Rolling 2016 Thread on Race

...wishful thinking i know

http://gawker.com/gunbroker-com-shuts-down-george-zimmermans-auction-1776314827

From the comments: "I’m a black man who’s lived most of my life in America, and this is just pretty much how it’s always been.

If you want to really get into it, I think it stems from guilt, shame, and the logical end of the “just world” fallacy.

The average white family is worth $134,000, while the average black family is worth $11,000. There’s a huge discrepancy there. It’s pretty easy to understand if you point at a system of institutionalized racism and say, “That system there is designed to keep black people down.” Easy answer so far.

But this is America. Land of the free. Bootstraps. Work hard and make something of yourself! So you run into a problem, because the idea of an institutionalized system that disempowers some people means that other people are getting privilege. Now you’re getting into the difficult part.

If America is a country where you can make yourself to be whatever you want to be, then people who are white and relatively well-off must be harder working, smarter people who make better decisions, right? But if there’s a system that routinely disempowers people of color, then is that person who’s white REALLY as smart and hardworking as they think they are?

Now you start getting into an existential crisis. A person who is white accepting a concept like “white privilege” means accepting that they got benefits to get them where they’re at, not that they did it all themselves. And that cuts to the core of their character, their self esteem, and everything they’ve worked for.

Look at Donald Trump. He got started because his dad gave him a “modest” loan of a million dollars. Obviously ANYBODY could do what he did, he just happened to be better at it than anyone else. Trump’s entire brand is based around the idea that he’s so awesome and did all this stuff himself because he’s so great, not because he was born privileged and rich.

Agreeing that institutionalized racism is real and that white privilege is real means saying to one’s self that they got benefits and privileges they didn’t earn, and that maybe they’re not as good and smart as they think they are. That’s a come-to-Jesus moment most people aren’t willing to face up to."

On point, from the comments: "I remain in complete awe that George Zimmerman is still alive. He should be in awe as well, and stupid shit like this suggests he sure isn’t."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/05/17/steven-adams-oklahoma-city-thunder-golden-state-warriors-game-1/84477378/

The most amazing thing to me about all of this is the comment reaction of "he's from New Zealand, maybe he didn't know" which cements my belief that people really are willfully dim.

that is honestly kinda what i thought it was, a silly gaffe

Mr. Veg recently conveyed some interesting personal experiences with NZ racism, so yeah I'm not convinced by that excuse

I think his own admission makes it clear in the article. Dan's point is about the commenters (why Dan is reading the comments I have no idea).

Yeah no, Australians also use that "we dont know about your history" BS all the fucking time, no goddamn excuse in 2016.

I like when americans are like "well, they don't really have racism in Australia so they can't understand"

doubling down on not knowing anything about other people

Oh I'm well aware there's shitloads of racism down under too

We dont have racism? Geez do people think that? We have an underclass living in a literal 3rd world environment in this country.

Isn't there also a long and fairly recent history of Australian white supremacy politics oh hey look yes there is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy

I think we're all on board with the "Australia has racism" theory.

They didn't ship other human beings en masse to be used as slaves for three centuries, but you probably don't want to get into a conversation with some of them about boats either.

Our racism is surely different than in the US: its all about "we grew here, you flew here"/"go back where you came from" BS. And it is very ugly. Anyway I'm sure I'm preaching to le choir here on this.

I was wondering if dude was going to get offered a pass for being NZ or for being in Oklahoma.

Yeah, I was referencing Americans being apologetic for Australians being dumb about race. Like, say, an American rapper who had to walk back his comments about an Australian he mentored

Our racism is surely different than in the US: its all about "we grew here, you flew here"/"go back where you came from" BS. And it is very ugly. Anyway I'm sure I'm preaching to le choir here on this.

