New Racist America?

[Serephino]

I vented a little about this in the B&U yesterday, and was asked by staff to bring the conversation here.  I have a mixed race friend.  His maternal grandmother was half Mexican, half Native American.  His maternal grandfather was Cuban.  His father is a blond haired blue eyed Caucasian Brit.  But if you just go off of his appearance, you'd call him Hispanic.  He is also a police officer.  Yesterday morning he was minding his own business going into Walmart when a car sporting a Trump bumper sticker tried to run him down.  He got out of the way and was not hurt thankfully.  Since he always carries his badge and firearm with him he shot the guy's back tire out to get him to stop and then held him while he called his on the clock buddies.  The guy was ranting and raving about how 'filthy Mexicans' are ruining the country and deserve to all be run down.  An on the clock officer came out and arrested the idiot for assaulting a police officer.  I guess now the DA is taking the weekend to mull over what all to do with this piece of trash.

But um, this is not an isolated incident.  Since Trump has gotten elected my half minority friend has noticed a difference both in the way he is personally treated by people, and the calls he has been sent on as an officer.  Racist people seem to have really been emboldened by Trump's election because of all the racist and misogynistic things Trump has said.  He has always had people being assholes toward him because he's not lily white, but he says it has really gotten ridiculous in the past few months.  He's had people decide they don't have to listen to him because he's a 'filthy Mexican' and Trump is president now so Trump is gonna deport his ass anyway.  That would be kinda hard to do if you consider the fact he was born on US soil, as was his mother, and her mother, and then her father was Native American so his family line predates white people.  He's been sent on a domestic abuse call and told by the husband to go ahead and arrest him, but since Trump is president now he won't be in jail long.

Like, is this seriously the direction our country is taking?  My friend has seen his father, a British immigrant, have very little trouble with people.  People will rant about immigration is ruining the country, but hey, his dad is a white Christian immigrant, so that's okay.  Meanwhile, him, a natural born mixed race citizen has been told to go back to Mexico, and is now even being told our new president is going to deport him.  The most trouble his father has had is being called a race traitor for marrying a Hispanic woman and spawning mixed race babies.     

[Cassandra LeMay]

Like, is this seriously the direction our country is taking? 

It's not "my" country, but I would say no. It is the direction extremists are going. And they have been going there for a while. The "birther movement" started years ago, as did the Patriot groups (that seem to be drifting towards an anti-Muslim position nowadays) when Obama was elected. Nothing about race hatred or the like is really new. White racist hate groups and far-right terrorists have been around for a long while.

What is relatively new is how empowered some of them feel by the Trump presidency (and even before his election by his hate-filled campaign speeches).

But that is not the direction "the country" is taking. The country is more than some extremists. As an outside observer I often had my doubts about America being the greatest country on Earth, as some politicians and others proclaimed it to be. But I also have some faith left that the US has it in it to come out against all the hate and bile of those extremists, now that they have decided to show their ugly face to the public.

[Lustful Bride]

I'm really sorry to hear that this happened to your friend. Its not right and no one deserves that kind of treatment. :(

I wish I could say something amazing and profound but I'm not good at these kinds of things. Still, these types of acts stand out because they are still rare, even now when it seems everyone is losing their mind and being infected by hate, they are still a rarity. We cant allow its evil to drag us down with it.

[Black Howling]

It's not "my" country, but I would say no. It is the direction extremists are going. And they have been going there for a while. The "birther movement" started years ago, as did the Patriot groups (that seem to be drifting towards an anti-Muslim position nowadays) when Obama was elected. Nothing about race hatred or the like is really new. White racist hate groups and far-right terrorists have been around for a long while.

What is relatively new is how empowered some of them feel by the Trump presidency (and even before his election by his hate-filled campaign speeches).

But that is not the direction "the country" is taking. The country is more than some extremists. As an outside observer I often had my doubts about America being the greatest country on Earth, as some politicians and others proclaimed it to be. But I also have some faith left that the US has it in it to come out against all the hate and bile of those extremists, now that they have decided to show their ugly face to the public.

