April 10, 2007
Institutional racism

Postman reports that the Seattle Education Association claims that the consensus in the legislature to delay WASL math tests as graduation requirements, but not do the same for reading and writing, is an act of racism.

In an intemperate letter to legislators, the SEA writes:

SEA and SPS are working to eliminate the horror of Institutional Racism and Privilege wherever we find it.
* The members of SEA also are fighting for a system that provides equity in the results for children and young adults, not a system that sorts children of color and children of poverty and relegates those children to lives of poverty.
And how exactly does the SEA plan to provide equality of education results? Punish Japanese-Americans for getting better WASL scores than everybody else?

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at April 10, 2007 12:44 PM | Email This
Comments
1. According to the Seattle Education Association me, all my family, friends, neighbors, are racists because we can read and write.

Forgive us Seattle educators - we know not what we do!

Posted by: Racie Stacie on April 10, 2007 12:45 PM
2. Once again, it boils down to individual responsibility. It takes resolve and work to become educated and thus qualify for more of what our economy and society have to offer.

Parents can help by being parents. The education establishment can help by getting back to educational techniques that work. Maybe learning the multiplication tables is archaic, but that learning method works.

Our educators spend far too much time on touchy-feely stuff and not enough on teaching.

Posted by: Libertarian on April 10, 2007 12:48 PM
3. I wonder if it's institutional racism that leads certain ethnic groups to have higher levels of truancy, short and long term suspensions, expulsions, and dropout rates. Once you identify the causes of those problems and fix them, you might find the "achievement gap" narrowing. Of course, fixing that involves alot of parents taking a look in the mirror, which won't happen any time soon.

Posted by: Palouse on April 10, 2007 01:00 PM
4. Sigh. I just wish someone would call me a nappy-headed ho. That would mean a) that my hair had miraculously returned and b) I still had the old erotic allure. But alas.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 10, 2007 01:04 PM
5. Re #4, OT sidenote: Am I the only one who thinks the 'nappy-headed ho' thing was a publicity stunt? Imus had become so irrelevant in the world of talk radio that he need something, anything to get attention. As they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity. I think he used that in order to be 'controversial' again, and will use it to move his show to satellite radio (a la Stern) so he can be more 'provocative'.

Posted by: Palouse on April 10, 2007 01:23 PM
6. As I read through this statistical profile, I am struck as much by the institutional sexism as by the institutional racism. The boys sure are getting the shaft.

Posted by: huckleberry on April 10, 2007 01:56 PM
7. "All the rhetoric aside, the elimination of gainsharing from Plan 3 reduces an already poor retirement plan to horrible."

It's all about the children, I guess.

Posted by: huckleberry on April 10, 2007 02:13 PM
8. "...a system that fights for equity in the results..."

...As opposed to equity in OPPORTUNITY. This is the defining difference between modern liberalism and conservatism. Dr. King dreamed of the day when his children would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I have to wonder whether he would feel at home in the SEA....

Posted by: Patrick on April 10, 2007 02:15 PM
9. "We have proposed through Senator Kohl-Welles that the legislature fund the SPS for the work that SEA and SPS are jointly doing..."

See Pinnochio dance! WAHLLLLL, I GOT NO STRINGS, TO HOLD ME DOWN...

Posted by: huckleberry on April 10, 2007 02:16 PM
10. #5:

Yeah, I wonder where Imus heard that term. It couldn't have been from a black person. Must have been at some racist white tennis club or something.

Personally, I think if Imus and Stern were put together, and some brains and maturity were added, there'd be a pretty good chance of producing some pond scum.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 10, 2007 02:24 PM
11. Is Steve Wonder racist?

Check out these lyrics from one of my favoritesongs, "I Wish":

"Looking back on when i
Was a little nappy headed boy
Then my only worry
Was for christmas what would be my toy
Even though we sometimes
Would not get a thing
We were happy with the
Joy the day would bring"

Posted by: John Bailo on April 10, 2007 02:44 PM
12. Wow. Maybe Imus was just channeling Lil Stevie!

Look out. I feel some Fifty Cent coming on.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 10, 2007 02:47 PM
13. SPS and SEA are really sinking to the bottom of the barrel. Unable to make workable their failed affirmative action policies, forced integration polices, and other policies that ignore the reality of defective cultures in the schools, they have redefined racism. We should call it "Original Skin."

