I Can't Breathe.

[bixaorellana]

It is possible to open discussions without being irritatingly arch. This conversation has been raised on anyport before, mostly around Barack Obama.

And you still haven't explained "morally black".

[mickthecactus]

So who are non-binary women of colour?

[fumobici]

Jun 15, 2020 15:20:10 GMT kerouac2 said:

And I read an article by a black biracial man who said that his black biracial children are lucky because they don't look black. I am appalled that someone who has a white mother and who has a white wife would still consider his pale children to be morally black. Apparent the "one drop" doctrine is alive and well in 2020.

I've read that the African-American political class enthusiastically embraced the overtly racist "one drop principle" for the simple and practical reason that it massively increased their potential constituency. The absurd result is both racist whites and activist blacks agreeing that people with almost exclusively European ancestry being identified as "black" or A-A. Strange bedfellows.

[bixaorellana]

Jun 16, 2020 14:45:20 GMT fumobici said:

I've read that the African-American political class enthusiastically embraced the overtly racist "one drop principle" for the simple and practical reason that it massively increased their potential constituency.

Where did you read that, Fumobici? It seems illogical -- more like someones theory than a hard fact.

[fumobici]

My recollection is that it was from a PBS documentary of the early civil rights struggle.

[lagatta]

A fellow from Trinidad (a nice guy by the way, who works in one of the nearby Vietnamese groceries) was annoyed that I don't refer to myself as Black. One of my grandfathers was Obama coloured, also from the Caribbean. This gave me fuller lips and nappier hair than I'd have had otherwise, but the rest of my family was either from Northwestern Europe (Celtic rim, anglo and franco) or Southern Europe. And while I have several Indigenous relatives, there is no evidence that I'm part Indigenous, and I have zero interest in taking a DNA test.

I understand the reasons for it, but it is rather sad to see people with some African descent buying into the crap science of the one-drop rule.

[bixaorellana]

What is sad is that there is prejudice against people of African descent. We've had this discussion/argument here on anyport before and I continue to maintain that people self-identify as Black because of the cultural structure of the United States. The only people who could legitimately pronounce on that are African-Americans -- and you'd need a good number of responders to the question to even begin to get a handle on it.

I do agree with you about DNA tests. Regardless of what one might reveal, I would still self-identify as a White American, for better or for worse.

[kerouac2]

Actually, a DNA test would almost certainly say that you are white European. White American does not exist in genes.

[bixaorellana]

And that is the BFO.

[bixaorellana]

Everyone may not want to wade through this statistic-packed essay, but it's important and certainly germane to this thread: granta.com/violence-in-blue/

[kerouac2]

Looks like some police departments still have room for improvement.

Fired Wilmington cop: “We are just going to go out and start slaughtering them f—— ni—–. I can’t wait. God, I can’t wait.”

[mickthecactus]

Unbelievable.

[bixaorellana]

Actually, the text of the article is even more scary than the ugly headline, as it outlines the fired cops' plans. The article gives an enormous amount of credence to my belief and that of thousands of others that the prevailing, long-time image of policing is bound to attract the wrong sort of people to the job. It's not just about restructuring or sensitivity sessions. Serious psychological screening is imperative for applicants. Remember that every applicant for every job in the US, be it research librarian or traffic cop, is an applicant coming from the bizarre and pervasive gun culture that typifies the US. Those who embrace that culture have to be weeded out.

[kerouac2]

Fox News to the rescue.

Mississippi pastor says he was kicked out of church for saying ‘black lives matter’

[tod2]

Bye the bye…..Our Tabloids have warned us that the police chief, Beki Cele and others are actually running the day today who says what and who does what, in South Africa. The ANC - ruling party come under them. Who would ever guess in a Pandemic your Government has suddenly changed.

[mickthecactus]

Just reading an article which says native Americans were big slave owners.

[spaceneedle]

Update on the Seattle CHAZ/CHOP

www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/07/more-arrests-overnight-on-capitol-hill-as-new-battle-lines-form-between-protesters-and-police/

[kerouac2]

The man who caused the death of George Floyd is out on bail. I can guess where the $1 million for Derek Chauvin came from.

[kerouac2]

And it all comes back to Minneapolis.... Doesn't look like much has changed.

[Biddy]

Too true very little has changed in police culture. Personally I believe all the talk of defunding the police has hardened attitudes within police ranks. I am very curious to see the outcome of the Chauvin trial.

[bixaorellana]

The sentence "defund the police" was very unfortunate. It got people all wild-eyed and crazy, thinking there would not be so much as crossing guards and that robbers and killers would be rampant.

The idea was to take some of the bloated funding from the police and put it into mental health programs & other social welfare outlets. There would be specially trained personnel to respond to domestic violence situations, for instance. Some of the funding could have gone to testing police and police aspirants as to their psychological fitness for the job.

[mickthecactus]

That is very interesting to us foreigners.

Thanks bixa.

[Biddy]

Agreed Bixa - the term 'defund the police' was ill conceived. Everyone wants to know when they dial 911 in an emergency that a squad car will respond.

[kerouac2]

The Chauvin verdict was a relief.

[mickthecactus]

Certainly was.

[fumobici]

Huge relief. If that horrible man had got away with that daylight lynching things would have gotten ugly fast here (as they damn well should).

[casimira]

Amen to that...

[bixaorellana]

Yes.

[Biddy]

Agreed many storefronts in San Francisco were putting up plywood this afternoon. The verdict had not yet come down. The next issue will be sentencing. It was a good decision.

[lugg]

Yes a huge relief.