I typically stay out these areas, but I wanted to echo here and highlight that I believe Cassandra said it perfectly. Extremism has and always will be an issue. This resounds on all sides of the spectrum. But a small group of assholes does not represent our country as a whole, and seeing it like that is a win for the people who wish to paint it in this light. We have laws and courts in place that are meant to stop unconstitutional practices. They are barely holding in some cases here, but they -are- holding thus far.

We need to keep strong, avoid resentment and keep to our principals as we fight against the hate.  Allowing the racial tensions to divide those of us who do not make them an issue cannot happen.

[Mathim]

A friend of mine at work told me her son (both she and her son are white) was stabbed in the arm by a racist fellow student of her son's who was attempting to stab her son's Indian (from India, not Native American) friend during an art class. Her son put his arm up to defend his friend and had his own mechanical pencil jammed into his arm, requiring two surgeries. That's a less happy story since someone actually did get hurt but the cause was almost certainly the same. The bastard's parents didn't even react when he was arrested for this assault, apparently, as my friend reported when she and all the other relevant parties met with the school's administrators; presumably he learned that shit at home but they perhaps didn't expect him to act on it in that way and couldn't be bothered to accept their own responsibility for his upbringing. The stupid a-hole threw his life away for that, probably going to be in prison for years since it's not only an aggravated assault (possibly attempted murder) but also a hate crime, and will have that on his record for life. If he isn't killed in prison, which that kind of attitude is sure going to make likely.

The thing is, this sentiment has always been there, Trump is just kind of the match lighting all these short fuses. These morons just think that because Trump is in the seat, they might be able to get away with their actions. I haven't heard anything (not that I pay that much attention to the news) about Trump standing behind any of these fucks with either a commendation or something as outrageous as a pardon, but it wouldn't surprise me if he already has or will at some point.

[Lustful Bride]

A friend of mine at work told me her son (both she and her son are white) was stabbed in the arm by a racist fellow student of her son's who was attempting to stab her son's Indian (from India, not Native American) friend during an art class. Her son put his arm up to defend his friend and had his own mechanical pencil jammed into his arm, requiring two surgeries. That's a less happy story since someone actually did get hurt but the cause was almost certainly the same. The bastard's parents didn't even react when he was arrested for this assault, apparently, as my friend reported when she and all the other relevant parties met with the school's administrators; presumably he learned that shit at home but they perhaps didn't expect him to act on it in that way and couldn't be bothered to accept their own responsibility for his upbringing. The stupid a-hole threw his life away for that, probably going to be in prison for years since it's not only an aggravated assault (possibly attempted murder) but also a hate crime, and will have that on his record for life. If he isn't killed in prison, which that kind of attitude is sure going to make likely.

*nods* That's a sad truth, this attitude is a learned behavior. We aren't instinctively born racists, it has to be pounded in and built up either via experience, or being taught to think this way. The kid was indoctrinated with 'All non whites must be purged' and now he will be trapped in a cycle of violence and hatred, another mindless machine of hate. And his parents couldn't give less of a shit . They doomed their child to this and don't care at all.

I feel bad for him, but he made his choice, and now must face punishment. Maybe theres a tiny chance that he will learn to let go....but its prison, where everyone is force to join a race based gang so..it might make it worse :(

[Callie Del Noire]

I got two nieces and a nephew that are half-hispanic that live in texas. I love them to death... hearing my older niece (who is 4) say 'Love you' when she speaks with me over the phone makes me cry. Luckily they share my tint of skin.. but seem to have inherited my tendency to tan a deep dark drown..

My biggest fears the last 5 years tie back to that and the fact that laws are JUST short of requiring them to carry their birth certificates. Most of my sister in laws family were born on this side of the mexican/american border, but they have been bouncing back and forth for centuries.. I love the entire family... they are UNBELIEVABLY awesome folks..(though I fear for my nephew.. SIX aunts, and between two sisters.. poor boy)

[Beguile's Mistress]

It seems that daily there are more and more acts of violence in this area that used to be fairly quiet.  People in malls and restaurants accost others who they perceive to be Muslim and harass them using Trump's name. 

