ELDER: If Trump is racist he needs to go back to racism school
Abraham Lincoln, when informed that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was a drunk, famously asked Grant’s accusers what whisky he was drinking so Lincoln could send a barrel to every general in the army. Keep this in mind when U.S. President Donald Trump’s critics accuse him of “racism” against blacks.
Under this “racist” president, black unemployment, since the government began keeping numbers, hit an all-time low in May. Polls show that inner-city parents want choice in education: specifically, they want the means to opt out of sending their children to an under-performing government school the child has been mandated to attend.
Think tanks on the left (like the Brookings Institution) and think tanks on the right (like the Heritage Foundation) pretty much agree on the formula to escape poverty: finish high school; get married before having a child; and do not have that child before you are financially capable of assuming that responsibility.
But what about the quality of that high school education? A 2004 Fordham Institute study found 44% of Philadelphia public-school teachers with school-age children of their own placed them in private schools. By 2013, the nationwide average for private-school attendance was 11% of white families and 5% of black families.
About choice in education, Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, said: “What can be done about (improving primary education) is empowering parents to make the choices for their kids. Any family that has the economic means and the power to make choices is doing so for their children.”
A 2016 poll in “Education Next” found 64% of blacks supported “a tax credit for individual and corporate donations that pay for scholarships to help low-income parents send their children to private schools.” Similarly, A 2015 PDK/Gallup Poll found 68% of blacks wanted the ability to “choose which public schools in the community the students attend, regardless of where they live.”
Trump also wants to stop illegal immigration. Why should that matter to urban blacks?
Harvard economist George Borjas, in his 2013 research paper “Immigration and the American Worker,” wrote: “Classifying workers by education level and age and comparing differences across groups over time shows that a 10% increase in the size of an education/age group due to the entry of immigrants (both legal and illegal) reduces the wage of native-born men in that group by 3.7% and the wage of all native-born workers by 2.5%.”
As to illegal immigration, Borjas says: “Although the net benefits to natives from illegal immigrants are small, there is a sizable redistribution effect. Illegal immigration reduces the wage of native workers by an estimated (US)$99 to $118 billion a year, and generates a gain for businesses and other users of immigrants of $107 to $128 billion.”
3,000 people in anti-racism walk at Marina Bay
About 3,000 people came together in support of the Rise Against Racism campaign on Saturday (Nov 17) at the Orange Ribbon Walk.
They walked 3.8km around the Marina Bay area and were accompanied by President Halimah Yacob, who flagged off the walk at Esplanade Park.
The Orange Ribbon Movement symbolises friendship, brotherhood and kinship underpinned by values of respect, understanding and trust.
The annual event by OnePeople.sg – the ground-up national body for racial and religious harmony – rallies Singaporeans to make a stand against racism and combat racial discrimination and prejudice.
The multi-ethnic participants were from self-help groups, grassroots, religious, community and civic organisations and the public.
Youth groups from institutes of higher learning, racial and religious organisations and youth activist groups also took part.
Ms Larissa Nair, 27, who is Indian-Chinese, was one of the participants who signed up for the Tea Talk Corner. She said: “Being brought up in a mixed-race household and grappling with a fixed race identity was a constant struggle that I have had to go through since childhood. I am Indian. But I am Chinese, too.
“Multi-culturalism can only exist with an open-minded community. And through conversations; this is a start.”
President Halimah also wrote her personal message against racism at the event. She wrote: “There is only one human race. The rest is just our own creations which divide us.”
Ms Larissa Nair, 27, who is Indian-Chinese, was one of the participants who signed up for the Tea Talk Corner. She said: “Being brought up in a mixed-race household and grappling with a fixed race identity was a constant struggle that I have had to go through since childhood. I am Indian. But I am Chinese, too.”Multi-culturalism can only exist with an open-minded community.
Thousands attend anti-fascist protest in London
anti-fascist protest in London
Around 20,000 people demonstrated in London on Saturday against the rise of racism and fascism, marching from Great Portland Street and rallying at Whitehall.
The march followed recent events in Europe, including fascist riots in Chemnitz, Germany, the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in the United States, and UK protests in support of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.
Contingents arrived from all parts of the country, with coaches laid on by trade unions and rally organisers.
Many who marched were politically affiliated, reflected in the large number of local Labour Party and union branch banners.
Campus racism: How to start the conversation
Seattle is known to be a relatively liberal city, but does that mean there isn’t an issue with racism? Author Lawrence Ross gave a workshop and lecture titled “Know Better/Do Better” last Thursday and explained that there is no time for “fluff” in difficult issues such as this.
The workshop, which was organized by the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and the Race & Equity Initiative, was aimed at faculty members. It was a practical, interactive workshop based around working with people “you wouldn’t feel comfortable inviting to dinner yet” to come up with applicable solutions to campus racism.
