The photo of that one woman, her mouth stretched open in a howl of hate; it brought to mind the faces we saw so long ago gathered behind Black schoolchildren as they headed toward newly desegregated classrooms. It was shocking then, seeing those neatly dressed but anonymous hurling pure howling hatred to innocent kids. It’s different but…
The photo of that one woman, her mouth stretched open in a howl of hate; it brought to mind the faces we saw so long ago gathered behind Black schoolchildren as they headed toward newly desegregated classrooms. It was shocking then, seeing those neatly dressed but anonymous hurling pure howling hatred to innocent kids. It’s different but no less shocking seeing that very expression from elected officials directed at our President of the United States. It’s insane. And it’s forever frozen in time, that moment of unhinged lunacy. Shame, shame, shame.
What shook me up forever about the documentary evidence of that moment was not the famous photo of the poised Black child walking past the yelling fellow classmates. What shook me up was a brief clip of video from I believe that same scene of one of the female students covering her eyes and sobbing at the horror of having that child on her school grounds. It was pure hysterics, yes, but so genuine, so anguished, as if her house was being burned in front of her by bandits.
Maybe I saw it on that Oprah episode where the now-older white students repented. But it stuck with me forever. Hate comes from ignorance. But those tears? What level of twisted indoctrination must you be seeped in from birth to see a fellow child with darker skin as some horrible creature whose precense being forced upon you ruins everything you hold dear?
Chilling beyond measure. Those folks on Oprah may have seen the light, but others in classrooms and lunch counters across the country never did. And it wasn't that long ago. They are still alive. And voting.
The party of hate is also the party of disrespect. The behavior of the GOP last night is hard to accept. It was as if all decorum had been declared unworthy of Congress in hosting the president.
If they believe for a second that they're winning over new voters, they're in for a rude awakening come 2024.
I think it’s wonderful the face of the Republican Party is MTG ugly hate screaming, and not the same looking Kevin McCarthy. The difference and disunity of Republicans on full display.
I have a (white male) friend who was born and raised in Louisiana. He was taught from birth that black people were inferior, had to use separate drinking fountains, restrooms, etc. Now he’s 80 and realized long ago that what he had been taught as a child is completely false, but even so, he told me that the emotional vestiges remain and he sometimes reacts unthinkingly which shocks him.
What in hell do these haters think they look like. Do they think they look stern and resolute?
They look like very bad losers. And much worse.
The contrast , of an affable, positive leader and their middle school meanness was palpable.
Joe Biden attempted to include them in his successful endeavors.
They refused it , with real nastiness.
MT Greene is a throwback to every playground bully who needed to assert their dominance over the reasonable kids with that twisted up hate that wants to intimidate.
You don’t have to ask which sixth grader would shake down the first graders for their lunch money.
And as an extra touch tell them she’d come back to finish it
them off if they told anyone.
The vitriol in this group of republicans reverberates in the mass shootings and the attacks on the Speakers husband .
The murders by school aged kids of their peers.
The White Supremecists
heckling immigrants ,
Loading them on the busses at the border .
Lying to them about where they’re going and whats in store for them.
What was an unthinkable gaffe when it first happened in real time during the SOTU by the first Black POTUS (from a Southerner to boot) has now devolved into expected displays of vicious vulgarity from people with NO decorum, diplomatic skills, empathy or honor. Never forget MTG threatened members of Congress years before she was elected, and harassed survivor-victims of a mass school shooting who were kids. The visuals are right in line with those adults attacking (Black) kids during school desegregation in the 1950-1960s. And now she is the face of the GQP - and it is grotesquely ugly.
The predictable R response is exactly why we didn't watch. They were like yes, bullies and middle schoolers, or the student section at a ballgame. So crass, so lacking in any reasonable behavior, so lacking in basic human goodness. And yes, Sarah, you belong to the crazy party, who constantly demonstrate that they are the party of death.
R response was an all time low. Absolutely nothing concrete proposed. Especially lacking was anything about how the R will improve or manage the economy.
The Republicans have no policies. They're only against anything a Democrat proposes. That's their policy. Trump only wanted to overturn everything Obama did like he was obsessed. They're the party of negativity and hate. Their poster girl shows what they stand for...discord bullying hatred. And she looked like Cruella DeVille.
Don't worry! They have a plan. It's guns! As they crash and burn the economy and leave people at each other's throats, at least everyone gets their guns. Sadly, if we get there, they will find that it is not those with the most guns that win, nor those with the biggest guns. It will be those that work together who survive and keep their genes in the mix of humanity. Time and again, nature has favored collectivism and this goes square in the face of this ridiculous version of the American Dream, where you hunker alone in your castle, hugging your gun and repelling all comers.
What scared me was SHS' recounting of her Mother's cancer. I couldn't discern whether she thought the medical care her Mom received was competent or not, or whether the system was better or worse than it is now. Rather, the implication was that the docs had written off any chance of a decent recovery/outcome, but her Mom achieved a great outcome because of her faith. Thus, this preamble to her broader message--Democrats are, and will continue, ruining the country; but--we Republicans will fix everything if y'all just have enough faith. Onward Christian soldiers.
The daughter of a pastor, her vision for the nation seems to be some form of oligarchic theocracy.
Fantastic review here by HCR, and dealing with this stuff afterwards is easier. You can go to the Whitehouse page on YouTube (I watched it live last night) and watch Joe's Address without any distractions. You could hear vague boos and see the way Joe handled it. No need to listen to the pathetic post speech response or even commentators before and after the address. I did watch a CNN clip on YouTube this morning of Jake Tapper's interview of Nancy Pelosi after the address and they showed video the horrible reactions of MTG and others so I was able to understand the comments here.
Yes--cruelty is the point. Some of these people have been conditioned this way. Some of their ancestors may have been among those in the crowd who have perpetrated mob violence on African Americans for centuries. Did you notice that they didn't even stand up for the idea of banning assault weapons? Who do they want to "assault?" I'm holding out hope that Americans will rise up and let these folks no that as former House Representative Elijah Cummings repeatedly said, "we're better than this".
Oregon Rs have vowed to resist gun control attempts and holding down rents. As they are the party of death, they love to see bodies all over the place in mass shootings and lots of people on the street in tent cities. In terms of the latter, they should stop belly aching about the homeless, the crime, the trash, the drugs, etc.
Yes, Mr. Cummings was so right. Perhaps say family or brethren though instead of ancestors. When it comes to (historical) ancestors you can pick and choose what you want to believe but you don't have to be indoctrinated by them.
Hey!!! Patricia. Wait a minute (errr.., ahhh sorry, i seem to have lost my notes).. we're all "under god" here, per the 'ike' decree of 1954... yup.., "Christians" all..., aren't we? So, what's the problem , people? I mean.., if the earth is only 5000 years old.., WHAT IS THE PROBLEM, PEOPLE? Huh. (sorry, i seem to have lost my mind, not my notes).
No, we're not all Christians. We are not all religious. None of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians. But they understood Christianity and they were all philosophers. It's not necessary to be Christian to be a good citizen. All you have to do is be civil, ie, be responsible for the consequences of your actions.
I'm sorry Susan, that my comments are often mis-read. One of my points being that in 1954 the Pledge of Allegiance was altered by the (religious-right?) insertion of "under God" in front of "indivisible". Most people I speak with weren't born in 54' and aren't aware of that. So, I find the banner to be more than hypocritical, if not insulting. Certainly, for the reason(s) you mention. And, the real strength of the Pledge, i.e, that we would be "indivisible" as a Nation, was now conditional, in that only those "under God" need apply. Then, to be embellished by the term "we're a Christian nation", for which a definition isn't that clear. Where'd that originate from, any way?
One of the most moral people I know is an atheist. Instilling fear of breaking the rules is not morality; it is indoctrination at the very least. It certainly doesn't come from the heart, which is where true morality comes from.
Are you sure that "none of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians"? I know that quite a few of them were "deists" (they believed in a god but weren't formally affiliated with any religion or denomination), but this seems a stretch, so if you've got some sources on it, I'm interested.
What is sad to me is that human beings of so many different cultures have recognized in some way The Source of all the intangibles that we can't buy in the store (love, peace, joy, etc.) no matter what they call "it," God/Allah/Yahweh/Spirit/Great Spirit, etc. But because this recognition has been co-opted in so many cultures by patriarchal, religious power grabbing, (think for example, Theodosius in 380 CE {EDIT} Rome) we can't publicly acknowledge or call on that powerful Source in any official, non-religious dialogue about human issues w/o offending someone.
