RACISM

I just finished watching that video , took 2 days since I've been busy though. As far as what to do with people are deemed racist? Hmm in my experience there's different levels/types of racism that I've encountered. I'm going to group prejudice in there as well. One thing I don't like hearing though is "Wow you're not like the others!"..when I hear that it let's me know that this individual views me as the "Exception" and most likely has their own perceptions as to what Blacks are like as a whole. When I tell them I was raised in Zone 3 in Atlanta they can't seem to understand how I turned out the way I did. It's seems that some believe that if you're raised in the "Hood" then you have no future..and I don't like that. I'd rather know exactly where someone stands then have them "Lowkey" have hatred or dislike for my race..or any other. When my father was driving across town after leaving a work function around 2am..he was pulled over by 5 officers. Had him completely surrounded and he's wondering "Wtf". They all get out their cars and told him to roll the window down and...surprise! He knew two of them, the situation went from hostile to bros bumping fist..he left and they told him to be careful while he's on his way home. Now me and him both have often wondered, what would have happened had he not known those men? I know a few myself and have respect for our Law Enforcement, but that doesn't change the fact that that could be me one night. Had two buddies help me out at an Art event earlier this year, I was selling some products. This lady comes up the booth wanting to know what services and products we offer..I stepped in to help and explain to her what the business was..Lol she looked at me and said "I highly doubt there is anything you can help me with, I'd rather talk directly to the owner behind you"...I told her that I am the owner and that I made everything here. Still didn't believe me, my buddies calmly explained to her that I am the creator of the Art...she quickly looked at me and kept apologizing. Like seriously? It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. That's a situation where I could have denied her service or taken the risk that nothing else would have sold that day. I dealt with it by keeping her business, seeing that look on her face was enough lol. I don't think there is anything we can do about racism. I've just come to accept it you know? Most I'll be able to do is teach my kids in the future to be accepting of others, don't judge a book by it's cover. I think teaching the children better is a good start, they aren't born into this world disliking people. Wish I had a better answer/response to this. But I gotta get back to work

Shadower - I appreciate your input and I truly am sorry you had to go through those experiences. I do wish you well in your endeavors. I've seen a few people lump simple prejudice in with racism and I don't think it is the best and most accurate way. I shall clarify why later although I'm pretty sure I've touched on it already. Also fair warning modern white man perspective on Black Lives Matter is incoming and it will not be "safe zone" or "politically correct" (and no it isn't just to get over slavery already)

^ This. Also I actually watched the long ass video. My god. The first 5 mins was VERY cringeworthy SJW feces. We don't live in a misogynist white supremacist society. White people today don't benefit from slavery their ancestors allegedly have committed.(They won't mention the fact that Africa's Royalty sold off the slaves they captured from Tribes to the Europeans. Not only that but many Arabs captured many Europeans and enslaved them) If Whites benefited from what their ancestors may have done then tell me why the overwhelming majority of poor people are white? Women don't get paid less for the same job. They didn't mention paternity leave, professions and hours they choose to work. I continued to watch it on wards and they kept going on about Africa and tribalism and a Black woman who's married to a white man, who wanted to make some reservation for a hotel only to be turned down, but when her husband did it, everything went through, no problem. I don't think that last part was racist. There could've been other variables into play, such as the reservations were full at the time she asked only to become available when her husband came to ask. I do agree however that no one should have power for too long as it can corrupt, I can agree with that. There's not much in the video I agreed with at all to be honest. But it is what it is. I say yeah it sucks that one mixed dude's mom had to look like a nanny to avoid confrontations, and yet he wasn't really accepted by black people. At least they pointed that out. Other than the first 5 mins of cringeworthy SJW BS, the video wasn't as horrid as I'd thought it be. There Kichigai I watched the video and gave my take on it. Happy now?