According to SPS, and SEA, racism is now linked to achievement and success. If anyone has moved up, then they are assumed to have built that success on racism. And consistency is now called privilege. Even as they decry sorting kids by color, they define in the middle class and above as born in to racism by virtue of their parents income level.

If a person has struggled all their life to become a first generation college graduate, has attained a measure of success, and has worked hard to consistently choose a virtuous path; that is now newly minted inequity and intentional racism.

And the simplest way to determine if someone meets the criterion of racism and privilege is to look at their skin color and appearance and behaviors. Are you wearing business casual clothing? You are a racist. Got white skin? Yep, you are a racist. Driving a car less than ten years old? Privileged oppressor. Trying hard to do the right thing for your family? How dare you. Want your kid to attend a school that gives them the best possible start in life? Gotcha, you are an institutional racist.

But by ignoring that there are some behaviors that are indeed destructive, and that are objectively less valuable and less successful than others, SPS and SEA are the ones who are actually condemning children to lives of poverty.

If a child grows up with the message that all those with more than they have are racist oppressors, will they seek a better outcome? Or if a child grows up with all of the negative behaviors of those around them continually excused as just culture, will they learn the difference between wrong and right? If a child is told that a test for basic skills is a racist requirement, will they learn the value of reading and writing as a means to effective business communication that will help them attain work and success? If a child is constantly reminded that some who have chosen differently are oppressors, won't he or she learn resentment?

SPS and SEA are actually working hard to continue the horrors of racism.

Posted by: Jeff B. on April 10, 2007 02:48 PM
14. Gosh Jeff, when you put it like that, the SEA/SPS race-baiters sound more interested in socialism than racial equality. Is that even possible?

Posted by: huckleberry on April 10, 2007 03:05 PM
15. The SEA and SPS just can't come to grips with the fact that all of their social engineering efforts have failed miserably. They are the ones pulling the race card--the soft bigotry of low expectations. If they were really serious about producing productive citizens, they would enforce discipline, implement a decent curriculum, and stop the practice of social promotion.

But, nooooo, they aren't going to do any of the above because it not only makes sense, it doesn't require millions in additional funds, thus shrinking the bureaucracy instead of enlarging it.

If you want a good example of how silly the race card has become, look at the Imus flap. It is quite ok for certain entertainers (Spike Lee, Snoop Dog, etc.) to use derogatory, racist language, but if a white person does it then that person must be chatised by Sharpton and other hypocrital morons until the cows come home. If Sharpton wants to get on his high horse, then he needs to apply the standards equally. The same goes for the SEA and SPS. They are the ones creating the institutional racism, but none of us will live long enough to hear them admit it.

Posted by: Burdabee on April 10, 2007 03:05 PM
16. Racism. Yah, right. Grow UP, people! (said the hispanic girl)

Posted by: Michele on April 10, 2007 03:20 PM
17. I heard the Imus apology tour has a stop scheduled on Oprah. Does anyone think Imus would have EVER been invited to be on Oprah had he not used the 'nappy-headed ho' comment? He's already been on Sharpton's show and he got a two week vacation from his radio show to boot. I bet his ratings get a huge boost when he gets back. It's genius.

Posted by: Palouse on April 10, 2007 03:23 PM
18. Speaking of Oprah, I remember a lullaby my momma used to croon to me:

Go to sleep
My little pickaninny
Boogyman'll get you
If you don't

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 10, 2007 03:26 PM
19. And if you look at the link Stefan posted, you can see that SPS and SEA are completely obsessed with race. Plenty of bar charts with everything broken down by every possible color or ethnicity.

But is it color or ethnicity that determines anything about a human? If you take a person of Chinese heritage, and raise them in the US, will they automatically be fluent in Chinese?

The reality is, that culture and the underlying philosophy of the culture is the greatest measure of success. If anything, SPS and SEA should be bar-charting based on culture and behaviors that lead to success or failure.

What we want to know about Japanese Americans who do well on the WASL, is WHATIt is not COLOR.

By focusing on color and ethnicity, SPS and SEA are showing their true racist stripes. Rather than acknowledge any chosen behavior, cultural, environmental, or any other dynamic factor, SPS and SEA choose to instead obsess about human traits that cannot be changed.

