Just Write: Thugs

Having grown up in Seattle during the time when they didn't have an "American Professional Football" team, celebrating when the Kingdome was constructed and the Seahawks were finally a part of the NFC West (then later the AFC West, then back again to the NFC West), and cheering for Jim Zorn and Steve Largent like they were family members (Seattle fans have always been the 12th man), I was thrilled to see the Seahawks beat the 49ers and head to their second Super Bowl.
Enter Richard Sherman's interview with Erin Andrews ...
I have no issue with Richard Sherman. He is a 25-year old who had just made the play of a lifetime to win the game of his lifetime. He was fueled by adrenaline and competition. He was in the moment - raw and unfiltered - and gave FOX some amazing footage.
I do, however, take issue with the name callers that clogged social media.
Racial slurs and innuendos were hurled far and wide, and all that I could think was, "These are the same people who teach my son in school, who will interview him for jobs, who will watch him closely as he walks through department stores. These are the people who think these thoughts, but keep them undercover until they feel protected and fueled by the anonymity of the internet."
THUG
It was the most common word I saw used to describe Richard Sherman.
Dictionary.com defines THUG as:

a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer

Richard Sherman is an American Professional Football player, not a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer.
One has to wonder if the same word would have been used to describe J.R. Sweezy or Zach Miller had they had similar post-game interviews.
My heart tells me no - they would have been seen as "intense" and "competitive".
Do not be fooled, racism is alive and well, society has just gotten much better at keeping it to themselves ...
At least until they have the protection of anonymity on the internet.
And that hurts my heart.
~*~*~
In an attempt to revive this blog, I've decided to participate in Heather King's "Just Write" campaign:

Write whatever is happening around you WHILE you are writing (sometimes that’s the very best) OR whatever DETAILS you remember about your day or a specific recent-ish experience.

Next, try not to clarify or explain what you want to speak through your post too much. (Try not to force a theme or message.) Just write your experiences. What did you: See? Smell? Touch? Feel? Hear? What did it make you think?

Then watch how your ordinary and extraordinary experiences speak all on their own. That’s it!

A special thank you to Jana for continuing to blog and inspiring me to attempt to get back to the platform that was (and still is) my first love. 

Friday Wrap Up

~*~

What do you mean it's about time I got back here? That weekly blogging is not blogging at all?

That's just ... just ... OH THE HUMANITY!

It's not that I don't have anything to say. I mean, I can always find a way to stir the pot, even if I have to use a dried out ball point pen to do it. What I have discovered is that often times, when the thoughts are bumping into each other in my head, it's next to impossible to organize them enough to get them on paper ... errr ... screen!

This has been one of those weeks.

~*~

I continue to be disturbed by the Trayvon Martin murder, and not just about the circumstances surrounding his murder either. The racial divide (those who feel race/prejudice played a part vs. those who don't) is equally disturbing.

A survey this week of 3,006 adults across the United States found that 73 percent of blacks believe George Zimmerman would have been arrested if Trayvon was white, while only 33 percent of whites believed so. And 52 percent of white Americans polled said race made no difference in the case, while 85 percent of blacks believe that race played at least some roll in the way the events have unfolded thus far (via USA Today/Gallup).

Who's right? Well? I believe that many white folks have a very difficult time accepting that Trayvon's murder (and the way it has been handled) might have anything to do with race, because doing so would imply we might still have race issues in the United States, and then they'd have to change.

You'd have thought electing a black president would have quieted those people!

~*~

Speaking of race/prejudice, and the desire to sweep it under the rug, let me share a story with you. Well, actually THREE stories ... all that occurred within the last SIX days. They exhibit the very behaviors/attitudes that I believe led up to Trayvon's murder.

1.  I read this on my tumblr dash after posting a link to an article titled Trayvon Martin, And When A Black Man Deserves To Die, written by Bomani Jones:

a somewhat response to the Trayvon blog…
... My mom always told me, if you dont want to be treated like a bum, dont look like one. Like it or not, Perception is reality to most people. Im not saying people should stop dressing a certain way or acting a certain way, but if you do, be prepared for how you will be treated by others. If your cool with that then have at it, but dont then turn around and complain about how you were treated because of how you looked, YOU made that choice. Before everyone jumps down my throat with all the myriad of rape scenarios, I dont not believe a woman wearing a short skirt is asking to be raped.

