Dear White America: Toya Graham Is Not Your Hero.

[Cali_Democrat]

This author makes some interesting points.

Why did white America cheer when Toya Graham assaulted her son? Because white America is living vicariously through Toya Graham. She did to that child what they wish they could do.

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Dear White America: Toya Graham Is Not Your Hero
Posted: 04/29/2015 8:40 pm ED

<...>

Every story needs a hero, and the media and white America has found a star in Graham, the African-American mom who slapped and pulled her teenage son out of the protest Monday afternoon. But is all this praise coming from a friendly place? History, and a closer look at what's going on, suggests not.

On a very basic level, the worship of Graham is built on a misunderstanding of her motivation. Many in the media have presumed she was furious at her son for taking part in a riot, and dished out the blows that police and pundits think young black men need to get them back in line. But that's not what she says drove her.

Young black men, like Graham’s son, are 21 times more likely than young white men to be shot dead by police. Graham was scared for her child.

“That’s my only son and I don’t want him to be a Freddie Gray," Graham told CBS. "Two wrongs don't make a right, and at the end of the day I just wanted to make sure I had gotten my son home."

<...>

Danielle Williams, a local resident involved in the protests, caught her own wave of Internet fame by torching an MSNBC anchor for the media's failure to focus on Baltimore before the violence. Reached by HuffPost, Williams said she thinks the mainstream media and white America are living vicariously through Graham “because she’s doing something that they wish that they could do to us and to our children.”

Read more:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/29/toya-graham-hero-mom_n_7175754.html

[Buzz Clik]

1. ... and what the fuck is "White America"?

Holy shit, that's offensive.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. Sometimes the truth can be painful

But it has to be dealt with.

[Buzz Clik]

11. I asked a question with the implication that there is no such thing as White America

That article's sweeping assessment is narrow-minded and wrong-headed.

[madaboutharry]

2. I disagree with his theory.

I think a lot of people saw what I saw. And that was a very frightened mother who lives every day with a devasting anxiety that her son isn't going to come home one day. I didn't see a woman who was hitting her son to dole out punishment. I saw a woman who is scared every minute of the day and overwhelmed with worry about her child. I think a lot of people saw the same thing.

[deutsey]

4. +1

I guess some TV pundits may be trying to make something out of it to advance an agenda, but I saw the same thing you did.

[840high]

8. I saw the same as you.

[pnwmom]

18. The woman WAS frightened. But the right-wing dominated media saw it as appropriate discipline

and hailed her for that. That is what progressives are objecting to. The camera caught her in a moment of weakness, not of strength. We all have those moments, but they shouldn't be applauded.

[hamsterjill]

19. I saw what you did.

I also saw a strong woman who got up off her butt and did something when she was confronted with the reality of what her son was doing. She took action! She didn't wait for someone else to handle the problem.

You aren't going to stop someone who is at least a foot taller than you and who has been throwing bricks at police officers by asking "honey, please stop". She got his attention and this morning, the son has even explained that he understands it was an act of love.

[hifiguy]

20. Yep. nt

[mythology]

5. I think it's utter horseshit to suggest that "white America"

Wants to hit black people. Some idiot saying so on twitter doesn't make it true. Likewise the public outcry over the Adrian Peterson situation wasn't about race. It was about somebody beating his kid bloody with a stick.

That said I agree that hitting her kid is counterproductive.

[NaturalHigh]

6. Ah but it comforts some to believe that.

It reinforces their preconceived notions.

[NaturalHigh]

7. You don't actually believe this garbage do you?

[Cali_Democrat]

10. I agree with the author

You shocked that someone else's opinion might differ from yours?

A lot of blacks are suspicious of the motivations of white people in America. When blacks are given longer sentences than whites for equivalent crimes....or when blacks just going about their daily business suddenly find themselves on the receiving end of a white cop's bullet, it will breed suspicion.

Welcome to America.

It's gonna take a lot of dialogue in order to work through this.

You're gonna have to deal.

[NaturalHigh]

12. No I'm not shocked that someone has a different opinion...

but I have no intention of any sort of dialogue with people who write ridiculous drivel like this. Ignoring them makes it much easier to "deal."

[Cali_Democrat]

14. Blacks are angry and this author makes some excellent points.

Soon whites will become a minority in America.

It's gonna be tough to ignore this tension for much longer.

[LanternWaste]

15. I like to call different opinions "ridiculous drivel" too...

I like to call different opinions "ridiculous drivel" too... it's much more self-validating to tell ourselves that after we discount out-of-hand other perspectives than it is to examine points of view that may challenge our biases.

[treestar]

13. Not sure what to think of this

It's interesting.

Condemn her for doing it and you are failing to understand how the poor woman was doing all she could to protect her son.

Praise her for it and you are not only in favor of corporal discipline but actively wish you could hit a black kid.

And race is not all encompassing as an issue as there are white people and black people who will use corporal punishment on kids and I'm sure people of both races who would call it abuse and be horrified. If there are black people praising her are they wishing they could hit black kids?

[Fumesucker]

16. Eh, I guess I'm not "White America"

As a parent and grandparent I thought the mother's actions were understandable but quite possibly counterproductive in the long run.

I wish Ms Graham and her son well and hope life gets better for both of them.

[KT2000]

17. pretzel logic from armchair critic

I saw a mother who loves her son and I saw her son who knows that his mother loves him enough to get him out of harm's way. There are young people around the country who are likely sad that they don't have mothers who care as much.

These were extraordinary circumstances - people should judge their own actions instead of sitting in judgement of Toya Graham.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

21. I don't like violence but her instinct to stop her son from joining the mob was noble.

She is a heroine in my book.

[seveneyes]

22. Too bad this could not be stopped

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/police-man-trying-to-break-up-fight-attacked/32527280

[Cali_Democrat]

23. Assault isn't so wonderful when it's a 61-year-old business owner on the receiving end

But when a black boy is beaten on TV, many white folks cheer.

Thank you for proving the author's point.