The door-holding incident referenced in gentleman post

[downtoearth]

I haven't gone back into the original gentleman post after LAW talked about her kid hitting people, but I am so very glad the friend got this on camera!!!!

This is wrong, the call to 911 over NOT being robbed, the tactical attack by the police over someone NOT being robbed, and the force over someone NOT being robbed.

[chedifuen]

Horrifying

[orangeblossom]

Sigh.

Add opening a door for someone to the list.

[omgzombies]

"The college freshman said he ran."


And you know that this is the part that people will fixate on.  That poor kid.

[pixy0stix]

That white lady can go fuck herself. Repeatedly.

[borinquen57]

Don't hold the door, don't smile, don't stand outside a hotel. Just don't fucking live, apparently. Dammit.

[redwino]

So tired of this shit.

[downtoearth]

Oct 14, 2015 12:20:47 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

Oct 14, 2015 12:16:21 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

I haven't gone back into the original gentleman post after LAW talked about her kid hitting people, but I am so very glad the friend got this on camera!!!!

This is wrong, the call to 911 over NOT being robbed, the tactical attack by the police over someone NOT being robbed, and the force over someone NOT being robbed.

Well, she was a white woman and y'all are weak and need protection from the big scary black mens. And she had a baby! 

Oh and his tenacity to hold the door for her! Such a scheming thing to do before NOT robbing someone!

[suzyp]

Oct 14, 2015 12:42:26 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

That white lady can go fuck herself. Repeatedly.

And needs to move out of DC if she's so scared of non-white people. Seriously. Fuck her.

[LadySusan]

I hope the people that know this white lady are giving her the shaming of her life. WTF?

Sou, I'm nervous about posting after my bout of foot-in-mouth yesterday but I thought about this a lot last night so I'm going to make a go of it. Where do black men fit in when I think about holding the door open for people? Historically they were viewed as less than human. They were just sources of income for their owners so the only reason to care about their well-being was monetary. And even today, black men's bodies aren't prized and cherished and treated with respect. They're treated with fear and hatred. I have heard that the police did not attempt to notify Trayvon Martin's parents after he was murdered and it just breaks me up. His mom... He was somebody's baby but people didn't seen a human who deserved to be loved and cherished. They just saw a threat who had been neutralized. We as a society just don't see black men as humans who deserve to be loved and cherished and protected.

BLM took so long to get traction outside of the black community. I think that is because we as a society just don't see black men as humans who deserve to be loved and cherished and protected from harm. I looked up the 2011 CDC mortality data last night. Black men have the highest mortality rates; their chances of dying in any given year are almost twice what mine are. So if holding the door is a symbolic gesture of respect and caring, then I, as a white woman think I ought to hold the door for black men when I get the opportunity. I think I should also hold open the door for black women because black women have also historically been viewed as lesser. And then well, I should probably hold the door open for everyone because it is easier. It makes sense in my head, but I don't know if this line of thinking about racism fetishizes teh black body. Beyond door-holding, I need to be more cognizant of how my own biases might make me passive regarding violence against black people and look for opportunities like BLM to change things.

[skwcm80]

Oct 14, 2015 12:50:20 GMT -5 borinquen57 said:

Don't hold the door, don't smile, don't stand outside a hotel. Just don't fucking live, apparently. Dammit.

Exactly.

[summer]

I am so tired of this shit. 

[aurora]

I'm having trouble finding words to express how disturbing this is.

[miniroller]

Oct 14, 2015 14:19:03 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm having trouble finding words to express how disturbing this is.

Me too. I can't believe this is happening so consistently, which, of course, makes me know that it always has been, just not talked about in the media/ video-taped. It might even be happening slightly less in certain districts, which is scary because of how REGULAR this disturbing violent action of public servants has become. I want to throw things; I want to hit things; I want to help change things. (I find myself grinding my teeth while reading these awful stories.) What can I do?!?

[summer]

Oct 14, 2015 14:32:26 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Oct 14, 2015 14:19:03 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm having trouble finding words to express how disturbing this is.

It might even be happening slightly less in certain districts, which is scary because of how REGULAR this disturbing violent action of public servants has become. 

Not "has become." Has always been. Always always always. That is the truly fucked up part. 

[msmerymac]

Oct 14, 2015 12:31:30 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

"The college freshman said he ran."


And you know that this is the part that people will fixate on.  That poor kid.

"Why would he run if he didn't do something wrong?"

Uh, well, probably because of the last 40 incidents involving police officers and young black men that have made the news. 

