Tag: Race Issues

Bernie’s Greatest Weakness

I like Bernie……but as with any candidate there are weaknesses in their stands that trouble some…..for me it is their stands on the international stage and of course…..WAR.

I am not too impressed with Bernie’s answers to the problems we are having in the Middle East….but that is not the only area that I will use to judge whether he gets my vote of not……

For others it is other issues…..and one area that has been pointed out as a weakness for Bernie is his stands on race and gender issues……

Race and gender issues frequently seem like an afterthought to him, and he doesn’t embrace them with anywhere near the fervor he devotes to economic inequality.

Source: Bernie’s Greatest Weakness | The Nation

I think that all aspects of a candidates stands and priorities should be looked at hard……especially if you are considering giving your vote to them…..

People need to remember that the person they vote for will be the master of the whole country not just some isolated area that appeals to them on an emotional basis……

Know your candidate!

Race in the US: Know your history

Last summer the question of race once again crept into the dialog of America…..it began with the killing of Mr. Brown by a police officer……

The situation spilled out of control as more and more killings were reported…..

We as a country need to have the honest racial dialog…..but there is the rub….HONEST….something in short supply in the good old US of A……

Before that conversation can take place we all have to know what it is we are talking about…..ignorance just feeds the hate and the misinformation…..if we understand history then we would be able to see why the killing of Brown became the “boiling” point……..

This article is well written and should be read……and read by everyone……

 

Race in the US: Know your history – Al Jazeera English.

“It’s Heritage Not Hate” (Wink Wink)

How many times have you heard this pile of steaming fecal matter?  Me?  I live in the South, South Mississippi to be exact, and I have heard it a lot in the last 50 years.

Some find it interesting that I rail against this type of lies not because I live in the South but rather because according to family legend I am related to Jefferson Davis through my maternal grandmother (not officially verified)……..people think because I maybe so related that I should be somehow on the side of the heritage thing……..WRONG!  Hatred is hatred no matter how you try to sugar coat it.

I have debated these deniers many times in the past…..not so much these days for being old I have no tolerance for bullshit……..when the heritage thing was pulled out I would say good and take out an old photo of 7 Southern generals and ask the person to identify 3 of them……..so far none have been able to do it…..closest they have come is 2.  For most it is hate not heritage……….

I offer this mini diatribe because of an incident recently……..

Two white men who placed Confederate flags at landmarks linked to Martin Luther King in Atlanta might face serious jail time if caught. Police have surveillance video taken from Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the police chief isn’t ruling out hate-crime charges, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The flags were placed at the church, once led by King, and at the nearby MLK National Historic Site. As it stands, the men could face charges including criminal trespassing and terroristic threats, reports 11 Alive.

“To place Confederate flags on the campus of Ebenezer Baptist Church—after this horrific act in Charleston [and] in the wake of all that’s happening in our country—whatever the message was it clearly was not about heritage,” says the Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer . “It was about hate.” A maintenance worker found the flags early this morning and alerted the National Park Service, which operates the King historical facility. “We do have images of two white males placing those flags on the campus,” says police chief George Turner. “We’re trying to identify those folk right now.”

I would wager that the person or persons that did this also use the heritage lie as a cover for their hatred and bigotry.  Whatcha think?

Now tell me again about this “heritage” thing.

Mississippi: Kinda Ironic?

My grandfather who was a Jicarilla Apache always said there was someone hiding in the wood pile…..he was referring to me and my blue eyes…he was joking because he knew my father was mostly white….but he enjoyed messing with me…..outta love.

I now live in Mississippi and I see every day how many of the people detest African-Americans mainly because they think they get special treatment by the government….of course if most of them would graduate from grade school they would see that ALL poor people in the state are being screwed by that same government, irregardless of race……

And then I read a report about research done in the South, which includes Mississippi, that will no doubt be pushed aside as some sort of nut job……

– A simple cheek swab can reveal a lot about your DNA, and for 6 million Americans who identify as white, mostly in the South, that swab has revealed African ancestry hidden in their genes, the Washington Post reports. One in 10 Southerners have at least 1% African origins, and the reason isn’t hard to pinpoint: Slavery. The study, conducted by 23andMe, also found African Americans today are more likely to have a European male ancestor (19%) than a female one (5%). “That, of course, reflects what historians know about white slave owners raping enslaved women who descended from Africa,” writes Jenée Desmond-Harris at Vox. The study even reveals that this blending started in the early 1800s.

