Comments on: Hello Jim Crow!

By: Melinda Bishop

Melinda Bishop — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:00:01 +0000

This is 2009. When will it stop? Never.

I’m with Sundjata and Annie. By not standing up for what is right, we will continue to see incidents like this.

America will NEVER be “post-racial”. Whoever says that is living a lie. They would prefer to be in denial and look the other way.

@ Jonquil…yes, I agree with you 100%. It seems to be an eye-opener for some white-identified people when they realize that life is not smooth sailing for most POC. This is what riles me up, because although I’m biracial and so light that I could be white, I’m still a POC who experiences discrimination on a daily basis. I don’t have the luxury of being surprised about anything anymore. What you said is so true. And at least you, unlike some people I know in real life, are willing to actually acknowledge that there is a problem in society.

@ Trinidad…that is a nice peaceful approach, but it also smacks of avoidance. It only perpetuates the sense of accepting the status quo, rather than calling people out on their bullshit. My husband is always saying that black people should “rise above” and “take responsibility”, but this is because he is unaware of his position as a white male in America. He is not a Black or biracial woman like me. I’ve explained that to simply “rise above” every petty insult and act of discrimination, whether blatant or subtle, simply means giving up and giving in.

That is something I refuse to do.

By: Momsomniac

Momsomniac — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:12:40 +0000

“Indians don’t exist anymore” especially if you don’t look like the posters. Indeed. The expectation of what various Native people in the US will “look like” is devoid of any knowledge of our histories.

By: opit

opit — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:31:37 +0000

It look there’s more than one petittion on the go. I was e-mailed http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=2060-913583

By: Sasha

Sasha — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:50:48 +0000

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION agianst this club.

Here’s the petition please guys I encourage all of you to sign it. Its very simple name email zip city state and click.
http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=2194-374601

^^^
If can send it to your friends that would be great also, thank you.

By: osiyo

osiyo — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:35:15 +0000

I was basically accused of “whoring out” my culture to silence the other feminists, because clearly, my culture and background couldn’t have anything to do with my critisim of a white female politician…nope. I was just being sexist in their eyes and using my culture to silence them.

To me, that sounds like ” you’re playing the race card” but what do I know? I’m just a dumb Indian.

By: cccH

cccH — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:22:29 +0000

@ Thejudge, your comment expresses exactly what I believe to be true.

By: Thejudge

Thejudge — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:40:33 +0000

“Indians don’t exist anymore” especially if you don’t look like the posters. The same people negating your existence are doing so because of their preoccupation with “Indian money.” They act as if it’s coming out of their pockets and have no knowledge of the atrocities done.

By: Thejudge

Thejudge — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:36:49 +0000

Racism has always been alive and well, especially in the northern cities. “This is where they love the race and hate the people” Avowed democrats who love diversity, as long as it stays in it’s own appointed neighborhood. I have lived all over the country and had more incidents in Penn, NY, Minnesota, Indiana, Rhode Island, etc. More so than in Paducah, Kentucky! I wish some of the stars, entertainers would take notice of these things and instead of buying bling, see cases like this and buy whatever, club, property. Protesting and laws are not going to work, it is financial power. We are not only working against racists but also purveyors of every single stereotype, within our own communities. It’s difficult to be taken seriously, When you have people tearing down the credibility. When I say this, I am reminded of a a time, when I was the only black professional on staff at a hospital. I had a good reputation, so they hired this guy who happened to be black, a year later. Next thing you know, this guy comes to work, telling all of his family problems;wife on drugs, cops showing up at work, car breaking down, poor quality work, etc. It’s the same situation, if we know that Jim Crow is looming and some of us are willing to fight, and be cultural ambassadors. How can we do so, when we have people playing into the hands of racists?

By: Jonquil

Jonquil — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:15:59 +0000

I have a question asked from ignorance.

Do you think that explicit, unashamed racism has gotten worse, or do you think that it’s simply news for the first time?

I’ve been wondering if what’s going on is that ten years ago, say, this pool story would have been, if anything, a local scandal that died out after a couple of days; now, with the Web, it gets nationwide attention.

Like I said, I’m ignorant. Do you think more people are feeling free to show their asses, or do you think that ass-showing is more likely to make the news in the mainstream media?

This, and a lot of scandals in the last year or so, have made me painfully aware that things that are shocking to me are *everyday life* for POC, and that being surprised — as opposed to “oh, fuck, not again” — is a luxury.

By: Juan

Juan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:41:59 +0000

Ever since we (i.e. the U.S.) got a Black prez, racism really doesn’t exist anymore. According to the comment section from the news article and numerous apologist, It’s all in our minds.