Recently in Racism Category

This story is amazing to me: a muslim family is on an airplane, describing the safest place to sit, and they get yoinked off the plan after someone tips off the airline to the possibility of terrorism and interviewed by the FBI. That's bad enough, but then, after the whole family is cleared, the airline refuses to even rebook their flight, and won't let them back on ANY flight:

"The airline told us that we can't fly their airline," Irfan said.

Even the FBI asked the airline to let the family back on the plane: Airtran keeps insisting that they're just "following homeland security procedures." Which COULD be a plausible (if still dickish) argument, but look at this quote:

"The conversation, as we were walking through the plane trying to find our seats, was just about where the safest place in an airplane is," Sahin said. "We were (discussing whether it was safest to sit near) the wing, or the engine or the back or the front, but that's it. We didn't say anything else that would raise any suspicion."

The conversation did not contain the words "bomb," "explosion," "terror" or other words that might have aroused suspicion, Irfan said.

and also:

"The FBI agents actually cleared our names," said Inayet Sahin, Irfan's sister-in-law. "They went on our behalf and spoke to the airlines and said, 'There is no suspicious activity here. They are clear. Please let them get on a flight so they can go on their vacation,' and they still refused."

I don't know all of these Homeland Security Procedures, but if they include kicking muslims off of your plane, and refusing them any further access to your airline because they make a comment about where they sit that has no link to terrorism, and could not possibly be construed as a direct link to terrorism by any reasonable person, it's clearly just racial profiling.

Natch, we knew that the security measures adopted in the US in the wake of 9/11 included racial profiling, but at least then the FBI was going by some procedure using their (flawed) intelligence. I'm not defending the rouding up of people with suspicious names, but this is seven years later and this is a private company that is totally bound by the non-discrimination in public accomodations portion of federal law, and the decision makers are being huge jackasses.

This is so stupid it makes me incoherent. I hope that the new administration clears up these "security procedures," or we're just going to have another four years of all muslims being de facto terrorists. I'm just glad two of the people affected were attorneys.

Here's the link.

Most of what I write is about feminism, but because third-wave liberal feminism aims at more than just examining women's rights and subjugations, but also the intersections of race and requires us to fight for other social injustices, I want to touch on the latest controversy, with the National Republican Committee candidate for chairman, Chip Saltsman, sending out a song called "Barack the Magic Negro."

While our first reaction will probably be shock and anger, seeing this as an attack on our president, our party, and if we happen to be black, on our race - I can assure you that while those feelings are most natural and even justifiable, we should see this as more than that - it is an attack on our country and its hopes and dreams.

For me, this isn't about the Republican Party and the Democratic Party - the Democratic Party having found racial harmonies and acceptance, while the Republican Party gets left behind and still living in the muddled beliefs that race trumps Americanism. For me, this is about the few in America who are still trying to use race as a wedge to define us - and to divide us. This is about the few who, still grasping for an answer after a landslide of an election that saw an African-American elected president, do things that at the dawn of a new year and American leadership, is no longer acceptable.

We should be angry - we should be hell bent - but not because it is an attack on us, or our values, but an attack on a nation that, for the last eight years, has longed for change. This is an attack on a nation that, for many, since the beginning of our nation's history, has yearned for this day of racial harmonies. This is an attack on all the children who have finally learned to see their peers as Americans, rather than the color of their skin, and those who, on the first Tuesday of November, learned that their skin color no longer mattered in America, so long as they have the will and desire to work hard to achieve their dreams. This is an attack on better days in America.

This is an attack not just on the dreams of African-Americans or Asian-Americans, but all the American Dream.

But, folks, I can assure you that such attacks no longer work - and that America has moved forward - that this is not an attack from the Republican Party, but the very few still left, who cannot grasp the power of change in America. As Americans, while we still remember and remain aware of the painful racial divides the hurt us a nation, we've moved on, and any attempts to try to re-open those wounds this time, won't work. Chip Saltsman will learn that quickly.