It does not get any lower. SPS and SEA are engaging in full blown and intolerable racism.

All parents with children in SPS should be writing strongly worded letters to school officials to get this disastrous policy stopped ASAP.

Posted by: Jeff B. on April 10, 2007 03:34 PM
20. Pull the plug on this painful farce and issue vouchers to the kids in Seattle.

Posted by: thatcher on April 10, 2007 04:02 PM
21. "Pull the plug on this painful farce and issue vouchers to the kids in Seattle"

Accompanied by a statement from the SEA -- "We liberals have shown ourselves to be pathetic failures."

It would be nice if they could be honest with themselves for once.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on April 10, 2007 05:29 PM
22. Somewhere out there on the web is a comic site bashing communism. It seems to fit this context, too. It protrays a rubix cube, those square things with all the colors to match, but this one is All Red! It's fair for everyone! No one Fails!

Posted by: ljm on April 10, 2007 05:43 PM
23. Institutional racism is necessary for the secular progressive moral relativist crowd.

Charges of institutional racism is necessary to explain why some people fail. It certainly cannot be because of personal choices that they have made; heavens no. All choices are equal, all lifestyles are the same. There are no good or bad choices in life. Anytime someone doesn't succeed it's because of society, not one's personal decisions.

Have a baby out of wedlock? Just as right and good as having a baby in marriage. Impregnate a young woman and abandon her and the baby? It's all good, a lifestyle choice. Join a gang, sell drugs, commit armed robbery? No problem, it's not your fault you're in jail. Drop out of high school and don't graduate? Not your problem you can't find a job, it's institutional racism. Your choice to not graduate from high school is just as good a decision as the one the student made to stay in school, work hard, study, graduates, goes on to college and gets a high paying professional job. Can't be passing judgment on people, all choices are the same.

The race mongers in society cannot place the blame for failure where it belongs: on the person that makes choices that lead to failure. Better to blame institutional racism and not hurt someone's self esteem.

Look at the criticism that Bill Cosby received when he told people that it's their behavior and choices that lead to their problems. People didn't want to be told that. They'd rather blame institutional racism than face the fact that their problems are the result of their own poor choices.

As my good friend Han Solo said, "It's not my fault!"

Posted by: Obi-Wan on April 10, 2007 06:25 PM
24. Seattle is on the verge of caving in on their Marxist philosophies. What will be the final straw is when Seattle experiences a recession. The bill for all the nonsense they have purchased is due NOW and decades into the future.
When these Bourgeoise Bohemians can no longer afford there twice annual European & Australian Vacations because of Taxes and the high cost of living in Seattle, they will be begging for Conservatives to run for office to fix things.

Seattle is living off borrowing & optimism. Seattle has experienced an unprecedented Economic Boom. These KLOWNS believe it will last forever.
The fact is, Seattle is already imploding.

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on April 10, 2007 06:40 PM
25. Obi-Wan, you are a master of wisdom. One of the tenets of liberalism is the Glory of Choosing who you are. No constraints or limits (usually taking the form of traditional culture) are allowed. Thus, someone who chooses a foolish path cannot be blamed, because he was "being fully human" simply by choosing. That he ended up on Skid Row is not because he chose, but because someone else derailed him.

Another feature is that, while all institutions exist by virtue of discrimination of some kind*, the left in its war against any and all discrimination is in a war against all institutions.

* That might take the form of intelligence (universities), achievements (jobs), sex (marriage), etc.

Posted by: Torquemada on April 10, 2007 07:12 PM
26. A few of the posters seem to have been sidetracked by Imus. The Nappy Headed Ho was offensive for several reasons. The first is that it was directed at a group of college kids who had worked hard to have a very successful sports season. They neither solicited nor deserve this unwarranted attention. I know at least one of the posters, the bald one with no erotic appeal works at a university in Eastern Washington. I suppose that he would find it amusing if athlethics from his school had the dimissive language directed at them, no matter their color or gender. This comment points out a couple of issues:

1. The perception of native Blacks is so negative
that not only does Imus feel free to make the
derogatory comments, but others here think that
it is humorous to repeat, including one who
works at a college in Eastern Washington.

