Pam's House Blend - Race

Charles Stewart: The night the House passed the healthcare bill

Pam Spaulding — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:00 GMT

(NOTE FROM PAM: Karen Ocamb of LGBT POV gave permission to the Blend post this great and unsettling piece.}

(Karen: I first met Charles Stewart in the late 80s/early 1990s when his close friend Phill Wilson was running the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. Those were the days when the late poet Essex Hemphill and filmmaker Marlon Riggs were hot and controversial with Rigg's artistic documentary "Tongues Untied: Black Men Loving Black Men." Charles went to work for Diane Watson, an elected official from the Los Angeles area who now represents her district in Congress. On Sunday, Nov. 8, the day after the healthcare bill passed the US House of Representatives, Charles wrote an email to his father about the experience of watching history being made. While many of us are still rankled over the inclusion of the anti-abortion provision and we await the Senate version of the bill, it is important to remember this night - and Charles, an openly gay congressional staffer, graciously gave me permission to share it with you. It is especially significant to note how Charles' email to his father concludes. Herewith the letter - Karen Ocamb)

Nov. 8, 2009
Dad,
I admit I had doubt. But last night I saw it with my own eyes from the gallery above the House of Representatives' floor. Friday, staff were told to report early Saturday morning, be prepared to work into the wee hours, and to work all day Sunday as well.
Because of the expected deluge of "tea baggers" to protest against healthcare reform, security was tight, the phones rang non-stop (mostly pro-healthcare), but the boss wanted our office door kept open to the public (only Representatives Judy Chu and John Conyers also kept their office doors open on our floor of the Rayburn House Building, although I know many of them were being staffed behind closed doors).
Diane said the President was inspiring and confident in his meeting yesterday morning with the Democratic Caucus, which we'd been told the night before was cancelled so he could spend the day in Texas with the families of the shooting victims at Ft. Hood. But he swung by the Capitol before boarding Air Force One.

The letter continues below the fold.

Diane had to go back and forth via tunnel to the Capitol all day long, whenever the vote buzzer went off in the office. The morning session to bring healthcare reform to the floor for a vote started off chilly and got downright mean, as a parade of our female Democratic Members stepped up to the mic in succession to speak in favor of the bill, driving the Republicans to scramble to get their far fewer women Members to do likewise.
Diane's comment was interrupted, like all the other Dem women, by the Republicans yelling out points of order, rattling poor old Rep. John Dingell, who's 83 and was acting Speaker for Pelosi as the senior Member of the House (in office since 1955, at the beginning of every House session Dingell introduces a bill calling for national health system, the same bill his father proposed while he was in the House). His hand must have started to ache because he finally flipped the gavel around and held it by the mallet as he kept pounding it to rule the Republicans out of order.
Debate and delaying maneuvers went on like that all day, first on the Rule allowing the bill to come to the floor, then on the anti-abortion amendment which passed (the pro-life Dems refused to compromise, threatening to vote against healthcare reform entirely unless the bill, which already banned federal funding for abortions, was broadened to appease America's top-ranking Catholic bishops who insisted that the bill must also ban any healthcare program {made available to women who receive federal aid} from allowing them to pay for an abortion with their own money - which infuriated most of the women Members and almost killed the whole bill), then on the Republicans' substitute amendment, and finally, at 11:30pm, on healthcare reform itself.
The remnant of Diane's staff (she sent most home at noon) went from betting over how long the Republicans could play defense to dickering over which of us was going to get to crash on the couch in our lobby (the sofa in Diane's office was reserved, of course, for her to sleep on if necessary). We'd lugged in breakfast (and Members get fed by their respective Caucuses in the Capitol), but by 7pm I volunteered to go stand out on Independence Avenue and New Jersey (the Capitol was majestic, lit up in the autumn night!) waiting for delivery of our Chinese take-out, since post-9/11 barriers don't allow unofficial cars to get close to the buildings anymore.
Finally, after 10pm the last buzzer sounded. I rode across the street to the Capitol with Diane, this time by car since she hoped to be able to drive on home after this vote, thence to L.A. on the morrow. We dropped her off on the Capitol's southern steps and started to park when she told me to hand her our copy of the bill, H.R. 3962, through the window.
I had to walk the five floors up to the House Gallery showing my staff I.D. repeatedly before seeing, in dismay, the long line of political junkies, Members' relatives and other staffers trying to get in to witness the historic vote. Stripped down to shirt, pants and shoes (even blackberry, notepad and pen were taken), and being wanded down repeatedly, the Sergeants-at-arms finally let us in, warning us sternly not to applaud or shout under any circumstances. My boss was standing on the floor down below wearing chartreuse and carrying the bill in one hand and her purse in the other, as all the Members milled about, chattering.
Then the countdown began. Two members had been elected to the House Tuesday in Special Elections from New York and California (Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi) to replace Members who had been invited to join Obama's Administration, so all 435 seats of the House of Representatives were occupied on the floor below.
50% + 1 of 435 = 218, a majority. There's a scoreboard above the Speaker's rostrum which shows the Members' votes, each of them casting it by insertion of their individual magcards in aisle stations. There were some shout-outs as Republicans challenged the Chair and were ruled out of order. The clock began to tick down from 15 minutes, and the vote tally appeared, showing the name of each member as they voted, as well as the total of Ayes and Nays.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (a spry brotha from South Carolina) moved around the floor encircling various Members, themselves encircled by their chief aides, and toward the end Pelosi would every now and then collect a slip of paper from a Member, pirouette up to the well, and hand it to a clerk who handed it up to acting Speaker Dingell.
The Republicans, as usual, voted right away, so at first the Nays had it. Then the Dems got down to business, gradually caught up and pulled ahead. Not only were the media (in their own section directly above the Speaker's dais) and everyone in the Gallery watching the tally on the wall, but the Members on the floor gazed up while talking, pacing, and squeezing by each other.
The suspense became unbearable as the Ayes reached 210 and seemed to freeze, while the Nays hovered at 196. Vote by vote, the Ayes and Nays raced against the clock, which ticked down to 5 minutes, at which point Members could only submit or change votes by hand.
Motion on the Republican side was static, most Members sitting in their chairs or standing at the back of the room directly below me. But motion on the Dem side reached a frenzy and the buzz gradually grew to a roar.
The Nays crept up above 210. The Ayes on the tally board stuck at 215 for what seemed like forever. Then 216, then 217, then it seemed like everyone in the Gallery jumped to their feet as applause broke out from down below, joined by us when even some of the Sergeants clapped.
Only then did I notice that not everyone was standing: the staffers I'd chatted with seated next to and behind me were not standing, but leaning back or slumped forward over the railing - suddenly it was clear who among our Greek chorus were Reps and who were Dems, pros and cons. The applause below focused and was amplified with hurrahs as half the room turned toward the woman in red [Pelosi] and stood, while the Republicans on the other side of the aisle began to file out.
Waiting to escort Diane to the car after retrieving my stuff, I stood at the base of the double-stairs below a painting five times my height in which I recognized the likenesses of Washington and Franklin. After sergeants herded reporters beyond my perch and into the Press Room, I caught the eye of the lady in red leading a pack in my direction; she smiled when I said "Congratulations, Madam Speaker" and was whisked away.
The boss soon followed, handed me that humongous bill (though not nearly as huge as the Republicans claim, when printed in ordinary 10 point font, single-spaced and on both sides of the sheet), and pulled me into the media room behind her. It was so hot and crowded I broke out in a dizzy sweat, but managed to get Diane seated and stayed upright to hear Pelosi's statement, those of the Democratic Leadership (including Rep. Patrick Kennedy who said, "My father was a Senator, but tonight his spirit is here in the House!" I was sentimental enough to mist up), and the questions put to her by the press.
No sooner were they done and broke up then Diane sprang forward, I assumed to remind Leadership of something or someone they'd forgotten to acknowledge during the press conference. But 10 minutes later I followed her out the door and she handed me the bill again, this time with signatures on the cover sheet of every member of the Democratic Leadership who had pushed Obama's healthcare reform into reality and history.
I didn't care that I got lost yet again in the underground tunnel from the Capitol to Rayburn. Diane's dictated statement was quickly uploaded to her website and e-blasted to the media, I lay the bill down on her desk, and we shut down the office.
It was 1:30 a.m. when a cabbie, whose taxi I'd jumped into yet who obviously didn't relish driving this big black fella into Maryland, expelled me saying "You catch train. No stopped yet!" So it took an extra half hour, but I saved 25 bucks and fell asleep across my bed, pants on. Next, the Senate...
Freddie
Charles Stewart
Legislative Director
U.S. Rep. Diane Watson
2430 Rayburn House Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20515

PA: 'Whites only' club sinks to the bottom of the pool - Valley Club files for bankruptcy

Pam Spaulding — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:34:30 GMT

Welcome back to post-racial America friends, where some people believe that electing a black man as POTUS erases all vestiges of racism from American culture.