What would it be like if we could proclaim something like, "I pledge allegiance to the flag.....one nation, blessed by non-physical Source, indivisible....." So I just realized that wouldn't work because not everyone believes in non-physical source. I guess we have to leave it out, and those of us who do believe can bring it up as we see fit...w/o insisting that anyone else agree with us. So I will do so when I feel called to, when it feels right, like now! Blessings,
As a person who was bullied severely throughout K-12, I remember NO ONE CAME TO MY AID. I tried to get help several times. I could eidently NOT be protected against any bullying. In a similar vein, no one in the Republican Party is speaking out against political violence. nor did anyone in the Mainstream Media speak out against his incessant bullying during P-45's awful presidency. I am sorry, folks, but my belief is this: THERE IS NO COURAGE TO STAND UP AGAINST BULLYING. It's not suddenly going to spring up after all these years of Trumpian bullying.
I would like to say Wendy that bullying has a cure. It has nothing whatsoever to do with my old method of mangle the bastards until they cry uncle. Boy was I stupid, I always asked my dentist which vacation he was gonna take this time. Lo and behold I married a Special Ed teacher. Everybody in the school system dumps their problems on those poor souls. Most teachers are not behavior specialists. They cut and run just like the speaker of the shack. I tried my wife’s method and holy buckets I watched the makeover of a brutal 8th grade girl into charming young writer. Respect underlay the transition. She was failing English. She was too smart to be failing English. Oh, incidentally I was the wrestling coach as well. My wife with her masters in counseling forbade me from dragging evil youngsters out onto the mats and taught me how to get and give respect as a way of generating a working classroom environment. As soon as the young student realized that I valued her input the quality of her work took off. Other students realized she had more to offer. The bullying stopped cold. So many recalcitrant bully’s fell under this spell I realized that citizenship in the classroom must come first. I just wish that we could establish citizenship in the congress.
I was in education for several years and I did not allow bullying in my classroom or the library. I insisted they be civil to each other and to me. I worked a lot with the special ed department and those students knew they were safe with me. I did hear some horror stories aided and abetted by a teacher and committed by the big men on campus. I doubt that all this would work now because behavior has gotten so much worse at all levels of society.
I am the same age as your white male friend, born and raised in LA. I was born and raised in Massachusetts. When I was 9 yo, my family made a trip to TX to spend the summer with a relative. On the way back we “trained” from TX through LA to DC then on home. On that trip, I distinctly remember two things: 1) while on a local bus in NO, I was first on board, with my parents behind me. I looked for seats and saw some in the back, so headed there. My father stopped me, saying we would sit in the front. Never mentioned why. But I soon figured it out as I rode on that bus. 2) at the train station, as we waited to board, I notice two drinking fountains, side by side. Signs explained why; you all know what they said. I have never, ever forgotten that.
I was 9. My parents never gave any explanation or background to these random events. They were fairly conservative and my father often spoke negatively about race; my mother insisted that people could and should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”
Here is an excerpt from an essay I wrote of this very subject. American Apartheid is not ancient history, but a part of my lifetime.
THE WHITE SIDE OF RACISM
Rob Boyte - June 19, 2010
These are the collected anecdotes of a white guy who grew up in racist America. While I never actually participated in any of the civil rights struggles of the1950s and '60s I was there, observing and living the day-to-day life in a racially divided nation.
Altho I was primarily raised in St. Louis and the 'burbs, I had exposure to the Deep South. My dad was from Mississippi and each summer we would take the City of New Orleans train down to visit my grandparents in rural Lincoln County outside of Brookhaven.
As a child I remember my grandmother getting help with the housework from a "nigra" woman, and paid her a paltry amount of money and used clothing. One summer my aunt was moving to Brookhaven and a huge semi moving van drove up to my grandmother's place. We were putting my aunt's stuff in a little house out back of the main house. Now in the rural South the midday dinner is the important meal of the day and Southern hospitality meant anyone visiting shared this big meal. So the white truck driver sat at our table in the kitchen, while my aunt fixed plates for his two black helpers who ate on the porch. It was the system and everyone seemed satisfied with it - but it did not go unnoticed as strange.
In 1958 our family drove down U.S. Hwy 51 to Brookhaven. That is when I saw the segregation in the Deep South. Every gas station had "White" and "Colored" rest rooms. Restaurants had a "White" and "Colored" side and separate was not often equal, sometimes being just a serving window. Strangely, the food for the white side was prepared by black people in the kitchen who could not eat it in that side of the restaurant.
When I was a teenager I remember the "White" and "Colored" drinking fountains, side-by-side, at the J.C. Penney store in downtown Brookhaven. The water came from the same pipe. I don't know why, but I drank from the "Colored" fountain - probably just teen rebellion more than any protest. Having two fountains was stupid, just as so many other stupid things of which I was becoming aware, so I defied it. Luckily I wasn't taken out and beaten for doing it as a black person would have been. If anyone saw me, they likely shrugged it off as a stupid Yankee boy who didn't know better.
Dirty White Secrets
I remember in my late teens reading a book by Carl Rowan (could've been Go South to Sorrow - 1957) in which he mentioned Lamar Smith a black activist who was organizing voters and who was murdered in Brookhaven in August 1955. Wow, sleepy little Brookhaven made national news! I wrote to my grandmother and asked her if she knew about it and her reply told me a lot about racism in the South; "We don't talk much about that here."
I graduated in 1963 and went into the Air Force, where I lived, slept, showered and ate with black guys. The armed forces had been integrated since 1948 and it was not a problem for us from the integrated states, but probably a new experience for guys from the Deep South.
Once, while travelling by Greyhound in uniform I was asked by an elderly white woman to sit in the empty seat next to her. She was concerned that a black person, perhaps like the black army private I saw in the adjoining seat would sit next to her. I declined and sat with the soldier. My philosophy at that time was the only colors that mattered were the blue or green of our brotherhood. I remember going thru New Orleans by train in 1964 and purposely using the "Colored" rest rooms in Union Station. Again, probably getting a pass from both black and white because I was in uniform (and I wasn't a black guy using the "White" facilities.)
Thanks for sharing this. Your “little “ rebellions - using the colored restroom and drinking fountain - were, as you strongly state, probably ignored because you are white; a Black man behaving the same way would pay, for sure.
And I forgot to add that when I was the same age as the trip - about 9 yo - we also, had a man come to clean our apartment. A Black man; polite and quiet, “Jackson” - his last name only, I always wondered if he HAD a first name. My only sibling was a sister 6 years older than me; her outgrown clothes were given to Jackson for his daughter of the same age. I have thought this was a good gesture, I think I remember it because I was surprised, given my parents’ overall opinions. (See my first post.)
Rob-Thanks so much for sharing your observations and experiences with racism. I too have a lifetime of experiences that force you to question what it means to be human. While Florida and other states are busy trying to hide the truth, our experiences don't lie. I think some of our young people (including those with white skin) are seeing the light about racism too. Many of them marched for Black Lives Matter. This is what scares white supremacists who are trying to hold on to the privilege and systems they established for themselves. I appreciate storytelling. You've made racism plain in ways that no scholarly thesis could ever do.
My dad, born 1918, was raised in a Massachusetts town that forbade property sales to Jews but oddly had a few Black families. He graduated from college in Spring of 1942 and went immediately into the Army, assigned to the USAAF. On his first trip South, he was shocked and disgusted by the appearance of segregated facilities being used by uniformed Black soldiers. As commander of a wholly Black supply unit, he said it shocked him again to realize that he, as holder of a BS in AdSci, was automatically an officer while his first sergeant had a PhD in the same subject from Morehouse. He would never tolerate racist statements or behavior and strongly supported civil rights, even as he held old social prejudices about "rhythm" and such.
Too often we think of racism as something that happened in the South because prior to the 1900s 90% of all African Americans lived there. So how and why do so many Northern people harbor some of the same racist ideas that Southern people espouse. The answer is that racism is a feature of American life-it's not just in the South! Racism is a pandemic.
“By 1980 I met Brenda, a black co-worker at a boys' home outside of New Orleans and we became lovers and long term companions, eventually marrying. Her family accepted me (there was history of whites in her family) but my mom (in St. Louis) reacted badly when I sent her a picture of Brenda. She sent it back with a scathing letter asking, "What makes you think I want a picture of your black woman." Wow! I didn't communicate with mom for a couple of years after that. She finally came around and apologized to Brenda and visited us in Florida.”
