Originally published at: Ta-Nehisi Coates crashes a school board meeting discussing the banning of his book (video) | Boing Boing
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Remind me who is supposed to be the ‘super-sensitive snowflakes’ again?
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This reality interjection regrettably (sorry, authors) needs to happen more often to keep the back and forth from becoming too abstract and entrenched.
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Also, notice how they backed off when confronted with the author in the flesh. They cannot handle the direct confrontation and only argue online or in person around people with exactly the same opinion.
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This is an important point: Coates did not “crash” the school board meeting. “Crashing” would imply it was a private event or that it was made clear in some way he was not welcome. His book was banned; he wasn’t, although neither should have happened.
It was a public meeting and he had just as much right to be there as any other member of the public, and exceptionally good reasons to be there.
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one has to wonder if Coates’ presence had anything to do with that.
Combined with the other supporters, I don’t have any doubt. For all their bluster these fascists are cowards at heart.
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especially when an easy way to stop “feeling guilty for being white” would be to confront racism and repudiate it.
working to get a book talking about racism banned? now, that’s a reason to feel guilty. yet, somehow they don’t feel uncomfortable about that?
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after its topic of racism made a couple of white students feel uncomfortable
I just watched “Who We Are” as part of my agency’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Racism program. You know what? Readings and films like that are supposed to make you uncomfortable as you learn (perhaps for the first time) of the historical and institutional racism of our fine county.
I watched the documentary, and was thoroughly wrung out afterward (so much for productivity on a Monday, anyway…). A powerful watch, for anyone who is interested.
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Exactly. There have always been at least some white people on the right side of history when it comes to racism. If you don’t feel comfortable being grouped with people who support bigotry then you’re more than welcome to change sides.
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You know what? Readings and films like that are supposed to make you uncomfortable as you learn (perhaps for the first time) of the historical and institutional racism of our fine county.
Yep, though it’s more than that. These far-right organizations, and the parents driven by their propaganda, also claim white students will feel a particular discomfort-- that of feeling bad about themselves, just because they’re white.
Which is complete horsesehit. If anything, a lot of them will feel better, in part because such learning helps them understand better their racist ass parents.
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it is amazing that racist people are so openly racist.
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What a surprising insight you managed to share with us!
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There, that works better…
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I, I, think that they kind’a do. But don’t want to.
I think that that is the problem.
I feel like shit about these issues.
I (ostensibly white cis het and all that) feel like shit.
But, also, I care about caring.
Yeah, for what its worth.
Not much, I think
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Reading about racists shouldn’t make you feel guilty any more than reading about murderers should make you feel guilty. That is unless you relate to the group being judged…
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I just finished reading this: Is Corporate America biased against white people?
The first comment thread, started by Adam, just left me speechless. Racism is way worse than this old white lady ever thought.
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Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar wrote not just one, but TWO books on the various kinds of racist shit Lacey put up with in corporate America…
It’s so fucked up with Black americans have to put up with today, STILL…
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Funnily enough, with all the push back against discussing systemic racism, the bigots are the ones who are most invested in the ‘personal shortcoming’ view, because it allows them to take personal grievance against having outcomes called out.
In systemically racist environments, it’s not nearly as important someone’s motivation as the outcomes and fixing it.
Keeping people in the frame of racism as personal makes it questioning an element of their identity, rather than a set of structures and policies to change.
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And any school district with the kids’ education in mind would have them write an essay about that and use it as the topic for a class discussion. But I guess the parents don’t want to have to write essays…because I think we all know that’s where these “complaints” are coming from.
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