Soooo ... a woman wearing a short skirt is not asking to be raped, but an unarmed, black teenager wearing a hoodie is asking to be killed? Got it! I mean, everyone knows it's not okay to blame the rape victim for the crime committed against her, but apparently society is still okay with blaming the murder victim for the crime committed against him.

AWESOME!

2.  Mike and I went to the laundromat Wednesday night. I know! Can you believe he actually does laundry with me? Anyway, while I was folding clothes - and Mike was across the way blowing his nose - a woman walked in. She was quite chit-chatty with me (Why do people always think I want to talk to them??) as she put her clothes in the drier. Once she got the drier going, she went back out to her car to wait.

Ten minutes later, the clothes were folded and Mike started taking them out to the car ... which just happened to be parked right next to Chatty Cathy. When he headed in the direction of of Chatty Cathy's car, she quickly locked her car doors and rested her elbow on the driver's door window ledge in order to shield her view from the ABMM (Angry Black Man Mike).

3.  Yesterday, I got a call from the school regarding Cam. He had been suspended (again). This time due to his (WAY out of line) response to a teacher (white female) who accused him of "throwing gang signs" who wrote him up and sent him to the Dean's office. Cam insisted he was doing nothing more than showing a classmate the sign language alphabet after that same classmate had asked him if he knew it.

Far fetched? What if I told you the classmate corroborated Cam's story?

Still far fetched?

What if I told you the teacher rescinded her first write up (after learning of the classmates corroboration) and changed her story to "Cam was signing the alphabet with a classmate, and at the completion of the alphabet threw a gang sign"??

I kid you not.

One has to wonder if the same assumptions would have been made had a white, female, AP student been signing the alphabet to a classmate.

Then again, Cam was wearing a hoodie. Good thing his hood was not on his head or he might have been shot instead of suspended.

~*~

When Gated Communities Are The Bad Part Of Town

~*~

By now, you've probably heard the story of Trayvon Martin - a 17-year old A/B student, visiting relatives in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, walking down the street with a hoodie on (it was raining) and armed with the ever threatening can of Arizona Iced Tea and a bag of Skittles.

He was gunned down by 28-year old criminal justice student George Zimmerman, the self-appointed head of the neighborhood watch at the Retreat of Twin Lakes, and the proud owner of a 9mm handgun and a concealed carry permit.

Was George Zimmerman's murder of Trayvon Martin (no, Zimmerman has not been charged, but I fail to see how a 250 lb. man with a 9mm handgun can claim "self defense" against a 140 lb. 17-year old armed with Skittles and an Arizona Ice Tea) racially motivated? I don't know, but I do know:

1) Zimmerman, a citizen, had no legal authority to follow, stop or detain anyone for being "suspicious"

2) Zimmerman, while in a vehicle, followed a teenage boy who was doing nothing more than walking on the side of the street wearing a hoodie

3) When Zimmerman called 9-1-1 to report the "suspicious" teenage boy, police dispatch told him to stop following Trayvon Martin

4) Zimmerman, willfully and intentionally, got out of the safety of his vehicle, bringing his 9mm handgun with him

5) Trayvon Martin was unarmed

6) Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin

As the parent of a black son, I know that Cam sometimes carries the burden of other people’s suspicions.  Some of you might take offense to me referring to Cam as black, but you'll have to trust me here, when people look at Cam they don't say, "Look at that half black, half white kid." Their perception is that Cam is black, therefor Cam is black.

I've had parents of Cam's friends say things like, "You know Cam, if you are standing on a street corner people automatically think you are selling drugs," and, "If you dressed more "white" people would treat you differently." I guess that means the responsibility to avoid racial stereotypes lies squarely on Cam's shoulders? That Cam should never stand on street corners and should only wear khaki cargo shorts and pastel polo shirts?

