tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post316755641925510925..comments2024-02-05T05:15:04.759-08:00Comments on Wandering Scientist: Holding the CenterCloudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-54016218009655905962016-07-15T17:18:10.105-07:002016-07-15T17:18:10.105-07:00Thanks, everyone!
@Nicoleandmaggie, I agree that ...Thanks, everyone!<br /><br />@Nicoleandmaggie, I agree that things have been this bad for Black people for a long time. I heard an interesting interview with the surgeon who treated some of the gunshot victims in Dallas, who is a Black man, and he talked about how relieved he is to be able to talk about these things in public now. So that is good. My worry is more for the reaction from white people. I think we're the ones who need to hold the center, so to speak. So many I've heard interviewed talk about wanting everyone to stop thinking about race, which sounds to me like wanting to go back to when they could ignore the problems. Some guy down the street from me has painted his truck window with a message saying that we all need to "be American" and "support the police." I worry that the backlash against the racial angst they aren't used to feeling will be a vote for Trump... or even something worse.Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-31220402699443874722016-07-14T12:09:08.199-07:002016-07-14T12:09:08.199-07:00Welcome home!
As one of the people who isn't...Welcome home! <br /><br />As one of the people who isn't directly immediately threatened but with a lot of friends who are, and would likely be next on the list after he does what he can to the obvious targets, I appreciate that you're willing to stand and fight because you have that power and privilege to do so, relatively safely, even. <br /><br />I think N&M are right that things have always been this bad but the evolution of social media has made more people more aware of the reality that my friends have been experiencing all their lives. One friend related to me the time he was a kid and a police officer held a gun on him to bully his dad. That was 40 years ago. Today, he's just as likely to have that happen as to be shot himself. Things have not really changed much for them, except that maybe this time, maybe, the awareness will contribute to real change. I hope. Revanchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07293868300535734672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-83433683258654555852016-07-13T05:52:58.097-07:002016-07-13T05:52:58.097-07:00It may seem like things are getting worse, but the...It may seem like things are getting worse, but they're actually getting better. We, as white privileged people, didn't realize how bad it really was. Now we're seeing how bad it actually is. Now that everybody is aware that there is a problem, maybe we can do something about it. For centuries we've focused on our tightly wound part of the ball and never paid much attention to the frays around us.<br /><br />The 1960s brought good things and they brought change. It would have been nice if the change could have come with less violence, less loss of life, but as a society we still have yet to evolve to generate peaceful revolutions. There's still a lot of people with power who don't like giving it to people without it.nicoleandmaggiehttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-57305219938550239062016-07-13T04:57:57.158-07:002016-07-13T04:57:57.158-07:00Cloud, your post brings tears to my eyes. The way ...Cloud, your post brings tears to my eyes. The way you honor the efforts of individual people, rather than the mythology of how "wonderful" and "special" America is, says it all. Thank you for being so eloquent in such a hard time. I'm using this time to talk more about race and law enforcement with other white folks, looking at our assumptions, our stereotypes, our unconscious filters. It feels like a start. I just hope I can maintain the momentum. Because I'm white, racism is bad, but it's not urgent. That's the nature of privilege.Louisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06988719231006408278noreply@blogger.com