This blog is a protest. It's a protest against the widely held assumption that black people -- and especially urban blacks -- are inherently inferior and deserving of their plight, their economic status, the culture of violence that they live among, and the superiority lorded over them by whites as a collective race.
I'll answer a couple questions before I get into the meat of my first post.
Q. Who are you?
A. I'm nobody. I'm writing about something everyone should be thinking about. My individual identity is comparitively unimportant. I'm white, mid-thirties, professional. That's all I choose to reveal at this point.
Q. Who do you think you are, with a blog like this?
A. See above.
Okay, that's out of the way.
Today there was a story on philly.com with the headline, "20 arrested at Sayre High School in melee over dress code." (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/28560009.html)
Followed a story about a group of inner-city highschool girls, black, one presumes, though the story doesn't specifically say, who refused to follow the administration dress-code. Well, the girls were met by Philadelphia police and refused entry. They tried to force their way in, and were arrested.
Very well. Disturbing to say the least. We don't want our kids to wear whatever they want, especially if they haven't shown they can do so responsibly. The administration is taking a hard line. Also very well. The kids will probably be suspended, according to the story.
To me, this is sad. What I think about is what these kids have known their entire lives. Marginalization. Perhaps little or no parental authority. School and police authority with, at best, questionable motives. No monetary resources. High mortality. Death and addiction all around. The foregone conclusion that they will amount to nothing but a prison uniform by society at large.
I don't feel like I can do much about it.
The story drew nearly a hundred reader comments. Listen to some of them.
"... These kids are future criminals and will know nothing but to act out in violence."
"I have seen young black girls in action and trust me they are worse than the boys ... just animals."
"Quality folk. The city's future 'Where's mine' welfare recipients."
"They truly are animals."
"All I can say is Ghetto trash!!!!!!!"
"684 students, and all of them are criminals."
"The cops should shoot to kill and they wouldn't have to worry about giving them suspension. These idiots will eventually wind up in a bodybag anyway."
And one of my favorites:
"That's why I have to vote for McCain. Sorry. We still need serious welfare reform and housing reform in Philly, where you live up to your end of the social contract or you're gone."
Social contract. In other words, behave and know your place. But what's the incentive to do so?
I want to hear what people have to say about this. Racists and non-racists alike (I like to call them "normals," though maybe that's a misnomer.) The hatred drips like vitriol and I want to know why.
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