Flame free racial thread.

[amandakisser]

Aside from all of the idiocy here, I want to thank you guys for the suggested books and readings. I'm also going to do some additional research on the best books to start teaching my 3-year-old about being inclusive and trying my hardest to prevent her from learning the same micro aggressions I grew up with.
This month I am getting her her first library card and these are the types of books we will read and learn from. She thankfully has a diverse group of kids in her daycare, and I hope she notices and, more importantly, embraces their differences, so she doesn't grow up "colorblind" and ignorant to other cultures, ethnicities, and the hardships that, unfortunately, come along with them.

[water*drop]

I came across an old article (well, blog post from Scientific American) about the bias blind spot tonight, and parts of it reminded me a lot of this thread. The post itself is worth a read if you're interested in why just learning about biases doesn't make us automatically avoid them, but if nothing else, I think this quote is pretty relevant to some parts of this thread:

"We spend a lot of energy protecting our egos instead of considering our faults."

The author suggests that being more mindful might help this. It certainly can't hurt...

Full text here: blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/the-bias-within-the-bias/

[matildasun]

Sept 1, 2016 20:38:42 GMT -5 @this said:

I'm hesitant to respond in these threads because I feel like I'm putting myself out there as an expert in something that I'm not.

BUT whenever people say "black on black crime" it is always so bad. SO. BAD. Don't say that. It's a terrible red herring that a lot of ignorant people use. It's usually a red flag that that person reads Breitbart or similar.

I agree that it is a horrible term.

A student I taught years ago was murdered last week. He was randomly shot. He has a child and brothers who love him. The one article I could find didn't even have his name in it (if this rant sounds familiar it is because I ranted about it last year when another former student was murdered). When any other human is murdered they are publicly mourned and remembered in the news, but when it is a young black man in a city they become a number used by the masses as an example of why that city is dangerous. We don't morn them as individuals. The term black on black crime adds to that distancing and dehumanizing.
(I am not posting this for sympathy or to derail the thread, but to share an example of the negative power of that phrase.)

[chickens987]

Sept 2, 2016 9:12:21 GMT -5 sxia said:

Ladies, I want to apologize for my ignorance yesterday.
I was honestly wondering why it was okay to stereotype one ethnic group, but it wasn't another.

What HeyJude said "White people naming their team after other white people? Meh. White people naming their team after an ethnic minority? No."
That was what got me. I wasn't thinking of who was doing the naming.

I try to do my best stamping out the obvious racism I encounter day to day. I know I am obviously not done with myself.
Sorry.

The problem is that "honestly wondering" something that we have been having open, frank discussions for years, right here on this board, about, is offensive. You have been here long enough that you should have some awareness of the racial issues that have come up (let's not use those "i don't open xxx threads" or "i only post after bedtime" excuses). So why post these questions here, where you risk offending people. If you have honest curiosity, take the time to educate yourself (in this case, type your question into google instead of GBCN) - don't put the onus on others to do so.

[rugbywife]

Sept 2, 2016 9:55:50 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Sept 1, 2016 17:50:34 GMT -5 Jennyanydots said:

Not to excuse her stupid comparisons, but I think she was referring to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Obviously I didn't read all her shit.  Does this mean there is someone else crying tears for the Vikings!?  WTF.

(Not actually going to go back and read this foolishness, so no need to answer).

She mentioned the Vikings in one post, and referred to her Norwegian descent.  The Irish comment was in reference to another team.  Both were mentioned, but she didn't imply that the Vikings were Irish - if that makes any sense!

[anna7602]

Sure, why read a 19 page post about race? It's not like it's relevant to the world or anything...

[darnkatz]

[chedifuen]

I suggest you read the post and do some reflecting before you try to apologize

[miso]

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