Outrage in Oregon?
I got an email yesterday with this link and the comment, "Thought you might be interested........my husband asked the obvious question.......what if it were four white guys and a black man with a white wife?" So I click on the link to see what's what. First thought, how did that mascot get past the PC police? Aren't there some womynists or something somewhere on that campus who are emotionally traumatized and oppressed by that mascot?
Then I read the article. Groan, why did these fools have to be black? And why does the article give more detail about these boys' game stats than it does about what they did? About half the video clip talked about football as well. Under age and in a bar? Hmmm... Am I surprised by the incident? No, stupid people come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. Had it been me in that situation those boys would be sporting some bruises and a limp (one of my personalities has a violent streak and she doesn't get out much).
As to the question about what would be the reaction had it been four white boys harassing an interracial couple, specifically a black man with a white wife. Well no doubt that it would be all over the news. Boycotts would have already been planned, expulsions called for, and sensitivity training for everybody! There would probably already be insinuations that our hypothetical white boys would get off because, of course, the justice system is biased in favour of white folk. Talk of Jim Crow would be thick in the air.
But because this was some black boys acting the fool nobody makes as big a deal about it. Everybody expects white people to do racist things but when black folk do it mum's the word. Which is somewhat understandable. I mean who can fathom that after having suffered through slavery, racial oppression, and then liberation a people would then turn around and imitate the behaviour of those who had oppressed them a generation or two before? Makes no sense right? But it happens.
It's interesting to note that this kid started harassing the woman first. In the minds of racial purists women bear the burden of keeping the race "pure" by not fraternizing with those outside the race. They are only allowed to associate (and reproduce) with those of their own race. What's even more interesting is that this was (and still is) the attitude of white supremacists. Why do you think they always went ballistic at the mere thought of a black man perhaps having an interest in a white woman? Gotta protect the women to keep the race "pure". It's really sad that this kid has taken on an attitude that has caused black people so much grief.
Check out Marriage, Class and Colour in Nineteenth-Century Cuba: A study of racial attitudes and sexual values in a slave society by Verena Martinez-Alier for discussion of attitudes towards interracial couples.
I thought about throwing in a few allegedlys and "innocent until proven guilty" and what not but you know all of that already right?
Then I read the article. Groan, why did these fools have to be black? And why does the article give more detail about these boys' game stats than it does about what they did? About half the video clip talked about football as well. Under age and in a bar? Hmmm... Am I surprised by the incident? No, stupid people come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. Had it been me in that situation those boys would be sporting some bruises and a limp (one of my personalities has a violent streak and she doesn't get out much).
As to the question about what would be the reaction had it been four white boys harassing an interracial couple, specifically a black man with a white wife. Well no doubt that it would be all over the news. Boycotts would have already been planned, expulsions called for, and sensitivity training for everybody! There would probably already be insinuations that our hypothetical white boys would get off because, of course, the justice system is biased in favour of white folk. Talk of Jim Crow would be thick in the air.
But because this was some black boys acting the fool nobody makes as big a deal about it. Everybody expects white people to do racist things but when black folk do it mum's the word. Which is somewhat understandable. I mean who can fathom that after having suffered through slavery, racial oppression, and then liberation a people would then turn around and imitate the behaviour of those who had oppressed them a generation or two before? Makes no sense right? But it happens.
It's interesting to note that this kid started harassing the woman first. In the minds of racial purists women bear the burden of keeping the race "pure" by not fraternizing with those outside the race. They are only allowed to associate (and reproduce) with those of their own race. What's even more interesting is that this was (and still is) the attitude of white supremacists. Why do you think they always went ballistic at the mere thought of a black man perhaps having an interest in a white woman? Gotta protect the women to keep the race "pure". It's really sad that this kid has taken on an attitude that has caused black people so much grief.
Check out Marriage, Class and Colour in Nineteenth-Century Cuba: A study of racial attitudes and sexual values in a slave society by Verena Martinez-Alier for discussion of attitudes towards interracial couples.
I thought about throwing in a few allegedlys and "innocent until proven guilty" and what not but you know all of that already right?
Comments
Post a Comment