Sometimes there is justice in the world, and in some ways it takes a sad form in the context of the big picture. If The Valley Club had members and leadership who thought about the cruelty they showed to the minority children from The Creative Steps Day Camp, the facility wouldn't be in this position.

Yesterday, Valley president John Duesler announced that the club's board of directors had voted 5-1 to file this week for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
For months, it had been rumored that Valley would not survive the costs associated with legal proceedings and lawsuits filed on behalf of young campers from Creative Steps Day Camp, a city summer camp whose members are minorities.
Campers' families alleged that their children's pool privileges had been revoked because the club's overwhelmingly white members didn't want children of color at the small, suburban club.

Ronnie Polaneczky of the Philadelphia Daily News has the entire e-mail from Valley Club president John Duesler to club members, sent out this week. A snippet that still shows a startling lack of insight about the initial problem that led the club to this place:

"[W]e have also emailed you, last year's members, and have understandably received a collective shrug of the shoulders...we are all tired and beaten down and just sickened by how our club has been improperly portrayed. After speaking to many members, my sense is that mostly everyone wants to move on."
...Please know that this Board has done everything in its power to find a reasonable solution to, not just the declining memberships, but the legal remedies too. Yet, as with so many things that we face in life today, much of our challenges ame down to a matter of money! Money! Money! While our club has great heart and character, money is a resource of which we have been perpetually short.
"We do wish all of you the best, and we look forward to seeing you again within our community of families and friends.

This incident is another healthy reminder that self-segregation, in case illegal self-segregation, exists in many places outside of the South. (IMHO, the most color-aroused place I've ever lived is NYC, there were social norms and political history that fostered clear habitation boundaries that are just now breaking down because of the general unaffordability of housing.)

Remember the Freudian slip to the media by John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club when the initial excuses began?

"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."

Below the fold, the details in the Human Relations Commission report that left no doubt that this club had quite a retro mentality about race relations and pool purity.

In the report findings, there is example after example of parties the size or larger than The Creative Steps Day Camp's welcomed in with few restrictions, certainly none of them turned away. The Valley Club had 155 paid membership in 2009 and 179 in 2008, none held by an African-American. A few screenshots to peruse of the reactions of some Valley Clubbers:

And this:

Valley Club tried in 2009 to expand its membership by recruiting in areas outside its township - Lower Moreland, which has a 0.8 percent black population - mailouts were "mainly directed at areas with overwhelmingly Caucasian populations" including Rhawnhurst, Fox Chase and Churchville.

The more-diverse townships of Cheltenham and Abington, like other nearby areas with "significant African-American populations," the report says, were passed over.

I wonder what happened to that teacher, Michelle Flynn, who so clearly revealed her personal biases above?

Hat tip, Adam B.

A Response to Angry Black Woman Article on "Racism" * * *

francislholland — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:56:52 GMT

In an article entitled "The Low Cost of Being Racist", by Karnythia at the blog, "The Angry Black Woman: Race, Politics, Gender, Sexuality, Anger" blog points to a case in Taos, New Mexico as an example of "racism". A white man bought a hotel in this mostly Latino town and then told Latino workers that their names had to be anglicized, and could no longer be pronounced as would be appropriate in their native language, and as they had been called all their lives, at work and at home.

According to Yahoo News,

The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules. Among them, he forbade the Hispanic workers at the run-down, Southwestern adobe-style hotel from speaking Spanish in his presence (he thought they'd be talking about him), and ordered some to Anglicize their names.

No more Martin (Mahr-TEEN). It was plain-old Martin. No more Marcos. Now it would be Mark.

Whitten's management style had worked for him as he's turned around other distressed hotels he bought in recent years across the country.

The 63-year-old Texan, however, wasn't prepared for what followed. Yahoo News.

Although I understand Karnythia's concern with "racism", there is a fundamental futility in calling people and their behavior "racist":

New Mexico's anti-discrimination law does not use the word "racist" and does not forbid being a "racist". Instead, the anti-discrimination statute forbids acts and practices based on race . . . color . . . national origin . . . ancestry . . .

28-1-7. Unlawful discriminatory practice. It is an unlawful discriminatory practice for: A. an employer, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification or other statutory prohibition, to refuse to hire, to discharge, to promote or demote or to discriminate in matters of compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment against any person otherwise qualified because of race, age, religion, ancestry, sex, physical or mental handicap or serious medical condition, or, if the employer has fifty or more employees, spousal affiliation; provided, however, that 29 U.S.C. Section 631(c)(1) and (2) shall apply to discrimination based on age; or, if the employer has fifteen or more employees, to discriminate against an employee based upon the employee's sexual orientation or gender identity;

Since the employee's names are virtually inseparable from their "national origin" and "ancestry," to oblige Hispanics to anglicize and stop using their given names seems a like discrimination to me. And I believe I have read some caselaw to that effect although I don't remember the citations.

So, is Whitten "racist"? What difference does it make, if our laws do not provide for treatment or punishment for being racist?
Like diagnosing someone with "bipolar disorder" and "schizophrenia", "racist" is a diagnosis that cannot be proved based on one act of illegal color-aroused discrimination. As with alcoholism, you need a case history, access to medical records, discussion with family . . . No one should be psychiatrically diagnosed, e.g. an "alcoholic" on the basis on one night of drinking.

Does that mean they should not be punished for their behavior? Absolutely not! If drivers drives drunk, then they can should be penalized not because they are alcoholics, a determination which is more in the realm of medicine that law, and which determination would require expert testimony and weeks of testimony. No, they should be punished not for what they are, but for what they did. The should be punished because they drove drunk, which is a determination that does not require expert testimony.

Laws typically prohibit what people do, not what they are. Even laws that declare someone to be a sex offender based the sex-offender characterization on on individual convictions, based on proven sex offenses. Statutes specify exactly what behavior leads to a determination that a convict is a sex offender.

Is anyone aware of a law under which three acts of discrimination qualify the offender as a "racist"? That doesn't exist, and I don't think it will anytime soon, if only because "racist" is a psyhchiatric determination rather than a legal one.

There is a fundamentally distinction between proving what someone is and what someone has done. A law professor once told me to be careful not to exaggerate my own "burden of proof." Don't say, for example, "The prosecution will prove that Mr. Rapist is the most hideous rapist in the state." Don't say that to the jury because even if the jury find that Mr. Rapist has commited one act of rape, that same jury might use the burden of proof that you suggested - "most hideous rapist" - and find that there is reasonable doubt on the question of "most hideous". That would be a shame since "most hideous" is not a criteria necessary for a rape conviction.

Back to Larry Whitten, the hotel owner. If we propose to prove that Whitten should be punished by the Government because he is a "racist," then we will fail because:

(a) Being a "racist" is not against the law, and

(b) Even if being a "racist" were against the law, you would need expert testimony from psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists and even linguists to prove that Whitten is a racist. Aren't discrimination cases hard enough already without assuming this immensely higher burden of proof?

When we assume that we have to prove that someone "is a racist" in order for anything to be done about their behavior, we effectively increase our own burden of proof from:

(a) proving what they have done, to

(b) proving what they are in their essence.

Many of us cannot describe ourselves cogently, much less convince an all-white judge or jury that one or three or five actions of discrimination. That's a determination that a legislature would have to make by legislating the number and kind of acts which, once proven, make a person a "racist."

Here's an analogy: to convict someone of shoplifting, do you have to prove that they have a long-established tendency to steal from stores, or is it enough to show that they stole from one store one time? Should we change the law to increase the burden of proof, requiring the state to prove that the defendant is a shoplifter. If so, how many instances of shoplifting must the prosecutor compile, and what additional psychiatric information would be required before the state can arrest someone for being a thief?

Must a prosecutor prove that the person who raped a woman is a rapist, or only that he raped someone on one occasion? Is it unfair to punish someone for "just one rape"? Shouldn't we wait unti the have committed a series of rapes, and until there is a consensus among the talk show hosts, before we put them in jail, having determined that all of their rapes together prove that they are a rapist? Is so, then every man can commit one or two rapes with impunity, because one or two rapes, without more, don't prove that he is a rapist.

What we're really talking about is whether someone has to be proved to be a serial rapist before they can be charged and convicted of one rape? And whether someone has to be a serial violator of anti-discrimation laws before the can be charged with discrimination. After arguing over the definition of "racist" for half a century, it should be obvious to us that it is much easier to prove what someone has done on a particular day, with witnesses present, than it is to prove what someone is.

The problem with calling people "racist" is that "racist" is a high bar to clear, and requires a strong burden of proof on the person making the accusation. It's fair to ask, how can you tell from this one circumstance that the person's manner of interacting with Latinos is consistently and chronically antagonistic based on the "race" of the victim?

The truth is, it really doesn't matter whether Larry Whitten is a "racist" or not. It seems likely to me that under New Mexico's anti-discrimination law, Whitten would be found to have engaged in unlawful discrimination in this instance, because he forbids people to use the names that inherently identify them with their color, national origin and ancestry. Just stating that rule, orally or in writing, is sufficient at least to file a claim under the anti-discrimination, because to fail to file a claim will mean acquisence to a long series of violations of the statute.

Here's an analogy: Your child takes ten dollars out of your pocketbook to buy candy. You say he is a thief and must be punished. He retorts, "I have stolen in this once instance, but that doesn't prove that I steal all the time, in the past and into the future. I am guilty of one act of theft, but that is not enough for me to deserve a spanking. You must prove that I am a thief.

Merriam Webster Dictionary says that a "thief" is "one who steals." So, your child argues that he has stolen only once, but that does not prove that he is "one who steals" habitually. And so he isn't a thief and cannot be punished for one mere act of theft.

And so you say to your child, "You are right." I don't have enough information to determine that you have dedicated your life to an unyielding pattern of thievery. So I agree that it would be unfair to punish you for stealing $10.00 from me. I agree to wait until you have stolen so many times that you meet the definition of "one who steals" rather than the lower burden of proof of "one who has stolen."

Now, your child has you beaten. There is no one anywhere who can specify the number of times and quantity of money stolen necessary to prove, to everyone's satisfaction, that your child is a thief. That's why the law against theft focuses on what the defendant has done, rather than on what he is as a person.

Remember: we do not need to prove that someone is a rapist; we only need to prove that they comitted ONE act of rape. Likewise, we do not have to prove that Larry Whitten is a racist and doing so would have no legal effect even if it were possible. We only need to prove that he committed one or more unlawful acts of discrimination.

It is not illegal to be a "racist", even in Brazil where there is a law that specifically forbids acts of racism. The law forbids acts, not vaguel or completely undefined existential states. This is why we need to stop calling people "racists", setting a high evidentiary bar that we can never clear. We need to show how individual acts and patterns of acts constitute violations of anti-discrimination laws. If those laws do not forbid the acts that most offend us, then we need new laws. But, we'll never get a law that punishes people for what they are rather than for what they do.

*** I habitually place the word "racism" in quotes, because the definition of "racism" is "targetting us because of our race". The problem with that approach is that it implicitly but clearly concedes that "race" exists in the first place. However Acccording to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Human Genome Program:

"DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent patterns of genes across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from another. There also is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other."

In other words, the Human Genome Project has proven that, as a matter of scientific fact, that which we call "race" does not exist as a matter of biology, and so all references to "race" are references to a fallacy.

Some people have ideation, emotion and behavior that is aroused by skin color or foreign-sounding names. That fact ought not and does not support the layman belief that biological "race" exists. "Race," was conceived as a white supremacist propaganda tool to legitimize slavery and subjugation of Blacks, and has since metasticized into an near society-wide belief that even Blacks endorse by using words like "race", "racism", "racial" and "racist."

RNC's Facebook page: Obama eating chicken and 'miscegenation is a crime'

Pam Spaulding — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:16:03 GMT

UPDATE: Media Matters reports this shite was left up for SIX DAYS. A national political org has no one monitoring its FB page. That in itself is pathetic.

It's nice to know that fans of the Republican National Committee don't have a problem cutting loose in the imagined privacy of Facebook. It was captured this in all its glory before someone got a clue that even their fearless "leader" Michael Steele might have a problem with it.

Jesse @ Pandagon:

Now, as we all know, MoveOn.org held a user submission contest several years ago where someone uploaded a video comparing Bush to Hitler. It was taken down after about 30 minutes, but is still a part of conservative lore to this day as something MoveOn ran.

So...why does the RNC a.) oppose interracial marriage, b.) believe in the chicken-eating stereotype of black Americans and c.) think you can "repeal" a Supreme Court decision?

Nice to know they want to roll back Loving v. Virginia. A party rolling back the clock has a really bright future.

The denial of personal bigotry reaches epic FAIL proportions

Pam Spaulding — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:53:18 GMT

As you all know, Keith Bardwell is still smarting for being called a racist for refusing to marry an interracial couple. He strenuously denied that he was racist, saying the fact he lets negroes use the bathroom in his house is proof positive of his open heart. And so he also refuses to step down, even after being called to do so by Governor Bobby Jindal and Sen. Mary Landrieu. Notably, Republican Senator David Vitter apparently didn't release a statement to USA Today.

Keith Bardwell's comments to reporters follows calls for his ouster by Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal and Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu.

"Everybody hates me," he tells reporters. "Really. I don't know why. I treat people, I figure, equal. I have one problem with mixed marriages and that is the offspring."

Asked if he is "racist," Bardwell replies: "Absolutely not.

"My definition of a racist is to hate black people, or treat black people different that anybody else," he says.

Perhaps he has a different dictionary than we do.

Moving right along to another case of denial, this time anti-Semitism, we feature famed Irish tenor Ronan Tynan, who is well-known for singing at Yankee games. He seems to have a very narrow view about what kind of "Jew humor" isn't offensive.

Tynan, famous for belting out "God Bless America" at Yankee games, ran into a friend of his, a real estate broker, while he was showing apartments in his building to a pediatrician named Gabrielle Gold-von Simson.

"Don't worry, they are not Red Sox fans," the broker reportedly said. "I don't care about that, as long as they are not Jewish," Tynan replied.

That line might - might - have been funny if delivered as schtick by the likes of Jackie Mason, Mel Brooks or Larry David. But Dr. Gold-von Simson, distinctly unamused, complained to her broker and reported the exchange to WNBC-TV.

The Yankees cancelled Tynan's scheduled Friday appearance at the American League playoffs.

"I'm not anti-Semitic and I have never been in my life," Tynan protested, calling the incident "something misfortunate, I was too stupid with my mouth."

Hmm. You mean the signals from his brain got scrambled on the way to his KKK tongue and mouth? How come that doesn't happen when he goes to sing "God Bless America"? He apologized, btw, and it was accepted by Dr. Gold-von Simson.

I guess we can put these two on the shelf with the teabagger who said he can't be racist because he helped out black Boy Scouts once or because they gave mouth-to-mouth to a black NBA player 20 years ago.

Morehouse dress code bans cross-dressing: it's not 'expected in Morehouse men'

Pam Spaulding — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:41:58 GMT

We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men."
-- Dr. William Bynum, vice president for Student Services

When sweeping statements like this are made, it makes you want to ask Bynum if he knows if there's a difference between gay/trans/cross-dressing, since it's pretty apparent from the ignorant statement that he probably doesn't. (CNN):

An all-male college in Atlanta, Georgia, has banned the wearing of women's clothes, makeup, high heels and purses as part of a new crackdown on what the institution calls inappropriate attire. No dress-wearing is part of a larger dress code launched this week that Morehouse College is calling its "Appropriate Attire Policy."

The policy also bans wearing hats in buildings, pajamas in public, do-rags, sagging pants, sunglasses in class and walking barefoot on campus.

Senior Devon Watson said he disagrees with parts of the new policy, especially those that tell students what they should wear in free time outside of the classroom.

"I feel that there will be a lot of resentment and backlash," Watson said. "It infringes on the student's freedom of expression. I matriculated successfully for three-and-half years dressing so how is this a problem?"

It's one thing to ban droopy drawers and dressing in pajama bottoms on campus because it looks unprofessional, but when you cross into the territory of a blanket statement about gender expression, it's discriminatory. What if a male student shows up for class dressed in a sharp tailored woman's business suit, appropriate footwear, etc? to Bynum, that's equivalent to dressing up like Carmen Miranda with a basket of fruit on her head.

According to the CNN article, Bynum met with the campus gay organization, Morehouse Safe Space, which voted on the policy and overwhelmingly supported it, 27-3. MSS says on its Twitter page that "We are the ONLY LGBT Organization @ Morehouse College. We strive to find an alliance amongst Gay & Straight Students in the AUC." I think it's a safe assumption to say the "T" is there as lip service based on that vote. Given how there's already a lack of affirmation for LGB at many HBCUs, the trans issue is simply not enough on the radar to put up a fight, and that's sad.

