By the way, I was having trouble remembering Morton Downey Jr’s name so I googled “Who was the asshole smoking talk show host in the 80’s?” and Google knew exactly who I meant.
Timex
3823
It’s a balancing act. But to be honest, if you’re sitting next to some young person in class who just goes off on how much he hates Africans, that they’re animals, that google was right to label them as apes… it’s hard to concentrate and you begin to wonder if you’re actually safe next to someone like that. They’re literally labeling you as less than human which usually equates to not having human rights. Try dealing with that everyday… my favorite is when they tell you go back to Africa as if you’ve been there before… ever. Now i understand there’s this idea if someone’s skin is thick as it should be that’s not a problem… but that’s not the reality.
You’ve had this happen in class in college?
I mean, maybe you go to some school that is just the polar opposite of every academic environment I have ever been in, but this seems insane to me. Where does such a thing occur?
Nesrie
3824
Not all those things happened in one sitting, but those are experiences I’ve had in my life. The Google one is obviously very recent, and that was just an exchange online from a person I no-longer associate with who apparently had no idea I was biracial because… it just never came up. It’s not like I introduce myself online followed by my race.
I have been told to go back to Africa, multiple times. I’ve been called a Gorilla as a child, teen and an adult. I remember the first time I was told I couldn’t touch a Nintendo controller because I’d get it dirty. I remember when was sitting in class and someone thought genecide wasn’t really that big of a deal because… they’re black. And i remember the first time I sat across from a man and realized he thought I was less than human. It’s not a comfortable position to be in, and it certainly triggers your flight or fight response.
And let’s keep in mind here, I’m biracial. If I did my hair a certain way half the people around here can’t even guess what race I am. The bigots are on the look out for it though; they always know.
So when someone talks about Freedom of Speech and Race Cards, I just have to wonder what experiences they’ve had. I’ve been nervous in an academic setting, and if you think that sort of thing doesn’t distract you, you’re nuts. I also missed school for a few days when I was younger because of the issues.
Now if people here tell me I’m just supposed to assume these people aren’t serious, that they’re jokes about subhumans and murder are just freedom of speech issues, i just have to know what experiences you’ve had that would make you think that. I mean we had a biracial couple here a few years ago experience burning KKK in their yard. It was more than vandalism. They were trying to chase them out of the neighborhood. That stuff is real.
Cold comfort, to be sure, but the events and dialog in this country over the past couple of years have, at very least, reduced the number of people who try to say that racism doesn’t exist anymore*. Which is maybe why “the race card” has been replaced by “political correctness.” Because there’s no denying racism now so the new tact is to say that people trying to make you feel bad about being racist are just being politically correct and can be dismissed accordingly. Hmmm… Is political correctness being applied to concerns about climate change?
*Though, as Nesrie’s stories make clear, there’s sill no shortage of people who will try to explain away specific incidents of racism.
Timex
3826
Not all those things happened in one sitting, but those are experiences I’ve had in my life. The Google one is obviously very recent, and that was just an exchange online from a person I no-longer associate with who apparently had no idea I was biracial because… it just never came up. It’s not like I introduce myself online followed by my race.
I have been told to go back to Africa, multiple times. I’ve been called a Gorilla as a child, teen and an adult. I remember the first time I was told I couldn’t touch a Nintendo controller because I’d get it dirty. I remember when was sitting in class and someone thought genecide wasn’t really that big of a deal because… they’re black. And i remember the first time I sat across from a man and realized he thought I was less than human. It’s not a comfortable position to be in, and it certainly triggers your flight or fight response.
To be clear here, I absolutely know for a fact that racism exists.
But has it happened in a university classroom like you describe? That’s the part that I can’t reconcile with any experience I’ve had in academia, ever. I literally cannot imagine a situation where, in class, someone would say something like telling a black person to go back to Africa.
