It is a part of history vital to understand American society today, and events that shaped us as a nation. It is criminal not to teach this. The ignorance-fueled hatred and fear still manifest today in varied amount across the United States. The SCOTUS decision that we are a “post-race” society is just another decision …
It is a part of history vital to understand American society today, and events that shaped us as a nation. It is criminal not to teach this. The ignorance-fueled hatred and fear still manifest today in varied amount across the United States. The SCOTUS decision that we are a “post-race” society is just another decision from a court corrupted by Alito, Roberts, and Thomas on the court, and McConnell’s successful effort to stack the court with Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch to solidify such decisions well into the future.
To know that generations later, a BIPOC parent has deep worry anytime their child leaves their home about all the things a white parent worries about -but also what might happen if they are pulled over by police. Or are out jogging. Or are wearing a hoodie armed with skittles candy. How can any of us rest until all people are free of such horrific reality?
To whitewash American history is to guarantee it is repeated. What DeSantis is doing in Florida is immoral. The fact that he remains Governor and is now running for President, says a great deal about “post-race” America.
America desperately needs to BECOME a "post-race" society. Of all the world's affluent democracies, the US stands out as the most race-obsessed. Race and ethnicity permeate every aspect of its public policy and the private behaviour of its citizens.
The racism in the U.S. today is still virulent. It explains the success that Trump has had in politics. Google the study by the two Univ. of Kansas professors, "The Anger Games: Who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and why?" Racism is the No. 1 reason. MAGA is simply the modern version of the KKK. I grew up in Texas in the '40's and '50's. We integretated our schools in 1956. In Polk County, Florida, where I now live, the schools were not fully integrated until 1994 - 40 years after Brown v. Board of Education. Racism runs very deep in this country.
You got it Richard. Alot of folks scratch their heads wondering how Trump was elected in the first place, and how he maintains his popularity among the MAGGOTs. Well - it's mostly all racism and the general hate-filled attitude that permeates the mins of too many American people. The modern version of the KKK - not far from truth at all.
Perhaps beyond Trump or behind Trump, the Ferderalist Socient, Freedom Caucus, Citizens United, KKK, etc.... are the power behind the racisim which continues to permeate our democracy
What those groups do is to manipulate the racists to vote against their own best economic interests. Thomas Frank covered this in is 2004 book "What's the Matter with Kansas."
My first thought on the day after the 2016 was, "We really are as racist a country as I thought we might be." My next thought was, "Oh dear God, help us survive tRump's time in office." At that time, I never imagined that things would continue to worsen, even with tRump out of office.
What we have here in the U.S. is a hard core racist group which is really the new KKK, also known as MAGA Republicans. There is absolutely no "getting through" to them. If you haven't yet, google and read "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?"
In 1982, when we moved to Miami, my black stepdaughter was enrolled in Robert E. Lee Middle School. When she graduated to high school, Affirmative Action was still in place and we managed to get her bused to Miami Beach High instead of the inner city Miami high school in a more urban racially tense neighborhood.
Indeed it does, Richard. I grew up in northern Indiana and heard lots of racial remarks from my own family who were of that generation which freely made such remarks. I don't think any of them were Klan members however. They just participated in the general atmosphere of prejudice that existed without thinking about it. Actually they were prejudiced against Catholics and Jews and a number of ethnic groups as well. The ultimate irony for my family is that we now have two mixed race descendants and of course, that part of the family does not know the history, but it gives me a kind of pleasure. They are my great great nieces and they have just started school, happily I might add. I hope that does not change.
Michele, you will then find "A Fever in the Heartland" particularly interesting, as Helen suggests. After reading it, there will be zero doubt in your mind that MAGA is the KKK without the conical caps.
Richard, thanks for saying something I’ve believed for the past 6 years. KKK = Nazis. Some on the far right don’t ‘believe’ there is racism (as we all know by how)
Becky and Richard; I salute the beginning of your "enlightenment." 'Code words' is the language of the far right leadership and you now 'know' the meanings behind at least two words. You have more to learn and I hope fervently that you continue your education; I mean no insult - I celebrate your steps !
True, Linda. I agree 100%. DeSantis is 100% wrong to suppress the teaching of actual history regarding slavery and the treatment of minorities, particularly African Americans, here in the U.S. Knowing that my ancestors were slave owners and that my great grandfather fathered a daughter with one of his slaves does not make me feel guilt, but it does cause me to have a sense of urgency to right the past wrongs.
