I need a sense of proportion, so I come to you readers, to seek it. Here's the issue. Over dinner last night, the Kitten and I were talking a bit about the election, and I opined that I thought it would be closer than polls are showing, but that Barack Obama would probably win.
Then I offered the following. I said "mark my words. If John McCain wins, there will be riots in the streets".
The Kitten was not pleased with this remark, and asked me to justify it. I attempted to, stating that riots were not unheard of in our urban areas, and that given the enthusiasm for Senator Obama in the African American community AND the sense of certainty and destiny currently evidenced in the mainstream media, largely black urban populations would likely react to a McCain surprise victory with the sense that A) the election had been stolen and or B) that America was still a racist nation.
She was still not pleased with me. She believed that riots were a thing of the past, that there hadn't been any real riots of consequence in the US OUTSIDE OF LOS ANGELES in many years, and that I was selling the African American community short.
I suppose in a strict understanding of the word "racist", my statement had racist overtones. I seek not to be a racist, so this understanding does cause me some pause. The question I pose to you though, is my fear legitimate, or is it based on some kind of latent racism that I am not facing. Or is it both?
Please confine your answers to the question I posed--this is not an attempt to get a thread started that will ultimately insult large portions of our population.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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16 comments:
Your comment was realistic and logical, not racist.
Your Kitten's comments are silly and illogical.
That, in an increasingly dominant segment of our society, any critique of a black-skinned person by a white skinned-person is considered racist (the incredibly frequent converse rarely holds by the way), your kitten was merely indicating her membership in that segment and, as a member, correctly applying that segment's reflexive label to your very probable prediction. That so many white-skinned people feel that black-skinned people are incapable of dealing with critique or that they are so willing to overlook or condone criminal actions because the perpetrator is the same skin color as people who were, over a century ago, enslaved in this country, is, to me, a more subtle but more harmful form of racism. To deny a person credit for the abilty to make his own decisions by also denying him the accountability for those actions simply because of his skin tone, well, it's what we do for people who are mentally disabled. I was a high school freshman in Alexandria VA when they consolidated the schools to achieve a more balanced distribution of race in the schools. In 9 years of going to public schools, I had never once seen a girl hit by a boy and I had never once seen a teacher hit by anyone. In my first day on my way to class, after being knocked down and kicked by a group of at least 10 of my new fellow students for no apparent reason than the color of MY skin, I got the opportunity to witness both scenarios. Repeatedly. Police were called in, order was loosely restored, and the Washington Post dutifully reserved its front page for in depth coverage of the injustices of segregation on these unfortunate black-skinned students. No discussion of the white students who were beaten severely (I recall most vividly a white girl who was hit in the face with a whole brick and a teacher who had his head split open by a student using his "cake cutter" comb used as a weapon. Reading the Post, had I not been there to witness the anarchy myself, I would have come away with a great sympathy for these unfairly-treated black-skinned students. But I did see it for myself. There was NO EXCUSE for this behavior. None. And to excuse it, or any other such behavior in ANYONE is to say that the perpetrators can't really be expected to live into a higher standard of humanity. To apply that primarily based on skin color is, to borrow a label from a segment of socitey of which I am not a member, racist.
I have been having the same thoughts. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the polls were not very accurate in many states that Hillary ultimately won, and circumstances are ripe for violence if we have a McCain victory. Everyone, especialy the media, has declared an Obama victory. If he loses, I think your prediction will come true. Not only in urban areas...we will see it on college campuses too.
I think Kitten needs a reality check. She has led a sheltered life.
Oh and by the way you aren't racist, just dealing with reality.
I have yet to meet Kitten, and she sounds like a lovely person, but I agree with a few of the other posters that her sentiments do not appear based in reality.
And it's not just you, Cracker McCracky - writing in the September 2, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News, opinion writer Fatimah Ali wrote, "If McCain wins, look for a full-fledged race and class war, fueled by a deflated and depressed country, soaring crime, homelessness - and hopelessness!"
