by Tom Kando
On May 15, there was an article on the Yahoo homepage about another racist incident. Robert Copeland, a New Hampshire police commissioner, called President Obama a nigger.
See Police Officer used N-word for Obama.
Such incidents seem to happen more and more frequently. No sooner are we done with Cliven Bundy than comes Donald Sterling. Bundy, if you recall, felt that blacks were better off under slavery. Armed militias rallied around him, as did Sean Hannity and others at Fox News. Shortly before that, Ted Nugent called President Obama a subhuman mongrel - taking words right out of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Earlier, we were treated to Paula Deen’s uncouth utterances, and of course there are the murders of Trayvon Martin and of innumerable others. In sum, there can be little doubt that white racism is making a strong come-back in America.
In recent months, I have trolled the comments of the news stories that appear every hour or so on web portals like Yahoo and AOL. Whether these comments represent public opinion or not, they are scary.
These Internet articles attract thousands of comments within the first few hours. When I began scrolling down the comments on the aforementioned “Police Officer used N-word for Obama” story, there were already nearly 12,000. I looked at the first few hundred.
Do you have the faintest idea how sordid the vast majority of these comments are and how ugly millions of your compatriots are? Not ONE IN TEN of them express dismay or outrage at the President being called a nigger by a white police chief. To the contrary, the VAST MAJORITY of these THOUSANDS of Internet trolls support the racist police commissioner, and outdo him in their expressions of vicious, illiterate, blind, racist, paranoid rage.
Here is a sample. This is a mirror for these thousands of so-called Americans. I hope that they look at themselves in shame:
Joe: “If the shoe fits, but then again he is only a half breed.”
Anonymous:: “JUST SAY,..." F.U. to P.C ".,.... America is FEED-UP with all these "Protected Status" whiny Tattle-Tails,... Stand Your Ground with Commissioner Copeland !!!”
Anonymous: "American culture is half judaized and the other negrified. -- Adolph Hitler.”
BD: “ Is there like some conspiracy to rid the United States of white people and start by kicking everybody that is white out?”
Juston: “If there's only 20 (niggers in that town) now, just wait a few years, and they will be half the population! You will have bars on windows, spray paint on buildings and your daughters will be getting grabbed at school! Just wait! If these people were smart, they would give the police chief a raise and run the big mouth woman (who reported him)out of town!”
Realtime: “This President is socialist, race baiter. He has intervened in incidents in favor of blacks. Where was he when the man who stopped to help a black kid was beaten by a mob of blacks into a coma. Where is your voice Prez? That is right monkees defend only their packmates.”
Jerri: “It's so important to not be seen as a "racist", isn't it? Blacks are not just dark white people. They are very different in the way they tend to think and behave, in general, which is why the segregation laws of years ago were put in place. Those laws were intended to protect decent white people from the third-world horrors of natural black aggression.”
IcantFightThisFeelingAnymore: “Is there any actual evidence that blacks are equal to whites, or is it more a faith-based religion that we have to believe without any evidence?”
Anonymous: “Black people are not like white people. Segregation, Jim Crow, and The #$%$ existed to protect Whites from the typical hyper-aggression and low IQ of Blacks. Let's employ the natural, healthy, and obvious solution to America's "race problem". The separation of the races. Racism will cease to exist within a month.”
Jigg Abu: “Nucking Figgers!”
Shorty: “He fits my criteria as a n word also in every since of the word !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Swell Guy: “The Subversive Liberal Marxists like OBAMA, OPRAH, SHARPTON, and JACKSON, and confused Hollywood Celebrities, along with the Zionist Controlled Media, has the MAJORITY of AMERICA so brainwashed that they reduce themselves to CENSORING themselves by using P.C. terms like "The N-Word",. just say it: #$%$"!”
B. A. Your Childrens Books: “I wonder what Michele 'all uh dis ova a damn flag' Obeyme's America loathing and "white devil" hating ace thinks about this?”
