JinJer & Felicity 44: The Glossy Veneer is Slipping

[feministxtian]

I don't "get" racism. I don't understand it. If I like you or don't like you, it has everything to do with who you are and nothing to do with anything else. My friends are my friends. People who are jerks are people who are jerks. 

Maybe I'm still naïve as hell but for the life of me, what the hell is up with judging people because of skin color or language or religion? Why do white men want to hang on to their power so much and fuck everyone else over in the process? Are they afraid of being treated the way they've treated other people when they lose their power? 

It's the 21st century...folks need to grow the fuck up. Love who you want to love (as long as they are of legal age), do your thing, don't treat people like shit (in any way, shape or form), look out for your brothers and sisters. Reach out for a hand up, really give a shit about the world around you. Love is easier than hate. Understand that the tighter you try to hold on to something the more likely it is to slip from between your fingers. Understand that what's "yours" isn't really yours. You can't take it with you. 

Maybe this is why I feel like an alien on planet earth. 

[apandaaries]

3 hours ago, SilverBeach said:

And it all came to a screeching halt when federal troops were withdrawn and the KKK was organized to return things to their natural order, which meant white folks on top.

I highly recommend this PBS documentary, Slavery by Another Name, to everyone out there.  It's about how the 14th Amendment's interpretation has been used to keep slavery alive for incarcerated people, and how specifically the police in the South were used to enforce the racist system.  Even worse, those who were imprisoned could be "leased" to landowners/agricultural businesses for violations as shocking as being in public without evidence of a job, or walking alongside railroad tracks (guess who was usually picked up for such incredible violations which disturbed the peace so greatly).

Because sometimes in the USA we can't ever find a low point for human behavior, the people who leased these lawbreakers (heavy sarcasm here) had no incentive to not overwork them to the point of death or otherwise maim/slaughter them.  All of the South, and Alabama's growth in particular, was rebuilt on the backs and with the blood of the Black folks who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Here's a link to the documentary and website, both of which are highly informative: http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/watch/

Historical facts alongside present day realities make Jeremy's obtuse stand all the more enraging.  What an utter ass lacking any compassion or empathy.   

[LilMissMetaphor]

1 hour ago, feministxtian said:

I don't "get" racism. I don't understand it. If I like you or don't like you, it has everything to do with who you are and nothing to do with anything else. My friends are my friends. People who are jerks are people who are jerks. 

Maybe this is why I feel like an alien on planet earth. 

Ugh, for real.  I just endured a two-hour car trip with co-workers, one of whom relayed like it was a funny story, that their friend has a kiddo who has a black Cabbage Patch doll that the mom named Aunt Jemima.  

The fuck? Do you ever just want to un-know someone?

[PennySycamore]

@apandaaries,  I'm going to "Like" your post because it interesting and disheartening, but WHAT. THE. EVERLOVING. FUCK!  I've got to watch that documentary.  

(forgot to actually hit the LIKE button before I left the page.  It's LIKED now._

[feministxtian]

48 minutes ago, LilMissMetaphor said:

Ugh, for real.  I just endured a two-hour car trip with co-workers, one of whom relayed like it was a funny story, that their friend has a kiddo who has a black Cabbage Patch doll that the mom named Aunt Jemima.  

The fuck? Do you ever just want to un-know someone?

I've gotten to where I just cut them out of my life. Toxic people are not allowed to take up space in my life anymore. It's part of trying to cleanse myself of the toxicity I still have rolling around in my head from the mother and the X. I just can't let those people into my life anymore. 

And, as soon as my family's varied race and ethnicity comes up, you find out real quick who your friends are. Somehow folks get real uncomfortable when you doxx yourself as Latina or mention your grandson is bi (well, tri-) racial, your daughter in law and new granddaughter are Asian. I have decided to no longer hold my tongue if someone says something wrong. The good news is my blood pressure is a lot lower. The bad news is I have even less friends than I used to. 

