Hey white people...its on us!

[sheshe2]

Hey white people...its on us!

Last night I went on twitter when the Zimmerman verdict was announced...at least until I read the words of a father wondering WTH he was going to say to his black son. Then I started balling and the evening was basically over for me.

Surely every parent of a black child in this country has to grapple with teaching them some form of the Black Male Code. I remember the profound sense of what white privilege means hit me when one of my co-workers talked about how she had to make her son cut off his dreads when he was 13 so as not to make him a target. What mother of a white child has to think about those kinds of things? And what mother of a white child has to fear for their lives when they're walking home from the store?

Trayvon Martin, my son, and the Black Male Code

As I explained it, the Code goes like this:

Always pay close attention to your surroundings, son, especially if you are in an affluent neighborhood where black folks are few. Understand that even though you are not a criminal, some people might assume you are, especially if you are wearing certain clothes.

Never argue with police, but protect your dignity and take pride in humility. When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up.

Please don't assume, son, that all white people view you as a threat. America is better than that. Suspicion and bitterness can imprison you. But as a black male, you must go above and beyond to show strangers what type of person you really are.

http://www.jessewashington.com/trayvon-and-the-black-male-code.html

We Can't Fix Ya!
SAT AUG 22, 2009 AT 12:01 PM PDT

I have come to one conclusion.

Race is a problem for white people to solve. If black people or brown people could have made racism go away it would have long since disappeared back into the nothing-ness from which it came.

Nah, it’s on white folks to make the necessary moves to kill and bury, once and for all, the notion of race. I think in a generation or two this just might happen.

For one thing no small part of the fear rising in the hearts of some our finest race-baiting carbon units is the realization that within a generation they will be the minority. This idea causes folk like Pat Buchanan to go to sleep at night clutching at his gonads. He’s been ringing the white folks we’re about to be outnumbered bell for a really long time. With the election of America’s first black president, many of the dull-normals suddenly got it.

In the America they grew up in, such a thing was not possible. A black president was not a notion the mouth-breathers ever considered. It couldn’t happen. For one thing the expectation was white people would never go for it. I still remember the old southern white man who said during the election season last year "I’m voting for the nigger." Even so, he was in the minority.

The majority of white people in this country voted for dumb and dumber. They were willing to be led by two people who couldn’t find their butts with a flashlight and a map.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/08/22/770764/-We-Can-t-Fix-Ya

Perhaps a good place to start is to listen to black people talk about what it means to be a parent these days. And keep your g-d mouth shut when it comes to advice - even when what they have to say makes you uncomfortable. Right now they feel like their children's lives are at stake - with good reason. Can we find a touch of empathy to spur some curiosity about what that might feel like as a parent?

That's what its going to take, folks. As overwhelming as it might seem, every time a white person opens themselves up to that reality we get one step closer to ending days like this. If we're ever going to get there - its on us.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/07/hey-white-peopleits-on-us.html

[NYC_SKP]

1. Recommended. (nt)

[sheshe2]

2. Thanks SKP~

[Triana]

3. K & R!

(I really wish people wouldn't misspell "bawling" though - cause "balling" is sex, whereas "bawling" is crying).

Zoiks.

[sheshe2]

5. Yikes, Triana.

Missed that. To involved figuring out the best way to get smartypants story across.

Thanks for the rec~ sheshe2.

[LiberalLoner]

4. K&R

[Cha]

6. I need to read this but just want

to K&R until I get back.

mahalo, she

[malaise]

7. Here's the thing sheshe2

Last edited Mon Jul 15, 2013, 07:15 AM - Edit history (1)

the white man who still hates and fears the black man is terrified of one thing - pay back.
He knows what he did and would like to continue doing to non-white people and fears that the day he is outnumbered payback is coming.

If you think all those anti-women laws are about more than producing more white people, then you have no idea how afraid they really are.

America must remain white (as if it ever were) and they must remain on top by any means necessary.

[Half-Century Man]

9. I think you're close

The white man who did the majority of the racist damage is long gone. His white sons fear that they will be punished for the sins of their fathers, and so act in a way which is REMEMBERED as effective.
It wasn't, it bred unbelievable strength in it's intended victims. It still does, look to the women of Texas.

Strength which can withstand open aggression and respond with political action and peaceful social change. Strength as relentless as the tide. Mountains have fallen to the power.

We...the sons of Europeans who fled their masters only to try our hand at being masters, need to remember why we fled our masters. There are no good masters, not now, not then , not ever.

[malaise]

30. Good point - it is his descendants that I mean

[sheshe2]

11. I know malaise,

they want women as broodmares.