Agreed. I am normally an optimist. I think we WILL become a "post race" society. But the events in Alabama..in that church...on those streets were really just a few short years ago - you could count it in days. There are people quite alive who would still applaud that bombing. And their progeny are running Alabama now. That generation just hides its hate and bigotry a little better. But it's still in the DNA.
I think that an equal and fair society is generations away. In the meantime, we need to oust from power the racist bigots who are running so much of this country - on the local, state and federal level. The hope lies with younger people. It's time for the old fascist farts stuck in the past to step down, step aside.
Let's hope we get there before we are all under water or burnt to a crisp.
Ah Bill, your last sentence says it all. I do not have any hope for putting the brakes on climate change as so many, including the Supreme Court, seem to have their heads in the sand. My own take is that the wealthy think that their money will save them. They might buy some time, but that's all.
Your last sentence prompts me to strongly suggest you read The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Beautifully written and speaks to your final point. It's sobering yet gives hope. It's well worth reading.
This bombing was abhorrent then and remains so today! Such hatred is unimaginable in my mind. The color of one’s skin is purely an accident of birth…underneath we are the same people.
In three brief sentences, you've sort of said it all Christine; Yet I'll add consider this: the thickness of the melanin layer of human skin is only about four one thousandths of an inch thick. That's about the thickness of fine baby hair.
I wonder if in the US there were more social supports like universal healthcare, guaranteed minimum annual income, decent wages for all who worked, free or inexpensive education and/or training for anyone who needed it, if people would need to rely on racism as strongly as they do now. The GOP is responsible for ensuring that the social supports aren't there, which seems to help them fan those flames of hatred and division. All of this for those already rich people to keep their pieces of gold and continue to accumulate more. Shame on the whole party.
Just my thoughts and feelings, but I see the 'language' all wrong - just to begin with. I shall never use the word "race" when speaking, thinking, or acting of another human being. I will always correct myself and any others, that we are talking about human ethnicity. Our race is humanoid / human kind; we just have other origins from this common planet. I feel that 'words' are powerful, and it all begins with me; I can only hope / pray / act, as though it's an infection I most want all others to catch. To hell with the anger, resentment, regret, guilt, etc., ad nauseum !
Here we spin on this beautiful blue marble. The only planet in our galaxy, perhaps in the universe, with an environment to support and sustain life. Instead of being in awe of our good fortune and profoundly grateful, we have devolved into what we've become today.
Divided by our differences. Resources coveted and destroyed by the rich and powerful. People starving when there is enough for all.
Humans are parasitic lice, killing each other and sucking the life out of our fragile planet.
This seems akin to the "All Lives Matter" argument, and deserves the same response: until BIPOC lives matter as much as white lives, all lives don't matter., and we must keep talking about race and prejudice.
Thomas thinks it’s a post-race society because he is the darling and useful idiot of the racist haters who dress better than the KKK. I won’t even broach the “Ginni” factor. But he got his, and others can just suck air. He’s not the only black person who only has a mirror, not a window. But he’s the one who has the vote that starts the dominos falling, along with the Alito the Hun.
I would count Tim Scott as cut from the same cloth as Thomas. Scott is running an ad here in Iowa claiming that his achievements were the result of his hard work, not the socialism promoted by Biden and Harris. He ends by promising stricter work requirements for public assistance because in America, if you are able bodied, you work. Ugh!
yep, anything to court those who think empathy is a character defect. Anything to deflect what Friedrich Engels called Social Murder. Piss on Tim Scott, he's not the only one.
As someone who lived in the South for 41 years and experienced school integration as a student (it was peaceful in my relatively well off part of Central Florida), I highly recommend this famous column by a legend of journalism.
I'm deeply grateful to you Michael for sharing that link ~ I'd forgotten how powerful it was ! It also occurs to me that it could be ever so slightly re-written to make it perfectly applicable today. Authors ! Please join that effort - we'll grade, rate, then share the best version - with props of course to Gene Patterson.
Thank you Heather.
It is a part of history vital to understand American society today, and events that shaped us as a nation. It is criminal not to teach this. The ignorance-fueled hatred and fear still manifest today in varied amount across the United States. The SCOTUS decision that we are a “post-race” society is just another decision from a court corrupted by Alito, Roberts, and Thomas on the court, and McConnell’s successful effort to stack the court with Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch to solidify such decisions well into the future.
To know that generations later, a BIPOC parent has deep worry anytime their child leaves their home about all the things a white parent worries about -but also what might happen if they are pulled over by police. Or are out jogging. Or are wearing a hoodie armed with skittles candy. How can any of us rest until all people are free of such horrific reality?