[miniroller]

Oct 14, 2015 14:36:46 GMT -5 summer said:

Oct 14, 2015 14:32:26 GMT -5 miniroller said:

It might even be happening slightly less in certain districts, which is scary because of how REGULAR this disturbing violent action of public servants has become. 

Not "has become." Has always been. Always always always. That is the truly fucked up part. 

Right. Of course. I meant how regular it's become broadcast in the media. Which in itself is awful because that makes me think of how many incidents are happening & not getting recorded/ reported
Absolutely agree that's the craziest part, & the part that I hope people are realizing & not looking on as isolated incidents. A few corrupt departments, maybe? NOPE. 

[meshaliuknits]

Oct 14, 2015 12:23:14 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

Sigh.

Add opening a door for someone to the list.

I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to leave the house at this point.

[earlgreyhot]

Oct 14, 2015 18:01:28 GMT -5 Dig Ophelia said:

I got dizzy from how much my eyes were rolling.

Heaven forbid a black man be in the same vicinity as this delicate snowflake lest she begin to feel "uncomfortable". I hope she remembered to bring her smelling salts!

And double dog forbid that a black man be anywhere near money without being accused of trying to steal it.

How does this women live in DC?

Some of the most clueless, privileged women I know live and push strollers here.

[CallingAllAngels]

Oct 14, 2015 17:35:34 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Oct 14, 2015 12:23:14 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

Sigh.

Add opening a door for someone to the list.

I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to leave the house at this point.

If you do leave home, it's best not to go back. Just ask Henry Louis Gates.

[katfco]

I wish I could figure out what I, as a white woman, can do to help these situations other than, a) continue to annoy people by posting commentary on Facebook and b) not calling 911 because a young man holds a door for me.

[Velar Fricative]

Are we ever going to learn???

[twotrue]

What?! A 911 call for holding the door open. Good god that lady sucks. "Thank you" is the only appropriate response for kindness.

[katfco]

Oct 14, 2015 20:08:48 GMT -5 @mx said:

Oct 14, 2015 19:46:14 GMT -5 katfco said:

I wish I could figure out what I, as a white woman, can do to help these situations other than, a) continue to annoy people by posting commentary on Facebook and b) not calling 911 because a young man holds a door for me.

I can't say I really know.

But try calling people on shit like referring to a neighborhood as "sketchy" or obliquely referring to being afraid to ride a certain bus or talking about "suspicious" people. I think a lot of people are just compeletly not cognizant of their biases and as white people we need to hold other white people to account. A seemingly innocent comment about a shady street is basically what leads to shit like this because perpetuates an environment in which white people think black people--especially young men--are threatening and in which feeling that way and acting on it is kosher. 

I do try to. It's sad, I hear so many comments at work. I teach in a school that is over 90% African American and very, very poor. A lot of kids come from pretty horrible home lives, but there are so many assumptions made about the parents. The comments I hear--"they're home in the middle of the day. Get a job." "I went to their house. Leather couches." "They just want a handout." 

[rupertpenny]

Damn, I lived a few blocks from there about 5 years ago. I'm sure this kind of shit was happeneing then too, but it seems like the gentrification is even more out of control. I don't understand how someone can choose to live in a historically black neighborhood then get upset when they encounter black people in their day to day life.

[redwino]

Oct 14, 2015 20:08:48 GMT -5 @mx said:

Oct 14, 2015 19:46:14 GMT -5 katfco said:

I wish I could figure out what I, as a white woman, can do to help these situations other than, a) continue to annoy people by posting commentary on Facebook and b) not calling 911 because a young man holds a door for me.

I can't say I really know.

But try calling people on shit like referring to a neighborhood as "sketchy" or obliquely referring to being afraid to ride a certain bus or talking about "suspicious" people. I think a lot of people are just compeletly not cognizant of their biases and as white people we need to hold other white people to account. A seemingly innocent comment about a shady street is basically what leads to shit like this because perpetuates an environment in which white people think black people--especially young men--are threatening and in which feeling that way and acting on it is kosher. 

I agree with this. Start calling out your cousins, sisters, friends and coworkers. Call them on their shit everytime they say or do something. I do it but of course I'm seen as being too sensitive on a good day and playing the race card in a fucked up one.

[josieposy]

Geez I have apparently been doing it wrong. When folks hold a door for me, I say "thank you" and smile at them.

[shauni27]

Mother fucking fuck. This makes me so angry. Angry at this woman, angry at the police, angry that people will say "but he shouldn't have run if he didn't do anything wrong," angry that our culture continues to allow this kind of racist bigoted violence to fucking continue.

Fuck, man.