[apandaaries]

1 hour ago, PennySycamore said:

@apandaaries,  I'm going to "Like" your post because it interesting and disheartening, but WHAT. THE. EVERLOVING. FUCK!  I've got to watch that documentary.  

(forgot to actually hit the LIKE button before I left the page.  It's LIKED now._

90 informative, heartbreaking, and appalling minutes. Totally worth it.

[Evangeline]

@BernRul Thank you so much for your posts in this thread. When I'm having a good day, I believe everything you wrote. I think everyone who's resisting needs to understand that this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It took the far-right almost 40 years to get to where we are now. Now may be a short blip, or it may not, but the best way to keep it as short as possible is to keep fighting. We have to do our best this November and then keep fighting regardless of the results. 

Another fun fact for your list is that some conservative Christian denominations are hemorrhaging members. The SBC has lost 80,000 members in the past few years and their Trump support is not going to help them. Between Trump and the Reformed assholes like Jeremy Vuolo, people to the left of SBC's center are leaving in droves. Their budget has been slashed and they know they're in trouble. I'm involved in a Christian group focused on social justice, and so many people are just done with evangelicalism. I don't believe they'll be able to hold onto this power long. No doubt it'll be longer than I like, but it's happening. 

[BernRul]

36 minutes ago, Evangeline said:

@BernRul Thank you so much for your posts in this thread. When I'm having a good day, I believe everything you wrote. I think everyone who's resisting needs to understand that this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It took the far-right almost 40 years to get to where we are now. Now may be a short blip, or it may not, but the best way to keep it as short as possible is to keep fighting. We have to do our best this November and then keep fighting regardless of the results. 

Another fun fact for your list is that some conservative Christian denominations are hemorrhaging members. The SBC has lost 80,000 members in the past few years and their Trump support is not going to help them. Between Trump and the Reformed assholes like Jeremy Vuolo, people to the left of SBC's center are leaving in droves. Their budget has been slashed and they know they're in trouble. I'm involved in a Christian group focused on social justice, and so many people are just done with evangelicalism. I don't believe they'll be able to hold onto this power long. No doubt it'll be longer than I like, but it's happening. 

No problem. And I did not know that about the conservative churches losing members but that makes me hopeful to hear it. I've always thought those groups were one of the biggest threats to America, and I thought they were growing. To hear that might not be the case is great news. 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

6 hours ago, BernRul said:

Oh yeah, I know. Sorry if this wasn't clear. In my post I said that bigotry absolutely will still exist, it just will not be the same as what it is now. It won't look like MAGA.  People will still discriminate against each other, it just won't be for the exact same reasons. And if we work hard now, and keep fighting, we can minimize its effects. In my first post I mentioned complacency. If we're complacent, this lasts longer. If we're not, we have a reasonable chance at progress. 

Exposure obviously isn't the only thing that needs to happen. But I do think when we have more diversity, it allows for more types of people (instead of, say, overwhelmingly white males) to have control of the system. And then they can help make those systematic changes. Like right now more women are running for office than ever before. Not all will win, but not all will lose either, making our congress more female. More female congress means a congress that is more likely to consider women's rights on issues like sexual assault, abortion, and maternity leave, just to name a few. Not all of those women will be Dems, but most are, just like most women voters are Dems. 

Also, on the subject of segregation, America actually did improve greatly after slavery ended. The Reconstruction era was one in which a record number of black Americans were elected into office, where whites and blacks worked together to help ex-slaves, and where the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were all radified.  To quote Lies My Teacher Told Me , "Jackie Robinson was not the first black player in major league baseball. Blacks had played in the major leagues in the nineteenth century, but in 1889 whites had forced them out" (155). The period after the Civil War but before Jim Crow was in full force was more eqaul  than the society that came after it.