2. The perception of the ability of Black school
children and their ability is so low that
rather than raise standards, the union is
about lowering them. The next request will
be more money and lower class size to deal
with lower expectations and lower achievement.

3. Hip hop culture has had a profound affect on
how Blacks are viewed by the greater society
and how Blacks and others view Black women. If
there is a constant refrain or ho and bitch,
well the ourside culture will free to
stigmitize and demean including the person
working at the university in Eastern
Washington.

4. Until there is competition in education, the
quality will decline, the enrollment will
decline.I certainly won't be referring
anyone to that college in Eastern Washington
where our poster works because although many
here like to believe there is a color blind
society, I wonder how he would treat a kid
of color.

Posted by: WVH on April 10, 2007 09:54 PM
27. College employee from Eastern Washington:

Speaking of Oprah, I remember a lullaby my momma used to croon to me:

Go to sleep
My little pickaninny
Boogyman'll get you
If you don't

Posted by Rey Smith at April 10, 2007 03:26 PM

The term "pickaninny" in many circles is considered as derogatory as the N word. I certainly hope that one of the administrators where you work stops by this site some time.

Posted by: WVH on April 10, 2007 09:57 PM
28. Now, for the lame-assed posters fixated on the nappy head remark, including the one who works at a college in Eastern Washington, this from Malkin on the subject and it also relates to the low expectations secular progressives have for children and people of color:

The Culture of "Bitches, Hos, and Niggas"
By Michelle Malkin
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Let's stipulate: I have no love for Don Imus, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. A pox on all their race-baiting houses.

Let's also stipulate: The Rutgers women's basketball team didn't deserve to be disrespected as "nappy-headed hos." No woman deserves that. I agree with the athletes that Imus's misogynist mockery was "deplorable, despicable and unconscionable." And as I noted on Fox News's "O'Reilly Factor" this week, I believe top public officials and journalists who have appeared on Imus's show should take responsibility for enabling Imus -- and should disavow his longstanding invective.

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/MichelleMalkin/2007/04/11/the_culture_of_bitches,_hos,_and_niggas

Posted by: WVH on April 10, 2007 10:20 PM
29. What Michelle Malkin said.

Posted by: Michele on April 10, 2007 11:09 PM
30. I just read that as well. All good points. Is what Michelle Malkin exposes a culture anyone wants their kids near?

Posted by: Jeff B. on April 10, 2007 11:11 PM
31. Snooze ville....man this is boring post stuff.

ZZZZZZZz

Posted by: Maggiano Meatball on April 11, 2007 07:17 AM
32. "District's first black chief took on racial divide"

When a teacher is referenced as "white cracker, white honky, white whore" the superintendent finalist didn't see the insults as racist.

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=charleston10m&date=20070410

I actually don't care if the comments are racist or not, however, it is NOT an appropriate way for a student to address a teacher.

Posted by: Mike on April 11, 2007 07:57 AM
33. #27 WVH:

As I said, my mother used to sing me that lullaby. That is true, and I don't care who knows it.

Not everything that has ever happened everywhere is the result of politics; not every person who has ever lived is defined by their sense of false outrage.

I am sorry for you if you have no memory of your mother's love.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 11, 2007 09:24 AM
34. Mike:

You have hit upon part of the problem which is the issue of discipline and respect. I did not follow this case for the total outcome. In Michigan, a couple of years back, in the lunchroom a student called the principal, a ho. The principal kicked their lame little butt out of school and guess what, the ACLU sued. We have a culture where students and parents sue for the rights of students at the drop of a hat. Teachers and administrators frankly are cowed. This is my opinion and I am entitled to it: At one time the ACLU might have been of use to society, now given what they support, they are as destructive to society as some terrorist organizations. Because the current crop of students in public schools was raised by secular progressive moral relativist parents, they often lack discipline and respect for any form of authority. My favorite quote which illustrates this is from
Cato, the recent. "morality is in the eye of the beholder." Joe Clark, the truly kick-ass principal profiled in the movie "Stand by Me" was sued a couple of times. For many of these kids and in many of these school situations a lot of disciplne is needed. The last thing they need to improve their life chances is the soft bigotry of low expectations of secular progressives who populate most union (leadership?). Union leaders and their bigotry are the problem, a lot of the rank and file membership knows the problem

Posted by: WVH on April 11, 2007 09:32 AM
35. Sorry Rey:

Just like I called bullshit on your lame explanation for your un varnished bigotry on another thread. Bullshit to your explanation here.
You know exactly what you are doing. I respect people's parents but if your father was Hitler and used to sing you to sleep about the final solution, is that appropriate? I hope that your Asian wife and your in-laws are not treated to the finer points of your personality and you treat her with respect. I, would have no problem kicking your lame butt to the curb. If administrators from your college ever wander by this site, hope you are out showing your true colors and yes, as I promised in the other thread I will point out your bigotry. You are a Michael Richards and Imus clone. For the more intelligent posters here, the term used by Mr. tolerance is equivalent to the N word.

Posted by: WVH on April 11, 2007 09:39 AM
36. Dear WVH:

You may spew as much verbal feces as you wish. My mom sang the lullaby to me when I was a child, and I resent your implication that she was a racist for doing so. Here's a link to the sheet music (from the 1920s):

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?dukesm:8:./temp/~ammem_dxdA::

Also -- I'll thank you to keep your remarks about my family to yourself. Your insults, and your false rage over racist language (most of which originated among, and is propogated by, black rappers, as you well know) are tiresome and ignorant.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 11, 2007 12:57 PM
37. Rey:

I don't care what the sheet music is, it is just as offenive as the N word. If you continue to make remarks about Black people in the same vein, guess what I am going to point them out. I don't know your mother. Guess what, 40 years ago, it was fine to wear a hood and burn crosses, does that make it appropriate today? Guess what, it was OK to lynch people, does that make it OK today? Guess what, it was OK for you to wear Blackface and lampoon Blacks, is it OK to do it today?

"You may spew as much verbal feces as you wish."

Contrast what I may have said versus this:

"My little pickaninny"

Every time you make a statement like that, I will call you on it. I told you I would do that last thread with your ghetto language used to disparage and lampoon Black people.

Pickaninny = N word. I don't know if you get it.
To use derogatory language for any group is wrong. Maybe you need to attend some classes at the school where you work. As for verbal feces, hold the mirror to your face and stare at what is looking back at you.

Posted by: WVH on April 11, 2007 09:42 PM
38. "Your insults, and your false rage over racist language (most of which originated among, and is propogated by, black rappers, as you well know) are tiresome and ignorant."

One further point, Black rappers represent the lowest common denominator of Black culture, I know that your college probably has history, music and art courses which survey the contributions of a variety of cultures. Too, bad you are so focused on hating what you do not understand that you focus on the lowest common denominator. You called me ignorant which is defined as a lack of knowledge. I would call you ignorant as you continually demean that which you really don't know. Most people that continually take the tack that you do with a specific type or group are really threatened by the group or culture. Too bad you are not using the resources of your college to enlighten yourself so that you
don't have to continually display your ignorance. Don't you get a discount on classes you can take?

Posted by: WVH on April 11, 2007 09:54 PM
39. WVH @ 37: Please double check your timeline. Forty years ago was 1967. White Americans may have been more racist back in those nearly forgotten times, but I disagree with the notion that most Americans were comfortable with the KKK, endorsed lynchings of any kind, or rushed home from work to don blackface. I think you are exaggerating, and I am liable to become offended. Please don't let your disgust with Torq and others spiral you downward into the same negative generalizing.

Posted by: huckleberry on April 11, 2007 11:19 PM
40. Hi Huckleberry:

I don't have the time to list all the sources including the history surrounding the voting righta act, but see the following, the Civil Rights movement was until 1968 officially, of course a lot of instances have still not been settled including the murder of a Black civil rights leader in Seattle. There were in fact sporadic lynchings in the South during the 70s, so if you want to disagree with the following, please provide your sources.

See the following:

Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination of African Americans; this article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and 1968, particularly in the South. By 1966, the emergence of the Black Power Movement, which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975, enlarged and gradually eclipsed the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from white authority. Several scholars refer to the movement as the Second Reconstruction, a name that alludes to the Reconstruction after the Civil War.