At 15, and just months after getting his driver's permit, Cam was pulled over in our predominately white community. A local police officer followed us (Cam was driving, I was the passenger) from the strip mall in town to our apartment (about 2 miles). When Cam pulled into a parking space in our lot, the police officer blocked him in. When we got out of the car, the officer demanded to see Cam's permit, but gave no reason nor justification for doing so.

My guess? It was that DWB (Driving While Black) thing we white folks hear about but tend to brush aside as those black folks having a chip on their shoulder. Similar to their demands for a Black History Month, it's just something made up - something they need to get over.

I believe it is likely that race (or, at the very least, prejudice) was a factor in Cam's being pulled over for a "permit check". I believe it is likely that race (or, at the very least, prejudice) was a factor in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

This is the reality I send my (black) son into each and every day ... and it scares the shit out of me.

~*~

When Jokers Go Bad

~*~

Seldom does a blog post piss me off to the point that I keep it in my reader for over a month just in case I start blogging again ... but THIS ONE did.

Not because it was written so poorly and was full of ignorance.

If you are going to go bat-shit crazy on Black History Month, you should probably do a little research to learn why it is we celebrate the month. It's difficult to take your post seriously when your argument is completely invalid because you obviously have no clue why it is a crucial observance in this country.

Not because those who have to tell me they aren't racist (his exact words were, "Now those of you who read this post and think I am a racist bastard...well...GO FUCK YOURSELF!") are usually the ones who truly are racist.

Not even because he included pics like THIS in his post.

No ... it pissed me off because I have little respect for people who need to spew highly offensive racial slurs to (attempt to) make their point. Especially when that someone happens to be a person I've met in person, had a few beers with, and who knows my son is half black.

It matters not that he called himself a spic (in case you aren't familiar, a derogatory and offensive term for people of Hispanic descent - assumed to be derived from a Spanish accented pronunciation of "No spic (speak) English") before he proclaimed, "The person who came up with Black History Month is a Nigger."

No ... his ignorance and racism are in no way abated by his clever use of mock self-loathing.

I might have been somewhat forgiving had his blatant racism appeared in just one post, but he decided to carry on the theme with THIS post and THIS post. All in the month that we celebrate Black History. Tasteless would be a great understatement.

He closes his post by stating:

So, in celebration of Black History Month, I say......

FUCK YOU! (emphasis his)

I would rather celebrate Let's be Human Month.......

I've got news for you Denis, if we celebrated Let's Be Human Month? You'd be left out of that celebration too!

~*~

Friday Wrap-Up

~*~*~

Ahhhh ... Friday! My weekend will officially start at about 6:00PM, when I will drop off Cam at the church for a weekend high school ministries fall retreat. He has been in rare form these past few weeks, likely due to frustrations with his lack of progress in school (that topic deserves a post of its own) coupled with the lunar cycle (anyone who believes lunar cycles have no affect on behavior is CRAZY).

We both need the break, and since I cannot leave him for the weekend (there are times when I've considered it), I am grateful he is leaving me. Hopefully, when I pick him up Sunday afternoon, we'll both have better attitudes.

~*~

I had an interesting conversation with my hair stylist (Gina) last night as she was cutting Cam's hair. Seems my landlord (who also happens to have a beauty shop in Podunk) came in to talk to her about Cam. One of my neighbors (the complex is small - only 4 other rented units other than mine) called her with concerns about Cam. He "scares" them and they are "afraid" of him.

My landlord knows that Gina and I are fairly good friends, so she took it upon herself to visit Gina's salon (with several customers there) and began quizzing Gina about Cam. Is he a "good" kid? Has he ever been in trouble? Is he a bully? Do the tenants have reason to be afraid of him? Would Gina allow Cam in her house with her kids? Is Gina afraid of Cam?

When Gina explained that Cam was a typical teen - a kid who can occasionally get lippy but is generally a "good" kid - she also asked the landlord if something specific had happened with Cam that caused concern. That's when the landlord told her that a tenant in the building has come to her telling her Cam "scares" them and they are "afraid" of him.