Echoing your thoughts: scene is a small pizza joint in a small town in Western Connecticut mid 1950s. Three couples enter in the afternoon one of whom is Black (I'm there hanging out with a few locals): "Sorry, we are closed and we will not serve you.") Sure opened my eyes. At that time I was a 15 yo from NYC area who worked after school in a business staffed mainly by Black people, and we all worked, ate, joked around together in what to my youthful eyes seemed to be harmony. As to the actual state of the union, I was clueless!
Anne, I saw my first racist incident in Chicago when I was about 7. I was appalled by what I saw and I have never forgotten it. It was the start of my awareness of it and ever since I have spoken out against it.
“Overt racism also existed in St. Louis County. In 1955 a black family moved into our 'burb and their house burned down. I remember my mother being upset about it because everyone seemed to know it was arson but no one would take a stance and make an issue of it.”
Missouri was the same as the backward south, tho integrated most of my life from the late 40s. My wife who was born in New Orleans, spent much of her early life in Chicago and said that northern city was not exempt from racism either.
No, it wasn't and isn't. The episode I was describing was a black family moving into a white neighborhood and then rocks through their windows and more police than I was ever seen. I wanted to know what was going on and the above is the explanation I got. I thought it was awful. Many years later, in a sociology class, I looked at census data from Elkhart County and that time, early 60s, black people were only in one place in Elkhart County, south of railroad tracks in Elkhart. They were not allowed to stay overnight in the county seat, Goshen, which prided itself on its "Christianity", so Marion Anderson who came to sing at Goshen College, had to stay in Elkhart overnight.
Your heartfelt story points to the lunacy of racism. White supremacy is one of the biggest lies ever told and enacted. You're not alone in having parents who were "conservative". The Republicans today who claim to be conservative are trying to maintain the status quo because it serves their personal interests. Who wants to give up privilege and wealth? They're not really concerned about whether America can ever live up to its stated ideals.
I love the idea of America as a nation where everyone has "inalienable rights", and "liberty and justice for all" in the pursuit of happiness. I pray that we can demonstrate to the world that people can live together in peace no matter the color of our skin, the texture of our hair or the worldviews we might hold. We have to let go of skin color as a dividing line and be about learning how to "live and let live". Dispelling the myth of race can help us to make progress-America's past when it comes to racism is not worth "conserving"!
Social media namely fb allows so much nastiness & yet seems to pick & choose minute details to censor. Is there another platform where Heather gives her talks? Other than her talks I would totally go off fb.
Early on she explained why she deliberately chose FB to do her talks on: to reach a wider audience in a venue that was open to all. FB has some issues, but I think she did the right thing, even when trolls make it a challenge. I have seen people come on out of curiosity, and then stay, eager to learn beyond what they were taught in high school or even college. Some eventually come to the Letters on substack. The communities are different in many ways, but I meet interesting people in both places, and (trolls aside) enjoy the conversations on FB.
For the live video talks, I go full screen and eliminate the comment scroll to make watching and listening easier, and to avoid a lot of chatter.
As for the nastiness on FB, I simply limit my feed to friends & relatives, and a few interest groups that maintain decorum. A long time ago I figured out that I don't have to accept unacceptable behavior, even from people I know.
Ugly goes all the way to the bone. No matter how we dress up or donate or vote, our childhood teachings creep out. I hope that when this happens these thoughts serve as a reminder of how fragile the wings on the angels within us are. 😥
I was 15 soon to be 16 when I arrived by train in Atlanta, GA from Terre Haute, IN with my cousin that had moved to South Carolina when she was in grade school with her parents. My uncle had relocated from Dana, IN to work at the Savannah River Plant in Augusta, GA. I had my first experience of the separtate drinking fountains and restrooms. When we traveled to Augusta we were separated into the so called "white car" to continue our journey. Those were my first experiences of segregation and I thought it only applied to the "South". I was in my 70's before I found out that it was happening in my own hometown.
“You’ve got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, or people whose skin is a different shade-You’ve got to be carefully taught”. 😢
Spend a serious amount of time in the Deep South…still very much alive and growing! There are several just as hateful but don’t scream loudly. Those should frighten us more!
Thank you for describing some of the emotions involved with way that white supremacy is woven into the fabric of American society. The poise and tears of the children say a lot about our ongoing battle with racism. I'm often dismayed by too many Americans who think that racism affects only people with darker skin-especially descendants of enslaved Black people. The truth is all Americans are harmed by white supremacy.
In a speech entitled, The Ethical Demands of Integration, delivered on December 27, 1962 at a church conference in Nashville Tennessee, Martin Luther King, Jr. made an insightful prediction about America. He perceived that,
“the problem of race remains America’s greatest moral dilemma. When one considers the impact it has upon the nation, its resolution might well determine our destiny. History has thrust upon our generation an indescribably important task-to complete a process of democratization which our nation has too long developed too slowly, but which is our most powerful weapon for world respect and emulation. How we deal with this crucial situation will determine our moral health as individuals, our cultural health as a region, our political health as a nation, and our prestige as a leader of the free world. The shape of the world today does not afford us the luxury of an anemic democracy. The price that America must pay for the continued oppression of the Negro is the price of its own destruction. The hour is late; the clock of destiny is ticking; we must act now before it is too late”.
King compared the possible destruction of America to the destruction of Rome saying that the parallels are too great to ignore. The History.com website confirms King’s comparison by spelling out the reasons Rome fell as a society. These reasons included military losses, inequality, labor shortages, competition for resources, infrastructures in disrepair, government overspending, political corruption, oppression of selected people, loss of traditional values and people who glorified government.
Sounds like our survival as a nation may indeed be in peril because these are the issues that America faces today. We’re definitely on the road to destruction unless we wake up to the reality that institutional racism is a corrosive force. I pray that "we the people" can make a u-turn and head toward liberty for all. We all must stay “woke” and act!
You wrote, "The truth is all Americans are harmed by white supremacy."
Have you read "The Sum of Us" by Heather McGhee? She describes this is detail giving many concrete examples. It is an excellent book, I could hardly put it down.
Racism is learned. I am thankful more than I can express that I grew up with diversity. I only see different cultures that one can learn from. People are people, good and bad.
I've always believed that fear, not hate, was the opposite of love. And fear is often rooted in ignorance. Once informed, exposed and familiar with "the other", few of us fail to love.
The sad thing is that there are people who define themselves by their hate, and actively resist questioning that hate. Information doesn't work. It seems to me that change for these people comes about mainly as a result of some event that breaks down that sense of themselves defined by hate.
How ironic is it that Sarah H. Sanders referenced the Little Rock Nine in her speech? It's ultra galling given that she's using DeSantis' Christofascist handbook to ban CRT and and censor certain books.
there's only one State of the Union speech. I watched the video feed on NPR. When it was finished and they moved on to Ms Huckabee, I turned it off. This was the President's day, fulfilling his constitutional duty. I haven't heard anything about rebuttals in the constitution.
I did exactly the same thing, Nathan, as did my friend with whom I was texting during Biden's inspiring speech. We didn't want to end our evening listening to Ms. Huckabee's vitriol. Good point about rebuttals!
Since I didn't watch/listen to Sanders, I don't know what she said about the Little Rock Nine. I was all of 13 at the time so unaware although I became much more aware though still somewhat oblivious at the age of 15 when my own high school in Norfolk VA was closed for the Fall semester, my sophomore year, as part of Virginia's "Massive Resistance" to desegregation took place.
I've read about it since, only 3 jurisdictions in Virginia closed their high schools against integration, not the entire state. My sister and I were among the lucky white kids who didn't lose that semester in Fall, 1958, because our parents could afford to pay teachers who took on classes in various other venues, in our case in various church meeting rooms. Again, it was years later that I learned that a much larger number of students did lose that semester because their families couldn't afford to pay for the alternative classes. Oddly, city school buses were running to take us to the church where our classes took place. I wonder if the parents had to pay for those as well? When classes resumed at my high school, there was exactly one young black girl attending; I don't recall any efforts to block her entry. In the one class we shared, she was - as you might imagine - very quiet and low key.
I'm glad there was a positive outcome for you but furious that so many parents and school administrators were willing to jeopardize their children's future to make a racist political point. A lot of places developed private academies to try to get around the desegregation mandate. They weren't elite in the sense of being only open to the rich but they were exclusively white.