People did use their more positive feelings towards Afrian Americans (thanks to their amazing efforts in the Civil War) to  work  with them to make systematic change. However, many white pro-Confederates  (during Reconstruction, btw, as many as 1 in  4 to 1 in 3 Southerners were pro-Reconstruction, though this isn't a well known fact) continued to push back against that progress while others became complacent in the face of that opposition. But I think it shows that things do get better when people fight for what is right, and get worse when they become lazy and indifferent. Right now, more people are becoming active in demanding their rights and sticking up for the rights of others. If we can keep that up, and if more diversity helps get more people in positions of influence, real progress can be made. 

I hope that cleared up my point. I definitely don't think the world is all rainbows and sunshine and that we'll hold hands in a perfectly 100% free and happy society. 

I think i love you! 

[SilverBeach]

3 hours ago, apandaaries said:

I highly recommend this PBS documentary, Slavery by Another Name

Seconded. Outstanding documentary.

I'm older than some of you and have seen a lot more bullshit, and I have been traumatized since that fateful night in November 2016, hence my pessimistic viewpoint. Two seasons of The Handmaids Tale hasn't helped. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I suppose that a backlash is possible. I do appreciate the optimism expressed by BernRul, despite my skepticism. History has shown that every world power has fallen at some point, I just hope that current events are not a precursor to the downfall of America. Things can't continue on the way they are going.

[SilverBeach]

33 minutes ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

America actually did improve greatly after slavery ended.

As a Black person, I don't believe the historical record bears this out. The 40 acres and a mule promised to former slaves never materialized. Many former slaves stayed on their plantations and became sharecroppers, as there was no where for them to go and they had no money to go anywhere anyway. I guess it depends on your perspective. I see a society where my people are still on the bottom in large part due to chattel slavery and its aftereffects, including the destruction of families.

[fluffernutter]

11 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

I'm not that optimistic, TBH, but I still have hope that this current hateful era we're in is only temporary.

It reminds me of Brandi Carlile's song "The Joke" which she wrote following the 2016 election in honor of all the people feeling marginalized and discouraged right now.

 

I love Brandi Carlile so much. 

[Carm_88]

I'm so tired of assholes being assholes because they can be assholes. I know I shouldn't expect great change but it's 2018, not 1818. How did we get here?

Stupidity and feeling like things could never happen, I know that answer, but fuck! There's good and there's bad, I guess that we just have to be the good in our worlds!

[squiddysquid]

I think the racist patriot thing is partly because they don't have anything to be proud of or haven't achieved much.

Being born into a first world country and having upper middle class parents is just pure luck, it's not like I had to work for it.

[feministxtian]

44 minutes ago, squiddysquid said:

I think the racist patriot thing is partly because they don't have anything to be proud of or haven't achieved much.

Being born into a first world country and having upper middle class parents is just pure luck, it's not like I had to work for it.

What these morons don't understand is that, if the historical/archeological record is correct (and I believe it is), we ALL are "African" to some extent given migration patterns. Folks didn't turn white until they moved further north and needed to be able to absorb Vitamin D and shit from less direct sun. Then there's the question of Neanderthal/Homo Sapiens interbreeding. 

So, it's like...you ain't "pure white" by any stretch of the imagination if you're willing to go back a few hundred thousand years. 

Fuck 'em all...bunch of goddamn idiots. 

Was talking to Mr. Xtian about this. Near as we are able to gather, he's NA/European. I'm Latina (European)/German. HOWEVER, in my lineage, God knows what's there. The whole conquistador thing...those guys would fuck anything. I have cousins that look more African/European and then there's me who looks more NA/European. So, my kids are a rolling mix of God knows what. 

[melon]

My ex SIL did our family tree.She traced it back a long way.My ancestors,on my father's side,have been here for a long time.

I have some that came with William Penn.I have one that came on the Mayflower,he was an indentured servant,and was supposed to go back to Leiden,to bring more people,but he died the first winter.

