You're white you haven't experienced racism 4

[PatricksRum]

Continued.

To me on the screen some posts under the OPs name that said “quotes deleted post” were coloured green as in posted by the OP instead of the grey colour of the posts done by MNHQ.

Screenshot or it's bullshit.

*What's your opinion on the repeated murders of black people at the hands of racist white cops?

Several studies have been done on the US police killing of black peoples and found that black cops are more likely to kill a black person than a white cop. Google it.*

That's not what I asked.

What is your opinion on the repeated murders of black people at the hands of racist white cops?
The object being racist, white

I've never seen so many flouncers on one set of threads. I think we need a collective noun.

Still reading, still taking notes, still learning. Thanks for these threads PatricksRum.

@JaggedHedge Thank you for your comment.
I think, if anything, the most lessons taught are by other posters, not me. This thread gives a tiny insight into what it's like to be black.

Here is an interesting editorial from Seattle. There has been a sudden sea change in America where a number of events have coalesced to finally wake large numbers up to the reality of racial injustice in the USA, it seems for all the slagging white Americans are getting on MN they are willing to acknowledge the truth.

White Americans change their minds: the USA IS structurally racist

Love this quote from the Twitter conversation following the Tweet
"Maybe this is what happens when you leave the American people at home with time to think and re-examine their lives and choices. A thinking people equals change."

Another commentator:

"White people have been treated like Black people by the police for a WEEK and suddenly every state is pondering defunding cops. This is what it takes every damn time.

White America didn't give a shit about police brutality till just now. And that's because feeds are filled with white kids getting teargassed and old white men being attacked and left for dead by police. The feeds of Black folk being murdered was just a curiosity. This is REAL

Do y'all know how fucking soul draining it is that one week of white suffering is equal to centuries of Black suffering? That we have been shouting for years and that suddenly y'all "get it" in a week when it's you? This is why we can't even take solace in victory"

Up until about two weeks ago I was aware of racism as a kind of abstract thing that happened to other people in other places (I've lived all my life in villages in the middle of the countryside, currently there is one family with a black mum and a white dad.)

However, I have learned so so much over the last two weeks and I'm horrified! However much I hate the phrase "woke" I feel like I'm waking up.

The realisation that shocked me the most was when my daughter was playing with her dolls and repeated a sentence I have used with her so often.

"Now, if you get lost, find a policeman, they'll keep you safe and help you find mummy"

That, right there, was the slap to make me realise my white privilege. I doubt very much mums of black children feel able to say that to their kids...

I hate the phrase “woke” too and prefer to think of it as “scales falling from the eyes”. It started when I read White Fragility and after that I read some of the other popular books (Oluo, Eddo-Lodge..)....
Once seen you cannot unsee. I think ally of white people are scared to see. I was. Sometimes I still am.

Weirdly, my friend and I were discussing* the Sugababes (how Heidi and Siobhan “good guys“, Mutya and Keisha “bad guys”=racism) and Keisha Buchanan has now spoken about her treatment as a black female and Leigh-Anne Pinnock has too I believe?

*Unrelated but I loved the original Sugababes line up and miss them (and Misteeq😭) who is with me?!

What is "White Fragility?"

Racism, stress, childhood trauma and life outcomes:

Racism and adverse childhood events

Toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences and racism

The damage racism wreaks is manifold.

That's so interesting and so very sad

You could add to that a 2-3 times increased risk of psychosis in those who have experienced childhood trauma.

I always thought that was very interesting as psychosis used to be thought of as mainly genetic but now we know there are strong environmental factors too.

In one of the top studies that comes up if you google this (Powers 2016) I noticed that in their sample of participants with high levels of trauma 90% were black (study population from Atlanta)

So black people are more likely to suffer psychosis and less likely to get humane treatment if they do both because of racism.

@Choconuttolata Those diagrams are chilling.
Where do we begin to tackle it?
It's clear that a lot of people can't accept their privilege, and they're the only ones with the power to change this

I think white people do need more education about racism in schools and on tv. I knew a little about the history of slavery, I had watched Roots in secondary school. I knew there was racism but didn't realise how widespread and systemic it was until I entered a relationship with my black husband and talked to his family. More opportunity to hear from black people and hear their stories, the internet and YouTube is great for this, but the wider media has a role to play which it hasn't done so far. People compartmentalise and dehumanise when they do not see and hear the racism in their daily life and how it affects people or when the only TV and media images of black people are negative and follow ingrained negative stereotypes. Some people will never care or change, but the younger generation are more open minded and will change.

We also need to start giving justice in situations of systemic racism from police and legal structures. The IPCC in the UK are the police policing themselves. Nothing changes if there is not some sort of auditing and community involvement in the checking of decisions and processes. Police complaints need to be dealt with by an Ombudsman council with community members sitting, like a jury. Police officers need to be given the same treatment in law as members of the public committing violent offences. Same for other people in positions of trust and power like doctors for example.

I was watching Akala talk about going to pan African Saturday school as a child and the contrast and boost to his state school learning and experience that gave him. Saturday schools online that allow black people in areas where there is not a big local community that could organise physical school groups, to access extra learning support that would be unaffordable to many and also opportunity to learn about culture and history not taught in the school system would be a start. It would be relatively affordable to set up, but impact the younger generation greatly.

Positive role models and television/media programs and appearances of black people. Businesses and public organisations not thinking that having a mixed race or an Asian person meets your requirement for diversity to the exclusion of black faces.

There should be money put into the black community to fund local community run programs organised by local groups. Family support, educational support, housing support, employment support, healthcare screening/support, psychological support could all be offered in one place at local community centres. For too long this country has benefitted financially from the free or low cost labour of black people, give back.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-53017667/black-lives-matter-how-can-we-win-monopoly-analogy-explained

medium.com/a-geeks-blog/educate-yourself-about-the-black-massacres-in-tulsa-and-rosewood-ed3c81512bc0