An another article (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Bynum gives additional reasoning for the no-dresses policy that are also revealing and relevant to note.

"This is necessary, this is needed according to the students," he said. "We know the challenges that young African-American men face. We know that how a student dresses has nothing to do with what is in their head, but first impressions mean everything."

It shows you how black (and other POC) trans folk are double damned in their communities -- they are the living hurdle to cultural acceptance and thus are vilified in policies like this.

***

The article also notes that at Hampton University that would enrage me -- students with braids or dreadlocks are encouraged to cut their hair. Again, locs are becoming more acceptable in the workplace, HBCUs are concerned that aside from an afro (I assume it would only find a short one acceptable), that locs and braids even a well groomed styles, are an impediment to employment when one is already dealing with racial discrimination. It's not fair, but I'd have to say, in some parts of the country and some professions, this crap is still true. You have to land the job first, and then see if you can "go natural."

The Morehouse Dress Code Policy is below the fold.

Morehouse College Appropriate Attire Policy
October 2009

Published in The Maroon Tiger

It is our expectation that students who select Morehouse do so because of the College's outstanding legacy of producing leaders. On the campus and at College-sponsored events and activities, students at Morehouse College will be expected to dress neatly and appropriately at all times.

Students who choose not to abide by this policy will be denied admission into class and various functions and services of the College if their manner of attire is inappropriate. Examples of inappropriate attire and/or appearance include but are not limited to:

1. No caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues. This policy item does not apply to headgear considered as a part of religious or cultural dress.

2. Sun glasses or "shades" are not to be work in class or at formal programs, unless medical documentation is provided to support use.

3. Decorative orthodontic appliances (e.g. "grillz") be they permanent or removable, shall not be worn on the campus or at College-sponsored events.

4. Jeans at major programs such as, Opening Convocation, Commencement, Founder's Day or other programs dictating professional, business casual attire, semi-formal or formal attire.

5. Clothing with derogatory, offense and/or lewd messages either in words or pictures.

6. Top and bottom coverings should be work at all times. No bare feet in public venues.

7. No sagging--the wearing of one's pants or shorts low enough to reveal undergarments or secondary layers of clothing.

8. Pajamas, shall not be worn while in public or in common areas of the College.

9. No wearing of clothing associated with women's garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.

10. Additional dress regulations may be imposed upon students participating in certain extracurricular activities that are sponsored or organized by the College (e.g. athletic teams, the band, Glee Club, etc).

11. The college reserves the right to modify this policy as deemed appropriate. *All administrative, faculty, students and support staff members are asked to assist in enforcing this policy and may report disregard or violations to the Office of Student Conduct. "

Bigoted Louisiana Justice of the Peace: 'I'm not racist, I let blacks use my bathroom'

Pam Spaulding — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:50:35 GMT

OMFG. When I read the AP version of the story of the justice of the peace Keith Bardwell in Hammond, Louisiana's Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward -- the man who refused to marry an interracial couple out of "concern for the children," I thought that was bad enough.

But the CNN, USA TODAY and AP reports oddly left out the real money quote Bardwell offered up. You may have read this:

"I'm not a racist," Bardwell told the newspaper. "I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. My main concern is for the children."

Well look at what The Guardian and several others published -- also from the AP -- that you might not have seen:

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell said. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

WTF? So the intimacy of letting a black *ss sit on your pot is proof positive that you're not racist Mr. Bardwell? Wow. He must have just gotten rid of the outhouse he had reserved for the black bride and groom.

Thursday This & That: Open Thread

Autumn Sandeen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:30:00 GMT

It's an open thread! Pleeeeease feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread...

Below is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at since Tuesday:

• NOLA's Interracial couple denied marriage license in Tangipahoa Parish:

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.
'My main concern is for the children,' said Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
...Bardwell told the Daily Star of Hammond that he was not a racist.
"I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house," Bardwell said. "My main concern is for the children." ...

E-f*cking-gads! Has this justice of the peace never heard of Loving V. Virginia?

• The New York' House Backs Detainee Transfers:

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to allow the Obama administration to bring foreign terrorism suspects from the Guantanamo Bay prison to the United States to face trial.
The 307 to 114 vote removes one of many roadblocks the administration faces as it tries to empty the internationally condemned prison by January...

Well. That's actually surprising, given how nobody seems to want to bring the Gitmo prisoners in to prisons in their districts.

• From Cynthia J. Telingator, MD and Kelly T. Woyewodzic, MD at Psychiatric Times comes Sexual Minority Identity Development; A Review of the Process and Effects:

Sexual identity development is a complex, multidimensional, and often fluid process. One must consider cognitive, social, emotional, cultural, and familial complexities among other aspects of the individual's experience to contextualize a narrative concerning sexual identity development.
Sexual minority youth is a term used to describe adolescents who are not exclusively heterosexual. Definitions and labels ascribed to sexual minority youth may not describe their sexual attractions, relationships, fantasies, or behaviors. It is important to understand an individual's personal experience as well as his or her self-identification without making assumptions.
The Internet, public discourse about "gay rights," Gay-Straight Alliances in the schools, and a growing visibility of gay and lesbian role models in the media have helped challenge mainstream notions of what is considered "normal" sexual development. The fluidity of adolescent sexual identity development is as complicated as any aspect of identity development. Adolescents in the 21st century are, in many parts of the world, growing up in a culture that embraces diversity in sexual expression in a manner foreign to their parents' generation. Despite the fact that sexual minority youth have greater access to resources that provide support than did previous generations, there continue to be schools, communities, and homes in which adolescents still experience rejection, bullying, ostracism, and violence because of their differences from mainstream society...

This is my recommended reading pick for this This & That diary.

• The Minnesota Daily's Transgender Commission fights for better restroom access:

Many students take the ability to use the bathroom for granted, but for some it is a daily battle.
The University of Minnesota Transgender Commission is attempting to raise awareness about restroom access on campus, not only for members of the transgender community, but for the disabled, chronically ill and anyone who is made uncomfortable by gender-specific public restrooms.
"There are so many reasons someone might just want to have a private space to use the restroom, and I don't think that's limited to trans-identified folks or gender-nonconforming folks, but really is a right that is for all of us," said Remy Corso, University of Minnesota Transgender Commission co-coordinator and transgender student.
The group has consulted disabled people who work with opposite sex caregivers, the chronically ill and diabetics who need to inject insulin that would prefer single-stall, gender-neutral restrooms.
...Shawyn Lee, the assistant director of the University of Minnesota GLBTA Programs Office, prefers gender-neutral restrooms...

Further in the article, Shawyn Lee indicates ze identifies as genderqueer.

Can I just say here I love my diverse community, and the work many folk like Shawyn Lee is doing?

• San Diego News Network's 51% founders: Let's think outside of the box:

Forgive our tactless pun, but it's time to think outside the box. Check one, male or female. While easy for some, it's painful for others - when the choice between one extreme and the other doesn't fit a person's personal identity, or their body.
Some folks are born with the dilemma of indistinctness. Intersexuality is a medical reference applied to people who cannot be narrowly, biologically classified as male or female because they contain atypical combinations of physical features that relate to both male and female traits. Classifications of intersexuality include analysis of chromosomal differences, gonadal anomalies, genital ambiguity and more. These characteristics are congenital.
The most recent publicized case of defining an individual as more male or female when both traits are present is with the young South African championship runner, Caster Semenya. She may be a hermaphrodite, despite being raised as a woman and competing as a woman. Her case may cause the International Association of Athletics Federations to devise a definition of what determines male or female for the sake of classifying whether an athlete competes as male or female.
Classifications are no easy feat, within the United States, even our local and federal governments cannot agree. To date, there is no uniform, legal definition of what makes a person female or male, or more one than the other...

Another interesting read.

• Our Wiener Story Of The Day: 's Why Pregnant Women are Told To Avoid Certain Cheeses and Hot Dogs by Some Doctors:

Some doctors tell their patients not to eat cheese when they're pregnant, and women want to know why. It's because of the danger of contracting listeriosis, that's found in some cheeses.
Listeriosis is caused by a bacteria called "listeria monocytogenes." Most people don't even know they've contracted diarrhea from something they ate, but can't recall what it might be. It could be the cheese. The problem is when you're pregnant your immune system is really compromised. It's just one more way your body prepares you not to fight off the foreign invader, your embryo -- you your baby can develop to full term.
When you're immune system is low, you can easily catch the flu when pregnant. That's one reason why pregnant women are first in line to get the novel flu vaccination. But another nasty symptom for pregnant women is a listeria infection. You don't want the runs because the contractions from your colon can stimulate your uterus to go into labor. That's why in the 1960s, most women arriving in a hospital to give birth not yet in labor were given enemas not only to clean them out before they get on the delivery table, but to induce labor contractions. So you don't want to contract listeria.
When you're pregnant, you're 20 times more likely to catch a bacteria or virus infection...