School events such as basketball games are disturbed by groups of kids calling out racial slurs and chanting "Build that wall!" and "Send them back!"  Trump campaign signs are waved by people in the stands.

I supervise a department of 200-300 people and we are constantly intervening to put a stop to political arguments and have had to dismiss people for inappropriate actions and speech revolving around our current president.  This is something that only began during the summer of 2016.

I personally experienced an assault recently and listened to my attacker tell me Trump said it was fine for him to do what he did.  I now have to testify against the man and might have to watch him go to jail.

People are attacking others using Trump's name as justification.  Children are seeing racist grafitti spray painted on their schools.  A Mexican market chain in our city is constantly being vandalized and other immigrant owned businesses are as well. 

Things are getting worse and shrugging them off by saying there has always been this type of thing is wrong.  Sitting around and waiting for things to get better isn't going to work these days.  Those of us who want equality, inclusiveness and peace in our daily lives need to stand up and speak out against what is happening in this country.  We need to let our president and his administration know we are mad as hell and not going to take it any more!  Nothing ever got better by waiting for it to happen.

[Mathim]

I agree that it doesn't help anything but when a problem is so deep-seated, it has to be acknowledged so as to demonstrate what a Herculean task it is to change the zeitgeist in such a way. The problem is pretty much divisiveness, how we are conditioned to compartmentalize things into different categories so we can keep track of them without our minds getting overwhelmed. Sure, part of it is a biological necessity but things like race/racism and religion are social constructs and both are major sources of divisiveness and both based around completely irrational beliefs and will alter how we compartmentalize things. If there is no way to enforce a healthy parental guideline to raising kids, they will continue to grow up learning these bad ideas and carry them throughout their lives because it's so deeply ingrained it's nearly impossible to stamp out, and even rational arguments fall apart because it doesn't matter when the basis of those beliefs are not based on anything in reality.

This whole mess is just a symptom, of course, and the causes are many and varied in their level of contributing to it, but then it becomes itself a cause of other problems because of how it affects other communities and their attitude and quality of life. There's no way to fix the symptom without stamping out the underlying problems, and that's not going to happen any time soon, because the majority of people either don't realize what the causes are, or refuse to believe that they are the cause.

[HannibalBarca]

A lot of liberals had said, after Obama was elected, that it was only a matter of time before every branch of government was liberal...that Republicans were becoming a regional party.  Boy, were they wrong.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, doesn't it?

The United States is becoming less white.  This is a very good thing.  Unfortunately for those of us who are fair-minded and rational, the racists and fear-addicted are becoming apoplectic as this shift in demographics occurs.  When people see change arrive that is not to their liking, and see it depicted as inevitable (which it is), they can become so fearful as to resort to violence, whether that comes in words or actions.

I still see an eventual shift in the nation overall towards more tolerance.  The problem is--like any sea change in a civilization--the reactionaries get up in arms when the change occurs.  What we're seeing now as far as the behavior of the far right...is a reaction to the change they do not like.  We non-racists like the change, but we're not going to like the response by the far right to that change.

I live in a community that is not only ethnically mixed in general, but there are a lot of mixed ethnicity people, especially kids, who I have a lot of in my classes as a teacher.  Considering I grew up in the military and many of the kids around me were non-white and mixed ethnicity, I feel a lot more comfortable with this kind of population.  I have people of different ethnicities in my neighborhood and prefer it that way. 