To whitewash American history is to guarantee it is repeated. What DeSantis is doing in Florida is immoral. The fact that he remains Governor and is now running for President, says a great deal about “post-race” America.
America desperately needs to BECOME a "post-race" society. Of all the world's affluent democracies, the US stands out as the most race-obsessed. Race and ethnicity permeate every aspect of its public policy and the private behaviour of its citizens.
The racism in the U.S. today is still virulent. It explains the success that Trump has had in politics. Google the study by the two Univ. of Kansas professors, "The Anger Games: Who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and why?" Racism is the No. 1 reason. MAGA is simply the modern version of the KKK. I grew up in Texas in the '40's and '50's. We integretated our schools in 1956. In Polk County, Florida, where I now live, the schools were not fully integrated until 1994 - 40 years after Brown v. Board of Education. Racism runs very deep in this country.
You got it Richard. Alot of folks scratch their heads wondering how Trump was elected in the first place, and how he maintains his popularity among the MAGGOTs. Well - it's mostly all racism and the general hate-filled attitude that permeates the mins of too many American people. The modern version of the KKK - not far from truth at all.
Exactly right Jay
Perhaps beyond Trump or behind Trump, the Ferderalist Socient, Freedom Caucus, Citizens United, KKK, etc.... are the power behind the racisim which continues to permeate our democracy
I find it ironic and sadly a bit humorous that there is a group that has the gall to call themselves the "Freedom Caucus" when they are anything but.
What those groups do is to manipulate the racists to vote against their own best economic interests. Thomas Frank covered this in is 2004 book "What's the Matter with Kansas."
My first thought on the day after the 2016 was, "We really are as racist a country as I thought we might be." My next thought was, "Oh dear God, help us survive tRump's time in office." At that time, I never imagined that things would continue to worsen, even with tRump out of office.
What we have here in the U.S. is a hard core racist group which is really the new KKK, also known as MAGA Republicans. There is absolutely no "getting through" to them. If you haven't yet, google and read "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?"
In 1982, when we moved to Miami, my black stepdaughter was enrolled in Robert E. Lee Middle School. When she graduated to high school, Affirmative Action was still in place and we managed to get her bused to Miami Beach High instead of the inner city Miami high school in a more urban racially tense neighborhood.
Indeed it does, Richard. I grew up in northern Indiana and heard lots of racial remarks from my own family who were of that generation which freely made such remarks. I don't think any of them were Klan members however. They just participated in the general atmosphere of prejudice that existed without thinking about it. Actually they were prejudiced against Catholics and Jews and a number of ethnic groups as well. The ultimate irony for my family is that we now have two mixed race descendants and of course, that part of the family does not know the history, but it gives me a kind of pleasure. They are my great great nieces and they have just started school, happily I might add. I hope that does not change.
Michele, have you read Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan? Indiana was center point to the revival of the KKK.
Timothy Egan's book should be required reading in high school.
Reading it right now!
Oh yes. I have long known about the numbers, but not the details of what they were doing. It was disgusting to me as a native Hoosier.
Michele, you will then find "A Fever in the Heartland" particularly interesting, as Helen suggests. After reading it, there will be zero doubt in your mind that MAGA is the KKK without the conical caps.
Richard, thanks for saying something I’ve believed for the past 6 years. KKK = Nazis. Some on the far right don’t ‘believe’ there is racism (as we all know by how)
"Woke" is code for the n-word.
And "Liberal." Meaning socialist, etc.
Becky and Richard; I salute the beginning of your "enlightenment." 'Code words' is the language of the far right leadership and you now 'know' the meanings behind at least two words. You have more to learn and I hope fervently that you continue your education; I mean no insult - I celebrate your steps !
Here's another one: MAGA is code word for KKK.
Thx, Richard. No, we are not a post-racist society...and no, we aren't being divisive to keep talking about race. We must!
True, Linda. I agree 100%. DeSantis is 100% wrong to suppress the teaching of actual history regarding slavery and the treatment of minorities, particularly African Americans, here in the U.S. Knowing that my ancestors were slave owners and that my great grandfather fathered a daughter with one of his slaves does not make me feel guilt, but it does cause me to have a sense of urgency to right the past wrongs.
Agreed. I am normally an optimist. I think we WILL become a "post race" society. But the events in Alabama..in that church...on those streets were really just a few short years ago - you could count it in days. There are people quite alive who would still applaud that bombing. And their progeny are running Alabama now. That generation just hides its hate and bigotry a little better. But it's still in the DNA.
I think that an equal and fair society is generations away. In the meantime, we need to oust from power the racist bigots who are running so much of this country - on the local, state and federal level. The hope lies with younger people. It's time for the old fascist farts stuck in the past to step down, step aside.