Virginia: “Mr. Copeland, STAND YOUR GROUND!! You do NOT owe anyone an apology. You only called the moron in office what he obviously is. If there is any doubt, just watch him "shuckin' and jivin' when he is among a group of his own kind.”
Libsrpedos: “you want to see racist? go to any inner city ghetto dwelling. there you can see racism and a monkey trying to hold his pants up and rob you at gun point at the same time. kinda hilarious.”
* * * * *
Etc...etc. There are thousands more, every day. Millions all over the Internet. It’s like the invasion of the zombies...
© Tom Kando 2014
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23 comments:
Tom, I think racism in general is receding in society, but it has increased dramatically in the media for purposes of news stories. Gen -x, gen -y and the millennials get along pretty well, growing up in diverse communities. Most of the race baiting you hear about is from older people.
Humboldt States Hate Map built from racial epithets used on Twitter was VERY revealing. The south & flyover States earn their reputation. I can't help wonder a little about it's accuracy due to black people using the N word towards each other but all in all I believe it accurate to the geographic distribution of where these racist or ignorant attitudes are more tolerated. Also I saw the negative comments on YouTube from the interracial Cheerios commercial to the companies credit the followed up with a sequel during the Superbowl. But keep in mind these are internet trolls who would not dare in most cases reveal their bigotry without the virtual white hood of internet anonymity, because even in the deep South they are far outnumbered by those who find bigotry & racism intolerable. Maybe to a lesser degree than in utopian Northern California but nevertheless they are a minority even in Kentucky or Alabama. Throwing bananas at black athletes like in Europe would be met with a witch hunt anywhere in America rightfully so.
The internet is an interesting phenomenon, in that a person can spew filth while remaining anonymous. That is a true mark of a coward -- which is what most of these people are. While racists are more vocal on the internet and in mobs, I remain hopeful that the bulk of humanity is changing as the entrenched elders die off. Racism and discrimination of all types comes from ignorance and fear. The huge majority of children I know and meet all the time do not share those views, so perhaps they will build a better future.
Tom:
I agree that many of the comments are awful but there are also a great number of comments about how inappropriate the remarks of Copeland were. I think the most one can conclude is that we live in a divided society and that racism is alive and well in some of its corners.
Hi Tom - I agree - If its getting worse or not I'm not sure. This stuff is so easy for the fringe element to broadcast - even 10 years they would have a hard time getting heard.
24 hour news looking for "shit" and the internet is a "perfect storm" for these guys.
Sad as it is
(From Facebook): Barry tagged you in a post.
Barry wrote: "TOM KANDO, retired Professor Emeritus in Sociology. Read this Tom Kando blog entry, filled with comments from our "enlightened brothers." Then go throw up."
Bad enough, of course. But here, now, the racist nitwits are not running the country, even if influential in some small, backwards jurisdictions. Bigotry is nothing new, but pales in comparison to the situation only a couple of generations ago."
Ken Umbach, you are so right. The Washington papers used advertise for "Secretary, young Christian woman." German immigrant Gustav Brunn, the founder of Old Bay (spice mixture) came here from German in 1939. He worked for McCormick for about about week -- and then they fired him because they found out he was Jewish. IRONY: Today, McCormick owns the Old Bay brand."
No kitchen is complete without a can of Old Bay.
For the folks on Facebook: I transferred your comments onto my blog, where many others are also commenting. The reaction is very welcome, and of course I agree with the more "optimistic" slant taken by most of you. To some extent, I was "venting," after being shocked by the vast amount of racist smut on the Internet. But I am sure that Ken, Sharon, Scott, Roy, Pieter, Gordon and all the others are right, when they remind us that (1) this smut does not represent everyone (hopefully not even a majority), that (2) there HAS been progress on the inter-racial front, and (3) things are no better in most places overseas...
