Weird experience I had on the CNN comment threads this weekend

[Ken Burch]

On two or three threads tied to articles and commentaries on Trayvon Williams story, I posted a variant on this theme

"the best things that people who look like me(I'm a 51-year-old white dude)can do right now are to

1)sit down

2)shut up

and

3)listen"

Each time I posted that, there was a big freakout. You'd have thought I was asking every white poster in those threads to sign their house over to Trayvon's family or something.

It just amazes me the thing some people of my complexion will find threatening sometimes.

[oldhippydude]

1. know what you mean..

as a 65 year old white male... i sure wish my demographic would quit embarassing me..

[chervilant]

3. Bwahahahaha!

Great comment, oldhippydude!

[Scuba]

7. I'm way younger (63), but agree.

[SamG]

8. Feel just the same as you, for the same reasons

both chronology, and because I have learned much at my age from listening and reading.

For example, I didn't know about "the talk" parents of color often have with their teen sons and daughters about growing up in the USA these days.

[The Wizard]

9. Roger that

An embarrassment for sure. Dumb as a bag of hammers.

[woofless]

30. Me too.

Thanks for the validation. I'm a few years younger and feel exactly the same.

[geckosfeet]

2. Yes it is amazing. I think that being confronted with your

bigotry, when your image of yourself is a friendly fair to everyone non-discriminating nice person is threatening. The anger that your simple request elicits is interesting.

on edit: On the other hand, openly hateful and bigoted people probably don't want to change and enjoy the bigots lifestyle.

[zeemike]

4. It is all explained in a book

Called "Games People Play"
And the game of outrage is one of them.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

36. That's a great book.

I read that years ago but couldn't remember the name of it. Thanks for reminding me.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_People_Play_(book)

[ananda]

5. Beautiful.

Can you imagine what a world it would be if white people would just
shut up and listen?

[MrScorpio]

6. You were confronting the very issue of White Privilege to its proper audience...

Last edited Mon Mar 26, 2012, 09:57 AM - Edit history (1)

Apparently a few of the other commenters didn't cotton too highly the very notion that they're not entitled to diminish this issue by merely whitesplaining it away. Frankly, it's going to take a lot of time and effort to get a notion like that to take in their heads.

Repetition is the key.

However you, my friend, did your duty today.

I commend you.

[yardwork]

10. "...whitesplaining." That's a good one! I'm stealing that.

[yardwork]

11. Point me at them and this white girl will take them on. I feel like a rumble.

[Ken Burch]

12. Here's a couple of places I just posted again...come on in...the water's murky...

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/24/opinion/roland-martin-stereotypes/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/26/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=us_c1

[yardwork]

13. Oh, now I get it. You're talking about comments on CNN articles, not DU.

You're out there trying to reason with the troglodytes that comment on CNN? No wonder you're having trouble.

I'll do what I can.

[Ken Burch]

14. I thought it would be more useful to try to say this to people who weren't already "getting it".

Have a nice Monday.

Here's a response I just got on the CNN thread, pasted in here word-for-word:

"Good boy. Now take your biscuit from the black man's hand. Good boy. Who's a good lap dog? You are...yes you are."

[yardwork]

17. I just got back from reading. What you have there is Zimmerman's defense team astroturfing.

Dozens of posts about "facts" that are blatant falsehoods. Did you know that Trayvon "shattered Zimmerman's nose and gashed his head, requiring hospitalization?" Neither did I.

Pure astroturf and a bunch of ignorant racists who are lapping it up like rats on cocaine.

[Ken Burch]

21. There's also some idiot claiming Trayvon was in a gang.

n/t.

[yardwork]

22. More astroturf. Plus, I understand that Storm Front is on the case.

There are photos circulating even on DU originating at Storm Front and other white supremacist sites.

[NatBurner]

39. pretty much

they're EVERYWHERE today, even on my safe little progressive corners of the interwebs

i give up (for today)

[barbtries]

26. omigawd.

thank you for sharing. sad, sad, sad

[Ken Burch]

27. Yeah...people like that ARE sad.

n/t.

[barbtries]

29. it breaks my heart because

we should be past this hate, and we're not.
this does not speak well for the future.
i try to keep up hope for the future. it just takes so long and along the way, it takes so many innocent lives.

[Pachamama]

15. That is because you struck a nerve....happpens when a person is faced with the truth and

...can't handle the truth....

This however is exactly what white america (males in particular) need to hear....they literally need to sit down, stop talking....and listen....

And not just listen to Black Americans, but of all ethnicities, races, religions, sexual preference and women.....

[barbtries]

16. maybe you could paste a couple of the responses here.

i'm at work. thanks

[Ken Burch]

18. Just posted one in my post #14

Will re-post in the CNN boards a few more times today and post whatever responses I get there.

[Ken Burch]

20. Here's one

"You are a joke ken. You think they hate you any less because you want to be their lap dog. Go lie down old man"

[yardwork]

23. You're playing with the Nazis and Klan. Give it up. /nt

[Ken Burch]

25. I've probably done enough there for awhile

Have a nice Monday.

[yardwork]

28. You too! Thank you for fighting the good fight.

It is discouraging.

[barbtries]

24. whoa.

"they" ???
truth is this breaks my heart.

[just1voice]

19. CNN is a completely discredited group of psychotic liars

Did you actually expect something other than that from their followers?

[Rhiannon12866]

31. They seem to be everywhere but here.

I was once attacked repeatedly on IMDb for posting a positive comment about "Goodbye, and Good Luck."

[napoleon_in_rags]

32. That's how I see it.

When you don't know what other people's experiences are like, the best thing you can do to remedy that is to just listen. Wise words.

[arthritisR_US]

33. Pearls of wisdom. Thank you :) n/t

[pennylane100]

34. I have never posted on CNN and I certainly do not watch it.

However, I must respectfully disagree with you about the best thing that white people can do right now. I am not a male and I am a few years older than you and I think it is very important all people of all races show their outrage at what happened to this young man and the attempt to cover up his murder by law enforcement.

Not only must his murderer be arrested but the police who tried to cover up the crime should also be punished and I want us all to keep speaking out until the Martin family get justice.

[Ken Burch]

35. My intent was not to say that white people shouldn't support the movement for justice for Trayvon

I was trying to speak to those who felt they were entitled to shout Trayvon's cause down and to somehow claim that they, my fellow pale-skinned types, were somehow the true victims.

I take the validity of your point.

[pennylane100]

38. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

You would think that making the case that white people were the victims here would be almost impossible but there are enough crazies in this world that would give it a go. As my dear sweet mother would say "There's nowt as strange as folk"

[rucky]

37. You're telling people who post opinions on the internet to shut up and listen

that's a tall order.

[Ken Burch]

40. only on THIS issue.

They're perfectly free to rant about anything else, AFAIC.