Let's hope we get there before we are all under water or burnt to a crisp.
Ah Bill, your last sentence says it all. I do not have any hope for putting the brakes on climate change as so many, including the Supreme Court, seem to have their heads in the sand. My own take is that the wealthy think that their money will save them. They might buy some time, but that's all.
There is no Planet B. “...and all your money won’t another minute buy”. From “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas.
I can’t figure out how to post a YouTube link on my phone, else I would.
Your last sentence prompts me to strongly suggest you read The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Beautifully written and speaks to your final point. It's sobering yet gives hope. It's well worth reading.
Wow. I just read the synopsis of The Light Pirate. It's now in my queue! Thank you.
Have read The Wall by John Lanchester? Not a cheery book. But probably equally prescient.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45894062
Thank you, Bill. I'll add your suggestion to my queue as well.
This bombing was abhorrent then and remains so today! Such hatred is unimaginable in my mind. The color of one’s skin is purely an accident of birth…underneath we are the same people.
In three brief sentences, you've sort of said it all Christine; Yet I'll add consider this: the thickness of the melanin layer of human skin is only about four one thousandths of an inch thick. That's about the thickness of fine baby hair.
I wonder if in the US there were more social supports like universal healthcare, guaranteed minimum annual income, decent wages for all who worked, free or inexpensive education and/or training for anyone who needed it, if people would need to rely on racism as strongly as they do now. The GOP is responsible for ensuring that the social supports aren't there, which seems to help them fan those flames of hatred and division. All of this for those already rich people to keep their pieces of gold and continue to accumulate more. Shame on the whole party.
Just my thoughts and feelings, but I see the 'language' all wrong - just to begin with. I shall never use the word "race" when speaking, thinking, or acting of another human being. I will always correct myself and any others, that we are talking about human ethnicity. Our race is humanoid / human kind; we just have other origins from this common planet. I feel that 'words' are powerful, and it all begins with me; I can only hope / pray / act, as though it's an infection I most want all others to catch. To hell with the anger, resentment, regret, guilt, etc., ad nauseum !
D4N. Human ethnicity. Thanks for that!
Here we spin on this beautiful blue marble. The only planet in our galaxy, perhaps in the universe, with an environment to support and sustain life. Instead of being in awe of our good fortune and profoundly grateful, we have devolved into what we've become today.
Divided by our differences. Resources coveted and destroyed by the rich and powerful. People starving when there is enough for all.
Humans are parasitic lice, killing each other and sucking the life out of our fragile planet.
This seems akin to the "All Lives Matter" argument, and deserves the same response: until BIPOC lives matter as much as white lives, all lives don't matter., and we must keep talking about race and prejudice.
All "human beings" matter.
Thomas thinks it’s a post-race society because he is the darling and useful idiot of the racist haters who dress better than the KKK. I won’t even broach the “Ginni” factor. But he got his, and others can just suck air. He’s not the only black person who only has a mirror, not a window. But he’s the one who has the vote that starts the dominos falling, along with the Alito the Hun.
I would count Tim Scott as cut from the same cloth as Thomas. Scott is running an ad here in Iowa claiming that his achievements were the result of his hard work, not the socialism promoted by Biden and Harris. He ends by promising stricter work requirements for public assistance because in America, if you are able bodied, you work. Ugh!
yep, anything to court those who think empathy is a character defect. Anything to deflect what Friedrich Engels called Social Murder. Piss on Tim Scott, he's not the only one.
Jeri, quit beating around the bush and tell us how you really feel.... lol ! Love it - Alito the Hun !
I had better behave. FB and X banned me. Is substack next?
Jeri. Wear you 'bannings' as a badge of honor! 🎖️
The right. Completely determined to make being poor as painful as possible.
There is no socialism in the US!
Oh Jeri, thank you for my first smile this am.....Alito the Hun. Love it and I will be borrowing it.
Thought it fit
Oh it does.
As someone who lived in the South for 41 years and experienced school integration as a student (it was peaceful in my relatively well off part of Central Florida), I highly recommend this famous column by a legend of journalism.
https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2020/a-flower-for-the-graves/
I'm deeply grateful to you Michael for sharing that link ~ I'd forgotten how powerful it was ! It also occurs to me that it could be ever so slightly re-written to make it perfectly applicable today. Authors ! Please join that effort - we'll grade, rate, then share the best version - with props of course to Gene Patterson.
Thank you Michael.
From George to George. Absolutely right. We have a long, long way to go.