Some of the key issues included lack of representation of minority groups on campus, lack of accountability for perpetrators, and the assumption that there is not a problem at the UW because it’s in an accepting city. Often people adopt the childish stance, consciously or not, that if they can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
“Campus racism is not news,” Ross said. “Minority students deal with daily stereotypes everywhere.”
This sentiment was echoed by members of UW Greek life, who coordinated Ross’ appearance and lecture at the UW.
“The UW does have a lot of work that needs to be done, it does have a lot of implicit biases, there’s a lot of underlying racist comments that do happen for many students,” Khyree Watson of the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC) said.
The open access lecture was coordinated by students from the NPHC, the UW’sPanhellenic Association and the United Greek Council (UGC) with partnership from the ASUW. The aim was to raise awareness and to get students talking about a polarizing subject, with an end goal to provide a safe space for varied demographics to have the conversation about racism.
“It’s really important to try to find that common ground where we can really include and start working together and utilize our different connections, in a sense to build the UW community,” D’andre Garcia-Stubbs of the NPHC said.
The Greek community at the UW was keen to get involved in something as poignant and topical as racism to help to curb preconceived perceptions of fraternities and sororities by the media.
“There’s always been tension around the Greek community,” Wendy Wang of the UGC said. “It stems from what we think people in the Greek community should look like, and this created the notion of, ‘I don’t belong here.’ It’s very important to learn about people of color to create better understanding.”
Calling Out Racist Voters Is Satisfying. But It Comes at a Political Cost
GOOGLE “IS TRUMP racist?” and you’ll find that just within the last week, at least three major news outlets have taken on that very question.
At the Chicago Tribune, columnist Clarence Page asked, “Is President Trump a racist — or does he just act like one?” At CNN, Mallory Simon and Sara Sidner offer that “Trump says he’s not a racist,” but “[t]hat’s not how white nationalists see it.” And at New York magazine, the headline doesn’t hide the ball, declaring: “The Republican Denial of Trump’s Racism Is Absurd.”
I tend to agree. Over the past year, a consensus seems to have finally formed — at least among the broad political left — that President Donald Trump is, in fact, racist. Liberals have largely backed away from euphemisms like “racially charged” and “racialized” and just started speaking plainly. “Just Say It,” read a headline last January in the New York Times. “Trump Is a Racist.”
But the question of how politicians should characterize Trump supporters is a different matter altogether. Some Trump voters are certainly racist. But is it worth the strategic risk for politicians to call them out?
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., found himself in hot water last week when, in a clumsy quote to the Daily Beast, he said that voters who rejected black candidates because they are black might not be racist.
Sanders’s full remarks, cut from the Daily Beast article but released later in an audio clip, included a strong condemnation of racism. When asked to comment on the “race-oriented” nature of the gubernatorial campaigns waged by Brian Kemp of Georgia and Ron DeSantis of Florida against African-American candidates Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum, respectively, Sanders corrected the reporter, saying, “Why don’t we use the right word — not use the phrase ‘race-oriented.’ Why don’t we say ‘racist,’ how’s that?” Sanders went on to describe Gillum as having had to take on some of the most “blatant and ugly racism that we have seen in many, many years.”
But when discussing whether voters themselves, rather than the candidates, might have acted out of racism, Sanders seemed to equivocate. “There are a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist, who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their life about, you know, whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American,” he said.
Of course, as many have pointed out, Sanders’s comment didn’t make much sense. Declining to vote for a candidate because of their race is, by definition, racist, and Sanders should have known better than to suggest otherwise.
But much of the criticism that followed focused on Sanders’s perceived tendency to “downplay” racism — a claim that isn’t supported by the interview transcript or his subsequent statement, in which he said, “Let me be absolutely clear: Donald Trump, Brian Kemp, and Ron DeSantis ran racist campaigns. … They used racist rhetoric to divide people and advance agendas that would harm the majority of Americans.” On NPR later that day, he explained that “there’s no question that in Georgia and in Florida, racism has reared its ugly head, and you have candidates who ran against Gillum and ran against Stacey Abrams who were racist and were doing everything they could to try to play whites against blacks.” He’s been similarly blunt before, as in an August MSNBC appearance, when he said, “I think we have to do a heck of a lot better getting through to some of those people. I am not going to deny for a second that some of those supporters are racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes. That’s true.” But, he said, “I don’t believe that’s a majority.”
University closes anti-racism art exhibit for being racist
anti-racism art exhibit for being racist
The exhibit’s artists agree with closure, insist displays were misunderstood
Mary Baldwin University has shut down an anti-racist art exhibit after students complained that some of the images depicted were racist.
The exhibit’s artists supported the decision but also defended the art, saying it was misunderstood and wasn’t racist, Inside Higher Edreports.
The Staunton, Virginia-based university removed the exhibit after two days and released a statement promising to hold a series of “listening sessions” in the near future that will “allow students an opportunity to share their feelings in response to the exhibit and their hopes for inclusive community.”