― Stoop Crone (Trayce)

Surely they don't say that to the native (pre-Euro) Australians.

don't underestimate the idiocy

No, they just call all koori folk drunks and welfare cheats :(

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/05/brown-v-board-v-airbnb/483725/

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/05/five-elected-as-overseers/?link_id=0&can_id=63bc3a82f39ac828495b3b3ffa5194d3&source=email-congratulations-to-the-newly-elected-overseers&email_referrer=congratulations-to-the-newly-elected-overseers&email_subject=congratulations-to-the-newly-elected-overseers

This is really insider-baseball stuff around the Harvard Board of Overseers election but the breakdown is this:

- The admissions process takes into account both tangible and non-tangible factors when attempting to build a talented, diverse freshman class; one of those factors is race
- A group of conservatives who were opposed to the inclusion of race as a distinguishing criterion put together a slate of nominees under the name "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" advocating for much greater financial aid across the board for all students oh and removing some the considerations that were allowing some of the black and Hispanic students in the door; they allied with a group of disgruntled Asian-Americans who felt that these considerations were artificially keeping the number of Asians at Harvard low to make space for less worthy students (side note: one does not need to be a Harvard graduate to run for Overseer)
- A good segment of the alumni base was appalled by this and put forward their own slate of nominees who were committed to the overall diversity initiatives that Harvard had committed to and was trying to improve, both in terms of admissions and on-campus support for the students who needed it once they got there; this group operated under the name Coalition for a Diverse Harvard
- A seriously contentious argument between the two factions raged across social media, with one side-effect being the discovery that one of the "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" people was an attorney who sued UT Austin over "racial quotas" and another had spoken at an event with some white power groups
- As shown in that link, the Coalition won, thank god

oh ALSO Ralph Nader was helping lead the charge on the Free Harvard/Fair Harvard side and was one of the names on the slate

wtf Nader

never forget, Nader wondered if Obama would be "an Uncle Tom for corporations" immediately after Obama won the presidency:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/nader-defends-obama-slur/?_r=0

He then redefined his entire political brand into "racebaiting from the left" so it's really not at all surprising that he would dive headfirst into this bullshit

on the flip side, the thing Nader does best these days is lose elections so I have no idea why FHFH were so eager to partner with him

http://theundefeated.com/features/mission-impossible-african-americans-analytics/

(TW: sports) this is a really interesting topic that i wish were tackled by a better writer, and not one who's a stats-hating dinosaur

(ftr i have a lot of respect for wilbon's career, obviously, but i don't think it's a controversial opinion to say the industry's passed him by)

the second half of that article is a lot more interesting, to be sure, once i got through the groaners

Good, long Guardian piece on "the enduring whiteness of American journalism" by Howard French

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/may/25/sports-analytics-african-americans-michael-wilbon-article

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/25/white-high-school-football-players-in-idaho-charged-with-raping-black-disabled-teammate-with-a-coat-hanger/?postshare=3241464184999722&tid=ss_fb

Hang onto this the next time someone says "kids are growing up less racist"

that is insanely fucked up and sad beyond words.

stuck somewhere beteewn nausea & rage myself

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/05/24/commencement-speaker-gets-booed-after-speaking-briefly-in-spanish-and-criticizing-trump/

Gizmodo jumps straight to the point:

http://gizmodo.com/yo-fuck-this-commercial-1778914903

Without even clicking, I'm guessing that's the Chinese detergent ad.

Anyway. I thought it was a better idea when it went the other way.

http://i.imgur.com/Y2uIS04.jpg

It wasn't a better idea

I'm really bothered by the cal state fullerton thing. how the shit do you graduate in a class that's 40% latino and then get screaming mad when part of the commencement speech is in Spanish? How fucking pathetic and stupid and tiny-dicked do you have to be to think you have any cause to act like that? Who fucking raised you? I'm from fucking Alabama. I don't understand you children. Please leave.

This Alesha Dixon thing on another thread?

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/

Wait so this Alesha Dixon thing, the controversy is that a black woman told a bunch of black men that they were awesome black men? Is this accurate?

(also I am bookmarking that Smithsonian link for a time when I am less likely to cry while reading it)

goes w/out saying, but avoid the comments

Stop fucking avoiding the comments. Read them and understand what people are capable of.

Wait so this Alesha Dixon thing, the controversy is that a black woman told a bunch of black men that they were awesome black men? Is this accurate?

― DJP, Tuesday, 31 May 2016 16:35

She called them "sexy chocolate men" and people on social media demanded she apologize or be fired and it has been said she isn't allowed to perform her new single on the talent show (might be unconnected though).

I think it's mostly white people who were complaining.

lol at mostly

I didn't want to assume too much because I haven't trawled through enough

So... yes, then.

What a stupid controversy