I'm fairly certain I know EXACTLY where the problem is. Of the remaining four tenants in the building, one of them regularly pays Cam to take her groceries from her car to her upstairs apartment, one is a late 20's kid who has let me use his GPS and often stops to chat with Cam and me, and one is a "typical," single cat lady (5 cats and 2 dogs in a 2-bedroom apartment) who has asked Cam to walk her dogs when her bunions are acting up.

That leaves the gun rack in the back window, pick-up truck driving, NRA bumper stickers holding the right rear corner panel together, late 50's gentleman and his wife who live directly upstairs from me but have NEVER spoken to me.

Hey! If they are going to make assumptions, it's only fair that I get to too!

And guess what? Unless they have specific issues regarding things that have actually happened, rather than a case of their ignorant imaginations running wild, they can kiss my big white ass.

~*~

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I am PMS-ing ... which isn't a good combination. See? I don't get bitchy (usually) during hell week, I get extremely sappy and emotionally sensitive. Of course, that can only lead to a big ol' pity party.

I've been whiny, needy and generally irritating on twitter these past couple of days - so much so that it actually drives me bonkers to read my own time line.

I have much to be thankful for, yet my focus has been on what I'm lacking - what I wish I had - this holiday season. What's odd is this isn't about material needs/wants, it's about emotional needs/wants.

Menopause can't come fast enough. Then I can just be bitchy and unreasonable ALL of the time and blame it on hormonal fluctuations.

~*~*~

A Crafty Kwanzaa

~*~*~*~*~

I am often times amazed by the cosmic happenstance that occurs in the blogsphere.

Yesterday, Matt-Man wrote a piece on Kwanzaa in only the way that Matt-Man can. I laughed so hard I pee'd my pants cried, then kept reading the comments all day waiting for the shit to hit the fan thoughtful and caring words of wisdom from his many enlightened readers.

As fate would have it (here's where that cosmic happenstance comes in), I was minding my own business on Twitter, when one of the crafters I follow (don't act so surprised) tweeted this series of 140 character or less thoughts:



OK, so maybe I *do* stereotype people a little bit, but I certainly didn't expect to see a craft blogger posting about racism ... even the "casual" variety. We all know that crafters are far more into knitting pouches to hold all of their Christmas gifts than they are about world peace ... or racism ... right?? Curiosity got the best of me and off I clicked.

What I found was Alexis of One Grand Home and her views on a group who call themselves "Knitta, please." Without going into too much detail, "Knitta, please" is a knit graffiti crew. They "tag" parking meters, buses, bike racks, lamp posts, car antennas, columns, statues, exposed plumbing, etc. with - you guessed it - granny squares. Alexis takes issue with what she calls the "casual racism" of the Knitta, please name. Her post, Racism Is Not Crafty, got me thinking on several levels.

First, who knew? My obvious stereotyping slapped me right up along side the head. I couldn't imagine there was an undercurrent of heavy subjects like racism in the knitting/crafting world. How does one find the time to consider such lofty topics when they are knitting one and pearling two?

Second, why hasn't Knitta, please come to Chicago to warm our parking meters? Heaven knows the parking meters in Austin Texas stay warm all winter. They don't need a cozy!

Then I pictured Matt-Man wrapped up in a crocheted afghan, and Alexis with a bottle of Wild Irish Rose, and realized they are really both doing the same thing, just in very different ways.

My guess is that Alexis would find Matt-Man's Kwanzaa post beyond "casual" racism, ranking right up there with overt racism, and that Matt-Man still hasn't stopped kicking himself in the ass for not copyrighting the term Knitta, please before those crafty Texans did.

But beyond that, they both got people talking about a topic we don't like to talk about. One that remains far more of an issue in this country than many of us are aware of. Matt-Man tends to do this by taking the power out of the words through satire where Alexis does it by encouraging people to be more aware of how little bits of racism innocently creep into our lives.