When my ex SIL was doing the family tree..she  says "Melon,you have African AMericans in your family tree". I was like"And??" Was I supposed to be offended???I wasn't,at all.I'm not by any means proud of it,but my ancestors were slave owners.I think my younger brother  was more offended that we are related to JFK,thru his mother,Rose.

I was excited when I found out more about my ancestry and told a co worker.He didn't believe it and laughed at me.

[mollysmom]

15 hours ago, feministxtian said:

I've gotten to where I just cut them out of my life. Toxic people are not allowed to take up space in my life anymore. It's part of trying to cleanse myself of the toxicity I still have rolling around in my head from the mother and the X. I just can't let those people into my life anymore.

Very well said!!!!

I've had to do this to my family. I was abused physically & emotionally & one day I just decided enough was enough. It's been about 4 years now & honestly, it's very freeing! 

[wild little fox]

I have read several articles where white supremacists have their DNA analyzed and found out they are not "genetically pure" as they wanted. So, they are saying the test is wrong. Oh, the irony of it all. Dipshits refuse to believe we all come from Africa. IIRC there is a genome extremely close to our common ancestors, the Khoe and San peoples, who stayed in Africa while others migrated, mutated, and populated the rest of the Earth.

Of course to believe science you have to realize the Earth is much older than 5,000 years. 

[feministxtian]

2 hours ago, mollysmom said:

Very well said!!!!

I've had to do this to my family. I was abused physically & emotionally & one day I just decided enough was enough. It's been about 4 years now & honestly, it's very freeing! 

Once the mother died, it was much easier for me. I had the "joy" of telling off some of her "friends" who were nasty enough to talk shit about me at her funeral. It helped that we blew our hometown 4 months later. 

[formergothardite]

The only thing surprising about this is that he made his beliefs public and put a scuff mark on their happy, shiny image. I figured he would take a page out of the Bates' book and work hard to cover up the nasty side of this lifestyle. 

[pook]

23 hours ago, BernRul said:

That is so kind, thank you. 

Can I copy and paste your words to my private FB?

 

[BernRul]

2 hours ago, pook said:

Can I copy and paste your words to my private FB?

 

Yeah, that's fine. 

[Satan'sFortress]

5 hours ago, mollysmom said:

Very well said!!!!

I've had to do this to my family. I was abused physically & emotionally & one day I just decided enough was enough. It's been about 4 years now & honestly, it's very freeing! 

This reminds me of a painting I once had.  When I lived in Austin, there was a guy who sold paintings on the street---simple water colors.  The one I got had a stylized rainbow lady floating above a throng of people & it had the words "One day, fed up with Hell, she simply up and left."  I loved that so much.  I don't know what happened to the painting, though. :( 

[Daisy0322]

10 hours ago, melon said:

 

I was excited when I found out more about my ancestry and told a co worker.He didn't believe it and laughed at me.

So I'm 1/4ish and my mom is 1/2ish Cherokee but we don't look it at all. However my grandfather who was 100%ish was obviously very into it and passed that down to my mom. Well she went to a tribe thing (I don't know I never  got as into it) after he died to kind of honor him and legit no one would believe her and pretty much told her to leave she was really upset about it. It's so frustrating to me when people take your ancestorage as a joke. Some people really identify with it! 

[sleepy_doggos]

48 minutes ago, Daisy0322 said:

So I'm 1/4ish and my mom is 1/2ish Cherokee but we don't look it at all. However my grandfather who was 100%ish was obviously very into it and passed that down to my mom. Well she went to a tribe thing (I don't know I never  got as into it) after he died to kind of honor him and legit no one would believe her and pretty much told her to leave she was really upset about it. It's so frustrating to me when people take your ancestorage as a joke. Some people really identify with it! 

For sure, some people identify with their ancestry more than others! That would be so frustrating to reconnect with something important to your identity and then told to f off because you don't look right. 

Ancestry really interests me. I can spend hours picking out what features belong to what ancestors like people do with Duggar faces. lol.