Brittany Zimmerman was found murdered on April 2nd. Earlier that evening she had managed to call 911. Not hearing anything on the line, the 911 operator did address the situation as an emergency. Turns out that when the 911 tapes were released, you can hear signs of struggle. The county has of course come under scrutiny for this lapse in procedure. Her murderer has not been found.

This morning I opened up cnn.com to find this cold case has the top headline slot. And there was a very large picture of Ms. Zimmerman.

Let's look at Ms. Zimmerman. She's white. She has pretty blue eyes and red hair. She was young, she was pretty, and she was in college. This fits a very old pattern of affluent white women and girls getting extensive media coverage when it comes to their cases. Wikipedia calls it Missing White Woman Syndrome; though I'm not sure that's the correct term, the entry lists a lot of cases of white women hogging the spotlight. The easiest example is Natalee Holloway. Elizabeth Smart, Laci Peterson, and Caylee Anthony have all also been extensively covered by the news media. And yet Ramona Moore was a black college student who didn't get nearly the attention- her family even had trouble convincing the police that she was in trouble. Because she was black.

This saturation of coverage of while women needs to stop. It's great that CNN is keeping cold cases going, but why not feature Chanel Petro-Nixon, a equally pretty young student who's murder is also a cold case. Why Ms. Zimmerman? CNN will likely defend their choice by saying the 911 tapes make it an extraordinarily interesting case. But CNN sometimes covers interesting local murder cases, but I have never seen one get the top headline unless it is a white girl or woman.

The cold cases featured on cnn.com are all from Nancy Grace's television show. Ms. Grace bills herself as a victim's advocate. She's made herself famous with her passionate and bullheaded attacks against those she sees as hurting weaker humans (namely children and women). I'm not a fan of her show, so I'm not sure if Ms. Grace falls into the White saturation pit, but the pieces that I've seen have been her covering Ms. Smart's case, and Caylee Anthony's case.

I've got faith all you intelligent and eloquent commenters can help me out with this one.

First, I'll paint a picture of where I sit: I'm an undergrad student in Fine Art at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Queen's is known for (among other things, both good and bad) it's "culture of whiteness", and over the past two years there have been numerous racially-charged, violent and verbally abusive acts committed against minority groups on campus. To name a few, last year a black professor was forced off the sidewalk and called racial slurs by a group of students in engineering jackets; this semester the Muslim Student Association has had multiple break-ins to their prayer space resulting in theft, their "Happy Ramadan" poster defaced and burned, and constant verbal assaults against students who wear hijabs; one Jewish student's car was defaced with swastikas; and finally, the president of our student government commented on a Facebook photo of two girls wearing head-scarves saying, "I like your Taliban picture". You know, 'cause all Muslims are terrorists, right? Seriously.

Needless to say, this stuff has been on my mind.

Even when I first came to Queen's, straight out of my arts-based, multicultural, relatively LGBD positive highschool, I was berated with "Dude, that's so gay", "Quit being a homo", etc., and many of my male friends have been called "fag" and "homo" walking through the student ghetto.

Hence, the lost faith in humanity. Admittedly, I was naive in my highschool days... I really didn't think racism, sexism, and homophobia were as prevelent as they actually are. I'm glad I've realized how pertinent it is to continue to fight for equality, but I am still lamenting the fact that the fight is necessary.

But I'll get to the point here, and relay an incident that I need some feedback on:

I was out one night with some friends, and we grabbed some post-bar falafel. As we were leaving the restaurant, I saw a guy I knew from highschool (you know, the artsy, multicultural, LGBD positive one). He said it was his 19th birthday (which means he's legal, for you American folks), and he was, in his words:

"Going to get fucked like a n*gger"

He proceeded to keep saying "n*gger", until my friend yelled at him, and I told him he shouldn't say that. His response:

"Whatever. There are, like, NO black people at Queen's, and really, if you're black, then just don't come to Queen's!"

