for the better.
There are 43 names on this list. To peruse the Life feature, you have to click once for every new name, which is a lot of work. You get to see a picture of each one, but, with a few exceptions, these guys are fugly. Alcohol, heroin, indoor desk work, and the inevitable cigarettes do not lead to pretty faces. Anne Sexton was a model before a suicide poet, and F. Scott Fitzgerald did photograph well. To some, Charles Bukowski is a sex symbol. If you feel like working the mouse and seeing all the people, that is your choice. If you can find a cached copy of the post, please leave a link in the comments.
Many of the names on this list are obvious. Ernest Hemingway, Tennesee Williams, and F. Scott Fitzgerald are noted fans of altered consciousness. Dashiell Hammet lived for 30 plus years with Lillian Hellman, which might be a good reason to drink. And Truman Capote, among other things, did not suffer false modesty. “I’m an alcoholic. I’m a drug addict. I’m homosexual. I’m a genius.”
The beatnik/hippie/punk continuum is well represented. William S. Burroughs gave lie to the saying that there are no old junkies. (A surprising number here lived to a ripe old age.) Richard Brautigan and Hunter S. Thompson just would not be themselves in a twelve step program. And Jack Kerouac was staying with Neal Cassidy, and wife, while working on his early novels. Cassidy thought Kerouac smoked too much marijuana.
The list is weighted heavily towards white males. Only six women made the list, and James Baldwin is the only person of color. Ayn Rand was a bit of a surprise…the lady, who allegedly copped her pen name from a typewriter, was a speed fan. Another surprise was Stephen King. The horror meister is a cocaine fan, and is one of the few authors that can afford a hobby like that.
Perhaps the best comment comes from Edna St. Vincent Millay .”My candle burns at both ends / It will not last the night / But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends / It gives a lovely light!” This is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress.