A Brief Guide to Not Being a Jackass on the Ferguson Issue

[dorkulon]

http://www.dailypublic.com/articles/11262014/brief-guide-not-being-jackass-ferguson-issue

One unpleasant side effect of the unrest in Ferguson MO, and now spreading across the country, is that a lot of white people are making giant asses of themselves on social media. Amazingly, none of them are racist, as they will tell you, but that’s how they’re coming across for some reason. For these people and those poor souls who care for them, here are a few pointers on how to avoid being a huge jackass. You’re welcome, America! Let’s start with an easy one:


If you find yourself using the word “animals” in a non-zoological context, try punching yourself in the face repeatedly until the impulse subsides.

If you think it makes sense to judge an entire community or race based on what a few people have done, please turn yourself in for your part in whatever recent crimes white people committed in your area.

[raging moderate]

1. Thank you.

Out of words. Glad you are not.

[Scuba]

2. Excellent ...

If you feel a desire to blame the media for the simple act of covering the story, because if they didn’t, then people wouldn’t be mad, because they wouldn’t know what happened, try to understand that this makes you a proponent of censorship and that if anyone needs to shut the hell up it’s you.

...

If you think this was an acquittal based on a thorough examination of evidence, please make an attempt to learn what a grand jury does and how it is not a trial. Also look up how many grand juries don’t indict. Never mind; I’ll tell you: like, none. Seriously, 11 out of 162,000.

[rhett o rick]

4. I agree. 11 out of 162,000 is statistically zero. nm

[dorkulon]

6. I can't tell you how many people I've seen say he was 'acquitted' by a jury of his peers, etc.

References to judges, etc. Nobody seems to know what a GJ is.

[cstanleytech]

38. *raised eyebrow* Dont they know that the grand jury only indicts it doesnt render verdicts???

[dorkulon]

39. No.

I've heard "verdict" a hundred times, and talk of the 'Judge' too.

[daleanime]

9. +1

[gordianot]

3. If you think that this one incident is the sole cause of protest and what follows you are a jackass.

Nothing more to say my last observation on the subject on DU.

[rhett o rick]

5. Maybe a "jackass", certainly living in heavy denial. nm

[Orrex]

7. The best I can say for Ferguson is that it's helped me pare down my Facebook friends list.

[libodem]

13. Yep

When the shit gets above the sand, it's time to clean the litter box.

[livingonearth]

8. Good post!

Clever and true.

[daleanime]

10. Good post...

too bad the people who need it are those who won't even read it.

[dorkulon]

11. Well, at least maybe it can help some of us argue with some of them.

I know, it just bounces off their heads.

[libodem]

12. Most Excellent

[Cleita]

14. A lot of white people who don't think they are racist, are.

I'm Latina myself, half of me on my mother's side, and half of me is Northern European descent, so I don't come across as Latina on first appearances. I'm light in color. My surname is Dutch. I speak with an American accent although I was raised bi-lingually. I have always pointed out the racism to my white friends when it came to Hispanic issues particularly the immigration debate.

Many of my white acquaintances and former co-workers, who have always been aware of my mixed racial status, because I make sure they know, have had the hubris to say that it has nothing to do with me because I'm not like THEM (Hispanics). Really? Just because I'm more like YOU (white people) when I'm in your company, doesn't mean that I'm not very much like THEM when I'm in their company.

I have managed to get through to some of them getting them to reexamine their prejudices. Now, since I'm not African descent in any way, I am not comfortable in speaking for those who are about what they have experienced, however, I'm sure it's to the tenth degree exponentially of what I have experienced from people who really think they are not racist.

I hope I make some sense and am not stirring up something I didn't intend to. It's just has been my experience in a life I've lived that is longer than I expected to live.

[dorkulon]

16. To be fair, a lot of people are racist.

And most of them don't quite realize it. White people are perhaps the most oblivious because it doesn't happen to them so much. And they don't understand what it's like to be judged by the actions of others. Each white person gets to be an individual, judged by their own actions and words. Nobody would ever say "why are you people rioting" to a white guy who isn't rioting.

[Cleita]

19. This is true, which is why I try not to condemn them too much to their face when they say stuff

that is frankly blatantly racist. I do not let them get by though with the racist things they say. I worked a lot in the restaurant industry in various capacities and often was hired because of my ability to speak Spanish to the non-English speaking staff. I used to get a lot of racist undercurrent from the white staff. Although, they generally liked the Hispanic staff they co-worked with, they made exceptions for them and still distrusted Hispanics in general. I had to lead them down their own primrose path and back again to show them the error of their thinking. I did try to be kind.

[Locrian]

17. You do make sense

A LOT of people I work with are racist. And would be the first to say I was wrong if I accused them of it.

But they then go on to talk the racist talk about "those people" and "minority advantage over whites (!)".

[Cleita]

21. Exactly. They don't even know they are expressing some really irrational

prejudices.

[noiretextatique]

51. there was a 20/20 or nightline special on race several years ago

first, all the white people were expressing sentiments like "black people get special treatment," etc. then the interviewer asked then to pretend they woke up black tomorrow, and asked then how much money they would need. they all said they would need millions...because of the discrimination they would face this disconnect was stunning.

[dorkulon]

52. Wow, that's really interesting.

Gonna have to find that.

[Mister Ed]

15. K+R. Print out that guide and carry copies in your pocket to hand out.

I'm gonna keep a copy for myself, and review it from time to time. Because I know for sure it's not just all the other whites except me who are capable of being racist. Or blind, oblivious, smug, self-assured know-it-alls.

[dorkulon]

22. I think the key is to not pretend to be perfect, but to strive to be objective enough to see past

our own possible prejudices and biases, and not just knee-jerk outrage at the suggestion we might have them.

[backwoodsbob]

29. you mean like anti police bias?

[dorkulon]

33. Sure, if one has that.

Me I'm against cops getting away with excessive force, and I'm also against cops going down for warranted force. That's why I think they should all have body cameras. To protect them as much as the rest of us.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. Seen this one here...

If you find yourself repeating the details of the accused murderer’s story as if it were the definitive version of the events in question, you are probably stupid. Try to keep this in mind. Even racists know enough not to trust any random white guy with a clear motivation to lie.

[helpmetohelpyou]

20. I just used the term Animal in a post

I think the term fits


http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025882758

[dorkulon]

54. I don't know; most animals have more sense than that

[Donald Ian Rankin]

23. Mostly makes sense, but possibly worth noting that it's wrong about the weight.

Brown was a lot heavier than Wilson.

Other than that, most of it seems reasonable.

[dorkulon]

25. A 6'4", 210-lb. man isn't a 5-year-old.

It's a ridiculous thing to say. Brown was kinda fat; that doesn't make him superman.

[gollygee]

26. Excess weight doesn't make you stronger. It makes you slower.

Darren Wilson was the same height and was in much better shape.

[dorkulon]

36. Don't I know it! ;) /nt

[Enthusiast]

24. Kicked and recommended!

[gollygee]

27. !!

That was amazingly on target.

[LawDeeDah]

28. *Applause

[99th_Monkey]

30. K&R This is awesome. I totally facebooked it. Thanks. ... nt

[nc4bo]

48. Guaranteed you'll catch some flies, I know I did. Pure jackass bait.

They will basically validate the truthfulness of the "guide" just by the ridiculousness of their responses to it.

Plenty of jackasses out there.

[dorkulon]

55. You're very welcome! nt

[Nye Bevan]

31. Using "animals" in a non-zoological context?

Like this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1018&pid=278729

[dorkulon]

34. Nice catch.

I'm not sure why you'd bother, but OK. Still, I was referring to the entire human race there, not a subset. And I guess we are all technically animals.

[Rex]

35. Not technically, biologically.

I like to use the term 'barbarians' since we are all animals. Some animals are more complex than others, with the most intelligent being the most complex as well.

[Louisiana1976]

32. Excellent post. K&R

[Johonny]

37. Amazingly, none of them are racist, as they will tell you,

More and more I notice people needing to remind me "they aren't racist". None of these people happen to be my liberal friends. I wonder why that is...

[dorkulon]

40. "I'm not racist, but..."

"...I think black people are genetically inferior." It's almost that bad.

https://twitter.com/yesyoureracist

[cheapdate]

41. Written by and for the already convinced.

Preaching to the choir accomplishes almost nothing. Movement on this question will remain very close to zero.

[dorkulon]

42. Gee, I thought this would solve everything.

Let me know when you find a way.

[cheapdate]

49. Sorry. We're on the same the side.

However, the view of Ferguson from here in Tennessee, and more specifically from the Thanksgiving dinner table at my in-law's house in the country is fixed quite firmly.

I don't have any suggestions.

[dorkulon]

50. I wish I knew how to reach those people.

But so far it doesn't seem like anyone's cracked it. Sigh.

[sammy750]

43. The people need to understand that the courts are packed with Conservatives so

they don't make ruling by the law, its by politics. Why do Republicans want to select all the judgeships. So they can win all the court cases. We just need to look at the US Supreme court, that is rule by politics, not the Constitution or laws.

[dorkulon]

44. Truth! /nt

[redruddyred]

45. this white person is sick of listening to this shit too.

middle class new englanders don't have a friggin' clue how bad it can get.
they're stupid, bigoted, and entirely ignorant.
repeat that to yourself 20 times whenever you find yourself getting annoyed at these idiots.

[oberliner]

46. Middle class New Englanders don't have a clue?

What the hell does that mean?

[redruddyred]

47. ever lived somewhere else?

not sure about y'all, but my state is 98% white people.

[oberliner]

53. Indeed

But I currently live in a middle class New England town that is predominantly non-white.

Do you live in Vermont? I think that state is the exception in many ways.

[redruddyred]

56. god I wish

new hamster, the only place in northern new england with an active kkk.