First I would like to address things that most recently were brought up by shadower that I believe needs to be said. Naturally I'm not just speaking to him but there are things specific to what he said that I am basing what I say off of. I also intend to react to the anecdote provided with the Art exhibit event. Shadower, you claim that you have experienced various levels of racism and I am here to (hopefully) shed clarity for the sake of discourse. First off when it comes to race there are different levels and racism is the extreme case. There are such things as simple prejudice and a more advanced discrimination. Prejudice: A prejudice can be defined as an unfavorable view of another person or group of people due to a certain characteristic (for the sake of this thread/discussion race). This can be based an any number of things such as ignorance, (even limited) experience, and preconceived notions (whether they have any particular accuracy or not). If they are prejudiced alone it is noteworthy but lets not equate or lump these people in with rabid racists - it is just a bad look. We can answer prejudice in part with education. For example (shadower) you mentioned "Zone 3 Atlanta" I'm not completely sure what you mean but given then context it is probably a noted area of poverty and other negative things that come with an impoverished area (please by all means clarify that - I am personally interested) I'll also address racial insensitivity here as well. Racial sensitivity (alone) isn't racist. Sometimes one can be racially insensitive out of ignorance. For example as a white person I cannot and will not claim I know all of the things that a black person is sensitive to and what degree they are sensitive to it. This would not make me (on this basis alone) a racist if I either accidentally or even intentionally say something racially sensitive (there just is more of a case if it is intentional). With prejudice and racial insensitivity it isn't a requirement and isn't always the case that there is harm (other than hurt feelings and something like that). Sometimes prejudiced or racially insensitive people will avoid if possible interacting with the group they are prejudiced against. Discrimination: Discrimination is racial insensitivity and/or prejudice + taking action(s) to inflict some sort of harm on the person or group based on race. When intentional harm is done based solely on race with prejudices and insensitivity a line is crossed where now it is more plausible to link said person or group to a legitimate substantial racist claim. Racism: Racism is a strong prejudice, strong racial insensitivity, a complete effort in discriminating against said race based solely on their race. I can argue that racism would require a systemic element and effort but I'd be okay with someone being a legitimately labeled racist without a systemic component (it just makes the case more substantial if there is) Back to Shadower's art exhibit anecdote as I believe there is a real message in this that I would like to highlight. The woman's conduct was certainly disrespectful and showed a lack of class - and a prejudice (I won't say discrimination because from what I gather she still purchased the art and didn't obnoxiously act out). She apologized and realized to some degree the error of her ways due to the class act that Shadower showed himself to be on that day. We'll never know but what I sincerely hope happened is she went home to her family and shared this experience and ideally from there the people she shared that experience with will share on. Shadower you were right in handling yourself the way you did - the look on her face had to be very gratifying and I'm sure as hell not going to tell you that you shouldn't have felt that way. Hopefully she spread the word of how a black man she purchased art from handled himself in a disrespectful circumstance that she put him in. Events like these are helpful in bridging the racial divide.

I think all of these inputs while valid (okay maybe not all) still aren't getting to the source.... I feel like the intensity of the dialogue and topic need to be turned up a level or a few levels so ... I'm going to do so myself. The source of modern day racial divides is in ignorance / lack of education (intentional or unintentional), lack of sensitivity (which can easily stem from the ignorance), unwillingness or stubbornness toward the "other side", and radicalizing the discussion of racism to "you either agree with me or you're the enemy". Warning: from here on out there is no safe zone, no political correctness, and I'm not going to pander this down to the ultra-sensitive. If you're an SJW, agitator, immature, or simply are uncomfortable with a more intense form of discourse I suggest you stop reading now: Now that my preface and disclaimer are out of the way I'm going to start with you guessed it........white people. Us white people can actually be pretty vain sometimes especially if we haven't had much exposure to minorities. We can be insensitive to the struggles minorities have that we haven't faced or if we have a decent chance not the same degree. We can gloss over things that haven't impacted us such as Jim Crow laws and sometimes legitimate police abusing their power cases. We sometimes lament minorities for holding onto these things for generations without fully understanding their magnitude to the people impacted. We can sometimes not put much effort into educating ourselves more properly and seeking to find someone with a more enlightened perspective. We sometimes have a very off putting "get over it" with past systemic blunders. These are legitimate things that happen from white people to minorities and at minimum don't look good and at maximum multiply the rage infinitely. I implore to my fellow white people - seek out the education, the perspective of minorities to as best as you can see the world through their eyes. Once you are educated you take away or at least reduce the ability of someone to claim you are (willfully) ignorant. I implore you to listen - there are some legitimate reasons minorities are angry with us ... we should hear them out and see what they see. Some of the optics of what we do that we scoff at others for having grievances with are justifiable enough. How can you know exactly how they feel without taking the time to listen? Even though I personally don't agree with it fully - we should be big enough to do our legitimate part in ending the racial divide as an apology of sorts on behalf of the generations that have oppressed minorities. Did we do it ourselves - no but that doesn't mean we should completely absolve ourselves either and act like we don't have to do anything either. At minimum do a better job separating ourselves from extremist white supremacists like the KKK - we can do that much (even if we don't feel we have to). White people - we have our racial baggage too However, this does not mean minorities get a free ticket to just lament and hate white people. This does not justify all of the actions modern minority rights groups are taking. Now that I've taken care of (some of) the shortcomings of white people when it comes to bridging the racial divide..... its time to look at the other side..... Black Lives Matter - you're next (my disclaimer above will apply much more to my next post)