But...my son lives in a community 45 minutes away, where the population is at least 80% white and conservative to boot.  He's white, but he's also trans and open about it, and gets harassed daily at school.  Considering he looks like a butch girl to the mostly evangelical Christian bullies, they don't go after him physically like they would someone who they thought looked like a boy, I guess because they were raised not to hit girls.  Trump's election has emboldened a lot of these assholes.  Of course, my son and his friends in the Gay-Straight Alliance at the high school chanted 'Fuck Trump' in the cafeteria the day after the election, so they made their opinions clear to everyone else...but he's got guts and makes his dad very proud <3

My youngest brother's wife is of Mexican and Filipino heritage, but they live in the same town I do, and racism here is an idiotic thing to attempt.  2/3 of the population is non-white, at least.  There are still Trump supporters but--because of the ethnic mixture here--they don't try stupid shit because they aren't of enough numbers to feel emboldened.  My neighbors on one side are Latino, and on the other side African-American.  All three of us play the drums and occasionally practice together.  I'm sure there are some people in the neighborhood who don't appreciate drummers, though.  There's always haters.

The more things change ethnically here, the more the haters are going to rant and scream.  The rest of us have to do our job and make the effort to actually affect change in our government, or else the more riled-up racist elements of our country will do so.  That's how Trump got elected, and will be again if we don't do our part.

I have a mixed race friend.  His maternal grandmother was half Mexican, half Native American.  His maternal grandfather was Cuban.  His father is a blond haired blue eyed Caucasian Brit.

Race is a social construct.  To be honest, only a small percentage of Mexicans are only descended from Spanish ancestors.  The great majority of Mexicans are of at least part Native American descent.  Many Mexicans are of only Native American descent.  Cubans, like Brazilians or Estadosunidensos (people of the United States) come in many ethnic varieties, especially mixed ethnicity.

I've come to the entirely sensible conclusion that, like dogs, humans have less problems when they aren't purebred.  J.K. Rowling did a good job of presenting the same idea with Purebloods in the Potterverse.  And one look at the royalty of Europe shows how bad it is to stick to 'your own kind'.  I prefer humans as my kind.

[elone]

The United States is becoming less white.  This is a very good thing. 

Just curious, why is that a very good thing? What does it matter? 

If I were to say the United States is becoming less black, This is a very good thing.

What would the reaction be?

[Lustful Bride]

The United States is becoming less white.  This is a very good thing.

I get what you are saying...but it comes off in a weird way. :/ Just saying it out loud makes me cringe abit at the sound of it. Might want to edit that abit for clarity's sake. Not trying to judge, and I hope im not coming off as rude.

There are still Trump supporters but--because of the ethnic mixture here--they don't try stupid shit because they aren't of enough numbers to feel emboldened.

*slips on Devil's advocate hat* Now now, lets be fair here. Not all trump supporters are raging racists. Its unfair to lump them all into the same group and pronounce them all guilty by association. If we want to make things better we have to do it everyway we can. Even small things like making the distinction of the extremists of a group vs the whole group.

I'm not saying you are trying to stereotype, but that it is easy to fall into that trap if we allow ourselves to, and it can end up driving others away and at worst can end up making them into the thing we are trying to prevent.

We cant go about fixing things and curing all this hatred by pulling what some in the extreme left are doing and declaring all those slightly right as bad. The better we bridge the gap between the two sides with dialogue and communication, and acceptance, the better we can keep this age of extremism from becoming an age of destruction.

*end of my inane rambling *

[Cassandra LeMay]

... Things are getting worse and shrugging them off by saying there has always been this type of thing is wrong.  ...

I am not sure if this comment was brought about by what I said or not, but just to clarify: It certainly is not what I was trying to say.

[Azikt]

There's been a lot of talk of Steve Bannon in the media visa via White Nationalism, but I think his logic is woefully under-explained to the public. We slap labels on him but don't do a deep dive into what he believes and why, which is best explained in contrast to this comment:

The United States is becoming less white.  This is a very good thing.  Unfortunately for those of us who are fair-minded and rational, the racists and fear-addicted are becoming apoplectic as this shift in demographics occurs.  When people see change arrive that is not to their liking, and see it depicted as inevitable (which it is), they can become so fearful as to resort to violence, whether that comes in words or actions.

What's chilling is that Bannon has the same facts that you do, but he believes that demographic change isn't inevitable. If we shut off non-white immigration, encourage Europeans to move here to escape their own integrations, and deport as many people as possible there's a chance that the country will not have to change.

