The Old Folks Home

[ChickenCanoe]

This is a story about a family that lost a son but pictures of row upon row of police in riot gear makes for good television.

Whether racial profiling is real or not, the perception that it exists is real.

My wife got a ticket for improper lane usage. She got a lawyer and paid him to take care of the ticket. She forgot about it till she got arrested during a late night police checkpoint. Turns out the lawyer took her money but did nothing with the ticket and retired to Hawaii. When she finally went to traffic court which was across the highway from where I was working, I went to visit her when I went to lunch. I was in the lobby with a bunch of young black men and everyone was telling their story. I explained why my wife was there and they couldn't believe it. They kept saying, "A WHITE WOMAN? A WHITE WOMAN? I can't believe they arrested a white woman for improper lane usage!!!"

A friend of mine moved from LA to St. Louis when their Ford plant closed and worked with me. He moved to one of the nicest (and whitest) suburbs.
He would tell me stories about his neighborhood. His neighbors were mostly doctors, lawyers and such. He said, "I have great neighbors, the doctor that lives across the street said hello to me!"
I'm thinking, "Like that's race relations progress?"
Anyway, his brother came to visit from California and they took a walk around the neighborhood. It was the middle of the day and one of his neighbors called the police on him.
She later apologized saying she was alarmed to see two black men in the neighborhood, knowing only one lived there.

 

[Wisher1000]

Quote:
Perfect!!

 

[ronott1]

I did not know they were moving BYC to a new website. I guess that explains why I could not get on for so long last night and then the reply box and tools were gone.

My cockerel did not make it, it passed last night. my DH looked it over good and found a puncture on it's neck which would explain the gurgling sounds I guess. I wonder if one of my other roosters got to rough with him or what.

Injuries are hard to find.

Sorry you lost him!

Check the coops and make sure there is no place for weasels to get in.

 

[Wisher1000]

Racism is about fear induced hatred. Some people fear those who are different, therefore, they choose to hate them rather than admit fear. Police officers are subject to the same manifestations of emotion.

Now, Wisher.....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Racism is about fear induced hatred. Some people fear those who are different, therefore, they choose to hate them rather than admit fear. Police officers are subject to the same manifestations of emotion.

Now, Wisher.....

Good point.

There was a study recently that asked people if a group of young black men in hoodies was walking down the street, would the person cross to the other side of the street.
Most people both black and white said they would.

There's racism and hatred of 'the other' everywhere. Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Jews and Arabs, Christians and Muslims in Lebanon and Iraq, Shia and Sunni, Serbs vs. Slovenes, Croats and Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. Germans and Turks in German cities. It goes on and on. Here and in South Africa it's easier to understand because the different appearance of people is greater than in most of those other situations.

 

[vehve]

Quote: Sometimes it's better to hold your tongue. I've been following a raw milk debate in another thread, and I have to admit to having to click that "Clear the Editor" button a couple of times.

Quote:

Quote: I agree.

I have a problem understanding racially motivated reactions. Even if the original shooting was a hate crime, isn't a reaction where all law enforcement officials are labelled as racists also a form of racism? The difference being that instead of skin color, they are labelled by the color of their uniforms. And while I'm sure there are police officers who are racist, I'm guessing while on the job, most policemen (and women) would consider themselves blue above everything else. I guess growing up in a very homogeneously populated country just makes it difficult for me to understand the underlying tensions in a situation like this.

Look at the part that I highlighted in Wisher's post, and there you have your answer. Most of the people in this situation are merely sheep, doing what someone has told them is the thing to do. They don't think, they just react. If you were to ask them why they are doing what they are doing, their answer would most likely be a bunch of catchphrases and slogans without as much as a single original thought, or even a common thread tying it all together. It's the old "us versus them" mentality; so much safer than actually thinking about another person as a person, with thoughts and feelings and aspirations and a home and loved ones and all those other things that define us as human. It's disgustingly common, and ironically, some of the most "racist" people you will find are themselves members of that race.
(How did that wind up in the quote box? Oh, well.)

We had an incident that happened here a few years ago, that nearly lost a teacher her job. A certain word was used in her classroom, a word with Scandinavian roots, that bore an unfortunate similarity of spelling and pronunciation with a certain racial slur. The two words have totally different meanings. but that didn't matter; the mother of one of the students took offence, and Rev. Al Sharpton flew into town to rally to her defense. It was preposterous, really, but when you are dealing with a person that has a certain mindset, rationality and perspective go right out the window.
I don't think I've ever seen anything with the real Al Sharpton, my image of him is completely built up by SNL. I wonder how different he is in real life.

Now you made me curious about what that word was. We Scandinavians haven't always been that capable of being politically correct though. This is a photo of a liquorice box that we have in our kitchen. I think it's quite pretty, but for some reason this kind of packaging isn't used anymore...

 

[sourland]

Good point.

There was a study recently that asked people if a group of young black men in hoodies was walking down the street, would the person cross to the other side of the street.
Most people both black and white said they would.

I'm not afraid to admit that I would do the same, but would also move to the other side of the street if it were a group of young white males wearing hoodies. This is why I live where I live - small town enough that everyone knows just about everyone.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: One of my daughter's favorite YouTubers is a black guy who lives in Miami. His perspective on life as a young black male is entertaining and sometimes eye-opening.

 

[vehve]

Quote: I can admit that there are certain situations and areas in which I might not use my native language so that someone around me would hear it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I used to hang out in some of the roughest areas when I was young regardless of the city or country I was in. I stay close to home now.