My jaw was on the ground. I was just in shock. People think like this?!?

His friend, who also went to my highschool, I think sensing my unease, said, "Oh, he gets kind of racist when he's drunk."

I said, "He get's really racist when he's drunk," and then I left.

I've never seen racism so explicitly before, and what's worse is that he spoke to me like I was in on the joke. And considering everything that's been going on at our school, wouldn't he have examined the implications of saying something like that? I. just. don't. get it.

I mean, racism is hard to wrap my head around period, but I find this even more bizarre coming from someone with a similar background as me. Once more, I had always assumed this guy was gay (although I realize it's unfair of me to presume anyone's sexuality, not having actually spoken to them about it), and he's Jewish. I mean, the guy must have family members directly effected by the Holocaust, and knowing Queen's, must have had his fair share of homophobic comments directed at him. If one knows discrimination on a personal level, how can they say these things so unapologetically, if at all?

Perhaps I am assuming too much about his experience. But, regardless, I just need to know what you guys think could be the cause of this kind of discriminatory thinking.

I also feel uneasy about my own reaction in the moment. I was so caught off guard-- I had had a bit to drink, I was having a good time with my friends-- that I wasn't prepared for him to say something like that, and I don't think I made it clear enough to him that I don't tolerate that kind of thinking. What do you think is the best thing to say in this situation? Is there anything I could've said at that moment that really could have affected the way he thought?

Ultimately, I want to find some sort of understand of this guy and people like him. Because, being here in this environment, constantly hearing about all this hate, I too am beginning to hate. I hate those who will not look critically at the hegemonic views presented to us, and I hate those who will not question their racist, sexist, or homophobic actions. And hating those who hate just seems inherently illogical and hypocritical.

Or is it just a waste of energy to try to figure these people out? Should I instead be focusing on the people whom these comments effect?

This is absolutely outrageous. No teacher should EVER tie up kids in a classroom, no matter what the intentions were. There is also obviously an additional emotional impact on the two black girls picked for this "activity" as well as black students in general. (for more see this) post over at Womanist Musings)

The teacher apologized for "causing any problems for the child" but not for "using that simulation during class." Wow... this is more than a simple "bad decision." This needs to reach national news, and this teacher needs to get fired.

Recently, I was watching the movie "Bride and Prejudice," the Bollywood version of "Pride and Prejudice" which stars Aishwarya Rai. During the movie, my mom came downstairs to check her email and she glanced at the TV. She noticed Aishwarya Rai's hair, which was dyed a reddish brown color. My mom said, 'Why do they do that? They've [Indian women] got that gorgeous dark hair." I responded to this, "We dye our hair." She then said, "Yeah but...It's like losing your culture." I responded to this, "We've lost our culture, I mean, we don't celebrate our cultural heritage or anything," or something to that effect. Then she told me we don't have a culture, we're mutts. 

I am white and I do not celebrate any part of my German or English heritage. I have no traditions that are distinctly English or German in my life. So what makes other women, or anyone, any different? I don't see hair dying as an abandonment of culture. I see it as a change in self expression. When I do it, as a white person, it's a change in style. But if someone who isn't white dyes their hair, or does anything "white," it's seen as an abandonment of culture by a lot of people. 

Furthermore, later in the movie, Aishwarya Rai dons a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. In fact, in a lot of that movie she is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Is that losing your culture? Or is that wearing what you want?  

Where is boundary? And how do we define "losing your culture"?   

I have dark blonde/light brown hair that I want to make darker, just because I think it's time for a change. No one will look at me upon dying my hair and say, "you're not recognizing your roots." No one. 

It's as though white people expect those who aren't white to recognize and celebrate everything about their backgrounds, when most white people I know totally don't. How can those who are white expect that of so many people when we don't do it ourselves? It's a ridiculous expectation if we're not going to practice what we preach. 