After the 2008/2012 losses mainstream Republicans were finally ready to listen to their election post-mortem documents and shift focus away from immigration and alienation of latinos, but in the 2016 primaries their base did not let them. They chose Trump specifically because he rejected that and instead articulated Bannon's strategy. Their grievances were ultimately given one chance to shine.

That doesn't meant that every Republican today agrees with Bannon's tactics. Trump did not win the majority of Republicans over on his merits. He won through having a core of supporters that backed him through a heavily factionalized primary with non-traditional rules for expediency, then benefited from partisanship, hacking, and Hillary's unpopularity in the general.

Despite the results of the election I'm confident that Bannonism is going to prove to be a passing fad. His ideas will inevitably bring practical ruin in the form of decaying relations, economic and otherwise, which temporarily diminish the country in a visible way that they won't be able to deny. Dems will take the house in 2018, the Presidency in 2020, and then the yo-yo will swing back. And the next time the Republicans come up to bat? They'll bring a latino-tolerant platform.

As far as whether or not individual racist actions have increased after the election? I don't know. That's an empirical question I don't have the data for.

[Cassandra LeMay]

As far as whether or not individual racist actions have increased after the election? I don't know. That's an empirical question I don't have the data for.

There is data on that, and hate crimes and hate-fueled incidents are on the rise. I am not going to link to individual articles, as the data is spread around a bit between articles adressing different topics (anti-Muslim, anti-Jew, anti-LGBT, anti-black, and pretty much any anti-.... you can think of), but a good starting point if you want to get a picture (and have some time for reading) is the SPLC's Intelligence Report: https://www.splcenter.org/intelligence-report

[Darkcide]

Racism in America isn't a new trend. Not remotely. A lot of racists just have massive chips on their shoulders because they had to deal with 8 years of a person of color being in the White House and they have this weird sort of disconnect and victim mentality that I don't understand.

[Darwishi]

Racism in America isn't a new trend. Not remotely. A lot of racists just have massive chips on their shoulders because they had to deal with 8 years of a person of color being in the White House and they have this weird sort of disconnect and victim mentality that I don't understand.

Are you implying that the only racists in the country are white?  It's an honest question, because that's the way the statement seems to be.  It also seems to be the way this thread is going, and I'm genuinely curious if that's what everyone thinks.

[Lustful Bride]

Are you implying that the only racists in the country are white?  It's an honest question, because that's the way the statement seems to be.  It also seems to be the way this thread is going, and I'm genuinely curious if that's what everyone thinks.

I don't think that's how the thread is going. Racism exists on all sides absolutely, no group of people on earth owns the monopoly on being good or bad, the victim of the victimizer, its just that as of late the white supremacists have been throwing the biggest tantrum and causing the most trouble.

[Darkcide]

Are you implying that the only racists in the country are white?  It's an honest question, because that's the way the statement seems to be.  It also seems to be the way this thread is going, and I'm genuinely curious if that's what everyone thinks.

No. And no. My statement was a lot of racists. I didn't say or even imply all racists are white. I said a lot of racists felt ways about a person of color being president. Which they did.

[HannibalBarca]

When a nation is a majority of one ethnicity, and has a history of racism, like the U.S. does, but also has a history of immigration, like the U.S. does...becoming a nation where no ethnic group is the majority is preferable.  I think every nation should eventually be of such mixed ethnic variety that no one will care what their ethnic ancestry is.  That doesn't mean ignoring their past.  Understanding history as a way to avoid our collective mistakes as a species is what is important, not holding on to outdated traditions that harm others because of ignorance or hate.

I'd like to see Europe less white, Africa less black, Asia less ethnic Asian.  I'd like to see Japan stop preventing immigration from any country other than Korea.  The U.S. definitely isn't the only country with a racism problem.

[RedRose]

I would never consider (not) voting for someone because of their skin color, origin or gender. Will I find it cool when there will be a French female president? Only if I like her as a President.