Contents [hide]
1 Prelude and overview
2 Mass action replacing litigation
3 Mainstream Exposure
4 Key Events
4.1 Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
4.2 Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1956
4.3 Desegregating Little Rock, 1957
4.4 Sit-ins and Freedom Rides, 1961
4.5 The March on Washington, 1963
5 Organizing in Mississippi
5.1 The Albany Movement, 1961-1967
5.2 The Birmingham campaign, 1963-1964
5.3 Mississippi Freedom Summer, 1964
5.4 The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1964
5.5 Selma and the Voting Rights Act, 1965
5.6 Memphis and the Poor People's March, 1968
6 Other Issues in the Civil Rights Movement
6.1 The Kennedy Administration, 1960-63
6.2 The American Jewish community and the Civil Rights movement
6.3 Fraying of alliances
6.4 Race riots, 1963-1970
7 Black power, 1966
8 Prison reform
8.1 Gates v. Collier
8.2 Cold war
9 Footnotes
10 See also
10.1 General
10.2 Activist organizations
10.3 Activists
10.4 Politicians who opposed the Civil Rights Movement in this period
11 Further reading
12 Documentary films
13 External links
13.1 Jewish community and civil rights

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281955-1968%29

Posted by: WVH on April 11, 2007 11:48 PM
41. Some days blogging is like teaching. The Edwin Pratt case is a Seattle case which involves a local civil rights leader whose murder has not been solved. Ok, this is 1969, I am off by two years:

Edwin Pratt is murdered outside of his Shoreline home on January 26, 1969.
HistoryLink.org Essay 4142
Printer-Friendly Format

On January 26, 1969, civil rights leader and Seattle Urban League Executive Director Edwin Pratt (1930-1969) is killed by a shotgun blast in the doorway of his home at 17916 1st Avenue NE in Shoreline.
Edwin T. Pratt was born December 6, 1930, in Miami, Florida. He attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, and received a Master's degree in Social Work from Atlanta University. He joined the Urban League and served in Cleveland and Kansas City before his appointment in 1956 as Community Relations Secretary of the Seattle Urban League. In 1961 he became Executive Director.

The Crime

On the ill-fated Sunday evening of January 26, 1969, the city of Shoreline was covered in snow. Having cancelled their original plans as a result of the weather, Pratt and his wife Bettye were looking forward to "a quiet evening by the fireplace" (The Stranger). At around 9:00 p.m., shortly after putting their 5-year-old daughter Miriam Katherine to bed, Edwin and Bettye heard a noise outside that sounded like a snowball hitting the window. While Pratt went to the front door to investigate, Bettye looked out their bedroom window. From the window Bettye could see two men crouched down behind Pratt's car in the carport, and she noticed that one was carrying what appeared to be a shotgun. She immediately shouted to Pratt: "Look out, they've got a rifle!" (Seattle P-I, January 28, 1969). It was too late. Upon opening the door, Pratt was shot in the face and died almost instantly.

Witnesses reported seeing two men, both about six feet tall and in their late teens or early twenties, flee the Pratt home and head west onto NE 179th Street, where they jumped into a car and sped away. It is assumed that a third person was involved, as the driver of the getaway car. One neighbor told police that he thought the car was a two-toned newer model Buick Skylark, a sports type. No one was able to get a license plate number. Furthermore, because of the darkness no witness was able to tell whether the assailants were white or black.

http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=4142

I think Huckleberry, although we have traveled quite a ways in this society, many people don't realize that it was not all that long ago that things were much different. The is some talk of re-opening the Pratt investigation.

Posted by: WVH on April 11, 2007 11:57 PM
42. Huckleberry:

Finally, your comment regarding acceptance by the
public of blackface and the KKK. I never said that most people accepted it, but here is an interesting item from 2007:

Minn. College Investigates Party Where Students Wore Blackface, KKK Costumes
By Associated Press
Feb 11, 2007, 21:20
ST. PAUL, Minn.

An off-campus party that asked students to come dressed "politically incorrect" has prompted an investigation by Macalester College officials who learned one student was costumed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another wore blackface with a noose around his neck.
Students at the private school told administrators about the Jan. 16 party on campus.
"My initial reaction was shock," said Paul Maitland-McKinley, a member of the Black Liberation Affairs Committee, a student group. "I thought, this can't really happen on my campus."
A campus-wide discussion is planned for Tuesday.