Nesrie
3827
Being told to go back to Africa and saying I was a Gorilla and a black sheep was elementary and junior high. We moved for high school so there was less of that there. The genecide remark was in college. Basically the same scenario described, one was a country one was a country from Africa and one individuals response to why one was more important than the other basically boiled down to one country is just a bunch of brown people. Oh and racism is just water under the bridge we need to stop talking about. That was freshmen general ed kind of class.
I had a high school teacher who was a captain in my guard unit say one time that he wished he could re-institute slavery. My reply before walking away was, “I pity your students.”
My family is from the south. I was raised steeped in racism, not allowed to play with minorities, told my penis would be cut off if I ever touched a black girl, etc. That shit is poison to the mind.
I had a film professor in college who wept rapturously while playing Triumph of The Will and stood up and applauded when the Klan rode in during Birth of a Nation.
I also had to change barbers five years ago because the barber I’d been going to refused service to a black man.
politicians man… you have to be a fucking sociopath, masochist, or both… This country is literally the laughing stock of the world… and probably the universe.
Strollen
3832
So 50% of those polled said they’d be embarrassed if Trump was President. What’s up with the other half?
Timex
3833
What kind of messed up colleges did you people go to?
Without the context of your professor’s leanings on race, this can be chalked up to a film nut being overcome by the actual technical prowess of both movies. They are taught in most film schools for a reason. We watched them and specifically had two discussions. One about their impact on the art and science of filmmaking, and another on their ideology and impact on propaganda.
Had the same experience (those two discussions) in my not-film school. I’m all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but it would still take someone particularly “out of touch” to applaud as the Klan rode in. Thankfully, my prof had some common sense. I went to college a long time ago, and racist crap was certainly there. Same with anti-Semitic; I witnessed someone being asked where their tail and horns were after identifying as Jewish.
Hell, I had a philosophy professor who had a strong predilection for German philosophers favored by members of the Nazi party and who always wore the exact same pair of jeans which featured a very stark, angular-looking Eagle on the back-right pocket. . .
Back to what’s really important at this time of year: calling each other liars.
FactCheck.org has declared Trump “The King of Whoppers”, a title typically reserved for fast food monarchs.
It’s been a banner year for political whoppers — and for one teller of tall tales in particular: Donald Trump.
In the 12 years of FactCheck.org’s existence, we’ve never seen his match.
He stands out not only for the sheer number of his factually false claims, but also for his brazen refusals to admit error when proven wrong.
Politifact has awarded Trump the not-so-sought-after “Lie of the Year” award.
It’s the trope on Trump: He’s authentic, a straight-talker, less scripted than traditional politicians. That’s because Donald Trump doesn’t let facts slow him down. Bending the truth or being unhampered by accuracy is a strategy he has followed for years.
…
In considering our annual Lie of the Year, we found our only real contenders were Trump’s – his various statements also led our Readers’ Poll. But it was hard to single one out from the others. So we have rolled them into one big trophy.
Trump of course, denies he has ever said anything close to an untruth:
What else…? Eh, there’s always some Trump Drama ™ going on somewhere. The other night, after declaring the act of urinating to be “disgusting” if it involves Hilary, he said this about Clinton’s 2008 run for president:
After pretty much every news outlet in the world called the remark “vulgar” (and the coverage was almost certainly the point), Trump of course called them all idiots for thinking that using the Yiddish word for “penis” as a verb might be anything but above-board:
He cited a NPR reporter who apparently used the term regarding the 1984 Mondale/Ferraro run as evidence that since someone else once said it, it’s just fine.
Scuzz
3840
Man, after reading some of the posts above I guess Fresno State in the 70s was a beacon of enlightenment. In my 8 years of college (yea I know) I can’t ever remember an incident as described above. I was a Radio-TV major and did see Birth of a Nation in film history class.
I wonder if it might have to do with something of a cohort effect. In the 70’s, college education was far rarer than as time went on. Perhaps the environment reflects that in other ways, such as treating it with less respect as it becomes more mainstream. Heaven knows there was plenty of overt racism in the 70’s (even in Fresno, I’m sure).