They are doing this a lot in the south. They want more poor, white, uneducated women to produce the legacy of hate and bigotry. It's the Repubs and the Tea party that want to spawn a new generation of blind sheep.

They want to own America. They want to destroy it.

My opinion. That won't happen. People are Standing up. They are fighting back.

[malaise]

31. I agree - it won't happen

[sheshe2]

32. malaise~

she

[mountain grammy]

8. Yep, and maybe this will finally be another turning point.

Oh God, a mirror has been held up to our faces and we have to take a good look at who we are and what we can do to end the scourge of racism in America.

Great post, sheshe.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

10. I recall trying to express how I felt a kinship with a black gal I knew in college.

Because I was isolated and made to feel like a Leper for having an eye disease that made the other children run away from me from age 6-12, I thought I could empathize with her experience of racial prejudice. I was somewhat upset that she never expressed any concern for my condition and my many tears. I wasn't prejudiced or a racist. I thought there would be more of a sense of "sisterhood". It was just her though. A few years later I made friends with a gal while touring the country and we had so many common experiences that we could laugh about. More times than not it's personality that is the main factor. Not race.

About sheshe2's thoughts on this, we see so much more race tolerance in young Americans in school today than we have in the past. So many kids think nothing of race as we intermarry and coexist. Won't it come down to being a regional problem? Confederate flags are flying in some very northern places where militias roam free. These are people who've been taught to hate or hate out of habit. Some experiences may not be able to be overcome.

I think pride is a big factor for whites. It's the number one sin you know. And I think feeling superior to others is inherent in some of us. Especially when not being superior.

[Mister Ed]

12. Would K and R even for this part alone:

"Perhaps a good place to start is to listen to black people talk... And keep your g-d mouth shut... even when what they have to say makes you uncomfortable."

l

[WheelWalker]

13. Great post... K&R...

and a great thread. Thank you.

[mstinamotorcity2]

14. kick

Rec

[protect our future]

15. In defense of white people,

thousands and thousands and thousands of us stand with Trayvon's family.

Solidarity.

[sheshe2]

19. I too am white, protect our future.

Solidarity~

peace

[protect our future]

20. Thank you, sheshe.

[notadmblnd]

41. And some of us are parents of African American children too

[Moonwalk]

16. It is up to the white people, and there may be hope for that, in spite of this case....

...and the damnable voting laws, etc. I know it seems like we're going backwards, and we are on the surface, but there are some very deep changes happening in white people which could make them finally do their job.

Like the fact that many young voters had four years of a black president. Like in the fact that there neighborhoods with racial mixes as well as schools and people aren't growing up seeing and knowing only their own race--or knowing only their own race as the home owners and every other race as the servants. They know other races as neighbors and fellow parents and such. Like the fact that there are far more interracial marriages and this means that even entrenched old white folk now have mixed race grandchildren.

As with gay politics, the personal can become very political. As with Obama's white grandparents, the grandparents of mixed race children may no longer be on the Zimmerman side of the fence. Because they now have a kid in their life who could be a Trayvon.

And that, if nothing else, might be edging us white folk to get rid of racism. On the surface, it may seem otherwise, because the last hurrah of racists got elected and pulled every trick in the book to have their way with this country. Same as the homophobes still trying to keep Prop. 8 alive and fighting. But underneath, there may be an earthquake coming. I sure hope so. And maybe, just maybe this is the first crack in that bigoted surface.

[IrishAyes]

34. Great OP

and response. I distinctly remember watching an old white grandfather explaining one day what turned his former prejudice around. His daughter brought home her own bi-racial baby, and when he looked at the little girl, his heart melted and he was instantly in love. And he wanted to tell everyone about his change of heart.

[Politicub]

17. K&r

[coldmountain]

18. White southerners need to lead the way instead of whining about others being bigots toward them

[aka-chmeee]

21. Right, racists only come in white. What BS /nt

[cpwm17]

22. In the 1970's I went to junior high and high schools in far Southern California

where everyone was a minority, including white students like me. Overt racism was more prominent (but usually not severe) among the non-white students there and then.

I don't want to exaggerate my experience, because it was mostly OK, but white students definitely started out with one strike against them. Even though we were 1/4 of our high school, white students never were voted for any popularity contest in the five years I'm familiar with. Not a single homecoming princess, out of 25 students in five years, as one example. And we faced racial insults fairly frequently, though usually not really bad.

In junior high there were a bunch of race fights between some members of two non-white minorities groups because of a fight between two individuals. A large percentage of the 5% of the school that were black found this was a good time to gang-up and randomly attack white students for sport – including me. I watched the same large gang mug a white couple passing by the school. Black students did tend to target white students, but never the reverse.