This same article continues:

Earlier this school year, Trinity College and Whitman College had parties where students showed up in racially offensive costumes or blackface. At Texas A&M University, students made a racist video that apparently was intended as satire, and a fraternity at Johns Hopkins University was suspended after a "Halloween in the Hood" party displayed a fake skeleton hanging from a noose.

http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/printer_6995.shtml

So, if you have facts that contradict the above postings, please post.


Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 12:09 AM
43. WVH: You said:

Guess what, 40 years ago, it was fine to wear a hood and burn crosses, does that make it appropriate today? Guess what, it was OK to lynch people, does that make it OK today? Guess what, it was OK for you to wear Blackface and lampoon Blacks, is it OK to do it today?

We seem to not agree on what the words "appropriate" and "OK" mean. I took those words to mean that you thought membership in KKK, participating in lynchings, and donning blackface were commonly accepted practices in 1967. I disagree with that notion. If you mean that people belonged to the KKK, blacks were lynched, and people wore blackface "as recently as 1967", then I agree with you. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if those things all still happen today. But I believe that all of those things were considered wrong-headed by most whites in 1967 (except perhaps in some particular regions of the country), and those things are unthinkable for most whites today.

So what is the point? Does racism and bigotry still exist in America today? Yes, and it comes in many different forms and flows in many different directions. I have no statistics (nor does anybody else) but I am inclined to believe that today, in America, the average person of color is more prejudiced against whites than the other way around.

Our job, yours and mine, is to never be afraid to discuss race, and always fight for understanding, and demand that we all respect the dignity of human beings no matter what their race. Agreed?

Posted by: huckleberry on April 12, 2007 08:02 AM
44. WVH:

Your ignorance is willful. It consists of your insistence on seeing everything in terms of how offended YOU would be if people meant what you mistakenly infer them to mean. My recounting a memory of my childhood (circa late 1940s) was meant to remind people of the need for context in any discusion of semantics. Remember what "gay" used to mean? How about "fag"? Not to mention "silly", "awful", and "fool."

Here's some advice: when things go over your head, don't curse your diminutive intellectual stature. Get a step-ladder.

Now don't bother me. I'm reading about that Duke "rape" case, and how all the highly-educated faculty at that august institution are about to drown in their own hypocrisy. And racism.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 12, 2007 08:07 AM
45. Ok Rey,

I'll bite.

1. What about my intellectual stature is small?
Please point out specific examples and I will
attempt to address them.

2. "My recounting a memory of my childhood (circa late 1940s) was meant to remind people of the need for context in any discusion of semantics. Remember what "gay" used to mean? How about "fag"? Not to mention "silly", "awful", and "fool."

Now, you have given me a context to address your comments. Is what you are saying that time should stand still and that there is no movement forward?
Would you call some one a pickinanny? Would you call me a ho? What about calling me the N word?
Not during your childhood in the 1940s, but now, what do you think is appropriate in polite society, currently?

3. Some how, I knew that you would be posting about the Duke case which is why I am ready for you. Here are some comments from a prominent Black conservative group. Oh, I'll be ready for your next tirade as well:

For Release: April 11, 2007
Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org
Black Conservatives: Duke Rape Case Shows Importance of "Innocent Until Proven Guilty"

Year-Long Controversy Based on Faulty Accusation Unnecessarily Stoked Racial Tensions
Washington, D.C. - Today's announcement that dubious sexual assault charges filed against the three current and former Duke students were dropped has members of the Project 21 black leadership network sharply criticizing those who used the year-long investigation to create racial animosity for personal or political gain.
"It's absurd that a year of sex, lies and vilification consumed the lives of three young men now found to be wrongly accused of committing heinous crimes," said Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli. "It underscores the importance of the maxim 'innocent until proven guilty.'"
Duke students Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and the now-graduated David Evans, who are white and were member of the Duke University lacrosse team, faced charges of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense. These charges stemmed from an accusation of rape made by a black woman employed by a local escort service hired to dance at a lacrosse team party last March.
Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was running for re-election when the case initially made national headlines, transferred the case to the office of the North Carolina attorney general in January under a cloud of controversy. Besides the fact that the accuser said she could no longer testify that she was raped under the state's legal definition of rape, two DNA tests could also not link the defendants to their accuser. Furthermore, Nifong is now facing ethical complaints related to withholding DNA evidence from defense lawyers, "making misrepresentations to the presiding judge" and for making unethical statements to the media regarding evidence, testimony and the defendants' character and credibility. Nifong could be disbarred if he is found guilty by the state bar association at a June hearing.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper today said there was insufficient evidence for the charges and the case was "a result of a tragic rush to accuse and failure to verify serious allegations." He added, "we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges."
"Nifong's manic attempt to appease black voters he hoped would return him into office for another term shows his lack of propriety for the law he took an oath to uphold. It empirically shows the descent of a man willing to betray the public trust by pitting communities against one another along racial lines," said Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie. "It shows a man willing to disaffect and even ruin the lives and future careers of young men guilty only of poor decision-making."
"The lack of concrete evidence along with the shameless, racist on-camera antics by Michael Nifong and the likes of Jesse Jackson takes us back to the days of Tawana Brawley," added Borelli. "They should be held accountable for their actions, especially when it comes to ruining the lives of young innocent individuals."
Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992.
- 30 -

