(*disclaimer* Only this first paragraph is directed toward you.) While your statement is correct, that's not what he said. He says: I think that means sometimes he feels some people call things racist when they aren't actually race driven, which isn't okay. Does it happen as often as normal run of the mill everyday racism? I don't believe so. But it certainly happens. Why? This happens. It doesn't excuse anything, but we can't deny it, just like we can't deny racism when it occurs. It's one of the reasons why I said I don't believe myself to be racist. While that might sound wishy-washy, as pointed out by someone else, it means I wasn't going to speak in absolutes. I wasn't going to say "I'm racist" or "I'm not racist", and that's where the awesome video Nom posted comes into play. All of us do something a little racist sometimes. Does the above woman's actions mean she's racist? No. Or maybe Yes. Or, like in the video, maybe she's done something that could be perceived as/is racist without meaning to do so. Maybe she had a little something racist stuck in her teeth. Maybe later while telling someone about her evening, they point it out, she picks the racist out, and we all move on. I really liked that video because he talks about us all. Not just whites and what they need to do, not just blacks and what they need to do, but about all of us and what we all need to do. That we should all realize we're imperfect, and it's the connection we maintain with those personal and common imperfections that allow us to be good people to each other and to ourselves. Even if we sometimes have something racist stuck in our teeth.
Interesting article that talks about the media's roll in the current racial tension. VERY interesting:
I'll just leave this here... http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-emerged-hiding-rescue-family-trapped-suv/story?id=19735432 Where's Jackson and Sharpton now?
Your argument is invalid - they're white. I wonder if this would have been such a big deal if NBC hadn't doctored the 911 tapes to make Zimmerman appear racist. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/nbc-fires-producer-over-edited-zimmerman-911-call-201124740.html
The same NBC that fired a rocket into the fuel tank of an SUV to "prove" how dangerous it was in a rollover? Or that showed a full-auto MAC-10 being fired during a special about semi-autos in the mid-90s? Color me shocked.
I heard that after pulling the family from the SUV George was the one to make the first 911 call. When the operator asked him what color the vehicle was he refused to answer and hung up.
Here's another article from a different angle on this part of the story. It paints America in a very flattering light.
Yet another example of commendable journalism. He wants his privacy respected? He's concerned about being targeted for his association with Zimmerman? Let's publish as many pictures of his house and family as we can find and tell everyone where he lives.
I'm surprised NBC hasn't found the video from the crash and showed it in reverse to make it look like GZ was stuffing the family into the burning vehicle.
If we're going to start discussions that are only tangentially related to the original incident (oh hi racism), how about the profiteering consuming media/journalism, and in the case of media how much of the fault lies with those propagating the BS versus the public happily eating it up. This could be expanded to profit being the most important part of almost all industries/services/institutions at the cost of any other consideration. For example, healthcare and insurance costs, the cost of education exponentially increasing over the value/ROI, working standards in many industries including manufacturing and foodservice*, the effects of this attitude on society in general, and the anticipated future effects. *Hurr durr stupid potheads get a real job, etc. Or not. I'll go back to my hole now.
Know what's (one of the many) awesome (things) about being white? When I did stupid things as a teenager and young adult (including committing some minor crimes), I never had to carry the banner for my entire fucking race while I pulled that shit. Neither do white celebrities. Black kids acting like thugs, NBA players playing hip hop MC, who cares? The only thing that truley unites all black people is the racism white people have perpetuated against them since some Dutch sailors landed on African soil several hundred years ag.
I don't know about everyone else but my favorite part about being white is that I don't have enough of my own problems so I worry intensely about other people's problems.
Really? Demographics seem to point to the white majority not being the majority much longer, meaning all those years they got to be all oppressive of the brown people could come back to bite them in the ass when those brown people become the majority. Theoretically, of course. But yeah, racism. No biggie. I'm white. At least not for another 20 years, at which point it becomes "EVERYONE IS RACIST AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE!"
Precisely. There's a fuck-ton of white guilt in that point of view, as well as projection. Not only does it assume that, but it assumes that minorities will be vengeance-minded and lack senses of justice and proportion (as future generations aren't responsible for past misdeeds). I'm reminded of fears just over a century ago of "Yellow Peril", that phobia that all the Asian "races" were going to join forces and overwhelm the Euro-American power bloc, ignoring the fact that China had just fought a 20-million death civil war and then had its ass handed to it by Japan (which promptly colonized Korea).
It sounds like you're implying that Zimmerman was acquitted on a contentious bylaw. Are you? Because, if we're going to have a fair dialogue about it, I would think you'd get more credibility if you didn't repeat the narrative that's false. I keep hearing things like, "that stand your ground law is BS!" and those sorts of things. But, I thought Zimmerman was found not guilty because there wasn't enough evidence to support the prosecution's case. Only the media attached the stand your ground law, not Zimmerman's defense. I believe it is a fair criticism. If a white person was beaten or killed by a black person or persons, and it had any real or implied racial motivation, would Sharpton or Jackson speak out against that racism? Because, I think if they did, then their voices would be heard more often by those they're trying to reach. Instead, because they clearly only have a one-sided agenda, many people tune them out.