The racial divide isn't perpetuated by white people alone - minorities have a hand in it as well. I'm going to be specific to Black Lives Matter but I'm pretty sure my points can translate to other minority groups and actions. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get one "Napalm is a racist" claim just because I dare say anything negative about Black Lives Matter and I'm white. http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/ "Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression." My first recollection of BLM is in the situation in Ferguson, Missouri. Upon some research it appears that the Trayvon Martin situation is the starting point of this movement. I'm not going to go too hard on the Trayvon case but there are shortcomings that do exist from it. In Criminal Court "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" is the standard. For the charges brought the prosecution had a weak case fueled mostly by emotion and hysteria with very little actual evidence. For second-degree murder, the jurors would have had to believe that Martin's unlawful killing was "done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent" and would be "of such a nature that the act itself indicates an indifference to human life." The evidence (or lack there of) was unable to meet proof beyond a reasonable doubt. With that said - I am not purporting that Trayvon should be dead or that his death was completely and entirely justifiable. It however, was simply more than a black teenager walking through a neighborhood with skittles. The facts do not purport that Zimmerman saw a black teenager and thought "I don't like black people" and boom. Trayvon should not be dead but systemic racism isn't to blame here (not entirely anyway). The legal system has no duty to pander to outcry either. It is one thing to say Trayvon shouldn't be dead - it is another to say that one should spend life behind bars when facts known do not meet the criminal court standard. This is an important difference BLM needs to do a better job recognizing. Truth is unfortunate but - Zimmerman is the only one that knows fully what transpired that fateful moment. The rest we can only speculate (and speculation leaves room for reasonable doubt). I'm going to reiterate just in case I haven't made myself clear - I am not saying Trayvon Martin should be dead nor am I completely absolving Zimmerman of any wrongdoing (just not wrongdoing that meets the criminal burden of proof standard of second degree murder with the facts known). Any claims that I view Trayvon's murder as a "good thing", "something desirable and needs to happen more" are baseless and untrue (nor do they make me a racist). Some information on the Trayvon / Zimmerman verdict: http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/justice/zimmerman-trial/ http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/14/us/zimmerman-why-this-verdict/index.html Supposedly Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement meant entirely to bridge the racial divide by bringing attention to oppression of black people by the government system (white people in particular?). That is the stated goal and purpose but some action(s) taken by BLM do not purport this stated goal. Yeah I said it - BLM (and/or its supporters) engage in conduct highly detrimental to the cause. Sometimes BLM picks really bad cases and gets overly hysterical about them only to have the facts come out and it go the complete other direction. With the Trayvon case I didn't take as much notice - however the situation with Michael Brown and the events in Ferguson, Missouri are a different animal to me. To me these events were my first great exposure to BLM and for awhile I thought that this was the starting point. This is the situation that made me (and a whole lot of other white people) lose a great deal of respect for BLM. BLM does have a legitimate problem pandering to an agenda that whites are systemically oppressing blacks no matter what the facts are. All BLM supporters need to know is "white on black violence" and boom hysteria no questions asked. To a great deal of BLM supporters and the liberal media that gives them attention the answer is always blatant racism. The mantra "hands up don't shoot" stemmed from the initial narrative that white officer Darren Wilson shot young black man Michael Brown for no apparently viable reason other than systemic racism. According to BLM and their protesters Michael Brown was peacefully surrendering Darren Wilson and then Wilson decided to shoot him anyway. In no time at all BLM thought they had us with this one - pretty much stopping an entire metropolitan area in it's tracks because of this blatantly racist act. They had a really pretty narrative lined up one that was a sure fire way to boost their movement and "stick it to the white man". BLM wasted no time agitating and making a nuisance of themselves with some less than peaceful protests (have you heard of a peaceful riot?). To BLM there was no standing up for officer Darren Wilson without being racist. Then the facts came out .... It turns out that Michael Brown was not a peaceful and law abiding person mid surrender - he did not have his hands up in surrender. He had his hands balled up in fists and assaulted an officer. This is not character assassination this is stating FACTS. You know what if you're dumb enough to assault an officer - it is on you if you get shot. Let me reiterate - HANDS UP DON'T SHOOT WAS A LIE! There are plenty of cases people can (and should) point out of actual gross injustice against black people by police..... THIS WASN'T ONE OF THEM. If you are going to use Ferguson in any way to make a point of white oppression of blacks - please I implore you not too.... instant destruction of credibility. Lesson BLM should have learned: wait until all of the facts come out - not just the one(s) that suit your narrative. Due process exists for a reason. Did BLM apologize or admonish their actions once the facts came out and they looked like complete fucking morons? To my knowledge they haven't (if I am incorrect in this please inform me of this development) and that is intolerable to reasonable people to not admit mistakes. BLM has been guilty of twisting facts and just making stuff up just to suit a narrative. There isn't always discourse with them only a predetermined answer. In case it hasn't been clear I brought up the two cases to make a point that BLM supporters don't always wait for facts or due process and that is a legitimate criticism and mistake on their part. Leaving out facts and focusing on a thinly crafted narrative is an injustice in discourse and is just plain wrong. If BLM wants white people on board acknowledging their mistakes, shortcomings, flaws etc would be a great start. BLM looks like children at times because they can't acknowledge a mistake and continue to double down. BLM uses high political office connections and the liberal media to bully people into their view point and that is unacceptable. Again BLM has shortcomings - openly acknowledge them on their merit and don't rush to cry racism because someone (especially white) brings these up. Just as Donald Trump being elected president and some of his cabinet staff members are horrible and scary optics to black people - some of the actions by BLM (namely the Ferguson situation) are horrible and scary optics to white people. If you want white people to see things from your perspective - you better be prepared and open for the reverse situation (trying to see it from the white person's perspective) (part one - post was too long had to split it up)