The exhibit, titled “RELEVANT / SCRAP,” concerned Confederate monuments that are still displayed across much of the southern United States. The artwork displayed depictions of the statues, some of them “turned into other images and mixed with other materials.”
Steve McQueen Read ‘Widows’ Reviews and Detected a Racism Problem
Steve McQueen Read ‘Widows’ Reviews and Detected a Racism Problem
Steve McQueen is once again earning acclaim from film critics, this time for his Viola Davis-starring heist drama “Widows.”
The film currently boasts an impressive 95% on Rotten Tomatoes from over 130 reviews.
And it turns out McQueen has been reading what critics have to say about his latest directorial offering.
The director recently told BuzzFeed that in paying close attention to “Widows” reviews he’s noticed film criticism has a problem with inherent racism and sexism.
“Through the critique of this movie, I’ve seen sexism in a way and racism in a way, which is interesting, even if it’s a positive review,” McQueen said.
“People don’t even notice that, but when you’ve got 90% of the critics are white males, that’s what happens.”
SAUDI ARABIA IS THE WORST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD FOR ATHEISTS
The IHEU release is titled Freedom of Thought Report, and it was presented to the United Nations General Assembly situated in New York City. The seventh report is unique in the sense that it is the maiden time the report contains a proper ranking for every world nation. The countries are ranked as per their discrimination against the non-religious, atheists, and humanists. As per the IHEU report, atheists are safest in Belgium and in The Netherlands. Taiwan comes third. In fourth place are four countries- Sao Tome and Principe, Nauru, Japan, and France.
It is to be noted that Ireland dipped further into 115th place. According to Jane Donnelly of Atheist Ireland, the non-religious face serious discrimination even though they constitute the second biggest societal group after Roman Catholics. The human rights officer pointed out that the Constitution of Ireland starts by invoking God and Catholic social mores are present in multiple Irish laws.
Many other countries in the past have chastised Ireland for treading on atheists’ human rights, minority faith members, and agnostics. Saudi Arabia occupies the last position at the other end of the scale. Atheists are most in danger in Saudi Arabia. Just above Saudi Arabia are four countries: Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives.
In the IHEU report, Saudi Arabia came last as the country has promulgated a law in 2014 which describes atheist thought as a kind of terrorism. The country also has come under heavy fire for prosecuting liberal campaigners and activists.
For some, the presence of Malaysia at the tail end of the list may come as a surprise. This is as the country has witnessed anti-atheist rhetoric during the last few years. Andrew Copson, the IHEU President, pointed out that this kind of report is the first in the world and the publication shows with accuracy and authority the discrimination suffered by individuals all around the world due to their non-religious beliefs.
The report is clearly a dark one, where significant discrimination is endured by non-religious colleagues and friends all over the globe. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the subject of Freedom of Religion or Belief, has praised The Freedom of Thought Report, saying it has become an invaluable tool for policymakers.
World Cup winner Boateng still suffers racism in Germany
Bayern Munich star Jerome Boateng says he still suffers racism, including enduring regular monkey chants, despite having helped Germany to the 2014 World Cup.
The 30-year-old, who has a Ghanaian father, told lifestyle magazine ‘Boa’, which he himself launched, that the explosive issue of immigration in the country has only made the situation worse.
“When I’m warming up on the sidelines I can often hear monkey chants. Me, who played so many matches for Germany,” said the Berlin-born Boateng, who has played 76 times for the German national side.
“Sometimes they’ll say things like ‘go home to your own country’ or they’ll just shout something like ‘you black shit’.”
Boateng, whose brother Kevin-Prince chose to play for Ghana, described several racist incidents from his childhood when parents of opposition players made him cry with their abuse.
He also believes the refugee issue in Germany has made people more wary and liable to label people by their origins.
“One for the Germans, one for the migrants,” said Boateng who was left out of the German squad on Friday for forthcoming matches against Russia and the Netherlands.
“And now there’s another for Germans with foreign parents who are not white, but who feel entirely German because they grew up here. Now we’re being looked at with an air of suspicion.”
Black Tunisians push for equality, in face of racism
Black Tunisians push for equality, in face of racism
Tunisian Nadia Borji says she wants to be considered as equal but fears she will end up buried in her town´s so-called “slaves” cemetery — because she is black.
Black Tunisians, including some descended from slaves, make up a minority that is barely visible in the north African country.
Many hope for greater equality after a law was passed last month criminalising all forms of racism.
“This term ´slave´ disturbs me enormously. It shouldn´t still exist!” protested Borji, who came to her mother´s grave to read a prayer.
Black residents still bury their dead in a poorly maintained piece of land, full of earthen tombs covered with parched plants near Houmt Souk, on the island of Djerba.
Two other cemeteries lie a stone´s throw away — reserved for people with light skin.
