Open thread

10 Responses to Open thread

1. Cassandra Kennedy says:

   September 17, 2009 at 4:54 pm

   Re: Explaining Michael Jackson.
   Dear Ms. Dwyer–I take offense to your verbiage on MJ because you seem to take it upon yourself to explain his whole existence. I grew up with him also and had agruements with my cousins as to who was going to marry him first. What really ticked my off — Michael Jackson was not a white lady; yes he changed his ‘features’ but he didn’t dip himself in a vat of bleach to change his complexion. He had the same disease that I do–VITILIGO which is an autoimmune disease that stops the melanin in our skin from reproducing. Therefore we become ‘white’ looking (not to be confused with wanting to be white, oh my) . As a chocolate hued black woman who has this disease accepting ourselves within a society of people who stare at me, point at me, laugh at me, talk about me as though I can’t hear them, I have to remind myself that I have a bittersweet disease; vitiligo isn’t physically painful but emotionally it can be. It would have been beneficial to mention to your child that people are themselves and what the do to themselves is their choice; instead of ” a lot of people alter their looks when they’re not happy.” Are you happy?? What would you alter if you weren’t?
2. calmom says:

   September 18, 2009 at 12:42 am

   I’m looking for an Oral Language Piece for my 11 year old daughter. She has always done very well, but I’m stumped when it comes to a piece for her this year. I’d like something with the point of view of a black girl, serious and age appropriate(a tear jerker would be great!) and it needs to be recited within 3-5 minutes. Last year she did Nettie’s Trip South and made it to the regionals.
3. Saph says:

   September 18, 2009 at 10:29 pm

   Hi everyone,
   I found this blog after my five year old enrolled in a predominantly white elementary school and immediately began asking me if she could peel the brown skin off. I’ve been stalking it ever since and I love the discussions. Here’s what’s on my mind…
   Does anyone else feel that racial intolerance is growing or is it just me? I live in Atlanta and just a few days ago a Black woman was savagely beaten in a local restaurant by a White man. The woman was with her 7 year old daughter. A week before this incident, while standing in the check-out line in Walmart, a White man told a Black woman to ‘shut that child up or I will’. He then proceeded to slap her 18 month old baby across the face repeatedly.
   Um…..excuse me? What’s really going on? These incidents happened in Metro Atlanta in 2009. I can’t shake the feeling that things are getting very out of control. I’d love to hear some other thoughts on this matter.

   Just to add another dimension to the conversation, I’ll share this incident. I was at a park in a predominantly White part of Atlanta with my two children (we are all African-American) one afternoon this week. I was approached by a White man who stated that he was’ trying out a new lens’ and asked if he could take some shots of my children while they were playing. I smiled and said, “I’d prefer if you didn’t.” He snapped, asked me ‘Why not?’ and became briefly confrontational. He then left without asking anyone else at the busy park for permission to photograph their children. The way I process this incident is shaped by my knowledge of these other two acts of violence. I am a stay-at-home mom and am frequently out in public with my two children. I am actually starting to feel (dum ,dum, dum)….afraid.
4. Kristen says:

   September 19, 2009 at 12:53 am

   Look who’s front and center on Disney’s princess page! http://disney.go.com/princess
5. Andrea says:

   September 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm

   Saph, I suspect there are crazy, racist people who are acting crazier and more abusive because Obama is in office and the tension over health care and the joblessness, etc. I hope the slimeball who slapped the baby has been charged with assault. He can’t be mentally well.

   I’d hope they’re isolated incidents, but people’s emotions are running high.
6. Josie says:

   September 20, 2009 at 3:01 am

   Saph- I follow these stories from Europe and worry about moving back to the US. I am black (biracial b/w but for practical purposes black), my husband is white and our son so far looks more white than anything. Husband wants to move to Madison, wis. He’s never been, just researched it online, and was surprised when I asked about diversity there.
7. Andrea says:

   September 20, 2009 at 3:33 pm

   Josie, Madison is a college town, one of the most liberal in the Midwest, and I suspect there are a lot of students and faculty members from foreign countries if it’s anything like our small town state university. The hospital is also bound to have a number of doctors from other countries. The town itself likely has a lot of Hmong who settled in the area after the Vietnam War. I’d be surprised if you werent’ able to find people you had things in common with. Madison’s not really a big city, but it’s large enough to have quite a bit of diversity by Midwestern standards.
8. Andrea says:

   September 20, 2009 at 3:41 pm

   Looking at Wikipedia, Madison is 83 percent white, with about 5 percent black, 5 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian (likely Hmong) and the rest American Indian or biracial. Its nickname is “the left coast of Wisconsin” but the whole of Wisconsin makes North Dakota look like San Francisco. It’s a place I once considered trying to move to myself. Wisconsin is a really beautiful state.
9. dersk says:

   September 21, 2009 at 7:38 am

   FWIW, Madison and the Minneapolis / St. Paul twin cities are supposed to be some of the more liberal cities in the country, let alone the Midwest.
10. Andrea says:

    September 21, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    I think I misspoke there. I meant North Dakota is considerably more conservative than Wisconsin. Madison is probably more conservative than San Francisco but very liberal by Midwestern standards, as many college towns would be. The Twin Cities in Minnesota are also of a more liberal bent. They’re very much different from the smaller towns elsewhere in Minnesota that are more white and more conservative. I suspect the same might be true of the small towns in Wisconsin. Madison is about 230,000. But it’s a very green, pretty city in summer from what I remember of it, and has a number of highly educated people and good schools. I also like the Twin Cities, though the economy there currently stinks. If I had a choice, I’d probably live in one of the suburbs of St. Paul and avoid downtown Minneapolis, which seems to have a drive by shooting reported every few months. I think there’s some gang activity going on there. There are parts of the city that aren’t safe to walk in after dark.