I'm all for people being proud to be white, black, Asian... It doesn't have to go along with putting down others, and even less with mistreating them. All cultures are interesting.

[la dame en noir]

This is just in response to the title itself. There is nothing new about racism in America. Apparently people are just now understanding that it never went anywhere. Now racist folks have bigger mouths and an government that will back their actions. Nothing new about it.

[la dame en noir]

Are you implying that the only racists in the country are white?  It's an honest question, because that's the way the statement seems to be.  It also seems to be the way this thread is going, and I'm genuinely curious if that's what everyone thinks.

I don't think their implying it, but white men hold the majority of power in the country. They're the ones that get away with the most. They're the ones doing mass shootings, serial killings, etc.

[Mathim]

I would never consider (not) voting for someone because of their skin color, origin or gender. Will I find it cool when there will be a French female president? Only if I like her as a President.

I'm all for people being proud to be white, black, Asian... It doesn't have to go along with putting down others, and even less with mistreating them. All cultures are interesting.

I had a multicultural studies professor tell us we shouldn't equate race with culture, though, so I don't think the right way to say that is proud to be white, black, Asian, etc., but proud to be of a particular culture. For example, I could give a shit if I'm white (but occasionally mistaken for Latino), but I'm proud to be a geek and nerd, the cultures I most closely identify with. And one of my favorite internet personalities, Andre the Black Nerd on Youtube, happens to be black. I can identify more with him because of the more significant and meaningful common ground between us than I can with most other white people because of that superficial characteristic.

Reducing the dominant numbers of a majority in any organization, from a social club to an entire country's population, naturally creates an environment less conducive for oppression via majority rule, no matter what demographic happens to be the majority, so while the 'American becoming less white is a good thing' could have been phrased better, it means essentially the same as the above sentiment. The problem is, 'white' isn't the only majority exerting WAY too much power across the board, and while I've got my own opinions on it, I'll just say that no religion should be allowed to have the same privileged position that being white seems to afford.

And no group has a monopoly on racism (I harken back to Avenue Q's classic song "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist") but any majority will naturally feel emboldened to act upon their beliefs and likely be able to shield themselves because of that dominant status quo. I would also imagine that if one belongs to the majority group, you'd be more likely to think that your actions will send a message and have it actually succeed in being received by others of your group, while those in minority groups would feel discouraged even receiving a positive message because of the perceived lack of power. Just an educated guess, but I could be wrong.

[Lustful Bride]

They're the ones doing serial killings, etc.

uuhhh....Serial killing doesn't much have that much to do with race. I mean it can but not usually. And there have been Serial killers of all races. When one of them does it its mostly about the thrill of the kill or getting sexual gratification from the harm done to a victim, or the sense of power to have this person's life in their hands and knowing that the have the power to end their existence without repercussion. Granted yes its odd that most of the serial killers caught/identified have been white, but I personally just think that its because those are the ones we have caught. And if we could catch al of them in the world and count them up, it would probably be more of an even number, which in and of itself is terrifying since it means there are a lot more killers out there that will never be identified or known about.

But back on topic I mean yeah a serial killers can target people by their race, and probably have and I just cant think of any examples at the moment. But this kind of thing tends to be similar to rape. Its not really about the sex, its about power, and harming a person in a way that cannot be healed. And some of them just do it for the recognition at times. Hence why some say we shouldn't be giving so much attention to serial killers and mass shooters since it turns them into like some evil rockstars.

Unless you meant something else and used the term 'serial killing' in the wrong place. Cause to become a serial killer I think its like you have to purposefully kill 3 or more people.

@ Mathim:

The problem is, 'white' isn't the only majority exerting WAY too much power across the board, and while I've got my own opinions on it, I'll just say that no religion should be allowed to have the same privileged position that being white seems to afford.

I personally feel like the abuse of religion to justify harm to others is really just a symptom of a faction having too much power. We saw that happening before in the cold war with the red scare, and that was all just about economics. :/

*Insert quote about power corrupting here.*

I really hope im not coming off as a know-it-all because i keep budding my head into things >_<.