Jul

31

More Racist and Inappropriate Comments Directed at IRs

Filed Under Family Issues, Interracial Relationships, Original Essays and Analysis, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Comment: What is the sex like?

Variations: Does he have a big/small penis? Is she a freak?

What the comment really means: When I see people of different races together, I think they are primarily together because of the sex. I believe racist stereotypes about Black/Asian?Latina/o/American Indian sexuality. I think white women who sleep with Black men are sleazy.

Why the comment is inappropriate: Clearly this falls under the none of your business category, and it also feeds on a very long tradition sexuality being used to enforce racism. People of color have routinely been stereotyped as sexually provocative and or promiscuous, so such questions always need to be interpreted in this context. At this point in history, people also tend to have stereotypes about Whites who have sexual relationships with Blacks, especially White women. Moreover, these types of questions seem to challenge the legitimacy of interracial relationships by recreating the notion that they are all about sex.

Comment: Couldn’t you find? a person of your own race?

Variations: You can do better. What are you doing with a Black/White/Asian/American Indian/Latina/o person?

What the comment really means: I think the only types of people who intermarry/interdate are people who are desperate. People who have IRs are selling out their group because it is clearly better to date/marry people within your own group.

Why the comment is inappropriate: First, of all this type of comment feeds into the idea that interracial relationships are somehow inferior to same race relationships and a sign of desperation. The assumption here is also that the person’s partner is less than because he or she is from a different background.

Comment: Well you cant help who you fall in love with.

Variations: Love is blind. Race doesn’t matter. Anybody can fall in love.

What the comment really means: Some sort of spell must have come over you because if you could help who you fell in love with it would not be that person.

Why the comment is inappropriate: This sort of comment is problematic on a few levels.? When the person says love is blind or colorblind it ignores the reality that race is important.? Can you imagine a same race couple being told you can’t help who you fall in love with. The truth is that we can and do “help” who we fall in love with.? Even though most people are not willing to admit it, relationships are not colorblind, and even people in interracial relationships fall into the love is blind trap.? The other problem with this statement it that it assumes that love is a spell that just sort of comes over you, and if you could help it and could fight it you would never choose this sort of person.

Jul

29

Update from Houston

Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments

1. Got here yesterday.? Go lost coming out of the airport, mainly because I should not have been driving.? I’m a great map reader.? My partner is a great driver. Why was I driving?? He can’t give directions to save his life.

2. As is typical with all trips to see my partners friends, we got roped into being the taxi drivers.? Picked up 9 people going to the wedding, who just happened to be on the plabe with us.? Had to upgrade to a minivan.

3. Houston is hotter than (insert random cuss word here), but I was prepared for that.

4. Houston absolutley must be the strip mall capital of America.? Passed the biggest Walmart I have ever seen.

5. Had a nice outdoor dinner at the bride’s family’s house in some town called Spring.? Was still hot as hell when we left at 11PM.

6. I missed the southern friendliness.? New York people just don’t have the kind of manners that I am accustomed to.? Every person in the elevator with us yesterday spoke to us, which makes me feel much easier, since I grew up in a town where you speak to everybody, and if you can’t speak you just wave. In NY (and Connecticut too) I always have these awkward moments where I talk to somebody and they ignore me or the times when i have this battle in my head over whether or not I should speak to the person.

7. Saw more cowboy hats in one day than I would see in one year in New? York.? Mostly on White men over 40, who even wore them indoors, which I know would really tick my mother off. She’s old school on the “don’t wear your hat indoors tip.

8. Back with more random updates in? a few…….

Jul

28

I’m Heading to Houston

Filed Under Uncategorized | 7 Comments

for a wedding this weekend.? Of course, I’m going to do a little sight seeing–check out NASA and get a Paul Wall grill when I’m there. LOL!! I’ll have access to the computer, but won’t be checking as frequently.? Keeping the comments coming….

Jul

27

Colorblind Racism

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Interracial Relationships, Original Essays and Analysis, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

If you haven’t had the chance to read anything from professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, I highly reccomend his books–Racism Without Racists and White Supremacy and Racism in the Post Civil Rights Era. I used his model of colorblind racism in my dissertation to talk about how interracial relationships are viewed in contemporary American (US that is) society. Granny has a post (inspired by this post) discussing some of Bonilla Silva’s views on “race talk” in the colorblind era. I think Dr. Bonilla-Silva added a few more elements in the final draft of the book than he had in the earlier article that Granny cites.

Here are a few quotes from the theory section of my dissertation discussing Bonilla-Silva’s views on colorblind racism. For those who are interested in social theory, I combined a symbolic interactionist (Goffman’s and Blumer) perspective with contemporary racism theory as the foundation for the study research.

Several stylistic and ideological characteristics distinguish the new racism from its predecessor. Bobo, et. al. (1997) argue that laissez faire racism involves three key elements– persistent negative stereotyping of African Americans, opposition to policies to improve the conditions of African Americans, and a tendency to blame African Americans for the persistent gap in socio-economic standing. Bonilla-Silva (2001) adds other characteristics, which are particularly helpful at identifying the style of contemporary racism—1) increasingly covert racial discourses and practices, 2) avoidance of racial terminology and claims by whites that they experience reverse discrimination, 3) a racial agenda in the discussion of political matters that avoids direct racial references, 4) invisibility of the mechanisms of racial inequality, and 5) the rearticulation of some of the elements of Jim Crow racism (pg. 90). One of the most important elements of contemporary racism is the emergence of the colorblind ideology. The colorblind ideology asserts that color is not important and should not be the basis for social judgments. The key problem with colorblind ideology is that it is an abstract principle that does not hold true in practice, particularly in the practice of marriage and intimacy (Bonilla Silva 2001). This new racist ideology is often referred to as colorblind or laissez faire racism.

Here is another quote on the specific issues that Granny raises.

Bonilla Silvas (2003) concept of race talk is particularly useful because he talks about the rhetorical strategies that that Whites use to avoid be labeled as racist. These strategies are very clear examples of the face work used maintain the illusion of antiracism. For example, Bonilla Silva talks about theIm not racist but and Some of my best friends are. statements that Whites use in discussing racism. These statements are almost immediately followed but negative assessments of racial minority groups. Bonilla Silva identifies several other semantic maneuvers that are common.

1) The Im not Black so I wouldnt know strategy, in which White respondents claim to not know or understand racism and its effects. 2) The yes and not, but strategy, in which Whites claim initially to not have favorable position but then go on to express their actual views. 3) The anything but race strategy, in which Whites argue that nonracial factors explain racial outcomes. 4) The they are the racist ones strategy, in which Whites try to shift away from their own racism by projecting their views on to Blacks. 5) The dimunitives strategy, which includes statements such as life is a little harder for interracial couples. 6) The rhetorical incoherence strategy, in which Whites are clearly uncomfortable and make contradictory and incomprehensible statementsThese strategies all help Whites save face and avoid the label of racist in front of their peers. This is particularly important since front stage discussions of racial issues are less and less candid, and avoiding the impression of racism is important for the maintenance of a positive self image under the system of contemporary racial ideology.? An additional frame not discussed in the above quotes, is what Bonilla-Silva calls the naturalization framework. When people naturalize racism, they see the current racial order as normal or natural. They may use comments such as “it’s just natural to want to be around your own kind.”

An additional frame not discussed in the above quotes, is what Bonilla-Silva calls the naturalization framework. When people naturalize racism, they see the current racial order as normal or natural. They may use comments such as “it’s just natural to want to be around your own kind.”

Jul

27

Another Stellar Comment

Filed Under Interracial Relationships, Race and Racism, Sexuality and Heterosexism, Sociology, Uncategorized | 27 Comments

For some reason I have been getting several random overtly racist comments lately, probably about 1 a day.? I delete most of them, but I just had to put this one up.

Intrerratial dating = Moral decline. Clearly the entire subject of interracial dating boils down to moral decline and a tolerance for just about anything. A house can not stand without a foundation. A society can not stand without values and morals. When a society abandons its moral beliefs and adopts the new age Anti-God agenda such as Tolerance, Diversity, and Multi-culturalism; the foundation begins to crumble. In 1961 they took the United States foundation out of our schools; the Bible. The very book our founding fathers used to establish our consitutions and laws. Look whats happened since. The divorce rate, teen pregancy, homosexuality, and yesblacks and whites marrying. Its all due to moral decline. For those liberals out there that are gasping at what im writing, just study history. No society in the history of human existence has ever survived when it adopts homosexuality. Its no wonder that blacks and whites mixing is just another sign of moral decline. Most americans believe in God. Clearly God allowed the different races to come into being on purpose, not by accident. It is only normal and natural for a white woman to seek a white man. And black woman to seek a blackman..unlessyou fall into moral decline. Thats why at one time this type of mixing was against the law. It was called a A crime against Nature
Hey, Im a 27 year old white woman that sees other white women not only falling into moral decline, but throwing away their race and culture as well. Once its gone, its gone forever. Tracy

I do have a reason I think this one is particularly instructive, and that’s because it is a great example of a comment that demonstrates how Christian fundamentalism foments racism, sexism, and homophobia.? The commenter is somehow able to connect the downfall of American civilization to interracial marriage, multiculturalism, the removal of school prayer, and gay rights.? Well go figure. I would like to let Tracy know that I am proud to contribute to the downfall of her version of American civilization.? Would anybody else like to join me? LOL!!