The schoolyard bully is the potential sociopath in the bud. The ones that that don't outgrow it seem to me to be responsible for most of humanity's preventable suffering. And bullying is not necessarily physical abuse. It's any predatory abuse of others.
I actually passed by my local elementary the other day, and there was this one kid absolutely losing it over something on the playground. Devoid of context, I heard him holler "You want me to break your glasses and buy you new ones!?!? Cause I can DO THAT!"
It was actually a pretty decent offer, and the funniest thing I may have ever heard.
Don't worry, the teacher barely mumbled "that's enough, Daniel" while not moving or looking up from his phone, so I'm sure lessons were learned.
Seriously though, the other kids were already pretending to be ponies on the other side of the jungle gym. Crazy how much faster kids can spot who is full of hot air than the adults can. I wonder when we lose that ability....
I saw a jnd (just noticeable difference) around tenth grade. (Had worked at elem, jr high, and high school and knew many of the kids through graduation.). I was shocked at how kids who knew the flaws of their parents grew to emulate them. Who was it who said, children may not listen to their parents but they have never failed to imitate them. I know one who did, but it took a while…
Those who inflict serious abuse as adults are, from what I have read, very likely to have been abused themselves. That said, some adults I know had nasty, seriously abusive childhoods and broke the pattern, though it leaves it's mark. I was just minutes ago reading Mary Oliver to my wife. Ms. Oliver, by her own reporting, grew up in a toxic home and found comfort in the wild. Surely there are things we could do as a society to disrupt the cycle of violence for more of these kids.
Ah, 10th grade. When people start to be told they need to "mature." Makes sense.
Yes, "breaking the cycle" seems to be one of the hardest things someone can do. I knew at least three friends from high school years who managed to break out from abusive and/or restrictive families, even when their siblings did not. In each case the friend in question was a female of a sweeter temperment, who I suppose the folks in question assumed would be the easiest to keep down, only to find she had the strongest intellect and spirit of them all. Very instructive, really.
Now add to that the HYPOCRISY of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the 40 year old Governor of Arkansas, claiming Little Rock Central High School (her alma mater) is the example of how "there's no racism" while she boasts about "outlawing CRT." For her to focus on FREEDOM truly exemplifies how white privilege means they choose to put on blinders to the lived experience of millions of Americans. Whitewashing or even erasing history is NOT the way to "fix" centuries of injustices. And the five-time draft dodger she held up as her ideal is the one ready to unleash both the military and domestic terrorists on the American people.
Yes, but there are 74 million American voters who want Republicans to project that angry, deranged face. They proudly proclaim that cruelty is the point.
And mention of the other woman on display who, going forward, buys hook, line, and sinker into the patriarchal bargain.
Prof Richardson’s last barnburner paragraph….regarding the “normal vs. crazy” remark.
“She (Sarah Huckabee Sanders) is probably not the only one who is thinking along those lines after tonight’s events, but many are likely drawing a different conclusion than she intended.”
That woman will regret her words for the rest of her political career. Worst imaginable timing in a speech. She handily conceded the night to President Biden.
Yes, it was ugly and hateful - and yet part of me was relieved. That one of those lunatics wasn't packing a gun last night; that President Biden reacted with sanity and humor and at one point, turned their rants into a negotiation over social security and medicare; that McCarthy got what he bargained for - a gavel - that he wouldn't dare use to bring his side to order.
And our taxes are providing such baboons with cushy salaries, lifetime benefits, prestigious workplaces, even as they push to scuttle social safety nets, gun safety, health care, pharmaceutical protections, education, etc. Stunning. Forgive my rant.
Other than the prestigious workplaces (which so many of them don't seem to give a shirt about), it's a myth that members of Congress get cushy benefits. Their salaries are fixed at $174,000 per year. That seems reasonable, unless you are paying for two households. The lifetime benefits are modest by corporate standards. For those who serve fewer than 5 years, there are no long-term benefits. Those elected before 1987 get ~$71K, after 1987 the pension is ~$41K. Nice, yes, but not lavish. Retirement health insurance benefits are likewise equivalent to many corporations or other public institutions like universities.
She cooked her own goose last night. In front of millions. She may know no shame, but her howling ugly face of "unhinged lunacy" will be a reminder of what an utterly shameless fool looks like.
Unfortunately, there are many who will see her as "brave" enough to do what they wish they could. They do not listen to content; they are disillusioned with politics, and only see a white man in a suit telling them "it's all good." That's not what he said, but that doesn't matter to them--he sits in the seat of authority, and therefore is a symbol of their own despair. They cannot stand to look themselves in a mirror, so they look at her instead.
Sandwiched between Biden's vigor and her lunacy, McCarthy lost--big time--as he prissily mouthed "Shush" while she ranted. It shows how weak he is--he sold his soul to her and her ilk to get the gavel, and now he is afraid to use it.
Interesting comment by HCR that Biden agreed to McCarthy's request to compliment bipartisan leadership, while she totally ignored him. That speaks volumes about who is really interested in governance...and maybe to whom McCarthy should turn if he is to have any hope of effectiveness. He wouldn't reach across the aisle to get elected, but if--IF--he has any sense, he might consider reaching across the aisle to legislate.
I totally agree. MTG and the likes bother me in the sense that they have no listening skills. They spout out whatever without reading and knowing the facts. They will not listen to the facts. And with Huckabees opening statement I shut off the tv. They, the republicans could believe trump but… Maybe it is because the TRUTH hurts them.
Yo, MaryOMary... hohoho, That's what I'd call a $178,000 dollar 'hot air' duct. The shape of it kinda reminds me of the $55 toilet seat with the built-in water-spray feature I saw in a dumpster. Thanks for not mentioning any (her) name.
The photo of that one woman, her mouth stretched open in a howl of hate; it brought to mind the faces we saw so long ago gathered behind Black schoolchildren as they headed toward newly desegregated classrooms. It was shocking then, seeing those neatly dressed but anonymous hurling pure howling hatred to innocent kids. It’s different but no less shocking seeing that very expression from elected officials directed at our President of the United States. It’s insane. And it’s forever frozen in time, that moment of unhinged lunacy. Shame, shame, shame.
What shook me up forever about the documentary evidence of that moment was not the famous photo of the poised Black child walking past the yelling fellow classmates. What shook me up was a brief clip of video from I believe that same scene of one of the female students covering her eyes and sobbing at the horror of having that child on her school grounds. It was pure hysterics, yes, but so genuine, so anguished, as if her house was being burned in front of her by bandits.
Maybe I saw it on that Oprah episode where the now-older white students repented. But it stuck with me forever. Hate comes from ignorance. But those tears? What level of twisted indoctrination must you be seeped in from birth to see a fellow child with darker skin as some horrible creature whose precense being forced upon you ruins everything you hold dear?
Chilling beyond measure. Those folks on Oprah may have seen the light, but others in classrooms and lunch counters across the country never did. And it wasn't that long ago. They are still alive. And voting.
Hate is still taught in the homes of America. If Ron DeSanctimonious has his way, it will be taught in the schools as well.
Jeri,
did you mean Ron DeSatanist?
:-)
Oh Jesus! There's more than one?!
Trump preaches hatred at every rally. When several racists gather, it reduces their consciousness of their evil behaviors.
True of every gang. Even police officers who should damn well know better.
Totally agree
The party of hate is also the party of disrespect. The behavior of the GOP last night is hard to accept. It was as if all decorum had been declared unworthy of Congress in hosting the president.
If they believe for a second that they're winning over new voters, they're in for a rude awakening come 2024.
I think it’s wonderful the face of the Republican Party is MTG ugly hate screaming, and not the same looking Kevin McCarthy. The difference and disunity of Republicans on full display.
I have a (white male) friend who was born and raised in Louisiana. He was taught from birth that black people were inferior, had to use separate drinking fountains, restrooms, etc. Now he’s 80 and realized long ago that what he had been taught as a child is completely false, but even so, he told me that the emotional vestiges remain and he sometimes reacts unthinkingly which shocks him.
What in hell do these haters think they look like. Do they think they look stern and resolute?
They look like very bad losers. And much worse.
The contrast , of an affable, positive leader and their middle school meanness was palpable.
Joe Biden attempted to include them in his successful endeavors.
They refused it , with real nastiness.
MT Greene is a throwback to every playground bully who needed to assert their dominance over the reasonable kids with that twisted up hate that wants to intimidate.
You don’t have to ask which sixth grader would shake down the first graders for their lunch money.
And as an extra touch tell them she’d come back to finish it
them off if they told anyone.
