RNN article
"Since late last week there have been two armed robberies in the Brewers Hill area involving 3 black males with shotguns, or items intended to be perceived as shotguns.
Description: Three black males in their 16-20's wearing baggy pants that were falling off their behinds, puffy jackets black with fur hood and 1-2" Afros. No distinguishing marks or gold teeth.
Weapon: Three shotguns that seemed much smaller than they should be -- wooden stock with metal black barrel."
Does this sound a bit racist?
The second paragraph is what got me...mentioning "gold teeth" specifically...I can't think why you would need to mention anything past "no distinguishing marks". I think one of the reasons a lot of us like Riverwest because it's one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Milwaukee (in terms of straight numbers, anyway). But that obviously doesn't mean that the racist tendencies that permeate the rest of mke don't exist in our little square mile home. I was in NYC recently and whenever I'm there, particularly when I'm riding the subway (have time to think) I don't feel any underlying tension between races like there is here. I feel like I can exhale - don't have to think about being intentionally kind to people different than me or guilty if I don't give a shit and don't want to be nice to anybody. If someone's an asshole to me in NY, it's just because they're an asshole and not because I'm white. Hooray!
If you grew up in this city, I don't think you can help being at least a little "secret racist". I remember visiting my parents' place about four years ago and seeing some latino dudes walking around and thinking "what? latinos live here now?" That thought alone probably qualifies me as a secret racist (ps as I'm writing this, the term "secret racist" is starting to sound really funny, but anyway...). We get used to things being a certain way and then feel confused, or threatened even, when they change. NPR recently did a story about a small, southern town that is now almost half latino in population. One woman admitted that she was frustrated with how the town she grew up in was now becoming unrecognizable. For example, when she goes to the doctor's office, it's no longer staffed by a secretary who knows her family and the doctor that has taken care of them for years...instead there's a bilingual secretary who demands proof of insurance every time and makes her feel like an "alien" in her hometown. Part of me says big-fucking-deal, get over it lady and part of me empathizes with her; it's difficult see such dramatic changes in a place that has remained the same for so long. This also makes me think of Derrick Jenson's argument against the importance of being "multiculturally aware." Scholars, and more specifically ethicists, count global studies as a fundamental lesson. It will probably come up in an undergrad's curriculum in one form or another, and in most secondary schools. But if a small community is functioning just fine, has a good relationship with the world around it, etc why does it have to be versed in the customs of people they have never known? Do communities need to be culturally diverse in order to have wisdom?
It's a tricky thing. No, diversity does not yield wisdom. However, if you are regulary exposed to people much different than you, learning about where they have come from can bring about an epiphany or at least grounds for communication. So there's no fine line to be drawn, no over-arching statement to be made. Except for that one I just mentioned. Thanks for making it this far.
Description: Three black males in their 16-20's wearing baggy pants that were falling off their behinds, puffy jackets black with fur hood and 1-2" Afros. No distinguishing marks or gold teeth.
Weapon: Three shotguns that seemed much smaller than they should be -- wooden stock with metal black barrel."
Does this sound a bit racist?
The second paragraph is what got me...mentioning "gold teeth" specifically...I can't think why you would need to mention anything past "no distinguishing marks". I think one of the reasons a lot of us like Riverwest because it's one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Milwaukee (in terms of straight numbers, anyway). But that obviously doesn't mean that the racist tendencies that permeate the rest of mke don't exist in our little square mile home. I was in NYC recently and whenever I'm there, particularly when I'm riding the subway (have time to think) I don't feel any underlying tension between races like there is here. I feel like I can exhale - don't have to think about being intentionally kind to people different than me or guilty if I don't give a shit and don't want to be nice to anybody. If someone's an asshole to me in NY, it's just because they're an asshole and not because I'm white. Hooray!
If you grew up in this city, I don't think you can help being at least a little "secret racist". I remember visiting my parents' place about four years ago and seeing some latino dudes walking around and thinking "what? latinos live here now?" That thought alone probably qualifies me as a secret racist (ps as I'm writing this, the term "secret racist" is starting to sound really funny, but anyway...). We get used to things being a certain way and then feel confused, or threatened even, when they change. NPR recently did a story about a small, southern town that is now almost half latino in population. One woman admitted that she was frustrated with how the town she grew up in was now becoming unrecognizable. For example, when she goes to the doctor's office, it's no longer staffed by a secretary who knows her family and the doctor that has taken care of them for years...instead there's a bilingual secretary who demands proof of insurance every time and makes her feel like an "alien" in her hometown. Part of me says big-fucking-deal, get over it lady and part of me empathizes with her; it's difficult see such dramatic changes in a place that has remained the same for so long. This also makes me think of Derrick Jenson's argument against the importance of being "multiculturally aware." Scholars, and more specifically ethicists, count global studies as a fundamental lesson. It will probably come up in an undergrad's curriculum in one form or another, and in most secondary schools. But if a small community is functioning just fine, has a good relationship with the world around it, etc why does it have to be versed in the customs of people they have never known? Do communities need to be culturally diverse in order to have wisdom?
It's a tricky thing. No, diversity does not yield wisdom. However, if you are regulary exposed to people much different than you, learning about where they have come from can bring about an epiphany or at least grounds for communication. So there's no fine line to be drawn, no over-arching statement to be made. Except for that one I just mentioned. Thanks for making it this far.