Okay then!

• On a twitter related note, today was #thridpersonthurs, so many of us were having fun sounding like Bob Dole and James Harline today. Twitter can be a fun distraction some days, for sure.

So anywho...It's an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?

And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because...it's an open thread! Woo-hoo!

Louisiana Justice of the Peace Refuses to Issue Marriage License to Interracial Couple

thehawke — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:06:51 GMT

I see that things where I lived before coming to my senses and moving to Seattle haven't changed. I swear I want to go down there are do some serious activism.

Found on MSNBC: Justice of the Peace refuses to issue an interracial couple a marriage license out of concern for the children they may have.

"I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer."

I'd be concerned for the children this cretin produced. Yeah, is a child raised in love at such a dire risk as one raised in hate?

I can't say that I am exactly surprised. I went to school in Hammond where some friends and I started our campus GSA. We all had huge targets on our backs, to the point that professors were telling us to watch our backs.

So having a JOP trying to turn back the clock to pre-Loving v. Virginia just makes perfect sense, in the world of white male supremacy that riddles the deep south.

IL teacher to students - 'How would you feel about your tax dollars going to pay black fags'

Pam Spaulding — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:10:00 GMT

The naked racist and homophobic rant of Geneva (IL) High School's consumer education teacher David Burk is breathtaking. During a class on taxes funding the National Endowment for the Arts he said to students:

"How would you feel about your tax dollars going to pay some black fag in New York to take pictures of other black fags?" Burk allegedly asked, according to student Jordan Hunter.

Needless to say, some students were taken aback by this bold level of bigotry, and have called for him to be fired, including Hunter, who is gay.

"If he wants to talk about a poor place to put our tax dollars, I think his salary is a poor place to put our tax dollars"...Hunter said several other students have contacted him, saying Burk repeated the same phrase in all his classes. "He's free to feel any way he wants, but [with him] being in a position of influence like that over children, I don't think he should be using that position to make statements like that," said Hunter, 17, of Geneva.

In what has become standard operating procedure for racists and homophobes alike, Burk, who did a two-in-one bigot eruption, through his attorney, said that, well he's sorry if anyone might have been offended...

"Mr. Burk is cooperating fully with both the principal, the dean of students and the school board," [attorney, D.J.] Tegeler said. "Mr. Burk's biggest problem is he does not want to intentionally offend anybody and if he did, he apologizes."

Here's the contact info for the school.

Hat tip, C&L.

I'm sorry that I cannot provide myself as a black fag for Mr. Burk, but I'll gratefully offer my middle finger as a black lesbian pervert.

Here we go - now I'm a 'half-breed' for criticizing the admin

Pam Spaulding — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:22:14 GMT

As I've mentioned many times before on this blog, I sit in a position as a triple minority commenting on these often dicey political issues. I have to take potshots from some in the LGBT community, who take issue with either the number of pieces I do about race or the content of the posts, and from some in the black community who feel that I'm not black enough or have sold out to The Homosexual Agenda.

Here's a prime example of denigrating not what I say, but what I am in terms of identity, from a black woman in the comments of Americablog who is incensed about my criticism of the administration's handling of LGBT issues. She calls racism.

Wow. The racism is flowing here. I am a daily reader of this blog but the way that you guys have attacked our first black President is unfortunate. My god he has been in office for 10 months. Is marriage more important than having a job? Health care?
I am getting quite tired of the white gays and half breeded gays slamming Obama after he has only been in office for MONTHS. Go check out the black blogs and you will see that there is a true divide in who supports Obama and who doesn't.

You see, I can't possibly be black and hold the views that I do. My "cultural" blackness is erased in her mind by my gayness, plus she's keeping score by shade of skin, aka colorism. Nice.

Of course I had to laugh at "half breed" on a couple of levels. 1) I'm not biracial, I'm the product of two parents who are black (and neither of them were/are biracial), something that people seem to have a hard time grasping is possible these days.

It's only been in the last decade or so that people have even raised the question about me, so I attribute it to more biracial people asserting their status than anything else; and 2) If you're of a certain age, who can forget Cher on top of a horse singing this in 1973:

But note that commenter doesn't question the President's blackness, she claims it even though he is a true "half-breed". This is the level of racial discourse going on out there; it's polluted by racism from without and within, which shows you why honest, reality-based discussions about race are hard to come by. This faux "half-breed" homo will continue trying to have those discussions.

More below the fold.
Bill Maxwell, in a 2003 article in the St. Petersburg Times described the colorism phenomenon quite nicely...

Colorism has a long and ugly history among American blacks, dating back to slavery, when light-skinned blacks were automatically given preferential treatment by plantation owners and their henchmen.

Colorism's history is fascinating: Fair-skinned slaves automatically enjoyed plum jobs in the master's house, if they had to work at all. Many traveled throughout the nation and abroad with their masters and their families. They were exposed to the finer things, and many became educated as a result. Their darker-tone peers toiled in the fields. They were the ones who were beaten, burned and hanged, the ones permanently condemned to be the lowest of the low in U.S. society. For them, even learning - reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic - was illegal.

When slavery ended, light-skinned blacks established social organizations that barred darker ex-slaves. Elite blacks of the early 20th century were fair-skinned almost to the person. Even today, most blacks in high positions have fair skin tones, and most blacks who do menial jobs or are in prison are dark.

Maxwell describes a phenomenon that I am well-aware of because my mom, who was fair, experienced it and shared the tale with me --the brown paper bag test.

Her exposure to the "test" occurred in the 1950s, while living in Brooklyn, NY, she was dating a young gentleman, who was brown-skinned. She was invited to a party in the neighborhood and brought her friend to the dance. At the door, the host leaned in to my mother and said that he could not be admitted with her. She was upset and asked to step inside to discuss the matter. The host was uncomfortable that my mom didn't get the "secret signal", but brought her in (while he waited outside), and was told point blank "He doesn't pass the brown paper bag test." He was too dark, and there was to be none of that going on at this party.

Harry Connick Jr. schools Aussie J5 impersonators performing in blackface

Pam Spaulding — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:53:33 GMT

Wow. Just. Wow. You've got to be sh*tting me.

Do these Aussies in blackface not understand that "artform" in this day and age is, well, um, racist? Shane @ Queer Two Cents passed this unbelievable bit of business along from an Aussie TV show, Hey Hey It's Saturday, that actor and singer Harry Connick Jr. appeared on recently. He obviously couldn't believe this performance by the "Jackson Jive."

Connick gave the group a zero rating for their performance and was booed by the audience, later, he gives everyone a good talking to about why blackface is so wrong. Believe it or not the group says it was meant to be a tribute to Michael Jackson! It reeks with racism from start to finish. On air, Connick says, "If I knew that was going to be a part of the show, I definitely wouldn't have done it." This incident has created controversy in Australia, especially on talk radio, where listeners feel that Connick was over-reacting!

Good for Harry. We've got enough problems stateside with goons who think blackface is A-OK.

Well, you all watch the video and see for yourself.

Good Trans Hair

Autumn Sandeen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:30:00 GMT

One of the odd parallels between African-American experience and trans experience is the concept of "good hair." So, without trying to appropriate the experience of African-Americans and "good hair," let me talk about what good hair is to many trans women.

And too, let me add that the concept of good trans hair is mostly a concept of middle-aged, caucasian transsexual women. I haven't heard this concept discussed in any other subset of trans people -- I've not heard "good hair" being discussed by Hispanic-Americans, African-Americans, or Asian-American trans women, for example, with the one exception of my Latina friend (my best friend!) Vicki Estrada.

So, what is "bad hair" to these trans women in question? It's male pattern baldness in any form; it's a high forehead hairline; it's thin strands of hair that don't look like full-bodied hair; it's short hair one has early in transition left over from presenting as male. "Good hair" for the trans women in question is hair that would look natural on their heads, and appropriate woman of their visible age.

The answer to bad hair often involves weaves, extensions, and/or wigs/wiglets. Sometimes "fixing" one's "bad hair" even involves surgery. For example, I personally know two friends who've had surgery to fix their high hairlines by having hair line surgically pulled down -- forehead skin removed in the process -- and two other trans friends who have had their hair moved densely haired regions of their heads to the bald/balding spot on the backs of their heads.