(part two) There are some people of color who will try to find racism when it really isn't there - but for them it has to be there because crying racism is all they know. This is another thing that irks white people away from the legitimate aspects of the BLM movement. BLM people will bring up "aren't we allowed to be upset at the systemic racism of the past and present", "why does Black Lives Matter upset you - don't our lives matter". Yes - actually you are allowed to do so but being angry, upset, and oppressed DOES NOT JUSTIFY EVERY SINGLE ACTION AND MAKE BLM AND ITS SUPPORTERS ABOVE REPROACH AND SCRUTINY. Also this does not give you an excuse to disqualify white opinions on the matter. BLM has a habit of at least coming off as "only black lives matter (especially if the killer is white)" which is another point BLM needs to be more conscious of. Most white people's objections to BLM aren't in your ideals it is in the execution of those ideals. BLM tactics and message need some serious work and that cannot be ignored. This does NOT mean we are against the idea that black lives do indeed matter. BLM (and minorities as a whole) do in fact have legitimate grievances but that does not mean all actions are fair game. All who are off put by white opposition need to understand and be aware of this. Also if your first idea / move / plan is to demonize white people for the scrutiny - just stop you're doing a disservice to the cause. You should welcome the scrutiny and form a rebuttal on the merits. Maybe ... just maybe something will be learned from listening to criticism. If your first move is cry racism for some "moral victory" another instant way to lose credibility and respect. To summarize ... BLM (and supporters) lose respect by: *lack of due process; not waiting for all relevant facts before protesting (and sometimes rioting) *using bullying and agitation tactics to force submission of views and stifle dissent (and artificially creating the victimized / oppressed optics) *making everything about race right off the bat (as if there is no possible alternative) *not being sensitive to the optics of how some actions come off to whites in particular *engaging in general extreme leftist behavior *not handling criticism well at all *not outwardly doing enough to address black on black murder (Chicago anyone?) and being offended when white people bring this up These are all legitimate and have at least some substance enough not to completely write off and do not make the people who bring them up racists (not on that alone). I'm not even sorry if anybody who read this got uncomfortable. Things like these don't get said enough because they are often stifled or only said to people prone to agree. If there is something I am missing please don't simply lament me - educate me and show me what I either got completely wrong or what I could have done a better job explaining. If anybody is going to make claims I'm a racist you better have your ducks in a row and clear and definitive substance that I am basing all of this off of race solely and no other factor (such as conduct). I challenge and implore those who disagree in any way with anything I've said - don't simply lament me ...educate and enlighten me (this will do more for the cause) My next nugget will be one to help BLM (and minorities in general out) - I'll give some tips on how to communicate more effectively with white people and what will get their minds to open up (even some) on racial issues.