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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

I find racism a too easy label. And when I listened to her, I found more of a gadfly. Someone who challenges the nation of racism. Still if she is fired... well it won't make my life change at all.

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No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

Ah yes, just challenging the notion of race.

тАЬI often chuckle at the ads on TV which show a Black man married to a white woman in an upper-class picket-fence house,тАЭ she said, adding, тАЬThey never show Blacks the way they really are: a bunch of single moms with a bunch of guys who float in and out. Kids by different men.тАЭ

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

Is she not allowed to say that?

I know a Puerto Rican man in Paterson NJ who was changing a tire in his neighborhood when he was robbed by a black guy. Is he a racist for wanting to move to Clifton or Totowa?

And I know of several black women who are single mothers - several kids before 21 and a few fathers. They climbed out of a hole (work as clerks where I worked). Can we not worry about that?

I volunteer in Paterson. We see lots of motivated kids (HS age) some are interns where I volunteer. Very few have been African American in the 9 years I have been volunteering.

Can we not observe and worry? Wonder?

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Bob Eno's avatar

Mr. McKenna, if your tire-changing man wants to move because he is looking for a lower crime area that makes perfect sense. If he wants to move because his assailant had black skin he ought to think about what he'd do if his assailant had had white skin.

There are many reasons why black people may more frequently break the law or become single mothers. Poverty, urban economic segregation, alienation and cynicism due to longstanding social prejudice (which has, indeed, gutted optimistic motivation), unequal incarceration standards, and so forth. But dark complexion is not one of them.

When you observe and wonder, I hope you bear in mind that the effects you see are not due to any simple, essential cause: skin pigment. Professor Wax's stream of comments all reduce to: good things come from white skinned people; people with different skin color don't create good things and what they're good at creating are bad things.

I admire you for volunteering.

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Craig Butcher's avatar

тАЬI often chuckle at the ads on TV which show a Black man married to a white woman in an upper-class picket-fence house,тАЭ she said, adding, тАЬThey never show Blacks the way they really are: a bunch of single moms with a bunch of guys who float in and out. Kids by different men.тАЭ

"I am amused when our culture doesn't show all White men the way they really are: a bunch of overweight redneck fentanyl addicts who drive pickup trucks with confederate decals and AR-15's in the gunrack".

Cheese with your crackers, anyone?

Racism is not just KKK murderers burning crosses and blowing up black churches. It's more extensive and more subtle and doesn't even require personal malice toward anyone in particular.

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No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

She is allowed to say whatever she wants. When she makes sweeping statements about an entire race of people, she should expect people to pushback against her racism and the university is not curbing her academic freedom by firing her. At this point, we have exhausted this debate. IтАЩm going to stop responding lest I say something uncivil. Your anecdotes however, arenтАЩt data, I would ask you to refrain from using them in an argument.

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

Actually argument is not what I am after. In fact it is impossible without doing a full paper on a subject. And I don't want to. But you seem satisfied that racism is the label to use against her. I do not.

Racist is a chainsaw. I prefer to see her as a frustrated person and a gadfly.

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Carolyn Spence's avatar

Opinions are not appropriate in a learning environment, unless it is to discuss the whole subject - opinion, observation, experience, drawing conclusions and testing them out.

Her sharing her observations and conclusions she has drawn is spreading the bias that has developed in herself. This is what makes it racist.

If I say that every peach pie I have ever smelled or tasted is gross, I am spreading bias. But when the listener approaches their next peach pie and chooses not to try it, the pie's feeling will not be hurt nor will it have missed an opportunity to provide better for its children.

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No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

When she repeatedly makes racist statements, sheтАЩs a racist. Providing cover for her bigotry isnтАЩt something you need to do.

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

Easy to label as racist. I just don't see it. You are clearly angry. No need to be. The anecdote you shared above about her commenting on black men in ads... is that racist or her fair comment?

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Ben Gruder's avatar

The 'tell' in her comment is "they never show BLACKS as they REALLY are". That's kind of saying blacks are all like this. Bigoted by definition.

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No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

I think her comment above is clearly racist. IтАЩm not so much angry as frustrated that here you are providing cover for a bigot. Incidentally, itтАЩs not the only racist thing she has said. Yet, you seem to be okay with it.

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