And, I believe it matters. Literally, trans women are judged by their hair, and civil rights are actually involved with the perception of trans hair. Quoting a recent example by Lindsey Douthit, in a piece for the Concerned Women For America (emphasis added):

The ENDA hearing should serve as a wake-up call to Christians that they must continue to fight for religious liberty. Legislation such as ENDA serves to normalize, and even glorify, in the guise of "progressive popular culture," lifestyles that Biblical doctrine clearly teaches are wrong. Legislation like ENDA makes people think they can never be free from their sexual and other sins when in fact, Jesus Christ can save every person from all his sins, even homosexuality.
Don't be fooled -- the radical implications of ENDA are as noticeable as the glossy wigs and deep voices of the hurting and desperate transgendered female activists at the hearing who so desperately need the life-changing Gospel message offering them freedom from sin.

I have been told I have "good hair" by transgender and cisgender people alike. Although my hair color is not longer my natural color (which is now pretty gray under the coloring), my hair is dyed pretty closely to the dark blond it was in my early twenties. That said, my hair is pretty thick, and the curls are natural. I don't have to wear hats at all, but I like berets and beanies, so I wear berets and beanies.

Of course, I spend more money, as well as spend more time, on my hair now. For cash spent, coloring and cutting my hair once every eight weeks costs far more than getting my hair cut in that military style every two weeks back when I was in the Navy. In other words, four or five military style haircuts cost less than one cut and color.

And, when my hair was military length short hair, I went from just washing my hair every day -- alternately with a coal tar activated shampoo (to control my seborrhea) and a standard shampoo -- to washing my hair with two shampoos every other day -- one hard-water shampoo to strip my hair of various hair products, and a second, prescription shampoo (again, issue is controlling my seborrhea). And now too, I've added the use of a conditioner and a separate detangler, as well as using a glaze for the top of my hair, and a serum for the sides and back of my hair -- both of those to control the curly hair frizziness I didn't experience when my hair was military length short.

So, by dying my hair and using multiple products -- by expending money and time -- I'm judged to have "good hair." That is, I'm judged to have "good trans hair."

Sometimes, understanding between people who belong to minority groups come from the understanding of parallels and commonalities. My point in this piece is to show that my trans community's and my personal experiences with hair aren't the same as African-American women have with their hair, but there are a lot of parallels and commonalities to the experience of our respective communities defining exactly what "good hair" is within our respective communities. The concept of "good hair" effects African-American women and trans women as individuals, and how it effects the separate (but overlapping), respective communities. In other words, the experiences of the two communities regarding hair aren't the same at all, but there are analogies to be made between the two communities' experiences with hair.

As John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying:

So, let us not be blind to our differences - but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved.

If a discussion of "good hair" is a something I can use as a tool to build bridges to others in other communities, where those who work on civil rights concerns of individual communities could see the issues as being about broader and overlapping communities, then hair is a means I'm going to use to start discussion about our common civil rights interests.

Glenn Beck's idol and guru Skousen on 'greasiest Negro slaves' and slave owners as victims

Pam Spaulding — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

"White schoolchildren would 'envy the freedom' of 'colored playmates.' Slave food, even if monotonous, was plentiful. Corn bread and bacon were the mainstays, with plenty of fruit and vegetables in season. In hog-killing time, countenances were unusually greasy."
-- Glenn Beck's idol, far-right activist W. Cleon Skousen in "The Making of America". Beck has made some of this man's writings the centerpiece of his of 9-12 Project.

I don't even know where to begin with the above statement.

We all know that Faux News hack Glenn Beck cannot bring himself to describe "white culture" when directly asked to explain what he meant by the term when he referred to the President as having "a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture."

I imagine it will be even more challenging for the bluster-filled bigoted Beck to explain what he terms the "divinely inspired" work of W. Cleon Skousen, who has published some of the most incredible racist revisionist history about slavery that I've ever seen. There's no other term for this garbage than a flaming pile of cowsh*t. (Media Matters):

Newly sold slaves "usually a cheerful lot." "The tendency was to sell families as units, if for no other reason [than] to keep the slaves contented. The gangs in transit were usually a cheerful lot, though the presence of a number of the more vicious type sometimes made it necessary for them all to go in chains. At the other extreme, when the Central of Georgia railroad company in 1858 equipped a Negro sleeping car to assist in the slave trade it set a standard not always maintained in a later generation. When on the block, the slave was as likely to hinder as to help in his sale. Some, out of a vain conceit in bringing a high price, would boast of their physical prowess, in which case an unwary purchaser would likely be cheated. Others would malinger, because of a grudge against owners or traders or in order to bring a low price and be put at less tiring labor. Dealers, also, adopted the tricks of horse traders to make their merchants more attractive -- the greasiest Negro was generally considered the healthiest." [The Making of America, pages 731-732]
Slaves hampered efficiency of white labor. "In the management of slave labor the gang system predominated. The great majority of owners, having at the most only one or two families of Negroes, had to work alongside their slaves and set the pace for them. Slavery did not make white labor unrespectable, but merely inefficient. The slave had a deliberateness of motion which no amount of supervision could quicken. If the owner got ahead of the gang they all would shirk behind his back." [The Making of America, page 732]
Cruelty rare, slave owners "the worst victims." "Excessive toil occurred only where the masters or overseers were feeble witted as well as brutal. A persistent rumor among abolitionists was that sugar planters followed a policy of working slaves to death in seven years as a matter of economy. The persons spreading such reports were as ignorant of Negro nature as they were of conditions in the sugar mills. Furthermore, they overrated the ability of the masters to know how to kill a slave in the given time instead of leaving him a broken-down burden to the plantation. When they set out to prove the accusation they returned with no evidence, but convinced that the practice existed in some obscure region which they had not succeeded in ferreting out. Harriet Martineau, after watching slaves go through the motions of work without tiring themselves, considered the planters as models of patience and observed that new slave owners from Europe or the North were prone to be the most severe. Numerous observers, of various shades of opinion on slavery, agreed that brutality was no more common in the black belt than among free labor elsewhere, and that the slave owners were the worst victims of the system." [The Making of America, pages 733-734]
Southern life a "nightmare" of fear -- for white people. "The constant fear of slave rebellion made life in the South a nightmare, especially in regions where conspiracies were of frequent occurrence. The extermination of white civilization in Santo Domingo was followed in the nineteenth century by several other bloody outbursts in the West Indies, which never failed to cause ominous forebodings in America. [...]

Watch Glenn Beck refuse to define the 'white culture' he said Obama hated

Pam Spaulding — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:15:00 GMT

The loud-mouthed emperor of bile has no clothes. When Glenn Beck opened his trap and boldly claimed that the President was a racist and that he "has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture," you'd think he'd have a clear sense of what he was protecting by making that charge.

However, when Katie Couric forwarded a basic question from a Twitter user asking for a definition of white culture, all of a sudden Glenn practically soiled his knickers, stuttering and stammering. (Think Progress):

COURIC: A twitter question is, adrianinflorida: what do you mean by white culture?
BECK: Um, I, I don't...
COURIC: You said he had a deep-seated hatred for the white culture, what is that? What is the white culture?
BECK: I guess it's...gosh. I'm so tempted to make news here today.
COURIC: No no, I'm just curious, this was actually adrianinflorida.
BECK: What to do? What to do? Adrian, Go to glennbeck.com. Listen to it. You can hear all of it.
COURIC: No, but you didn't really address white culture, I think, in your explanation about President Obama, I haven't seen the whole show, but can you? Just for our purposes?
BECK: Just for your purposes? So this will be a little secret between us?
COURIC: No, for this show, can you explain what you mean by the white culture? Because some people say that sounds kind of racist.
BECK: Really? It's amazing to me that, for the first time, I think in history somebody can ask a question and say, "Don't you think that maybe we have several pieces here?" We have several pieces; George Bush says my grandmother was a typical African-American that had, that had her views bred into her. You don't think maybe we would ask questions about that comment? How is it that the first time I think in history, you should check on it, somebody says, "Hey. There's some red flags here maybe we should look at?" ... How am I? How am I the target for asking questions?

The full transcript of the exchange is at TP. It's worth the click because Beck goes completely flaccid.

Irene Monroe: The Conversation America Won't Have on Race

Pam Spaulding — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Frequent guest poster on the Blend, Irene Monroe, takes a little walk on the third rail of race with an interesting essay that takes a crack at the divide in perception of race-baiting against the administration.