Am I totally ridiculous in thinking this? Any thoughts? 

So, I was searching on Mr. Movie Times when I saw this advertisement on the side of the page:

If you have reliable vision, you will notice that the before picture is of a stereotypical image of a woman of color who is bulging and the after picture is a medium-sized white woman. My initial response was to laugh loudly and call everyone in my apartment to come see, but one has to wonder what was the idea behind this marketing. Or, perhaps, did they simply let a stupid person create the image?

The image linked to Life of Lisa, a website that seems to be some kind of blog-façade advertisement.

(cross-posted at UneFemmePlusCourageuse )

Y'know, as proud as I am of my state for going blue this election, let it never be said that there aren't some real assholes living here. In both my part, the mostly-liberal northeast, and the mostly-conservative southwest.

Let us first tackle the northeast, with the Bastard you probably guessed: Kevin O'Brien, Plain Dealer columnist. Here you go . Now, as I write this I am reminded of what Keith Olbermann said about William Kristol, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly during his "Worst Person in the World" segment last night: "Wait--what does it matter what they say? They don't matter anymore!" And in a way, he's right--everything any conservative is saying right now does feel like desperate scrambling to claim relevance to a world which rejected what they say and selected someone who does not subscribe to their worldview as a leader. Same with O'Brien as it is with all the others, but what miffs me about his piece is this particular line: "His election should end the utter nonsense about this being a racist country. (It won't, of course, because "racism" will be such a convenient reason to dismiss any criticism of him.)"

Okay, I do not dismiss every criticism of Obama as racist. "Muslim," "terrorist," "affirmative action admit," "fried chicken, watermelon, and food stamps "--yes, those are racist. The other big criticism of Obama is "socialist." 'Socialist' is an inaccurate label for Mr. Obama, but it is not a racist label. Socialism was founded in Germany, gained most of its infamy in Russia and other Eastern European countries, and is currently in play in countries like Sweden and Nepal. It has also been tried in various places in central and south America, the Caribbean, Asia, et cetera. Therefore, socialism is not a racial concept. So no, while I think people who decry Obama as a socialist are dumb and uninformed (and might actually be racist), the argument itself is not racist (and therefore I cannot determine their racism from that accusation alone). I think most people get that.

The day before Halloween, a woman wrote to the Joplin Globe daring us to "come up with a very good reason to vote for Barack Obama".

Reading the letter, I very much doubt that reason is her forte. Especially this.

"Why would I vote for someone who is all for abortion? Statistics show that mostly the white population uses birth control and the ever-present abortion. Our numbers are dwindling, and Obama wants to keep it that way . Ever think about that? "

D'oh! Silly Republican! You're supposed to be SUBTLE with your racism and sexism! Next time try to disguise the real reason you oppose family planning and just say you're only concerned about TEH BABIES.

This is my first community post, so please be gentle. Pretty much all I do is make fun of this things .

Saying you refuse to have a president whose name is Obama or whose middle name is Hussain is RACIST. Because if we were to change Barack Obama’s name to something …oh let’s say WHITE, let’s give him Dan Johnson for example there would be no way you could hide behind the  “Muslim excuse”   to excuse   the racism that you are really hiding. I would assume in most of America it is not acceptable to call someone the “N” word or to use race as an excuse to exclude a person from a job, education, rights and so forth. But because a bunch of “radical Muslim terrorist” did something despicable all of the sudden every Muslim is a terrorist. Apparently it is okay to show hatred towards Muslims but not hatred towards other races or religions. I thought we were over this a long time ago.   The Islam-o-phobia in this country is disgusting and goes against everything this country is supposed to stand for. We stand for freedom of religion…not picking and choosing which Christian sect you would like to follow but any religion or no religion at all. Putting up a sign that says “Obama supporters can’t park here” is RACIST.  So enjoy the clip…

P.S. I wish there was a word to describe this hatred for Islam so if know of that word please let me know.