The vitriol in this group of republicans reverberates in the mass shootings and the attacks on the Speakers husband .
The murders by school aged kids of their peers.
The White Supremecists
heckling immigrants ,
Loading them on the busses at the border .
Lying to them about where they’re going and whats in store for them.
The cruelty is the point.
What was an unthinkable gaffe when it first happened in real time during the SOTU by the first Black POTUS (from a Southerner to boot) has now devolved into expected displays of vicious vulgarity from people with NO decorum, diplomatic skills, empathy or honor. Never forget MTG threatened members of Congress years before she was elected, and harassed survivor-victims of a mass school shooting who were kids. The visuals are right in line with those adults attacking (Black) kids during school desegregation in the 1950-1960s. And now she is the face of the GQP - and it is grotesquely ugly.
The predictable R response is exactly why we didn't watch. They were like yes, bullies and middle schoolers, or the student section at a ballgame. So crass, so lacking in any reasonable behavior, so lacking in basic human goodness. And yes, Sarah, you belong to the crazy party, who constantly demonstrate that they are the party of death.
R response was an all time low. Absolutely nothing concrete proposed. Especially lacking was anything about how the R will improve or manage the economy.
Well, they are now always at an all time low. They have nothing for ordinary people.
The Republicans have no policies. They're only against anything a Democrat proposes. That's their policy. Trump only wanted to overturn everything Obama did like he was obsessed. They're the party of negativity and hate. Their poster girl shows what they stand for...discord bullying hatred. And she looked like Cruella DeVille.
Don't worry! They have a plan. It's guns! As they crash and burn the economy and leave people at each other's throats, at least everyone gets their guns. Sadly, if we get there, they will find that it is not those with the most guns that win, nor those with the biggest guns. It will be those that work together who survive and keep their genes in the mix of humanity. Time and again, nature has favored collectivism and this goes square in the face of this ridiculous version of the American Dream, where you hunker alone in your castle, hugging your gun and repelling all comers.
What scared me was SHS' recounting of her Mother's cancer. I couldn't discern whether she thought the medical care her Mom received was competent or not, or whether the system was better or worse than it is now. Rather, the implication was that the docs had written off any chance of a decent recovery/outcome, but her Mom achieved a great outcome because of her faith. Thus, this preamble to her broader message--Democrats are, and will continue, ruining the country; but--we Republicans will fix everything if y'all just have enough faith. Onward Christian soldiers.
The daughter of a pastor, her vision for the nation seems to be some form of oligarchic theocracy.
Fantastic review here by HCR, and dealing with this stuff afterwards is easier. You can go to the Whitehouse page on YouTube (I watched it live last night) and watch Joe's Address without any distractions. You could hear vague boos and see the way Joe handled it. No need to listen to the pathetic post speech response or even commentators before and after the address. I did watch a CNN clip on YouTube this morning of Jake Tapper's interview of Nancy Pelosi after the address and they showed video the horrible reactions of MTG and others so I was able to understand the comments here.
Good to know. I am off for a two hour massage where I will forget about all the Sturm and Drang.
Patricia-
Yes--cruelty is the point. Some of these people have been conditioned this way. Some of their ancestors may have been among those in the crowd who have perpetrated mob violence on African Americans for centuries. Did you notice that they didn't even stand up for the idea of banning assault weapons? Who do they want to "assault?" I'm holding out hope that Americans will rise up and let these folks no that as former House Representative Elijah Cummings repeatedly said, "we're better than this".
Oregon Rs have vowed to resist gun control attempts and holding down rents. As they are the party of death, they love to see bodies all over the place in mass shootings and lots of people on the street in tent cities. In terms of the latter, they should stop belly aching about the homeless, the crime, the trash, the drugs, etc.
Never forget Oregon openly avowed their new state was/would be a haven for white men (today called white suprematists).
Yes, Mr. Cummings was so right. Perhaps say family or brethren though instead of ancestors. When it comes to (historical) ancestors you can pick and choose what you want to believe but you don't have to be indoctrinated by them.
once you're old enough to consider that possibility
Hey!!! Patricia. Wait a minute (errr.., ahhh sorry, i seem to have lost my notes).. we're all "under god" here, per the 'ike' decree of 1954... yup.., "Christians" all..., aren't we? So, what's the problem , people? I mean.., if the earth is only 5000 years old.., WHAT IS THE PROBLEM, PEOPLE? Huh. (sorry, i seem to have lost my mind, not my notes).
No, we're not all Christians. We are not all religious. None of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians. But they understood Christianity and they were all philosophers. It's not necessary to be Christian to be a good citizen. All you have to do is be civil, ie, be responsible for the consequences of your actions.
I'm sorry Susan, that my comments are often mis-read. One of my points being that in 1954 the Pledge of Allegiance was altered by the (religious-right?) insertion of "under God" in front of "indivisible". Most people I speak with weren't born in 54' and aren't aware of that. So, I find the banner to be more than hypocritical, if not insulting. Certainly, for the reason(s) you mention. And, the real strength of the Pledge, i.e, that we would be "indivisible" as a Nation, was now conditional, in that only those "under God" need apply. Then, to be embellished by the term "we're a Christian nation", for which a definition isn't that clear. Where'd that originate from, any way?
One of the most moral people I know is an atheist. Instilling fear of breaking the rules is not morality; it is indoctrination at the very least. It certainly doesn't come from the heart, which is where true morality comes from.
While I'm not sure that the signers were not Christians, your point is well taken. It shouldn't matter.
It's a bit ironic that we're debating whether the Founders were Christians on an American historian's Substack.
Are you sure that "none of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians"? I know that quite a few of them were "deists" (they believed in a god but weren't formally affiliated with any religion or denomination), but this seems a stretch, so if you've got some sources on it, I'm interested.
Your last sentence says it all and it the antithesis of the behavior of the party of death.
10:26
GOILTE C
A religious person will do what he is told... no matter what is right... Whereas a spiritual person will do what is right... no matter what he is told
@popistillrise
What is sad to me is that human beings of so many different cultures have recognized in some way The Source of all the intangibles that we can't buy in the store (love, peace, joy, etc.) no matter what they call "it," God/Allah/Yahweh/Spirit/Great Spirit, etc. But because this recognition has been co-opted in so many cultures by patriarchal, religious power grabbing, (think for example, Theodosius in 380 CE {EDIT} Rome) we can't publicly acknowledge or call on that powerful Source in any official, non-religious dialogue about human issues w/o offending someone.
What would it be like if we could proclaim something like, "I pledge allegiance to the flag.....one nation, blessed by non-physical Source, indivisible....." So I just realized that wouldn't work because not everyone believes in non-physical source. I guess we have to leave it out, and those of us who do believe can bring it up as we see fit...w/o insisting that anyone else agree with us. So I will do so when I feel called to, when it feels right, like now! Blessings,
Hi Terry,
380.....BC?......for Theodosius?
Patricia For me they look like Edward Munch’s THE SCREAM—melancholy and frightening.
A good image to mention. Thanks, Keith.
I like the poetry of your writing and it has power and reason and purpose within.
Good stuff!
Thank you so much.
I am supposed to write a Substack myself . Ive been putting it off as im not a trained writer. We’ll see . I appreciate your kind remarks.
Your words should haunt that gathering of dark hatred and resonant fear mongers like an echo following them forever. Patrick Lane.
All excellent points. Why can't people in general see them?
As a person who was bullied severely throughout K-12, I remember NO ONE CAME TO MY AID. I tried to get help several times. I could eidently NOT be protected against any bullying. In a similar vein, no one in the Republican Party is speaking out against political violence. nor did anyone in the Mainstream Media speak out against his incessant bullying during P-45's awful presidency. I am sorry, folks, but my belief is this: THERE IS NO COURAGE TO STAND UP AGAINST BULLYING. It's not suddenly going to spring up after all these years of Trumpian bullying.
I would like to say Wendy that bullying has a cure. It has nothing whatsoever to do with my old method of mangle the bastards until they cry uncle. Boy was I stupid, I always asked my dentist which vacation he was gonna take this time. Lo and behold I married a Special Ed teacher. Everybody in the school system dumps their problems on those poor souls. Most teachers are not behavior specialists. They cut and run just like the speaker of the shack. I tried my wife’s method and holy buckets I watched the makeover of a brutal 8th grade girl into charming young writer. Respect underlay the transition. She was failing English. She was too smart to be failing English. Oh, incidentally I was the wrestling coach as well. My wife with her masters in counseling forbade me from dragging evil youngsters out onto the mats and taught me how to get and give respect as a way of generating a working classroom environment. As soon as the young student realized that I valued her input the quality of her work took off. Other students realized she had more to offer. The bullying stopped cold. So many recalcitrant bully’s fell under this spell I realized that citizenship in the classroom must come first. I just wish that we could establish citizenship in the congress.