I must add, most of my experience in school was positive and most students treated each other very well.

[sheshe2]

23. If that's what you come away with

after reading the OP and the links. Then you are clueless to what is being said.

That's kind of sad really.

You have been a member since 2004. After nine years of silence you decide to make six posts in the last 90 days.

Okay! Got it!

Bye~

[Cha]

28. That first sentence of yours was

exactly what I was thinking, mahalo for it, so I don't have to, she.

Some things I just let go but that needed a reply.

[aka-chmeee]

35. Oh! Didn't know I was dealing with the user profile police!

Post count chauvinism, yet.
Sorry I can't meet your high standards for participation and monolithic uniformity of thought. But, in my view, it's like any sore...if you keep picking at it, it won't ever heal.

[noiretextatique]

39. the racism that killed martin and set his killer free

is the SAME racism that has existed in this country since its inception. the power associated with that racism is still largely in the hands of whites, like the white people on that jury. you are a a part of the problem. you cannot join this discussion about a very real phenomenon without taking it personally. if any one has any fucking reason to be pissed off about racism, it's black people, like trayvon martin's parents, who keep hearing "it's not just us," but when it matters, it turns out to be just white folks.

[noiretextatique]

40. typical, self-serving, white denial/dismissal

no wonder the world laughs at americans many too stupid to know their own history and current reality. yeah sure...it's chinese racsim that's the big problem in america

[RainDog]

24. It should've always been a situation for white people to remedy

since white people created it.

[Nye Bevan]

25. "When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight....."

"When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up."

Excellent advice for people of any race.

[NaturalHigh]

26. What did I do?

What did my wife do? Why is it on us?

I don't believe in original sin.

[Pelican]

33. You didn't do anything...

... except share part of an ethnic background with a man who was found not guilty...

[Warpy]

27. My moment came when I was hugging a coworker while she had hysterics

because her son had nearly been killed over his new shoes. Shoes!

There was no way to fix any of that. All I could do is hang on and listen.

[Cha]

29. Good Advice from Jesse Washington, she!

Never argue with police, but protect your dignity and take pride in humility. When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up.

Nice Accurate Jab at mitt and mini mitt and all those who voted for them.. from Robinswing @ dkos.

The majority of white people in this country voted for dumb and dumber. They were willing to be led by two people who couldn’t find their butts with a flashlight and a map.

And, from smartypants..

... What mother of a white child has to think about those kinds of things? And what mother of a white child has to fear for their lives when they're walking home from the store?

I just know that if my son had been killed by a Zimmerman bully and the jury let him off I would be inconsolable for the second time.

Trayvon's parents handled it with dignity and resolve..

..two voices cut through all of the noise with an almost singular voice. Shortly after the verdict, Trayvon Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, tweeted similar, heartrending sentiments on the end of this momentous trial. Their message is a reminder of the true weight of this tragic story.

At 11:07 pm, Sybrina Fulton tweeted:

Lord during my darkest hour I lean on you. You are all that I have. At the end of the day, GOD is still in control. Thank you all for your prayers and support. I will love you forever Trayvon!!! In the name of Jesus!!!

http://www.mediaite.com/online/trayvon-martins-parents-react-to-george-zimmerman-verdict/


Many Mahalos, she~

[Scurrilous]

36. K & R

[dembotoz]

37. k and r

[nolabels]

38. It's about guns, the cops and the cop mentality

I never signed up for any of it. To me, it's the whole civilization thing and the way it's structured. It's about control and it's a convenience for that non-thinking public at large. They assume that's the way things are because they see those images produced by that civilization in that larger aggregate. If you peruse a media with a language other than english you would notice that white-people-in-charge stereotype is not used because it doesn't sell products.

It's the reward-benefit treadmill, if you don't play the game correctly you will not get all the goodies you wanted.

I have a hard time to feeling worried or involved thinking much of this as real race issue (but that is just me) The President i voted for is black, the branch manager my work is chinese, my boss is black, my two supervisors are latino and shift lead man is black and me as a white folk, i am a minority in my workplace and the larger community at large.

To me, it is ideal of what propels this is what one might want to find the root of. To me it seems more like the police state we live in. How the story goes is, that he who has a gun and looks like he should posses it gets the pass, the rest us are just collateral that might be pushed aside or done away with.

If you look to other places where capitalism is the rule, education is lower tier and race is more of a mono-type then in them places the police state is pervasive and obtuse. It also occurs to me that where the billionaires can use race as a ruse to divide us, they have more opportunity to get their way with that cop mentality as the enforcer.

And no i don't find it coincidence that majority of the billionaires of that european heritage, it revolves of who looks like who that controls the wealth with the guns.