Tom please take note, Obama won...twice! Most Popular actors Will Smith & Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Dwayne Johnson. Black, Black, Asian Pacific Islander/Black. Most popular actress, Hale Berry, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Megan Fox, Cameron Diaz, Vanessa Hudgens, Black Jewish Jewish Latina Latina Asian. Top musicians Beyonce, Jayz, Pittbull, Rihanna, Will I Am, Pharrell Williams.Bruno Mars. Black Black Latino/Black Black Black Black Asian/Latino. Hard to argue America is so racist when all the most popular actors & actresses, musicians & the highest office in the land are all minorities.
Tom,
Yes, there are hateful people here (and everywhere), recounting examples doesn't prove anything--but it is depressing. All we can do is behave honorably.
Not near enough progress yet. Look at the visceral hatred for Obama, and it is ONLY because he is black.
Tom Kando, you are very generous! I will try to find a better attitude.
Folks, I now have a moment to do greater justice to all your comments. This is a pretty good conversation, and you all make important points:
Sharon is absolutely right, of course, that the Internet can be an ideal platform for anonymous filth, spewed by cowards.
And by the way, I got some unprintable anonymous responses to this article.
Many of you (the optimists) feel that racism is receding, that generations x and y and the Millennials are fine, that it’s the older folks who tend to be the most racist (Gordon). Correct.
You also note that racism is a regional phenomenon, the South and the “flyover states” are the most tolerant of racism and ignorance...(Roy).
(By the way: “Flyover States:” What an expression! Indiana, Iowa, the Dakotas and all the rest in the middle are just places to fly over, on your way from Coast to Coast. Ha! Don't blame me. I didn't invent the expression. But that’s what “flyover states” means.)
You write that our society is very diverse and that SOME Americans are racists (Scott). True, but the worrisome questions are: how many? and: which side will prevail - tolerance or intolerance? Pieter is not sure, and neither am I. That’s why I framed my piece as a question.
Ken is among the optimists. I would like to agree with him, except that I can remember at least ONE era when there seemed to be more progress: the 1960s.
Unknown, too, is an optimist, listing as evidence many celebrities of color and Obama’s two elections. I, too, was jubilant in 2008, thinking that maybe we were becoming a post-racial society. But since then, our (partially) African-American president has received more abuse than ANY predecessor I can recall. Also, the large number of black entertainers (not to mention athletes) proves little. Black musicians and entertainers were already fairly numerous a century ago, segregated as things were. Today, athletes remind me of Roman gladiators, who were also pampered and admired in some ways, yet an underclass at the same time.
Another thought I have had over the years: Many jurisdictions in the country’s racist heartland have long elected African-Americans as sheriffs and peace officers (think of John Grisham’s novels, taking place in Mississippi and such). I don't quite have a fix on what this means...
If voting with our dollars is any measure, & I believe it's probably the most accurate measure, we Americans are not very racist at all. We consistently choose our top actors & actresses i.e the people we find most attractive as minorities. Our biggest Movie Stars, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Dwayne the Rock Johnson, Halle Berry, Jesica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez . Young kids emulate their sports heros are mostly minorities in every sport that's popular in the U.S, Football, baseball, basketball & mma. Not to mention twice electing ba black man as president.
Tom,I hear you but at the same time I see, probably for the first time, just a touch of naivety. To begin with, this is not, nor has it ever been one nation. Lincoln had it wrong. The Civil War should have been about slavery rather than preserving the Union. As a "Friend of Southern Secession", an organization I founded at Berkeley, I always felt that the South should have been cut loose to fend for themselves. After all, Both Canada and Mexico, although part of this continent, are sovereign nations. The riots at "Ole Miss" when Obama was reelected serves to support my position. Also, as someone of German descent, I find the parallels between the Tea Party and the National Socialist Party most striking and I believe that the only reason that the Tea Party is fading is because we are, unlike Germany, pulling out of the 2008 Depression. The seeds of the Tea Party movement is racist and stems from basically poor, mostly rural, uneducated Whites who would have fit well in Southern Germany and Austria. As for those who use the internet to spew their hatred and malcontent, I stopped reading their "crap" long ago. They appear to me to represent the dispossessed and angry who really desperately need a life. Reading their "rantings" is really a waste of time. Racism and Anti- Semitism will probably always be around, both in the U.S. and other parts of the World, but it's a whole lot better than when I was growing up in N. California in the 1950's Living in N. California especially the Bay Area is, in some measure, living an existence removed from much of America and it shocks us when we hear outbursts from other parts of the Country, even New Hampshire, where some old, angry minor official spews forth some hatred. However, you should also take notice of the women who decided his downfall. She is the one who best represents what we are struggling for, albeit with results too slow coming.