I was in education for several years and I did not allow bullying in my classroom or the library. I insisted they be civil to each other and to me. I worked a lot with the special ed department and those students knew they were safe with me. I did hear some horror stories aided and abetted by a teacher and committed by the big men on campus. I doubt that all this would work now because behavior has gotten so much worse at all levels of society.
I am the same age as your white male friend, born and raised in LA. I was born and raised in Massachusetts. When I was 9 yo, my family made a trip to TX to spend the summer with a relative. On the way back we “trained” from TX through LA to DC then on home. On that trip, I distinctly remember two things: 1) while on a local bus in NO, I was first on board, with my parents behind me. I looked for seats and saw some in the back, so headed there. My father stopped me, saying we would sit in the front. Never mentioned why. But I soon figured it out as I rode on that bus. 2) at the train station, as we waited to board, I notice two drinking fountains, side by side. Signs explained why; you all know what they said. I have never, ever forgotten that.
I was 9. My parents never gave any explanation or background to these random events. They were fairly conservative and my father often spoke negatively about race; my mother insisted that people could and should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”
Our country has a lot to be ashamed of.
Here is an excerpt from an essay I wrote of this very subject. American Apartheid is not ancient history, but a part of my lifetime.
THE WHITE SIDE OF RACISM
Rob Boyte - June 19, 2010
These are the collected anecdotes of a white guy who grew up in racist America. While I never actually participated in any of the civil rights struggles of the1950s and '60s I was there, observing and living the day-to-day life in a racially divided nation.
Altho I was primarily raised in St. Louis and the 'burbs, I had exposure to the Deep South. My dad was from Mississippi and each summer we would take the City of New Orleans train down to visit my grandparents in rural Lincoln County outside of Brookhaven.
As a child I remember my grandmother getting help with the housework from a "nigra" woman, and paid her a paltry amount of money and used clothing. One summer my aunt was moving to Brookhaven and a huge semi moving van drove up to my grandmother's place. We were putting my aunt's stuff in a little house out back of the main house. Now in the rural South the midday dinner is the important meal of the day and Southern hospitality meant anyone visiting shared this big meal. So the white truck driver sat at our table in the kitchen, while my aunt fixed plates for his two black helpers who ate on the porch. It was the system and everyone seemed satisfied with it - but it did not go unnoticed as strange.
In 1958 our family drove down U.S. Hwy 51 to Brookhaven. That is when I saw the segregation in the Deep South. Every gas station had "White" and "Colored" rest rooms. Restaurants had a "White" and "Colored" side and separate was not often equal, sometimes being just a serving window. Strangely, the food for the white side was prepared by black people in the kitchen who could not eat it in that side of the restaurant.
When I was a teenager I remember the "White" and "Colored" drinking fountains, side-by-side, at the J.C. Penney store in downtown Brookhaven. The water came from the same pipe. I don't know why, but I drank from the "Colored" fountain - probably just teen rebellion more than any protest. Having two fountains was stupid, just as so many other stupid things of which I was becoming aware, so I defied it. Luckily I wasn't taken out and beaten for doing it as a black person would have been. If anyone saw me, they likely shrugged it off as a stupid Yankee boy who didn't know better.
Dirty White Secrets
I remember in my late teens reading a book by Carl Rowan (could've been Go South to Sorrow - 1957) in which he mentioned Lamar Smith a black activist who was organizing voters and who was murdered in Brookhaven in August 1955. Wow, sleepy little Brookhaven made national news! I wrote to my grandmother and asked her if she knew about it and her reply told me a lot about racism in the South; "We don't talk much about that here."
I graduated in 1963 and went into the Air Force, where I lived, slept, showered and ate with black guys. The armed forces had been integrated since 1948 and it was not a problem for us from the integrated states, but probably a new experience for guys from the Deep South.
Once, while travelling by Greyhound in uniform I was asked by an elderly white woman to sit in the empty seat next to her. She was concerned that a black person, perhaps like the black army private I saw in the adjoining seat would sit next to her. I declined and sat with the soldier. My philosophy at that time was the only colors that mattered were the blue or green of our brotherhood. I remember going thru New Orleans by train in 1964 and purposely using the "Colored" rest rooms in Union Station. Again, probably getting a pass from both black and white because I was in uniform (and I wasn't a black guy using the "White" facilities.)
Thanks for sharing this. Your “little “ rebellions - using the colored restroom and drinking fountain - were, as you strongly state, probably ignored because you are white; a Black man behaving the same way would pay, for sure.
And I forgot to add that when I was the same age as the trip - about 9 yo - we also, had a man come to clean our apartment. A Black man; polite and quiet, “Jackson” - his last name only, I always wondered if he HAD a first name. My only sibling was a sister 6 years older than me; her outgrown clothes were given to Jackson for his daughter of the same age. I have thought this was a good gesture, I think I remember it because I was surprised, given my parents’ overall opinions. (See my first post.)
Rob-Thanks so much for sharing your observations and experiences with racism. I too have a lifetime of experiences that force you to question what it means to be human. While Florida and other states are busy trying to hide the truth, our experiences don't lie. I think some of our young people (including those with white skin) are seeing the light about racism too. Many of them marched for Black Lives Matter. This is what scares white supremacists who are trying to hold on to the privilege and systems they established for themselves. I appreciate storytelling. You've made racism plain in ways that no scholarly thesis could ever do.
Thank you, Rob! You are one of the good guys! Hugs
My dad, born 1918, was raised in a Massachusetts town that forbade property sales to Jews but oddly had a few Black families. He graduated from college in Spring of 1942 and went immediately into the Army, assigned to the USAAF. On his first trip South, he was shocked and disgusted by the appearance of segregated facilities being used by uniformed Black soldiers. As commander of a wholly Black supply unit, he said it shocked him again to realize that he, as holder of a BS in AdSci, was automatically an officer while his first sergeant had a PhD in the same subject from Morehouse. He would never tolerate racist statements or behavior and strongly supported civil rights, even as he held old social prejudices about "rhythm" and such.
Too often we think of racism as something that happened in the South because prior to the 1900s 90% of all African Americans lived there. So how and why do so many Northern people harbor some of the same racist ideas that Southern people espouse. The answer is that racism is a feature of American life-it's not just in the South! Racism is a pandemic.
I SHOULD HAVE PUT IN THE WHOLE ESSAY :)
Another Excerpt:
“By 1980 I met Brenda, a black co-worker at a boys' home outside of New Orleans and we became lovers and long term companions, eventually marrying. Her family accepted me (there was history of whites in her family) but my mom (in St. Louis) reacted badly when I sent her a picture of Brenda. She sent it back with a scathing letter asking, "What makes you think I want a picture of your black woman." Wow! I didn't communicate with mom for a couple of years after that. She finally came around and apologized to Brenda and visited us in Florida.”
Echoing your thoughts: scene is a small pizza joint in a small town in Western Connecticut mid 1950s. Three couples enter in the afternoon one of whom is Black (I'm there hanging out with a few locals): "Sorry, we are closed and we will not serve you.") Sure opened my eyes. At that time I was a 15 yo from NYC area who worked after school in a business staffed mainly by Black people, and we all worked, ate, joked around together in what to my youthful eyes seemed to be harmony. As to the actual state of the union, I was clueless!
Anne, I saw my first racist incident in Chicago when I was about 7. I was appalled by what I saw and I have never forgotten it. It was the start of my awareness of it and ever since I have spoken out against it.
Another excerpt from my essay:
“Overt racism also existed in St. Louis County. In 1955 a black family moved into our 'burb and their house burned down. I remember my mother being upset about it because everyone seemed to know it was arson but no one would take a stance and make an issue of it.”
Missouri was the same as the backward south, tho integrated most of my life from the late 40s. My wife who was born in New Orleans, spent much of her early life in Chicago and said that northern city was not exempt from racism either.
