Open Thread

14 Responses to Open Thread

1. E says:

   July 22, 2010 at 1:45 pm

   I just came back from what was going to be a nice quiet lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, after having a frantic morning. They were very busy (good to see after some really slow months). Unfortunately, the hateful old bastards in the booth next to me were talking loud enough for me to hear most of their venomous screed – pro-Tea Party and anti-immigrants & Muslims. I was thankful my brown-skinned son wasn’t with me. I wanted to leave – almost did leave, and would have if my son had been there – but knowing the family that owns this restaurant and the struggles they’ve had recently, I decided to stay. And I decided not to say anything to the cockroaches. I feel bad about that – guilty – but I was afraid of doing something that could hurt the family’s business.
   I’ve never heard such a long, hate-filled conversation in a restaurant like that – and in a restaurant owned by an interracial family to boot. I also gathered that the two slimeballs weren’t local, so they must not have known about the racially mixed owners. Or maybe they did, and that was part of their vicious thrill.
2. Terri says:

   July 22, 2010 at 2:29 pm

   Wow, there’s a real irony to eating in a Mexican restaurant while complaining about immigrants and how they don’t contribute to U.S. society. I’d never want to reduce a culture’s contribution simply to its food, but wow…

   Thanks for sharing, E. I sometimes find myself in similar situations where I have competing urges to stay/go or speak/stay silent.
3. Lyonside says:

   July 22, 2010 at 9:21 pm

   E – I had a really similar experience at my favorite diner a few years ago (my daughter wasn’t very verbal, so it had to be a few years ago). The waitstaff is mostly a mix of white European and Middle Eastern, the owner’s daughter is biracial or an Asian adoptee (not sure), there’s at least one biracial or African-American waitress. The menu is typical American and Greek diner food. The kitchen and busing crew is a mix of white and Latino. In short, it’s a snapshot of the area I live in.

   This group of 4 older folks, all white, were mouthing off about Obama, “those people” taking over, “illegals” and the like. I fumed for a few minutes, and countered by talking directly to my husband FAIRLY LOUDLY while I countered every one of their talking “points (I wasn’t yelling, but I have a stage-trained voice and it carries), and I think I mentioned the horrors of oblivious privilege and bigotry. The spouse was a little embarrassed, but I figured 1) the group was too ignorant to notice that the brown people next to them were talking about THEM, and 2) at least this way I was effectively drowning them out.
4. mary colby says:

   July 22, 2010 at 10:37 pm

   just posted pics from my twin sons birthday party. they invited 4 little boys to join them. so that means that out of the 6 boys present…..5 of them were kids of color! my kids are bi-racial. now we live in a very NON-diverse community in Eastern WA state. after posting the pic, realizing what was before my eyes….i wanted to shout my excitement. however, being from a NON-diverse community, i know that my realization would not be met with great exuberance. at any rate. we are thankful, because out of the entire school district, we have magically landed at a school that has a far higher rate of diversity. maybe because it’s a choice/charter school? i don’t know, but I am grateful, because I know that my children are not growing up in a monochromatic world….despite living in a very non-diverse area. and that is what is on my mind today.
5. colleen says:

   July 23, 2010 at 11:11 am

   My son is adopted from Ethiopia. He is 2. My husband is bi-racial (Black and White). I am a White woman. My son is two and very interested in fire trucks/ambulances/police cars. I struggle with what to tell him about the police. My experience as a White woman will be much different than my son’s experience where police are concerned. They certainly have been different for me and my husband. Do I tell my son that police are his friends? I am not sure how to handle it well. Any suggestions? Thanks!
6. Kendra says:

   July 23, 2010 at 12:27 pm

   I need some help, here.

   A friend who I respect posted this article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703724104575379630952309408.html#articleTabs_comments

   (It’s brief) on his Facebook page. I’d like to respond, but am stymied by my own emotional reaction. It seems like he’s complaining about non-specific “policies” in this really defensive way, but I can’t go any farther than that in my thinking.

   Anyone want to help with some analysis?
7. Julia says:

   July 23, 2010 at 2:27 pm

   Kendra,
   I think I understand your confusion with this piece. It’s a tricky one.

   Parts of this article seem to me to be laughably false.
   This, for example: “After a full generation of such debate, WASP elites have fallen by the wayside and a plethora of government-enforced diversity policies have marginalized many white workers.” White workers marginalized?

