Racism - Always and Forever

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/ame...cho-and-saka-after-euro-2020-final/ar-AAQgxzM
Jonathon Best has been sentenced for racist abuse of England players after the lost EURO Final

 

While laudable, as an American I feel a bit weird. The Weavers of Idaho held deplorable racial views. That doesn't mean that they deserved to be murdered.

 

I'd say maybe once they're about 2 and start having play dates is a good time to start.

 

All kids are. Us white kids are aware of what our parents are talking about in the next room long before we are talking much ourselves. And more susceptible to their "reasoning" at three than at thirteen or thirty...

My parents were Leadbelly fans; Dad's one and only leave during WWII-- 2 days in the winter of 1943-4 before boarding a troopship for England-- they spent half of at a Leadbelly concert, and they knew his story.

They literally routinely talked-- in 1952 when I was learning the language-- about civil rights and the changes that the nation needed to achieve; they were absolutely on the right side of history. But they were still children of the Jim Crow era; Dad referred to brazil nuts as "ni66er toes" and Mom did a whole lot of sniffing about "our kind of people"-- which clearly did not include colored people in fact, only in aspiration in some enlightened future. Or white people below a certain economic standard or of certain religions--even though my parents professed none themselves. (Ordinary American Protestantism was acceptable, but Mormonism, bible beating, snake handling were out-- even though an uncle bruised the bible every Sunday in Louisiana from his very own pulpit. And Catholicism was at least suspect...)

So I grew up anticipating, seeking, working towards, a future utopian, actual, real melting pot-- while also experiencing serious awareness of castes and classes and races. Child is father to the man. Every once in a while-- years while not days or hours while-- I'll respond to a question while distracted or careless, and look at my own words hanging in the air in front of me and wonder "Where the hell did that come from?? That's not me, never has been!" But it is-- 1955 is still in there somewhere, little disturbing bits of it now and then.

And I will testify, while I am still here, that 1955 really sucked on this front...

 

Our beloved former child care/preschool teacher is married to a fellow from Senegal as is (well, was) her sister. Five adorable girls in all .
A great learning experience and environment..
She is homeschooling now because of COVID, but my fear is there is more to it then that.

 

Parent / Grandparent / Uncle or Aunt

I have been doing this since they were old enough to hear their mother's uncles speak, but even if it's not directed at them, they will be exposed to it by the voices of classmates or others at school

They are far more "coded" here, though the last 3-4 years has really tossed that in the can

It's getting worse

 

A family friend of mine was Japanese in a small town where the main employer was a car factory. If you were Asian, especially if you were Japanese in 80s Detroit, it was not a great experience. They experienced all sorts of nasty comments in school. From both students and teachers.

 

I had a soccer coach when I was 9 or 10 who called a Korean kid on the team Reverend Moon.

 

Reading these posts is truly an interesting anthropology experience.

 

It's down to the parents. My best friend's daughter was 10 before it became a thing, following the George Floyd protests.

 

There are at least two massive twitter threads on racism and black kids. Black people sharing their first experiences in racism. It is simply heart breaking. Some of the stories may break one down. Jemele Hill started one of those twitter convos. She is right, this history must also be written from that perspective.

1456350128843866112 is not a valid tweet id

 

Admittedly my friend's kid was raised in a minority neighborhood and went to a school with hardly any white kids in a major city, so she was rarely in a position where she would be bullied for her race. She was bullied about her glasses.

 

Racial differences ... how? Darker vs. lighter skin, as with blonde vs. dark hair? Sure OK. But there ain't no way that 2 year old kids are making other kinds of racial distinctions.

 

7 years of age in Kentucky. That was the first time I remember. and only because it was a slur reserved for Asians. And only because I went home and asked my parents what a Ch!nk was. * And they never heard that word either. I haven't said this in a while but I do consider myself lucky. My skin color is lighter than the average Latino, or (I could only assume) I would have been subjected to more racism. I skew more towards Messi than George Lopez.

Also, I feel sorry for minorities who do try to occupy these areas where there are not a lot of people of color. For my family growing up, we were treated as a curiosity with the occasional bigotry. When more of the same minorities arrive is when people get uneasy.

* later in life did I realize I grew up around morons.

 

I fear these guys are going to walk

Judge says 'there appears to be intentional discrimination' in Arbery jury selection, but allows trial to move forward with 1 Black juror.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/us/ahmaud-arbery-jury-what-we-know/index.html

 

Aren't they talking more about race as a societal concept than just having sight, though? The fact that babies can physically see people look different doesn't mean they know that some people view people of a different colour better or worse than themselves or others. That usually comes from what they see around them, often their parents as we've said.

Unless parents have a definitive position in favour or tolerance, (and not just of race but of religion, gender, income levels, attractiveness, disability and other differences), the kid's won't necessarily learn it.

In fact they're just as likely to learn the opposite.

 

I have been thinking about the unusual activities in both the Arbery and Rittenhouse cases.
For the Arbery jury, I found it odd that the judge would determine there was "deliberate discrimination."

To answer your question, appeals by prosecutors after a "non-guilty" verdict (acquittal) are extraordinarily rare, due to the Double Jeopardy Clause of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. Generally speaking, there is no appeal by the prosecutors after an acquittal, assuming the acquittal was the final verdict in the case. There have been a few exceptions (especially if there has been no final determination), though, such as Blueford v. Arkansas (2012), where there was a deadlocked jury after acquittal on two more serious counts.

There has to be some serious underlying issue (bribing jurors, perhaps). Even then, it might not be a retrial for the defendants for the underlying crime.

This comment from the article is amazing:

"It would appear that White males born in the South, over 40 years of age, without four-year college degrees, sometimes euphemistically known as 'Bubba' or 'Joe Six Pack,' seem to be significantly underrepresented," defense attorney Kevin Gough, who represents Bryan, told the court Friday.

"Without meaning to be stereotypical in any way, I do think there is a real question in this case whether that demographic is underrepresented in this jury pool," Gough added. "And if it is, then we have a problem with that."

Huh? There is one African American and it is middle-age white dudes who are underrepresented?
Oh, no, not "meaning to be stereotypical in any way."

"CNN Legal Analyst" Page Pate: "You have no legal right to a 'Bubba'-rich jury pool."

 

My Colombian in-laws are visiting. A 30 yr old niece & her mom. And they're as white as me. It's weird seeing them talk in Spanish because the people you see around here speaking it are mostly darker skinned folks from Mexico & Central America. Guess my gringo brain expects French or German.

 

The Spanish speak Spanish.

 

This must be bullshit.
We know from research that kids up till the age of around 1.5-2 have perfect memory for faces (also perfect memory for sounds/music).
I read from identical twins that they could fool anybody but the little siblings with swapping names.
So given this ability it's more likely it fits in the perfect memory of the kids than an awareness of race.
Race is a concept you teach people, it's not a trait like smell or so.
So how can a kid at that 3 months distinguish by a concept it even can't be taught.
What a bullshit.