No, it wasn't and isn't. The episode I was describing was a black family moving into a white neighborhood and then rocks through their windows and more police than I was ever seen. I wanted to know what was going on and the above is the explanation I got. I thought it was awful. Many years later, in a sociology class, I looked at census data from Elkhart County and that time, early 60s, black people were only in one place in Elkhart County, south of railroad tracks in Elkhart. They were not allowed to stay overnight in the county seat, Goshen, which prided itself on its "Christianity", so Marion Anderson who came to sing at Goshen College, had to stay in Elkhart overnight.
Anne-
Your heartfelt story points to the lunacy of racism. White supremacy is one of the biggest lies ever told and enacted. You're not alone in having parents who were "conservative". The Republicans today who claim to be conservative are trying to maintain the status quo because it serves their personal interests. Who wants to give up privilege and wealth? They're not really concerned about whether America can ever live up to its stated ideals.
I love the idea of America as a nation where everyone has "inalienable rights", and "liberty and justice for all" in the pursuit of happiness. I pray that we can demonstrate to the world that people can live together in peace no matter the color of our skin, the texture of our hair or the worldviews we might hold. We have to let go of skin color as a dividing line and be about learning how to "live and let live". Dispelling the myth of race can help us to make progress-America's past when it comes to racism is not worth "conserving"!
Prejudice does indeed starts at home, but people can change.
As the Rodgers&Hammerstein song from South Pacific lyric says, “You’ve got to be carefully taught.”
Youve Got To Be Carefully Taught lyrics
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
Hence, Sarah Huckabee Sanders's remarks....
Watch ""You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" - SOUTH PACIFIC (1958)" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/VPf6ITsjsgk
Mostly by escaping from the home and environment that reinforces the prejudices. Today some folks turn in to social media that amplifies the biases.
Social media namely fb allows so much nastiness & yet seems to pick & choose minute details to censor. Is there another platform where Heather gives her talks? Other than her talks I would totally go off fb.
Kill FB now.
Early on she explained why she deliberately chose FB to do her talks on: to reach a wider audience in a venue that was open to all. FB has some issues, but I think she did the right thing, even when trolls make it a challenge. I have seen people come on out of curiosity, and then stay, eager to learn beyond what they were taught in high school or even college. Some eventually come to the Letters on substack. The communities are different in many ways, but I meet interesting people in both places, and (trolls aside) enjoy the conversations on FB.
For the live video talks, I go full screen and eliminate the comment scroll to make watching and listening easier, and to avoid a lot of chatter.
As for the nastiness on FB, I simply limit my feed to friends & relatives, and a few interest groups that maintain decorum. A long time ago I figured out that I don't have to accept unacceptable behavior, even from people I know.
I think that she used to post them on YouTube.
Been there
Me as well. It's frightening.
Ugly goes all the way to the bone. No matter how we dress up or donate or vote, our childhood teachings creep out. I hope that when this happens these thoughts serve as a reminder of how fragile the wings on the angels within us are. 😥
I was 15 soon to be 16 when I arrived by train in Atlanta, GA from Terre Haute, IN with my cousin that had moved to South Carolina when she was in grade school with her parents. My uncle had relocated from Dana, IN to work at the Savannah River Plant in Augusta, GA. I had my first experience of the separtate drinking fountains and restrooms. When we traveled to Augusta we were separated into the so called "white car" to continue our journey. Those were my first experiences of segregation and I thought it only applied to the "South". I was in my 70's before I found out that it was happening in my own hometown.
This stuff is so deeply engrained in some cultures, hopefully we as a society can shake it off.
Thank you so much!
“Hate comes from ignorance.” Thank you. Four words. Says it all.
While hate does indeed come from ignorance, the root of hate is fear.
“You have to be carefully taught” as sung in “South Pacific” movie version.
“You’ve got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, or people whose skin is a different shade-You’ve got to be carefully taught”. 😢
Spend a serious amount of time in the Deep South…still very much alive and growing! There are several just as hateful but don’t scream loudly. Those should frighten us more!
Yes, there's a lot of hate and ignorance in the South, still. BUT, have you been to Idaho? East Oregon? California????
Will
Thank you for describing some of the emotions involved with way that white supremacy is woven into the fabric of American society. The poise and tears of the children say a lot about our ongoing battle with racism. I'm often dismayed by too many Americans who think that racism affects only people with darker skin-especially descendants of enslaved Black people. The truth is all Americans are harmed by white supremacy.
In a speech entitled, The Ethical Demands of Integration, delivered on December 27, 1962 at a church conference in Nashville Tennessee, Martin Luther King, Jr. made an insightful prediction about America. He perceived that,
“the problem of race remains America’s greatest moral dilemma. When one considers the impact it has upon the nation, its resolution might well determine our destiny. History has thrust upon our generation an indescribably important task-to complete a process of democratization which our nation has too long developed too slowly, but which is our most powerful weapon for world respect and emulation. How we deal with this crucial situation will determine our moral health as individuals, our cultural health as a region, our political health as a nation, and our prestige as a leader of the free world. The shape of the world today does not afford us the luxury of an anemic democracy. The price that America must pay for the continued oppression of the Negro is the price of its own destruction. The hour is late; the clock of destiny is ticking; we must act now before it is too late”.
King compared the possible destruction of America to the destruction of Rome saying that the parallels are too great to ignore. The History.com website confirms King’s comparison by spelling out the reasons Rome fell as a society. These reasons included military losses, inequality, labor shortages, competition for resources, infrastructures in disrepair, government overspending, political corruption, oppression of selected people, loss of traditional values and people who glorified government.
Sounds like our survival as a nation may indeed be in peril because these are the issues that America faces today. We’re definitely on the road to destruction unless we wake up to the reality that institutional racism is a corrosive force. I pray that "we the people" can make a u-turn and head toward liberty for all. We all must stay “woke” and act!
You wrote, "The truth is all Americans are harmed by white supremacy."
Have you read "The Sum of Us" by Heather McGhee? She describes this is detail giving many concrete examples. It is an excellent book, I could hardly put it down.
Racism is learned. I am thankful more than I can express that I grew up with diversity. I only see different cultures that one can learn from. People are people, good and bad.
"...hate comes from ignorance..."
I've always believed that fear, not hate, was the opposite of love. And fear is often rooted in ignorance. Once informed, exposed and familiar with "the other", few of us fail to love.
The sad thing is that there are people who define themselves by their hate, and actively resist questioning that hate. Information doesn't work. It seems to me that change for these people comes about mainly as a result of some event that breaks down that sense of themselves defined by hate.
Hearts of The Darkness
And breeding........
How ironic is it that Sarah H. Sanders referenced the Little Rock Nine in her speech? It's ultra galling given that she's using DeSantis' Christofascist handbook to ban CRT and and censor certain books.
I mean, she didn't really ban CRT. She couldn't. It is never taught in schools to begin with.
It's like if said I spent my Saturday making sure there were no octopii in my bathroom.
LOL! Just the laugh I needed this morning.
I couldn’t help reflecting that she received her Cancer treatment because she has health insurance, and recovered because of that, not her resilience
And the night, looking for elephants in bars.
The were all in the House last night.
Looking for octopi in the bathtub, I love it!
there's only one State of the Union speech. I watched the video feed on NPR. When it was finished and they moved on to Ms Huckabee, I turned it off. This was the President's day, fulfilling his constitutional duty. I haven't heard anything about rebuttals in the constitution.
I did exactly the same thing, Nathan, as did my friend with whom I was texting during Biden's inspiring speech. We didn't want to end our evening listening to Ms. Huckabee's vitriol. Good point about rebuttals!
Ms Huckabee is a prime example of generational prejudice.
Her schmarminess was like acid reflux
Remember when the little restaurant refused to serve her?
She’s the poster child for nepo babies.
I hope Sarah is fact checked. She did a lot of personal attacks.
They did fact check the president . He was not charged w any lies.
I did the same. I’m boycotting mis/disinformation.
Me too.
We didn't watch the rebuttal either, we knew it would be filled with twisted lies so why bother. We wanted to end on a high.
I also did not care to watch Sarahs twisted take on the proceedings . She never entertained / expressed an original thought.
You didn't miss anything. It was mostly about her. And lies.
Thank you.
Since I didn't watch/listen to Sanders, I don't know what she said about the Little Rock Nine. I was all of 13 at the time so unaware although I became much more aware though still somewhat oblivious at the age of 15 when my own high school in Norfolk VA was closed for the Fall semester, my sophomore year, as part of Virginia's "Massive Resistance" to desegregation took place.