Which way do you lean? Will you drink from the Wild Irish Rose bottle or are you working on a granny square?

**EDIT**

I've continued following the discussion thread over at Racism Is Not Crafty and I have to tell you that I am truly amazed at some of the comments - from using the acronym POC (for People of Color, rather than using a human descriptor) and then calling everyone who supports "Knitta, please" racist, to implying that if one is tired of being PC (and let's be honest, who isn't no matter if you are a "POC" or a "P w/o C") they are "too lazy/scared/uninterested in educating" themselves makes me realize that we have even farther to go in this plight than I imagined ... and it's the people who are so vocal in claiming they AREN'T racist who are the greatest hurdle!

Unfortunately, this discussion on race at Racism Is Not Crafty ended as so many do ... with shutting down the comments of those who dared find nothing wrong with the moniker "Knitta, please" I find that unfortunate.

In her follow-up post she gave kudos to those willing to do something about "Knitta, please" - to somehow shut them down - and gave credit only to commenters who agreed with her position. Again, terribly unfortunate.

Alexis, in her final reply to my comments wrote:

Dana,

I’m going to respond to you one last time and then you can have the final word because I don’t think dialog with you is going to be productive. If you are offended by the abbreviation POC, it is probably because you don’t spend any substantial time conversing about race online. The abbreviations POC, WOC, AfAm, AA, COC, EA, SA and on and on are all used in various contexts to speed communication about various groups of people just like DH, DS, DD are used in online conversations about family structure. That’s all.

As for your chuckles at the n-word and hearty enjoyment of racist caricatures about African American holidays, I leave you to it.

... and then a general comment to all of her readers:

Moderation warning: If you create different aliases to manufacture a fiction of agreement with your perspective, your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.

Way to keep those lines of communication open! She is definitely not interested in the Wild Irish Rose method and much prefers her comfortable, safe granny squares where all can be predicted and controlled. It's too bad ... really ...

If anyone is interested, earlier this month CNN published a GREAT article titled Urban knitters spin yarn into graffiti that talks about Knitta, please and their "gorilla street art". If you'd like to see how a genuine artistic effort is being manipulated into what Alexis refers to as "casual racism" read the article and judge for yourself.

Mountain out of a mole hill anyone?

~*~*~*~*~

A Glimpse of the Real Man

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is no question regarding my distaste of our President's current and proposed political agenda, but one of the things that drives me absolutely nuts about him is his jellyfish-ness. Jellyfish-ness? Yep! No backbone, real squishy and squirmy, yet simply beautiful to watch. Obama spends more time trying to get everyone to like him than he does running the country. His speeches - brilliantly written and orated - never have much substance, but evoke emotions from the masses. It's like attending a Brian Tracy motivational conference - everyone returns to work excited and ready for change, 37 hours and 22 minutes later, they're sitting at their desk, trying to figure out how to surf porn without getting caught again.

I was thrilled - no, make that ecstatic - when at Wednesday night's press conference, after being asked about the Gates incident, Obama scolded the local police for "acting stupidly for arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home." Whew! He is capable of speaking spontaneously and having an opinion that isn't "bipartisan!" How wonderfully refreshing!

Do I agree with Obama's opinion? No - the more I learn the more I side with police. There will be some of you who want to interject race and racism into this, but you'd be wrong. This is about someone who is highly successful, attempting to justify his unreasonable reactions (sense of entitlement anyone?) and having that handy race card up his sleeve. We'd all be cheering if this happened to a privileged white woman ... say Paris Hilton. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that most would say the spoiled brat deserved it - but let it happen to a privileged black man and it's suddenly racism.

Anyway ... I'm rambling ... back to the point ...

I found it quite admirable that Obama grew a pair found the intestinal fortitude to say something controversial - to let words from his heart escape from his lips. I was actually starting to like respect him. I may not agree with his opinion, but hell yes! Speak your heart. Give me something of substance to chew on. Give me a President who cares less about his popularity and more about what is happening in this country. This isn't high school - we didn't elect a homecoming king - we elected a President.