The study examined the DNA profiles of about 160,000 people; the data was compared to where they lived and which race they identified with. They found people with less than 15% African genes didn’t identify as black and the average African American’s genes are at least 24% European. “Descriptors like ‘black’ and ‘white’ mean a lot less from a biological standpoint than they do from a cultural one,” writes the Post‘s Christopher Ingraham. Some other interesting finds, according to Discovery:

  • 5% of African Americans have 2% Native American ancestry; the highest is 14% in Oklahoma, where Native Americans were displaced after the Trail of Tears.
  • Iberian ancestry was common in Latinos from Florida and the Southwest.
  • Scandinavian ancestry is highly concentrated in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
  • Native ancestry among Latinos is concentrated in Texas and California.

Now thinking back I believe this is most likely a valid paper and study……whites will most likely want to hid this from their neighbors….oh the horror of possibly having black genes coursing through their body…..but makes a Hell of a story……Ironic those that hate the most are themselves at least partially those they hate…..

Here We Go Again!

Tis the season to be jolly……is not going to happen in Missouri……another teen was shot and killed by police in the Ferguson area……

The town of Berkeley, Mo., is roughly two miles from Ferguson, and today finds itself dealing with some Ferguson-like protests after a police officer shot and killed a black teen who was allegedly armed last night. Per a statement posted to Facebook by St. Louis County Police, during “a routine business check” at a Mobil gas station at 11:15pm, the officer approached two males who were standing outside the station; the officer says one pointed a gun at him. “Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him. The second subject fled the scene.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a woman at the scene identified the dead 18-year-old as her son, Antonio Martin.

The body lay on the ground for at least two hours, as what KMOV describes as “large crowds” of protesters began to gather at the scene. Its reporters describe police in riot gear as being present, and observed flashes of light. One reporter tells the BBC, “As soon as I got there police started firing off flash bangs which are used to, hopefully, disperse some of the crowd.” KSDK reports things heated up around 2am, when protesters reportedly hurled rocks and bricks. About a dozen protesters remained five hours after the shooting. Though his mother tells KSDK that Martin did not have a gun and was just on his way to see his girlfriend, county police confirm they have recovered the “the deceased subject’s” handgun. The Post-Dispatch notes that it appears there are security cameras at the scene; police say they’ll release that video at 8am EST.

This should not be a season of sadness……but sad to say the trend continues…..NO family either police or civilian should have to deal with the death of a loved one during this season……

The Nice White People Who Stick Their Heads in the Sand and Perpetuate Murderous Injustice | Alternet

We as a nation are trying to have that talk….not the sex one….but rather the one on race.

I hear people say that things are much better or maybe I should say better….then the days when black men were strung up for whistling at a white girl……that the country has learned to be more open and tolerant……first let me voice an opinion on the thinking…BULLSHIT!

Americans are doing what they always do…..delude themselves

 

The Nice White People Who Stick Their Heads in the Sand and Perpetuate Murderous Injustice | Alternet.

Are Cameras Really The Answer?

There have been numerous incidents where the police have shot and killed unarmed suspects…..many in this country are looking for an answer to this problem….

As usual the country is looking for a quick fix….instead of facing reality….sad to say that a simplistic approach may not be the best approach……..and there you have the “simple” answer…..make the cops wear body cameras…..this will force the cops to re-think their approach to a dangerous situation…….

Personally, I do not think that this is the sole answer….just the simplest one to implement…..and it seems that others feel the way I do….

Can body cameras really curb police abuse? Experts aren’t so sure.

Body cameras on police officers? Not so fast, say some researchers

Read the articles and please let me know what you think….is it or is it not…..the ANSWER?