Eegore wrote on 06/04/21 at 13:29:24:I agree with this, however since racism isn't a crime and violence against others is, I am more concerned about the violence. Feeling that violence is the only answer is a bigger problem than strongly feeling that somebody doesn't like my race.
This bonehead with a camera insinuating a black guy is a criminal or whatever is a waste of that bonehead's time. At most it is an inconvenience to the delivery driver.
The legality of racism is context dependent- there are specific provisions related to housing, employment, public accommodation, election and redistricting, to name a few.
Topically, violence WASN’T the only recourse in this instance, as was made explicitly clear in the recording, as the victim disavowed violence, and invited police involvement. According to the courier, threatening to summons police in response to the lawful presence of a person of color is an offense under local statute.
We all should be alarmed when there is a reasonable basis for believing civil rights may only be secured through violence- the conditions underpinning that belief represent a clear failure of our egalitarian democratic compact -but-
Focusing concern here on a violent response that wasn’t present is part and parcel of our problem. As is casting the pictured example of racism as a mere “inconvenience”. That “inconvenience” is part of a continuum: being followed in a place of commerce; being denied loans or equitable rates; being denied employment, promotion, or pay at rates commensurate with experience and performance; being denied housing; being denied medical care, regardless of ability to pay; being subject to State-sanctioned violence disproportionately; being prosecuted and sentenced disproportionately; being the beneficiary of public investment disproportionately - all real harms heaped upon folks in our country as punishment for their pigment.
Following the Civil War, a systematic attempt at reconciliation saw a transformation in the lives of people of color, who seized on opportunities in sciences, arts, agriculture, and politics. The period of Reconstruction saw blossoming of African American farming; African Americans claimed more patents per capita than their European American neighbors. All that changed when the Slave States refused to acknowledge the defeat of their favored Presidential candidate, thwarting the transition of power until their opponents capitulated in the Great Compromise of 1877, ushering in 100 years of Jim Crow.
As racists regained control of the former Confederate States and implemented their program of domestic terrorism, and lynchings became so regular a part of American life that collectible post cards were commonly issued to celebrate these public murders, African American land holdings SHRANK, as did African American patent filings. These two markers of free participation provide a stark window into the impact of Jim Crow that compound into our present moment.
Far from an “inconvenience”, a climate of hate has a very real impact on the personal and community health of people of color. Today, African American per capita wealth is about 1/7 that of Whites. African Americans and people of color are underrepresented in our State houses and local government. African American life expectancy lags White Americans by around 3.6 years; in this past year, people of color died at disproportionate rates from COVID-19. Were ours a just and equitable society, race would not be an indicator of wealth, longevity, health, or representation.
When considering violence, then, consider the complete constellation of harm. When, just a few months ago, freezing temperatures left the people of Jackson, Mississippi without drinking water for over a month, with resources for repair blocked by the State legislature, they suffered a persistent and enduring legacy of racism that we must assure contests successfully for our attention over mere fear of violent retribution for injustice.
The very least any of us can do is not add to the misery by denying it, pretending the cause and balance of responsibility lays within people of color- or minimizing transgressions as mere inconveniences.
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