   And this: “But the extrapolation of this logic to all “people of color”—especially since 1965, when new immigration laws dramatically altered the demographic makeup of the U.S.—moved affirmative action away from remediation and toward discrimination, this time against whites.”
   Whites are discriminated against? Really? (And what does remediation through affirmative action, if not replacing white employees with black ones, male employees with female ones?)

   His insistence on ending affirmative action is confusing, given the concern he purports to feel about inequalities experienced by African Americans.

   The article seems to be making the argument that non-black people of color are better off than African Americans, and so should not benefit from affirmative action programs that have given nonwhites “special consideration.”

   Another aspect of his argument is that these affirmative action laws have viewed whites as “a fungible monolith.” I don’t understand what he means by this, but I suspect it has to do with my next point.

   And another argument I sense lurking below the surface has to do with a fundamental misunderstanding of what is meant by “white privilege.” Webb seems to believe that poor whites cannot hold white privilege–which is to say that he misses the point of what white privilege means. And perhaps this is how he feels affirmative action has created a “white monolith.” But white privilege is pretty monolithic–that doesn’t mean that individual white people don’t differ in their economic status, educational achievement, etc.

   Interestingly, or perhaps tellingly, Webb provides no evidence to support any of his claims. I suspect that is because he’d be hard pressed to find any.

   It’s also a rather meandering disorganized piece. I think this may be part of what you were finding so hard to get your head around.

   I’m interested to hear others’ thoughts.
8. Andrea says:

   July 23, 2010 at 2:57 pm

   There was a study of Ivy League admission practices last week that indicated that poor, rural white students are far less likely to be admitted to colleges, particularly if they’ve participated in FFA or Young Republican leagues or anything else stereotypically rural/red state. Wealthy white kids and kids of color of any economic background are a lot less likely to be admitted.

   mod note: Andrea, Your opinion is valid, but I’m omitting the rest of your comment because I don’t really want us to get into a discussion about whether affirmative action is good/bad or fair/unfair or whatever. I’d rather we help Kendra with what she asked for, namely help analyzing the WSJ article.
9. Andrea says:

   July 23, 2010 at 3:05 pm

   This is the study by the Princeton professor I am referring to and it may be what The Wall Street Journal column is talking about as well:

   http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2010/07/how_diversity_punishes_asians.html
10. E says:

    July 23, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    colleen

    I think that at this age, you want him to be able to trust police officers (and EMTs and firefighters) in case he is involved in an emergency situation (he is lost, or in a car accident, etc.) because they will be interacting with him and it would help him be less upset or afraid. And then I guess you would have to address other police-minority issues at age appropriate levels.

    But I would encourage you to get to know your emergency responders in your area. Many of them have special days or events for children to get to look at the equipment and talk to police, etc., about safety issues and so forth. You might be able to meet a Black officer to whom you could talk about your concerns. And your son could develop a relationship with him or her that would gradually, as he ages, give him more insight into police work and the distrust that often exists between them and minorities. And to be really blunt, being friendly with the officers makes him more than just some Black kid in the neighborhood.
11. A Heads Up says:

    July 24, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    Black and mixed race donors are needed for
    bone marrow registry to save children like her.

    http://m.yahoo.com/w/ynews/article/entertainment/3%3B_ylt=A0WTcOKqEEtMQUUAiAIp89w4?url=http%3A%2F%2Fxml.news.yahoo.com%2Fus%2Fnews%2Frss%2Frichstoryrss.html%3Fu%3D%2Fap%2F20100724%2Fap_en_ot%2Fus_broadway_child_actor_leukemia&ref_w=frontdoors&.tsrc=yahoo&.intl=US&.lang=en
12. Umm says:

    July 24, 2010 at 9:25 pm

    I apologize for my passive-aggressive comment about John Raible. I take back what I said.

    He explains himself well here:
    http://johnraible.wordpress.com/

    I look forward to when he returns from vacation and I can see the video he posted and access it with the correct password.
13. colleen says:

    July 26, 2010 at 9:19 am

    Hi E-

    That is a great suggestion. Many thanks!
14. Julia says:

    July 26, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    Kendra,
    I just saw this and thought of you: http://www.theatlantic.com/ta-nehisi-coates