For the last several days I have been reading and learning from pieces that wise and thoughtful friends have shared and that I have seen elsewhere – there is SO much good thinking and writing and dialogue going on, and while I am sure you all have seen much of it (in fact, I’ve grabbed much of this from your posts), and that I have also missed much, I thought I would share what I have gathered, along with some lines pulled from some of them (perhaps as a hook to get you to click on the links - I hope they work). I will confess that much of what I read comported with my world view, but I have also been learning a lot and know I have a long way to go yet. Would love for folks to share other links that have been helpful to you in the comments. Some of my main take-aways after the last week plus (& having not yet really processed the latest non-indictment): racism is real; we need to listen to each other; it is OK – even important – to be uncomfortable (& this does make me uncomfortable - but thats OK); there are different realities for different people (e.g., white people see police as protectors, black people see police as threatening) & both realities are legitimate, based on experiences; we need to be able to acknowledge that ours is not the only reality or the only experiences; blacks have some long-standing historical back-up to their distrust of the justice system (frankly to their distrust of much of what makes up “the system” generally); despite all the crap, we need to hope and work for a better future for everyone; that in fact, black lives do matter (I did not just learn that, but I have learned how important it is to really KNOW it, to believe it and to say it). For your enjoyment/enrichment/enlightenment/possible discomfort: “The Perfect-Victim Pitfall” by Charles Blow, 12/3/14 nytimes/glogin?URI=http%3A%2F%2Fnytimes%2F2014%2F12%2F04%2Fopinion%2Fcharles-blow-first-michael-brown-now-eric-garner.html%3Fsmid%3Dfb-share%26_r%3D1 “Racism is a real thing, not because the “racial grievance industry” refuses to release it, but because society has failed to eradicate it.” “What White People Need to Know, and Do, After Ferguson” by Sally Kohn, 11/28/14 washingtonpost/posteverything/wp/2014/11/28/what-white-people-need-to-know-and-do-after-ferguson/ “We don’t have a choice about which side of that equation we’re born on, but we do have a choice about whether we acknowledge the reality of bias and talk honestly — together — about solutions.” “My Vassar ID Makes Everything OK” by Kiese Laymon 11/29/14 gawker/my-vassar-college-faculty-id-makes-everything-ok-1664133077 “The Price of Blackness” by Lanre Akinsiku, 8/17/14 gawker/the-price-of-blackness-1622972582 (linked to in the 1st paragraph of the Vassar piece) “Pears don’t wear underwear” by Mark Wyner, white father of 5, 3 of whom are black. https://medium/@markwyner/pears-dont-wear-underwear-thoughts-on-ferguson-part-1-623201bc3b2c Nice contrast between what people are saying v. what we should be talking about. Some excerpts: “Our focus should be on paving a brighter path for the Michael Browns, not hunting them down when they react to the society around them.” & “In order to advance beyond this cycle of violence and racism, we need to have the right conversation about how we got to this point, why we’re still here, and how we can pave a new path with compassion and love. That’s how we heal communities who are in pain.” Mike Pesca’s “The Gist” podcast – about 21 minutes in (after an informative piece about toilet-training cats) is his “Spiel” about Ferguson, “Hands up, don’t shoot” & “Black Lives Matter” – arguing, at least in part, that while it should not actually matter whether or not Michael Brown actually said “Don’t shoot” the fact that it appears he likely did not provides additional fodder for those who would use that to undermine the whole protest movement – that “Black Lives Matter” is a much better (“unassailable” is the word I think he uses) rallying cry. https://m.soundcloud/thegist/the-mingus-method-for-toilet-training-cats (this is a Soundcloud link – also available on Stitcher or Slate Bernie Miklasz’s column after the Sunday Rams blowout (1st time, I think, I’ve shared a sports column – after last week sharing the thoughts of football player Benjamin Watson, & also admiring the symbolic action of some of the Rams before their game – this is ME being open-minded . . .): m.stltoday/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-the-hands-up-rams-did-nothing-wrong/article_9956b867-39a0-5b21-9de8-c4ff61a4c4aa.html?mobile_touch=true Chris Rock’s recent interview with Frank Rich in New York magazine vulture/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-conversation.html - an excerpt: “Here’s the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it’s all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they’re not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.” “I lied to you” by Cara Reedy infamouslyshort/i-lied-to-you/ Written by a woman who grew up in St. Louis & was often the only black in the room. Lots of good thoughts & even more links (so much information out there!!) – I like that after challenging us all, she wraps up on a positive note: “We should be excited that America might finally have equality. We should be joining in and figuring out how we can help. This is exciting. This is democracy. You should be teaching your children about it. This is how we keep moving. PROGRESS” Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post regarding use of force by police. washingtonpost/opinions/eugene-robinson-its-a-crime-that-we-dont-know-how-many-people-police-shoot-to-death/2014/12/01/adedcb00-7998-11e4-b821-503cc7efed9e_story.html “Most white people in America are completely oblivious” by Tim Wise, 11/25/14. alternet.org/most-white-people-america-are-completely-oblivious?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark “Can we just put aside all we think we know about black communities (most of which could fit in a thimble, truth be told) and imagine what it must feel like to walk through life as the embodiment of other people’s fear, as a monster that haunts their dreams the way Freddie Kreuger does in the movies? To be the physical representation of what marks a neighborhood as bad, a school as bad, not because of anything you have actually done, but simply because of the color of your skin? Surely that is not an inconsequential weight to bear”
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 05:01:51 +0000
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