The Conversation America Won't Have on Race
By Rev. Irene Monroe
If we resided in a post-racial society then William Faulkner''s words uttered in the 20th century would not ring true in this century-"The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past.
With the election of Barack Obama as this nation's first African-American president many of us had hope we could finally close the door on America''s original sin-slavery.
But the vestiges of that institution lingers not only in the backwaters of America, but they also linger in the hallow halls of Congress.
When South Carolina Republican House Rep. Joe Wilson' belted out "You lie!" during Obama''s televised joint session of Congress address, Wilson jolted us back to Faulkner''s words.
If Wilson''s act of incivility were merely about Joe the man, and not about a nation still haunted by and grappling with its shameful and unexamined legacy of racism, then the fodder and fuss that followed would not have ensued.
As a mater-of-fact, we could have viewed Joe''s outburst as all about him, an impassioned man in opposition to Obama''s current political discussions. After all, I too, find Obama's healthcare plan and government spending to be a brow raiser.
But when you see an onslaught of racist images of Obama by those in opposition to him, like placards that read "Afro-Communist," "Obama ribs 'n chicken...plus a nice slice of watermelon for the darkie," and now the recent poster, flooding the Internet, showing Obama wearing a feather headdress and a bone through his nose as a witch doctor, there is unquestionably something deeper going on than merely opposing his policy.
And when you have a Birther Movement promulgating lies that Obama wasn''t born in the U.S., Tea Party protests with guns at its rallies, and a vicious right-wing contingent blocking the President of the United States from delivering an innocuous back-to-school speech encouraging America''s children to stay in school, we are seeing strong efforts at play to delegitimize Obama''s authority.
And of course the specter of race surfaces. You must ask, how much does race play a key factor and not a backdrop to Obama''s policy decisions?
And, like any unresolved conflict, the warts and boils bubble up, unseeingly, out of nowhere.
"Racism ... still exists and I think it has bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people, not just in the south but around the country, that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It''s an abominable circumstance and grieves me and concerns me very deeply," former President Jimmy Carter told NBC News.
Whereas Carter thinks race is indeed the underlying issue Obama thinks otherwise.

"Now there are some who are, setting aside the issue of race, actually I think are more passionate about the idea of whether government can do anything right," he told ABC News. "And I think that that''s probably the biggest driver of some of the vitriol.
But Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder might perceive Obama''s rejoinder as cowardice.
In February Holder received scathing criticism for his speech on race. He''s critics said the tone and tenor of the speech was confrontational and accusatory.
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot," Holder said, "in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."
Obama is part of a new generation of African- American male leaders who come after the 60''s. They would argue that they don''t flee from race issues, but rather they don''t employ the black civil rights movement paradigm, often viewed as confrontational, to enter into mainstream politics. And they are heralded as American's post-racial leaders who successfully navigate through this country's lingering legacy of racism with the intent purpose of disarming whites of their guilt and fears.
Peter Boyer''s article in the February 4, 2008 issue of The New Yorker titled "The Color of Politics: A Mayor of the Post-Racial Generation" wrote the following explaining this post-racial generation of African Americans that includes Barack Obama, Harold Ford, Cory Booker, and my governor, Deval Patrick:
"Their deeper kinship resides in their identities as breakthrough figures -- Africa American politicians whose appeal transcends race. Men reared in the post-Selma era and schooled at elite institutions, developed a political style of conciliation rather than confrontation, which complemented their natural gifts and, as it happens, nicely served their ambitions."
This political style these men employ Shelby Steele depicts it best in his recent book "A BOUND MAN." Steele states that, in the African American community, there are two types of people -- "the bargainer" and "the challenger."
What is a "bargainer" or a "challenger?"
According to Shelby Steele, a bargainer strikes a bargain with white America in which they say I will not rub America's ugly history of racism in your face if you will not hold my race against me.
A "challenger," on the other hand, does the opposite of a "bargainer." A "challenger" charges white people with inherent racism and then demands they prove themselves innocent by supporting black friendly polices like affirmative action and diversity.
No matter what kind of shape-shifters or mask-wearers we are as African Americans leaders, even our post-racial leaders are finding out that the nagging issue of race is an unavoidable issue.
And our attempts to dodge the issue of race in American public discourse is itself a racial act. And the reason race bubbles up to the surface, unseeingly out of nowhere, is because it is the conversation America won't have.

UPDATE: PA state investigation finds Valley Club did discriminate against minority kids at its pool

Pam Spaulding — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:40:08 GMT

(By the way, brace yourself if you venture into the comments of the linked news article. It's another reality check about post-racial America...)

After all the protestation that the club wasn't run by bigots, the state found the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania was run by bigots. The report is damning and I have some screenshots in the post.

You'll recall that the Creative Steps Day Camp paid $1900 to swim in the camp's pool during the summer and when they showed up, this was the reaction.

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

..."There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.

That didn't go over well, and it only got worse when the next defense is that there weren't enough lifeguards assigned to watch that large a group of kids. Unfortunately that was a big whopper of a lie, because in the report findings, there is example after example of parties that size or larger with few restrictions, certainly none of them turned away. Also, the Human Relations Commission report stated the Valley Club had 155 paid membership in 2009 and 179 in 2008, none held by an African-American. A few screenshots to peruse of the reactions of some Valley Clubbers:

Nice. And this:

Valley Club tried in 2009 to expand its membership by recruiting in areas outside its township - Lower Moreland, which has a 0.8 percent black population - mailouts were "mainly directed at areas with overwhelmingly Caucasian populations" including Rhawnhurst, Fox Chase and Churchville.

The more-diverse townships of Cheltenham and Abington, like other nearby areas with "significant African-American populations," the report says, were passed over.

What a surprise! So this was the fine levied...

The commission ordered the club to pay a $50,000 civil penalty for the club's discrimation again one child, whose parents filed the complaint with the commission.

The report also orders Valley Club to pay other damages, including reimbursing the parent who filed the complaint for all related expenses. If there is no settlement made between the parent, the club and the commission, either party can request a public hearing before the commission and can after that be challenged in court.

The $50,000 civil penalty is to be paid to state government, under terms of the finding.

* Black kids booted from Philly club's 'whites-only' pool
* 'Complexion' of black camp kids not a problem at new pool
* Too little, too late for the Valley Club

The White Blight - Time to Take OUT the Whole Barrel of Crackers

Diane Gee — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:39:21 GMT

Yet another fine example of Racist douchebaggery has occurred as an assault on a Mother in Georgia, and the resulting charges (or lack thereof) is a second assault.

Racist motherfucker West was leaving "CRACKER Barrel" and whipped the door right into Tasha Hill's 7 year old daughter's face, and Tasha pulled her back just in time. Then she politely said 'Excuse me sir, you need to watch yourself you almost hit my daughter in the face.'

So he called her a "fucking black nigger bitch," and proceeded to beat the shit out of her. He punched her face threw her down and kicked her on the ground.

ALL IN FRONT OF HER DAUGHTER, who was traumatized enough to feel like it was her own fault for wanting to eat there.

LETS ANALYZE THAT: When a child feels like she should have known better than to eat in a White Racist Establishment to protect her Mom, it is utterly fucking sickening. What kind of World is this?

LET ME ANSWER: A white-privileged racist world that needs to be DESTROYED. No child should have to endure a world like that.

WED: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/...

Troy Dale West Jr., of Poulan, Georgia, is facing charges including misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct after allegedly beating Army reservist Tashawnea Hill, 35, after the two had words at the entrance of the Morrow, Georgia, restaurant the evening of September 9.
Hill, an African-American, told police that West, 47, yelled racial epithets at her as the attack took place.
"He did punch me with a closed fist repeated times. My head is still hurting today. I have knots on my head," Hill told CNN Wednesday night, adding she also was kicked.
snip
Because the alleged incident happened in full view of Hill's 7-year-old daughter, the Clayton County district attorney's office added a felony charge of cruelty to children.
"[The woman's daughter] was visibly upset the night of the attack," according to Capt. James Callaway of the Morrow Police Department, who said he was on the scene shortly after the alleged attack.
A police report of the incident said Hill's daughter was "crying uncontrollably and her body [was] shaking/trembling" from witnessing the attack. Video

Did that stick? FUCK NO. Assault 2, WED EVENING:

A judge dropped a felony child cruelty charge against Troy D. West Jr. He was released from the Clayton County jail Friday -- two days after being arrested for striking Tashawnea Hill in front of her 7-year-old daughter.
District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said she may file felony charges against West. We're reviewing the police reports and talking to witnesses to determine whether felony charges should be presented to the grand jury," Lawson said Wednesday.
West, 47, is charged with battery, disorderly conduct and cruelty to children -- all misdemeanors.
Clayton Solicitor General Tasha Mosley, who prosecutes misdemeanor charges, said she sent the case to the district attorney because West should face aggravated assault charges.
"A hand or a foot can be used as a deadly weapon," Mosley said. "You can kill somebody or cause bodily injury with a hand."

Do you THINK?