Then it happened. Yeah ... yeah ... I can hear all of you communist bastards Obama supporters chiming in with ,"It takes a big man to admit when he was wrong." Pffftttt! It was nothing more than damage control. Right back to the wishy-washy, let's make everyone happy, bullshit. I was basking in the joy of hearing Obama, for the FIRST time, speak from his heart, and now he's doing the moonwalk right back to Wonderland.

Simmer down now, simmer down ...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Equal Opportunity Does NOT Mean Equal Outcome

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Is anyone else using the new "Your Reading List" tool for Firefox? It's made my "I need to blog about this" list even longer, which is both a good and a bad thing. Anyway, this post isn't about browsers and tools, so I guess I should get to my point. What was my point again? Oh yes!

In late June, the Supreme Court ruled in the New Haven, CT firefighter's case (I posted about the case [HERE]). In short, the white and Hispanic firefighters believed they were unfairly denied promotions because of their race. The city of New Haven spent $100,000 on a test given to all firefighters competing for officer positions within the department. The city coded the test takers by race, and of the top 15 scorers, 14 were white and one was Hispanic. There were only 15 vacancies in the top ranks of the fire department meaning no blacks would be promoted. The city threw out the test and promoted no one.

The Court ruled that New Haven was wrong to scrap the promotion exam because no African-Americans and only one Hispanic firefighter were likely to be made lieutenants or captains. This was a 5-4 Supreme Court decision - Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas being the majority vote. Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions."

The firefighter's attorney said the ruling was "a sign that individual achievement should not take a back seat to race or ethnicity. I think the importance of the decision is that cities cannot bow to politics and pressure and lobbying by special interest groups or act to achieve racial quotas." I couldn't agree more.

At some point, this country will realize that Title VII was about equal opportunities, not equal outcomes. I hope to see a day where no one will question whether a "non-white" individuals' achievements were the result of affirmative action, but rather will know the person was the most qualified for the position/promotion. Was the test used by the New Haven Fire Department discriminatory? Aren't all tests? This one - in particular - discriminated between those were intellectually competent for the promotion, and those who weren't, and that is a good thing. Throwing out the results because the outcome was not what was anticipated, or out of fear of litigation, does nothing more than reinforce the idea that "non-whites" are intellectually less than whites and need special consideration to make the cut. How does that promote equality?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael Moore - White Guy Standards

Have I ever mentioned my hatred extreme distaste of Michael Moore? I have always felt he is the epitome of the classic Snake Oil Salesman - spinning the truth in so many directions that it becomes unclear where he even started from. His recent interview with Larry King where he discussed Jeremiah Wright was no exception.




If you can't stomach Michael Moore (which I can completely understand), here is the excerpt from this clip that I find most disturbing:

“[Y]ou have to ask yourself, Larry, what’s it like to be black in America? And what kind of rage would you feel? And if you did feel that rage, what kind of things would you say that, at times, would be outrageous, crazy even, because you’ve had to live through this for so long. And I do not believe, as a white guy, that I am in any position to judge a black man who has had to live through that.”

So, does this mean that all of black American is so oppressed that rage against whites specifically, and America generally, is completely understandable? Does this mean that no white has the right to "judge" Jeremiah Wright's comments by the same moral standards one might judge the comments of John Hagee?

I see this attitude as extremely detrimental to overcoming racism. We lower standards of admission to universities, we employ less qualified individuals for positions based on their race and we blame the high number of black men in prison for violent crimes on white racism. In essence, we are cultivating black victimhood and justifying encouraging black rage against America to continue by lowering the moral standards used to "judge" CITIZENS of this country.

Is racism still a problem in this country? Without a doubt! Is justifying rage against whites the way to fix it? I sure don't see that behavior as the least bit helpful - in fact I would argue that it does nothing more than increase black rage and black racism.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael, from Daddio's Daily Dose has posted PART FIVE in his series Save Thee? Or Sell Thee? If you have been reading this series get over there and finish it - if you haven't, what's wrong with you? It's a great, thought provoking read!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~