Blogging, White Guy, Racial Tension Blues

White vs. Black
(Seriously, don't google these terms)

Being a blogger has been challenging lately. I've got a lot going on in my life, big changes afoot. Lots to do, and lots to ponder. So, it puts blogging--a hobby, after all--kind of in the background of my brain. But there's a lot going on, so I want to come on here and opine, share and participate.

But dammit, can it get frustrating and depressing. The racial tension which has been stirred up by Ferguson and other similar cases has been hard to talk about. I'm a white guy, and though I'm gay and an atheist and thus something of an outsider, I'm aware that "white privilege" is a thing. Particularly since I fit the visual mold well enough to read as: non-threatening WASP male. I do not have to deal with the kind of crap other minorities do, and I'm aware of it. Plus, the cases are murky in places, with the victim generally less than a pillar of society, and the facts on the ground less than clear.

But beyond the deaths, and the looting and rioting, and the general feeling of tension, it's the angry white guy response that gets me down. I'm amazed how quick people are to call the victim a "thug." To imply that any bad behavior, petty crime, or even just less-than-respectful response to authority means the guy deserved to die. There's a desire to blame the victims for their own deaths. And the veiled (and unveiled) racially-tinged language just turns my stomach.

Seriously, my images may not be a terrific fit,
but if you search for it, put your filters on!



I believe that--as they say--everyone's a little bit racist. But, we should try not to be. We recognize irrational prejudice, do our best to tamp it down and/or hold it up to the light and get past it. It's the element that seems eager to drop all pretense and plunge straight ahead into full-on racism that is just depressing to me. Go read the comments section in virtually any newspaper or blog on the Ferguson or Staten Island cases (or any of a series of others), and read the Us vs. Them commentary. It stuff I thought we got past long ago, and it's not helpful in any way.

I guess it's too much to hope for that something in this country not boil down to right vs. left, black vs. white.

[Excerpt]

Police Killings Reveal Chasms Between Races

In the decade that Ashley Bernaugh, who is white, has been with her black husband, her family in Indiana has been so smitten with him that she teases them that they love him more than her. . .

Read more at: The New York Times



 

Ferguson Decision Fallout

At war with the citizenry? Image from source, MSN

I don't have a lot to say about the Ferguson story. I don't know what happened. I understand why people are frustrated and angry, even if the facts of this particular case are murky. Cops are increasingly militarized, and there have been a number of high profile shootings, often of unarmed (or not lethally armed) men. Very often the decedent is black, but not always. "Always" is reserved for "cop walks." Or FBI agent walks. These cases have a higher rate of  "not culpable" decisions than Congress has a retention rate. Police and law agency agents just tend to get the benefit of the doubt, to the point of (sometimes) absurdity.

Now, in this case, as I said, things are a bit murky. Michael Brown seems like he wasn't necessarily a good guy, but then again it's arguable whether or not he deserved to die. The number of times he was shot seems to have been notably excessive, whether or not the first shot was justified. But this long ago became yet another left/right issue, and I don't have this particular fight in me. I hope violence and strife generated from it quickly gives way to substantive discussion and constructive work to fix any real problems in the system. And I think every once in a while, it would be nice if one of these cases could acknowledge that cops are capable of making a mistake, or even being culpable in going further than that.

[Excerpt]

Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting

A grand jury declined Monday to indict white police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed, black 18-year-old whose fatal shooting sparked weeks of sometimes-violent protests and inflamed deep racial tensions between many African-Americans and police. . .

Read more at: MSN