PS- When did “blackman” become a compound word?

Jul

26

I’m Redoing the Blogroll by Categories

Filed Under Blogs Blogging Blogthropology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

I was going to divide the new blogroll up by subject matter, but I changed my mind because too many of the blogs have overlapping subject matter.? I have settled on the 5 categories-Academic Blogs, Activist Blogs, Personal Blogs, Family/Friend’s Blogs, and Hip Hop Blogs.? I”m going to assign them to categories, but if you think your blog should go into a different category feel free to let me know.? I tried to judge each blog on content, but I know these divisions are sort of false. ? I am ready to add a significant number of blogs and this will make it more manageable.

Jul

26

A Note About Moderation

Filed Under Blogs Blogging Blogthropology, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

I have? been receiving several comments from the same IP with a person using different names and pretending to be people of different racial groups.? We don’t need to pretend to be other people to try to get our points across.? Your point doesn’t? magically become more legitimate because you post it under a differnt racial identity.?

I’m going to have to cut comments from that IP if this continues. This violates? the? moderation policy. Thanks for your cooperation.

Jul

26

Serious question for everybody….

Filed Under Serious Questions, Uncategorized | 21 Comments

Do you have difficulty dialoguing with people of another race?? Do you tailor your comments based on the race of the person you are talking? Be honest please…I won’t allow personal attacks, and I’ll give my own opinion after a few posts.

Jul

25

Bunch-O-Links 7/26/06

Filed Under Bunch-O-Links, Uncategorized | 23 Comments

1. Kevin has a good post of the false dichotomies of race, gender, etc. He also makes a couple other very good points, that have been waiting for somebody to say.2.Tom has a post on the Jim Crow Museum, where they collect racist memorabilia to challenge racism.

3. Here are a few posts on the conflict between Israel and Lebanon:

  • Richard Jeffrey Newman with a moderate approach,
  • Abu Sinan has several posts that lean pro-Lebanon,
  • Umar Lee has a moderate Muslim perspective,
  • Dave at the Debate Link has a post leaning pro-Israel
  • Juan Cole, renowned Middle Eastern Studies professor, has numerous posts on the subject.

4. Republic of T has a good post on the break up of the Massachusetts couple who case lead to the legalization of gay marriage in MA.

5. There have been several good posts about gender essentialism (all critical of it). For those who are unfamiliar with the term. Essentialism refers to the idea that there are rigid distinctions between social groups, in this case men and women, that are rooted in biology or “natural underlying essences.” Here are the links–Pandagon, Mixing Memory on Gender Essentialism, Mixing Memory of Homosexuality and Essentialism. Can somebody please replicate this for race????? I guess I’ll have to be the one to do this because it seems to be all the rage to challenge gender essentialism and accept racial essentialism. I’m clueless as why liberal/progressives seem to have this discrepancy in how they treat race and gender, but it is really frustrating. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a post on the social construction of race that didn’t come from me.

6. Feminist Allies on President Bush groping the German Prime Minister.

7. I also think it would be appropriate to go over and give this woman some advice. She has an interesting post up about racism and colorblindness. Clearly she doesn’t write about race much, but admire admire her sincerity and what seems like a genuine sort of willingness to at least grapple with racism. I think I could write a really long response to this, but it would be nice to help her by giving some diverse perspectives.

8. Mixed Media Watch has this post up called “How White are You?” It has a whole bunch of racist stereotypes. Check it out.

9. I also would be remiss if I didn’t link to Luke’s deconstruction of a Maxim headline, which uses the term “invading” in reference to a Black actress.

Update: I was procrastinating on putting this Bunch-O-Links up until Kevin put up the impromptu Black Hair Carnival, and I gave up.? Then Kevin put it right around the same time I posted this, so here it is.

Jul

25

The August Erase Racism Carnival Will Be Here

Filed Under Blogs Blogging Blogthropology, Race and Racism, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

I will be hosting the 4th Erase Racism Carnival here at Rachel’s Tavern, so I decided to ask for suggestions for a theme.

Overall the Carnival is doing well. In September it will be at Black Looks, which will be nice to have our first non-American and our first Black blogger to host the Carnival. Then, in October it will be at Taking Place, which is multiracial progressive group blog.

If you have any suggestions for themes, please offer them here. Sea over at Listening for Change has suggested something about mental health. I’m cool with that or some sort of multiple themed carnival. What do you think?

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