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bioemerl  ·  3304 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Kanye West Say About the Black Experience in America

    THEY HAPPEN BECAUSE THEY THINK WE'RE LESS THEN HUMAN, HOLY SHIT.

ARGUMENT IN CAPITAL LETTERS MAKES ME SOUND ANGRY AND CORRECT!

    Do I really have to pull out the numerous, NUMEROUS texts and emails found amongst police that LITERALLY call Black people animals?

There has, and will be, people who do think black people are animals. There will be these people in the police, in schools, everywhere.

These people aren't the problem. These people do not have hold of the majority of the opinion of the US, or the majority opinion of the police. The most I can imagine being common is a "like animals" comparison to refer to people in the ghettos, which isn't literally calling people animals.

    The Telemundo guy that compared Michelle Obama to an ape from Planet of the Apes? That's not Reddit, Bio, you can't really cover that shit up!

You are talking about situations that are the odd man out, the strange people, the people regarded as wrong, and only have support inside of their own little echo-chamber.

These attitudes exist, but they are not the baseline. They are not common. They are not the definition. These people, with time, are going to disappear and fade away, these people are not the problem that causes the majority of issues black people face.

    BUT YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW AND YOU NEVER WILL.

YOU WEREN'T THERE MAN!

Saying "you don't know" does not change an argument. It doesn't change the point.

All the examples you point out can be shut down with actual argument. With actual, constructive, counter-points that, while they base themselves in "you don't know man!" are actually logical, and actually make sense.

Say "YOU DONT KNOW" as much as you want, until you can back that up with the reason why things are different, simply saying "you are wrong" in a different way, will accomplish nothing.

    It's like telling me all about riding a rollercoaster when you've never been on one in your life.

I am not telling you what it feel like to be black. I am not concerned about what it feels like to be black.

    Okay, so you are being purposefully facetious

No, I am assigning "treating people as inhuman" it's proper value, rather than dragging the term down to mean less than it is.

    Every person that's stepped up to make change got shot

And we are all better off for it. It's why we call them heroes.

Secondly, I am talking about the idea that it's not someone's job to inform others, or to change the minds of others. I am not saying you have to become a well known or popular civil rights leader. And if you are in a situation where you are under personal threat to stand up, don't. There is nothing wrong with it.

    . Acceptance is not "proving that my gayness is the right morality." It's "fucking accept my gayness and stop being a bigoted piece of shit."

Those are the exact same thing. Morality is rule by the majority, and rule by force. You will follow these laws, or we will punish you.

All ideas have to fight to become the majority, and in that fight they prove their worth. It is the "natural" mechanism society uses to stop things like scientology from becoming popular, while still allowing the things that actually benefit society to become part of it. Allowing change while filtering the shit.

    Ah, the Common perspective. The rapper, since I'm ABSOLUTELY SURE you've never heard of him. All "hug the white people so they feel better about themselves, that'll fix things." Maaaaybe in hell.

I don't know the majority of musicians. The only bands I have listened to in bulk in the last five years have been the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and a bit of Greenday.

And, yes, a society that is constructive is one that is better than one that is destructive. There is a good reason MLK became famous while Malcom X did not. MLK pushed for peaceful and understanding rebellion. Malcom X went for the angry, rebellious, positions. Being constructive does not mean telling people they aren't bad, it means telling people what they are doing needs to change, and holding that position, while not coming to hate the people in the process.

The first line of that article is this:

    The Boston police officer who sent a mass e-mail in which he compared Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to a "banana-eating jungle monkey" has apologized, saying he's not a racist.

I was here thinking you were going to link to a police officer who thought all black people were animals, and deserved to be shot in the street.

Instead, you link to one who doesn't understand the implication of what he saw as a joke, and doesn't understand the harm it can do.

    I authored," Barrett said on CNN. "I am not a racist. I did not intend any racial bigotry, harm or prejudice in my words. I sincerely apologize that these words have been received as such. I truly apologize to all."

    Alright, well you've bitched enough. What's your idea of fixing and accomplishing things, Bio?

    The riots aren't enough? The protests aren't enough?

OK, going to address this first. Riots and protests are not the way to go about things. (well, yes, protests, but not ones over a federal case where the police officer was not found guilty, and not accompanied by riots coopted by people looking to loot homes and businesses)

    Asking to be treated like an equal, to not get stopped for walking, or eating, or breathing while Black, that's too much for you?

You are turning me into straw, it seems.

I am one of those darn people who just fight for the middle ground while still being racist, I guess? "Why do those black people hurt themselves with their protests in the streets". "I felt so sorry for those poor black people with those MLK days".

That isn't me, and never will be.

    It doesn't accomplish anything? Then what does? Because you need to stop putting the onus of discrimination on the people that have been systematically oppressed.

It is not the onus of discrimination, but instead the onus of ending it. And it doesn't only fall to the oppressed, it falls to anyone who is aware, and believes it is wrong. There are probably black people out there who very much do not fall into that category.

The only think that will bring about change in our society is a change in it's culture. Education, as much as you seem to hate it, is the thing that will cause people to change their minds. The same tactics atheism uses, are the tactics civil rights should use.

Instead of protests against a controversial case, protests should bring awareness to things like the DOJ reports that very clearly show a systematic discrimination against black people in at least one town of the United States. Protests should bring minds to situations where they see and know what happens when they tell the jokes like that police officer told.

The key to change is awareness and education. Make people aware of what is wrong, and tell them why it is. Do not tell people "you can't say this person isn't legitamate because you aren't black" instead tell them "The things that black people face exist regardless of wealth." (or similar).

And change comes slowly, a protest isn't going to summon change like you summon a bird out of a hate. Protests set that little seed of doubt a person has in their worldview, and that seed will grow with the time and effort people put into it, but it will die the moment something happens to reinforce a person's worldview.

I do look at this whole situation as I look at religion, as I see how action can be taken to change the views of those who are religious.

Look at /r/atheism, and the reception it has gotten. Do you think they have been successful in changing minds? Their ranting, raving, insulting, and attacking, has accomplished nothing, and hurt their cause.

Instead, a calm, honest, and open discussion among those who have yet to discuss these things in a way that encourages people to listen, and accept the ideas you are telling them will inspire change.

No, it won't be fast. No, it probably won't happen this generation, and yes, people will always disagree, fight change, and so on.

No process is instant, and no good thing takes no work to achieve. The most we can do is be open, honest, and kind. Again, kind doesn't mean you can't tell someone they are wrong, it just means you have to do it in a way that ensures they will be receptive to it. Plant seeds of dissent, don't smash the oppressors.