Economic inequality is really the issue that must command our focus moving forward.
Bob:
You wrote an exceptionally good comment. I, too, have often said that it would have been good to let the South go. The only drawback (perhaps) would have been a greater probability of recurring wars in North America - like France and Germany going at it over and over again. Who knows...
You hit the nail on the head on ever other issue as well. Yes, the growing economic inequality is THE most serious problem.
Beyond nauseating. There are no words to fully express the depths of this kind of ignorance, hatred and inhumanity. Thanks to God that these opinions are Not in the majority, or we would have consumed one another in a blood bath of unchecked barbarism long ago. Peace, Love and Brotherhood do, in fact still prevail.
Pew research study showed that 15% of marriages nationwide were interracial, 20% in the western states 23% in California. 87% of Americans approve of marriages between black & whites up from 4% in 1954 according to a Gallup pole. The reason for the vitriolic response is because this ideology and those who follow it are dying out. This is the violent death spasms of a culture of white supremacy. I have noticed, such as white supremacist group trying to intermediate people of Color at my Filipina nieces graduation in Lincoln California, a more vocal & boldness in hate groups nowadays. But far more I've seen acceptance of interracial marriages such as mine to my Filipina wife, my sister, niece, and 2 cousins also married Filipinos & my Brother & Sister in law both married whites. Just a quick observation as I'm currently at my sons martial arts class in Fairfield California 2 Asians, 1 White, 1 Black, 4 Asian/white mix 1 Filipino/ Japanese. Although according to Brown university Fairfield/Vallejo area is the most diverse in America. Both my kids have experienced racism, my daughter had a boy make a comment about Filipinos making his shoes & My son was called "Chinaman" by some neighbor girls. Not good but all in all if that's the worst of it we'll be fine. With multiracial kids I'm very sensitive to the dirrection of the country on this & the future of race relations, and I remain optimistic.
Hey Tom, in answer to the title of your latest blog entry, Yes.
To some degree, my "Friends of Southern Secession" at Berkeley was nothing more than a fun exercise, albeit one that garnered surprising enthusiasm. However, what would you expect from Berkeley in 1961? Seriously though, it may be my long term pessimistic view of my Country, but I do see a distinct corollary between the National Socialistic movement and the Tea Party. The huge sign on Auburn Folsom Blvd. erected by the Tea Party now advertises some individual who is a home project handyman... I really do believe that it was the economy, exclusively, that prevented a most significant move to the extreme right. It may yet come, but I've reached the age when one should recognize that the future is totally unpredictable and as Maslow said, "one must live in the present", or something like that. The Southern States,if cut loose in 1864, if faced with fending for themselves without slave labor would have most probably ended up as wards of the U.S., hardly a military threat, but certainly an economic one which we would now have resented for a 150 years. Well, at least I would. I am heartened at least living here by the near lack of racism and especially for me, the absence of Anti-Semitism C'est tout!
Tom, it was daunting and depressing to read all of those racist comments lined up in secession. However, like many of those making comments, I am optimistic because of the obvious progress we have made.
The other distressing thing from those of us who have spent their lives in education is that some of these narrow-racists are not marginally literate. There is more to bigotry than simply stamping out ignorance—but it is still a good place to start.
Also, perhaps bloggers should require a name (real name?) before they post their comments.
Mike Erickson
Gold River, CA
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