I've read about it since, only 3 jurisdictions in Virginia closed their high schools against integration, not the entire state. My sister and I were among the lucky white kids who didn't lose that semester in Fall, 1958, because our parents could afford to pay teachers who took on classes in various other venues, in our case in various church meeting rooms. Again, it was years later that I learned that a much larger number of students did lose that semester because their families couldn't afford to pay for the alternative classes. Oddly, city school buses were running to take us to the church where our classes took place. I wonder if the parents had to pay for those as well? When classes resumed at my high school, there was exactly one young black girl attending; I don't recall any efforts to block her entry. In the one class we shared, she was - as you might imagine - very quiet and low key.
https://virginiahistory.org/learn/historical-book/chapter/massive-resistance
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/little-rock-nine
I'm glad there was a positive outcome for you but furious that so many parents and school administrators were willing to jeopardize their children's future to make a racist political point. A lot of places developed private academies to try to get around the desegregation mandate. They weren't elite in the sense of being only open to the rich but they were exclusively white.
Great observation. It's pure schoolyard bully stuff. I'll act outraged...be loud...play the victim...all the while being the fool.
The schoolyard bully is the potential sociopath in the bud. The ones that that don't outgrow it seem to me to be responsible for most of humanity's preventable suffering. And bullying is not necessarily physical abuse. It's any predatory abuse of others.
And like the school bully, the answer is to address it EARLY.
I actually passed by my local elementary the other day, and there was this one kid absolutely losing it over something on the playground. Devoid of context, I heard him holler "You want me to break your glasses and buy you new ones!?!? Cause I can DO THAT!"
It was actually a pretty decent offer, and the funniest thing I may have ever heard.
Well, assuming he wasn't going to break them while they were still on someone's face.
Don't worry, the teacher barely mumbled "that's enough, Daniel" while not moving or looking up from his phone, so I'm sure lessons were learned.
Seriously though, the other kids were already pretending to be ponies on the other side of the jungle gym. Crazy how much faster kids can spot who is full of hot air than the adults can. I wonder when we lose that ability....
I saw a jnd (just noticeable difference) around tenth grade. (Had worked at elem, jr high, and high school and knew many of the kids through graduation.). I was shocked at how kids who knew the flaws of their parents grew to emulate them. Who was it who said, children may not listen to their parents but they have never failed to imitate them. I know one who did, but it took a while…
Those who inflict serious abuse as adults are, from what I have read, very likely to have been abused themselves. That said, some adults I know had nasty, seriously abusive childhoods and broke the pattern, though it leaves it's mark. I was just minutes ago reading Mary Oliver to my wife. Ms. Oliver, by her own reporting, grew up in a toxic home and found comfort in the wild. Surely there are things we could do as a society to disrupt the cycle of violence for more of these kids.
Ah, 10th grade. When people start to be told they need to "mature." Makes sense.
Yes, "breaking the cycle" seems to be one of the hardest things someone can do. I knew at least three friends from high school years who managed to break out from abusive and/or restrictive families, even when their siblings did not. In each case the friend in question was a female of a sweeter temperment, who I suppose the folks in question assumed would be the easiest to keep down, only to find she had the strongest intellect and spirit of them all. Very instructive, really.
Jeri Chilcutt, “𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.” ― James Baldwin
Now tell the story from the point of view of the child being threatened, please. We need the whole picture.
Ooh, you've created a vision with your words.
Now add to that the HYPOCRISY of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the 40 year old Governor of Arkansas, claiming Little Rock Central High School (her alma mater) is the example of how "there's no racism" while she boasts about "outlawing CRT." For her to focus on FREEDOM truly exemplifies how white privilege means they choose to put on blinders to the lived experience of millions of Americans. Whitewashing or even erasing history is NOT the way to "fix" centuries of injustices. And the five-time draft dodger she held up as her ideal is the one ready to unleash both the military and domestic terrorists on the American people.
Right on Beverly. The nut doesn't fall far from the tree.
"Nut" is EXACTLY the right word!
Same people; different generation. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We humans have taken reinventing the wheel to a fine art.
Mary,
You mean this picture of MJT last night? (virus free google photo link I culled from last night's video).
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tPLb7dqkBSAqu7wr8
Not to be unkind (or "snarky" as Dr. Richardson might say), but, it does look like some mutant, angry, deranged, poorly evolved baboon gone rogue.
Baboon libelzzzzzzzzz! 🤪
Dressed to kill, in virginal white with fluffy fake fur trimmings, so flattering to a prematurely leathery face.
Yes, but there are 74 million American voters who want Republicans to project that angry, deranged face. They proudly proclaim that cruelty is the point.
And mention of the other woman on display who, going forward, buys hook, line, and sinker into the patriarchal bargain.
Prof Richardson’s last barnburner paragraph….regarding the “normal vs. crazy” remark.
“She (Sarah Huckabee Sanders) is probably not the only one who is thinking along those lines after tonight’s events, but many are likely drawing a different conclusion than she intended.”
That woman will regret her words for the rest of her political career. Worst imaginable timing in a speech. She handily conceded the night to President Biden.
Salud, MaryOMary.
🗽
Yes, it was ugly and hateful - and yet part of me was relieved. That one of those lunatics wasn't packing a gun last night; that President Biden reacted with sanity and humor and at one point, turned their rants into a negotiation over social security and medicare; that McCarthy got what he bargained for - a gavel - that he wouldn't dare use to bring his side to order.
And our taxes are providing such baboons with cushy salaries, lifetime benefits, prestigious workplaces, even as they push to scuttle social safety nets, gun safety, health care, pharmaceutical protections, education, etc. Stunning. Forgive my rant.
Nothing to forgive-That's a pretty accurate description of what they want to do.
Except that baboons might be better behaved. Don't insult baboons.
Yes. They are banking on us not knowing history.
Other than the prestigious workplaces (which so many of them don't seem to give a shirt about), it's a myth that members of Congress get cushy benefits. Their salaries are fixed at $174,000 per year. That seems reasonable, unless you are paying for two households. The lifetime benefits are modest by corporate standards. For those who serve fewer than 5 years, there are no long-term benefits. Those elected before 1987 get ~$71K, after 1987 the pension is ~$41K. Nice, yes, but not lavish. Retirement health insurance benefits are likewise equivalent to many corporations or other public institutions like universities.
Yes. But, unfortunately, those employees are difficult to fire if they don't actually DO their jobs.
True. But that's also true of a lot of jobs covered by contracts or union agreements.
Mary Omar y, the perfect parallel.
She cooked her own goose last night. In front of millions. She may know no shame, but her howling ugly face of "unhinged lunacy" will be a reminder of what an utterly shameless fool looks like.
Unfortunately, there are many who will see her as "brave" enough to do what they wish they could. They do not listen to content; they are disillusioned with politics, and only see a white man in a suit telling them "it's all good." That's not what he said, but that doesn't matter to them--he sits in the seat of authority, and therefore is a symbol of their own despair. They cannot stand to look themselves in a mirror, so they look at her instead.
Sandwiched between Biden's vigor and her lunacy, McCarthy lost--big time--as he prissily mouthed "Shush" while she ranted. It shows how weak he is--he sold his soul to her and her ilk to get the gavel, and now he is afraid to use it.
Interesting comment by HCR that Biden agreed to McCarthy's request to compliment bipartisan leadership, while she totally ignored him. That speaks volumes about who is really interested in governance...and maybe to whom McCarthy should turn if he is to have any hope of effectiveness. He wouldn't reach across the aisle to get elected, but if--IF--he has any sense, he might consider reaching across the aisle to legislate.
I haven’t looked for the photos yet, but whee-doggies, I’m gonna find the most virulent and pin it to my wall
“This is YOUR public image, Mr Speaker. This is your team”
I totally agree. MTG and the likes bother me in the sense that they have no listening skills. They spout out whatever without reading and knowing the facts. They will not listen to the facts. And with Huckabees opening statement I shut off the tv. They, the republicans could believe trump but… Maybe it is because the TRUTH hurts them.
Some appropriate captions
https://twitter.com/washprobs/status/1623152619572150273?s=46&t=LBkStqh-wxKkuIP3ANY9tw
“What Congressional Aide sat me next to this Banshee??!! Who do I have to pay for seat upgrade?”
Yo, MaryOMary... hohoho, That's what I'd call a $178,000 dollar 'hot air' duct. The shape of it kinda reminds me of the $55 toilet seat with the built-in water-spray feature I saw in a dumpster. Thanks for not mentioning any (her) name.
And her personal presentation was "ditzy blonde", complete with white (fake?) fur collar. Sinister.