If a black man had beat a white woman, he would be facing attempted murder charges.

This fucking has to STOP!

This whole rotten system needs tearing down. I'm sure I'm going to anger someone here, but I have said it before: White people are the blight of the planet. Name one place where we have set foot and improved the lot of the indigenous people. One. Where we have not degraded our fellow man and screwed the environment. Fuckers don't know how to live in the World, they think they own it.

You have to realize I could have run my white bitch mouth at him, and said "Watch yourself, asshole, you almost hit my son!" and NOTHING would have happened. He may have said, "FUCK YOU!" and stomped off.... not stomped ME!

But a Black Woman dare to ask respect or carefulness around her own child? He called her "nigger" and BEAT HER!

I could SCREAM.
Witnesses support that she did nothing wrong, and what he said and did. Witnesses? WITNESSES? Why the FUCK did no one kill that trash? Why did no one stop him?

OH.

Georgia.

OH.

Racist, white, christinazi land of CRACKER Barrel.

I could PUKE, man.

They have the whole thing on security video tape.

Did I mention Tasha Hill was a soldier? I've been told by friends that any time a person trained by the US military uses their fists, they can be charged with "deadly weapon" assault. Had she retaliated in kind, it would be her, the victim going down.

This makes me so angry I want to go back in time and put a Detroit stomp on his honky racist fucking ass.

You see, where I'm from, there is no good ol' boy fisticuffs, you engage physically? Its a fucking death match. I'd have liked to break a ketchup bottle and give him a new smile from ear to ear right across his throat. One of us would have died, and it wouldn't have been me.

As a woman, as a woman who has been beaten, any time a man puts his hands on a woman it makes me crazy. I will protect another woman with my very life. But add racial slurs to it, and I am likely to go berserker.

I cannot help but believe that people like him are walking time bombs that have been triggered by those on Fox, the Becks & Limbaughs who are sending the message that its ok to not only think sick thoughts, but to act on them.

They are fomenting a race war.

Lets face it. The race war never ended. When is the last time whitey had to look over their shoulder in a store, being followed? When is the last time whitey had to have the cold sweats and check their rear view mirror for DRIVING WHILE WHITE?

For fucks sakes, even our judicial system is entirely slanted toward charging and punishing black people in a blatantly racist way.

I have absolutely no idea why people of color in this country haven't joined together and burnt this whole fucking white system to the ground.

SERIOUSLY.

Not that greed, exceptionalism and assholicness isn't rampant in the whole species of mankind. It is.

But White Americans seem to take it to an art form.

Its like our brains are curdled, spoiled things that cannot see the obvious: We are all related, and need to take care of one another. Instead, they never look UP at who is making their lives miserable, the Rich Elites, no, they grind others down further and say "Hey, at least I'm better off than you" and imagine to themselves the lie they are better, while we ALL go down.

What a way to cull the 'useless eaters'.... create a flu epidemic, deny health care and start a race war so we kill each other for them.

And Fox-sucking, mouth-breathing, mullet head, racist CRACKERS play right into it.

I don't know if we can overcome the White Blight, heal our sick and twisted minds.... but I do know this needs tearing down.

I'd be happy to light the first match.

What makes me even sicker? I would be barraged with hate mail if I said all this as a Black Woman. I get away with it because I'm white. I have exceptionalism I don't even WANT.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

**Disclaimer: All viewpoints and rantiness reflect only my own anger, not this site nor its denizens. All mental acts of violence are purely thoughts and shall remain such, I do not condone actual violence, nor do I wish to incite such. Its called a rant.

NAACP blasts low bond for racist, woman-beating Troy Dale West, who is back on the streets

Pam Spaulding — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:00:00 GMT

The latest on Troy Dale West of Poulan, GA who beat up Tasha Hill in front of her daughter at a Cracker Barrel. People are outraged that he is walking out free on the streets. The NAACP calls for West to be locked up.

"The concern is that this gentleman allegedly is back on the street in less than 24 hours after this incident happened," said Derrick Boazman, a community activist.
The NAACP showed its support for what it calls a hate crime. Troy Dale West is facing misdemeanor charges of battery, disorderly conduct and a felony charge of cruelty to children.
"There were no misdemeanors committed here. All of them were felonies. We are Concerned, in fact, we're mad as hell," said Boazman.
Community activists are outraged at the charges and the fact that west is free on $10,000 bond. They say after what witnesses and police say he did to 36-year-old Tashawnea Hill and her seven-year-old daughter Shiyenn, he should be locked up.
"He had no good reason, unprovoked, and that's why we think he's dangerous. He's a genocidal racist that needs to be picked up off the streets," said Boazman.
They also want the surveillance video of the beating at the Morrow Cracker Barrel released.

Meanwhile, you'll recall I posted the URL where people could leave feedback about West at his Troy's Paint & Body & Auto Salvage listing. Lots of people surfed over, but it wasn't long before some of West's white supremacist supporters weighed in too.

I know how it is
I know the feeling of confronting one of these moose lipped, uppity acting, sow niggers. Of course the sow doesn't understand that a person exiting may not have the visibility outside to see her moon cricket ass and her piglet blocking the exit. Common sense would dictate the person entering should stand down and allow the exiting party to clear the doorway instead of adding to the congestion of the area. But no, not this sow. I salute Troy for his actions and may only pray that one of his kicks disconnected the nigger's ovaries so that her breeding may cease.
no hubbub Here
Silly misguided fools, thinking members of the mud sill are due the same priveleges as human beings.
My New Hero
Well,k was kinda crappy, but I'll definitely be going back after I heard about the way Troy West beat the holy sshit out of that useless shifty nigger. And he even did it in front of her 7 year old kid! Maybe now she'll think twice before getting uppity with a respectable white man like Troy
I like the mullet...
What the fuck were you doing at a Cracker Barrel anyways?

Guest Post: Post: Murder underscores anti-transgender violence in D.C.

Autumn Sandeen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:30:00 GMT

This piece is by Michael K. Lavers, the National News Editor for EDGE Publications, and the blogger behind the Boy in Bushwick Blog. Crossposted from EdgeWashington. Used by permission.

Murder underscores anti-transgender violence in D.C.

Michael K. Lavers
Wednesday Sep 16, 2009

As local police to investigate Tyli'a "Na Na Boo" Mack's murder, transgender activists and others in the District of Columbia continue to demand an end to anti-trans violence in the city.

An unknown assailant stabbed Mack to death and critically injured a friend on Q Street, NW, on Aug. 26. Mack's mother joined members of Transgender Health Empowerment, Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, DC Councilmember David Catania [I-At Large,] Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence co-chair Chris Farris, DC Center executive director David Mariner and more than 200 others at a vigil two days later at the spot where the two women were attacked.

The Metropolitan Police Department continues to offer a reward of up to $25,000, but Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told EDGE she feels Mack's death underscores the fact anti-trans violence remains a serious problem in the District.

"It is really, really clear to me, it's really bad here," Keisling said.

The MPD does not compile statistics of crimes based on a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity, but the Web site Remembering Our Dead indicates at least half a dozen trans Washingtonians have been murdered over the last decade. These include Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis, who were shot to death on Aug. 12, 2002, while they sat in their car in a Southeast intersection. Antoine Jacobs shot and killed popular entertainer Bella Evangelista on Aug. 16, 2003. And an unknown assailant bludgeoned Tyra Henderson to death in Northwest in April, 2000.

Acting Lt. Brett Parsons, the MPD's LGBT liaison, told EDGE the department has not seen an increase in anti-trans violence in the city, but he conceded transgender Washingtonians "tend to be a community at risk for victimization all the time-and that's a sad statement." There have been 96 murders in the District so far this year. This statistic represents a 26.7 percent decline in homicides compared to 2008, but Keisling maintains race and class remain a motivating factor behind the majority of anti-trans murders in Washington and elsewhere.

"The kind of trans people getting murdered are not white, middle-aged transsexual women like me," she said. "It's almost always lower income, trans-women of color. If you're any of those things in the United States, you're at the greatest risk of violence. It's horrible."

Ethan St. Pierre, a long-time trans activist who sits on the International Foundation for Gender Education's Board of Directors, agreed. He noted he feels violence is one of the many forms of discrimination trans people of color in particular continue to face.

"If you are a trans person of color, you're in deep shit," St. Pierre said. "It's not going to be easy to get a job. Racism is horrible. It still exists in society."

He further categorized Mack's death as horrific. St. Pierre added he feels educating trans people and others about the prevalence of anti-trans violence is one of what he described as many necessary steps to prevent it.

"Education is always so important, but there are just people out there who hate so much they don't care," he said. "If I knew the answer, believe me I would be shouting from the rooftops."