567 Comments

Thank you so much Heather. As a Chinese American, I can not thank you enough for tying everything together in you message tonight. I am going to be 70 next week, born in the US, and have been putting up with out right racism or micro-aggression my entire life. In my memory, 2nd grade, boys cornered me and threw stones at me. I never told anyone. The boys that lived on the corner of the street of our suburban house, used to yell slurs when we drove by. When people say oh, we all faced discrimination, but y'all could blend in. We, like our black sisters and brothers can not. Hate does not happen often, but when it does at this point in my life, I get mad, I get sad, but no longer surprised. I am hoping this is the turning point. However, when you see the likes of Chip Roy, I wonder.

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I just have to share this small moment of joy.

If you didn’t watch yesterday’s White House Press Briefing, do yourself a favor and take a peek.

Jen Psaki introduced our new HUD Secretary, Marcia Fudge. Secretary Fudge took the lectern and greeted the room. She was met by total silence.

She then lowered her mask and gave a look I cannot describe, and said, "I was wondering if I was in this room by myself?"

That prompted a chorus of greetings from the assembled members of the Press and initiated a very polite line of questions. It appears our new HUD Secretary does not stand silent in the face of poor manners.

Brava for her!

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As an Asian American woman in California, thank you, Professor HCR. It all gets so exhausting. Reading your Letters has taught me so much of import, that I just didn’t know before, about the historical intersections of race and oppression in the U.S., across the spectrum. My heart breaks for the lives lost in the attack, and aches over the stubbornness of the hatred that remains in our nation. A little clarity in the long view is helpful. I sure hope we can pull it together, to treat all of us with dignity and respect.

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Racism is obvious, but pathological guilt about sex also seems to be a motivation for the crimes. Investigators should look into what’s preached in the killer’s church.

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The murderer (confessed, waived his rights, no allegation needed) is described as deeply religious? Well if his actions and his beliefs aren’t oil and water, then what is?

He’s likely an incel — https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/4/16/18287446/incel-definition-reddit — who is angry and did what so many white men have done: projected their pain and anger on someone else, in their unrecognized wish to make someone else feel their discomfort. Hurt people hurt others.

Am I the only person who finds it amazing that persons of color and women, subjected to and minimized by the rule of white men for centuries, don’t shoot them in equal numbers?

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“If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention”

-- Heather Heyer, RIP, Good Person

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A further demonstration that Fundamentalism is The Enemy, whether it masquerades as "christian," "muslim," "jewish," of "hindu." Terrible, sexual women are the "downfall" of poor "innocent" men, so they have to be controlled, dominated, and if necessary the 'uppity" ones must be killed for their trangressions against the godly men. They all believe and spout the same bullshit, regardless of which religion they're "purifying."

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Chinese workers were brought in to California to build the California leg of the transcontinental railroad. The buildings built to process them still stand on the east side of Angel Island, the west coast's Ellis Island, in San Francisco Bay. It seems the Chinese were considered better workers than the Irish workers who also worked on the project.

Mark Twain wrote about the unjust anti-Chinese laws passed in California in the 1800's. Among them was a law that stated that a Chinese person could not testify against a white person in court. A white citizen could abuse a Chinese person any number of ways without fear of legal consequence. Jim Crow for Chinese immigrants. Anti-Asian prejudice is but another racial bias institutionalized by US law, a prejudice that has survived long after the laws have been repealed.

Perhaps in the end, the former president will have done the nation a favor by bringing to light all that is hateful and unjust in our history that survives and, with his help, even flourishes today.

Or, maybe not.

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I wonder what religion preached what he practiced?

This must have been a hard letter to write professor, it was hard to read, but thank you. Shining your light on our history and current events, the only way forward through this hellhole we've been witnessing.

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The murders in Atlanta and the arrest and statement of the admitted murderer are the murky, fetid whirlpool of what is feared and hated about racism in our country. The Atlanta police spokesman sounded as though he was sympathetic toward the white killer, being deeply religious and suffering from a mental disease, not being racist and having committed a hate crime, "he had a really bad day...". Heather note, "That seemingly cavalier dismissal of the dead while accepting the words of the white murderer seemed to personify an American history that has discriminated against Asians since the California legislature slapped a Foreign Miners’ Tax on Chinese miners in 1850, just a year after they began to arrive in California. Discriminatory laws and violence from their white neighbors plagued Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Koreans, Vietnamese, and all Asian immigrants as they moved to the U.S.

Discrimination and hatred have continued to plague their descendants."

The black and brown communities noted rightly that "he was arrested without incident" wondering loudly if that would have been the case if he was black or brown. Would he have been noted as being "deeply religious" if he was a muslim?

Heather concludes: "That [the murderer] blamed Asian or Asian American women for his own sexual impulses ties into a long history that links racism to sexism—and to violence— in a peculiarly American fashion."

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"...although all three had been reviewed by an erotic review site." I found myself incredibly bothered by this, and wanted to share why - it feels like the equivalent of victim shaming. Thanks for listening.

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A tough one to read, but the truth must be told. Thank you for doing that so well, as always.

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Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Thank you, Dr. R, for this timeline of events regarding the previous administration's evolving stance on China.

If I had a hammer...If I had a bell...If I had a song...

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Me thinx we need to move toward reconciliation, as South Africa is doing with its history. Long ago, at the beginning of her campaign Sen Elizabeth Warren said that we need reconciliation, and she did not know the path. But she knew we need to begin the conversation.

Our capitalist and individualist society breaks the souls of us all, to the point we do not see ourselves in the other. All too many people are hurting in this society and across the globe.

We need to address the inherent poverty built into capitalism, here, across Africa and throughout the globe. We must address the inhumane nature of capitalism - that people are allowed to die on our streets, from a bullet, from poverty, from addictions, from suicides.

Capitalism and our rabid individualism is killing us.

I believe our Progressive Caucus in the US House ought to lead, with Pres. Biden, on this nationwide conversation around reconciliation, individualism and capitalism.

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Trevor Noah's comments on the killing of the six Asian women are chillingly accurate. He insists they were racist murders. He insists all should have known such a calamity was coming. Americans constantly react to the symptoms and not causes. He starkly recites explanations arresting officers gave about the motives of the alleged killer, and their total lack of attention and concern for the dead victimes.

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Once again Heather has put this outrageous racist, sexist slaughter in context. When we elect a sexist racist leader who has the art of blaming everyone else and taking responsibility for nothing we are left in shambles. His destructive leadership will have ramifications for a long time. As a psychotherapist my best training came from Dr. Sonia Nevis. As a professional comes a responsibility of being acutely aware of the power of our words and behavior and the impact it has on our clients. I believe the same is true for our leaders.

The racist and sexist behavior of our last President will have long term ripple effect throughout our society. As President his words holds tremendous power.

The upside of this is we as a society may be more open to looking at ourselves and our own racist, sexist unconscious beliefs. These beliefs certainly get in the way of a functional democracy. There is hope as we focus on the importance of the right of all of us to vote.

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