And I'm pretty sure her idea of full-fledged race and class war does not include angry missives on the Conservative Wahoo.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/
fatimah_ali/20080902
_Fatimah_Ali__We_need_Obama__not_4_more_years_of_George_Bush.
html
I have not had the pleasure of meeting your Kitten, but God bless her for her naïveté
What has happened to our society-we're all so terribly hypersensitive on this issue anymore. If there's one good thing about an Obama presidency, and I'm trying desperately to seek one, it's that it should put this issue of racism to rest. But somehow, his candidacy seems to have moved us backward on the subject of race relations and what is deemed 'racist' anymore.
Let not your heart be troubled: your thoughts are not racist. (I suppose if one was truly digging, one could say 'CW just said black people are hooligans who riot when they don't get their way.')
Here again the MSM bears some culpability. Since they've already determined the winner of this election, the African American community feels now a sense of entitlement to this office and that 'it was taken away from Obama' when in fact he's yet to earn it.
And I think you're right on for predicting the chaos that would ensue should the unthinkable happen in 19 days.
Your comment may have been "racial" because it was an obvious component of the argument, but it wasn't "racist".
Where in Georgetown do you and the kitten live?
On the other hand, would it be equally racist to say that there are probably some rednecks, neo-nazis, and other flavors of right-wing extremists who may be planning their own mayhem or reaction? More to the point, would whites take similar umbrage at such a suggestion?
Why limit riots to only an Obama-lose scenario? What about an Obama victory? Plenty of urban areas have experienced riots after a local sports team's victory. I could foresee riots in multiple urban areas. The MSM will excuse the mayhem, explaining it as an outlet after 200+ years of repression. Nobody will hold the rioters accountable for their behavior.
I'll take my chances with the urban rioters that may result from either an Obama victory or defeat.
The taxing and spending riot by the Gang of Three is one that I really fear.
Mind if I start referring to your Kitten as Yang from now on? For starters, it’s tough one to easily share another’s term of endearment. Second, if she’s as miffed as you suggest you may need a new nickname anyway. Yang seems more appropriate because this debate has elevated her from the role of a passive Muse to an important storm anchor in this debate A reminder, “Yin-Yang; seemingly opposing forces are bound together, intertwined, and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn”. If our country stands any chance of surviving the unavoidable evolution of our racial landscape there’s elements of both of your points that highlight the significant cultural obstacles that need to be addressed regardless of the outcome of this election.
As the Navy guy, your opinion is a practical threat assessment. It’s in your DNA to handicap the potential for such an outcome. As the Ivy League academic, Yang has a fair point too… there is an element of change in African American community we can’t afford to sell short. Obama has notably alienated many of the extremist politicians who have agendas based solely on inciting protest and rage. He’s instead promoted more value based accountability and self-help initiatives… tough love. But, if the African American community stands any chance of effecting change, they will need to identify the potential for such threats and build broad support to reverse engineer precautions. Evidenced by the polls, he appears to be convincing people from all sides to give peace a chance. If he’s successful in advancing that agenda as a President or Senator it will be looked back on as hopefully one of the most significant inflection points since Martin Luther King’s accomplishments.
We’ll have to see if Yang’s conviction will carry the day and our local communities are now better prepared and willing to work together to avoid allowing extremists to ambush the rest of us as easily as they have in the past. Either way the reality is we’re headed down a new path and it’s a refreshing alternative.
The more I think about this the more Kitten may have a point - why limit the rioting to blacks?
The Left has been frothing at the mouth since 2000. This one is THEIRS, anything less than an Obama landslde is obviously a Rovian conspiracy.
There aren't any more WTO meetings scheduled in the US over the next couple of months, how else are are spoiled white college kids supposed channel their idiocy?
Gigs - Incredibly well-written and thoughtful. Thank you for sharing.
The only racist comments i've seen televised were on the McCain trail. Why does Sally hate the black man so?
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