My theory is that although you work at a college in Eastern Washington, you feel threatened and angry at many you consider academic elite and that anger takes the form of anger directed at Blacks. One of the sad results of hip hop aside from the genocide effects on Black culture is that it enables bigots like you to feel superior and have a license to attack and demean. One thing that is common among purveyors of hip hop and people like you is your all consuming anger.

Just a comment from your friendly little intellectual midget.

Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 08:55 AM
46. 1. I did. That was the gist of my post.

2. Direct your barrages of questions at someone who has the time to jibber-jabber. Congratulations, though, on learning the term "context." I hope it sticks.

3. I had a feeling you'd refrain from addressing the Duke case personally and cut-and-paste instead. A wise move on your part.

Your theories about me are not interesting enough for me to reply, except to observe that if there is anyone on this board who consistently demonstrates that they feel "threatened and angry", it is you.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 12, 2007 09:18 AM
47. Rey,

Until we meet again, next. Try and attend some classes at your school. I have a lot of respect for many Eastern Washington universities. Cheers.
You are a hoot, I expect to have a lot of fun in the future.

Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 09:23 AM
48. Oh, I know that you began posting here a couple of months ago,

"3. I had a feeling you'd refrain from addressing the Duke case personally and cut-and-paste instead. A wise move on your part."

Unlike you, I'm really not a bigot. I had previously said that I thought that Nifong was using the case for political gain and that every one was being used. I felt that the "victim" should have had more scrutiny. I believe the posts are in the archive some where.

Too bad you hate me and can't see any good in any one like me. Anger is an emotion that will eventually destroy.

Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 09:30 AM
49. Oh, I know that you began posting here a couple of months ago,

"3. I had a feeling you'd refrain from addressing the Duke case personally and cut-and-paste instead. A wise move on your part."

Unlike you, I'm really not a bigot. I had previously said that I thought that Nifong was using the case for political gain and that every one was being used. I felt that the "victim" should have had more scrutiny. I believe the posts are in the archive some where.

Too bad you hate me and can't see any good in any one like me. Anger is an emotion that will eventually destroy.

Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 09:30 AM
50. Sayonara, baby.

I don't hate ya. You just need to run your attacks through an irony screener before posting.

And try posting about something besides how you feel about race. If you can.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 12, 2007 09:37 AM
51. Yo Bro Rey:

Well, at least you don't hate the intellectual midget. Most of my postings deal with education reform, I am particularly interested in K-12. Unfortunately, where we are in this society is where we are. As the article about what is going on in college, race cannot be ignored. It is not the whole story, but it is a part of it. Much of what needs to be done in this society has to do with providing all children a good basic education and promoting policies that grow and support strong families. Those issues are color-blind. But, from time to time, race has to be addressed. Any how, Bro Rey, look forward to our next encounter, I like having fun while blogging.

Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 09:53 AM
52. You REALLY want to have fun?

Think about the irony of race-bigots like Sharpton and Jackson walking around alive while Dr. King, and his dreams of "not the color of one's skin, but the content of one's character", are long gone. And forgotten.

It's so sad, it makes you laugh.

Posted by: Rey Smith on April 12, 2007 10:10 AM
53. Well Rey, you finally hit something we agree on. Sharpton/Jackson are no kin of mine and I am willing to donate them to a yardsale any where.

Posted by: WVH on April 12, 2007 10:57 AM
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