Using the work 'protestors' is a misnomer. The violent criminals looting, burning and beating people are to 'protests' what Derek Chauvin was to 'police': a Disgrace! They deserve to be in the cell next to him. Sad to see individuals besmirch the honor of George Floyd with such shameful display.
Well, 70 percent of white Americans didn't agree with Colin Kaepernick when he peacefully protested police brutality. So now you're seeing what happens when you don't. And no, they're not 'besmiching the honor of George Floyd'. They're just giving people convenient excuses to ignore the issues in the first place.
BTW, if you want to convince these youth that rioting isn't an answer, you might want to stop teaching them about the Boston Tea Party, where white people (disguised as Native Americans to give them the blame) looted tea because they didn't want to pay a tax. Or the Boston Massacre, where a mob threw clam shells and rocks at the British militia. Or dozens of other riots I can point to.
If one is American, patriotic, and a symbol of resistance to oppression, then the other is too. Even if it involves stealing cheap Made in China overpriced Nike shoes.
I'll be the first to point out the dark stains on this country's history -- there are plenty of them. I'm just not sure how murdering David Dorn solves the problem or contributes to the conversation:
Except no one ever said the death of a police officer 'solves the problem or contributes to the conversation.'
The death of David Dorn is a tragedy. However, your psychological challenge will be to turn your attention back to the problem of systemic police brutality against Black people. That's what we're talking about. Because if you can't do that, you're saying that you don't see Black people as human beings worthy of pointed focus due to systemic racism. This isn't about the 'dark stains of history', this is about how a philosophy of white supremacy continues to fuel the systemic racism against Black people in this country in policing. That's the focus. Can you focus on that? That's your challenge.
I sometimes wish for the glory days of the 2013 national WBB tournament, but that will come again. Meanwhile, I'm always proud of our Cal athletes, who play hard for the team, and work just as hard for their fellow citizens.
Jun 1, 2020Liked by Nick Kranz, Rick Chen, Erik Johannessen, Avinash Kunnath, Rob Hwang, SGBear
Yes...folks are paying attention now. But I'm going to be very interested if you're paying attention when I bring up issues of race, and Cal, and how this isn't just about scoring touchdowns and winning games, six months from now. Because it's easy to be sympathetic in the moment. It's when the moment passes for you, because it's always my reality, that's when you see whether people are truly interested in your humanity.
Coming from an integrated high school with and equal amount of black and white students I found the virtual "segregation" at Cal very off putting. We need to accept that whites for the most part can't really understand the depth of systemic racism, no matter how sympathetic they might be individually. The fact the Civil War ended 155 years ago and we are still having these problems is very telling.
Proud to be associated with all of these people through the university we attended and love. That includes you, Nick. Thanks for being the voice of the community.
Thank you for this post in the best Berkeley tradition of rationale and passionate discussion. As an old (class of 1967), white guy, I've come to realize that in terms of lived experience, the black community is like a different nation that happens to share the same physical space. I worked with a few black colleagues, and even talked to them pretty candidly, but, in my gut, there is no way to understand their daily reality. We are long past the time for a national conversation about race. And we need a national leadership that has the courage and wisdom to open up that conversation. There is a bill (HR 40) sitting in the House of Representatives that would create a commission to study reparations. It would be a good place to begin that conversation, and, when we have come out from under the immediate needs of the pandemic, it would be a good thing for all people of good will to support. We have a lot of listening to do.
Thank you Nick and W4C. Silence in any venue is not an option right now. The vast majority are at least sympathetic, if not outraged. Will people focus this on actions that result in change?
Gee, what do you guys want? All we ask is that you endanger yourselves, your family and friends, by entertaining us during a pandemic for which there is little knowledge and no cure. We just don’t want too many people who look like you getting into Cal, especially if they can’t matriculate their way into eligibility in those fine ghetto schools we provide.
Speaking of pandemic--I have yet to hear any commentators talk about the influence of of Covid19. Racial tensions have been going on for decades. Covid19 irritates, annoys, and hurts everyone, and makes everything worse. More racial injustice, more reaction to injustice.
I think a lot of that goes back to the Paris quote above. If you are scared to call 911, lowers your chances for survival. In addition to the rampant social inequalities in health care.
I think this specifically has a lot to do with wealth/poverty/economic inequality, because we don't have universal health care, as well as of course the systemic disparities in how people of different races are actually treated even in the hospital.
I heard a researcher (whos name i cant recall) say she thought it could be partly because(it was a hypotheses) vitamin D deficiency. And thus a somewhat weaker immune system.
Also, my other half does work the covid unit here at the heart hospital all cases are sent to..and she does say most people (in general) dont go to the hospital until its "too late", so if you're at a higher risk and ignore early symptoms of respiratory distress...its no bueno.
Using the work 'protestors' is a misnomer. The violent criminals looting, burning and beating people are to 'protests' what Derek Chauvin was to 'police': a Disgrace! They deserve to be in the cell next to him. Sad to see individuals besmirch the honor of George Floyd with such shameful display.
Well, 70 percent of white Americans didn't agree with Colin Kaepernick when he peacefully protested police brutality. So now you're seeing what happens when you don't. And no, they're not 'besmiching the honor of George Floyd'. They're just giving people convenient excuses to ignore the issues in the first place.
BTW, if you want to convince these youth that rioting isn't an answer, you might want to stop teaching them about the Boston Tea Party, where white people (disguised as Native Americans to give them the blame) looted tea because they didn't want to pay a tax. Or the Boston Massacre, where a mob threw clam shells and rocks at the British militia. Or dozens of other riots I can point to.
If one is American, patriotic, and a symbol of resistance to oppression, then the other is too. Even if it involves stealing cheap Made in China overpriced Nike shoes.
I'll be the first to point out the dark stains on this country's history -- there are plenty of them. I'm just not sure how murdering David Dorn solves the problem or contributes to the conversation:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/small-town-police-chief-killed-officers-cities-wounded/story?id=71017820
Except no one ever said the death of a police officer 'solves the problem or contributes to the conversation.'
The death of David Dorn is a tragedy. However, your psychological challenge will be to turn your attention back to the problem of systemic police brutality against Black people. That's what we're talking about. Because if you can't do that, you're saying that you don't see Black people as human beings worthy of pointed focus due to systemic racism. This isn't about the 'dark stains of history', this is about how a philosophy of white supremacy continues to fuel the systemic racism against Black people in this country in policing. That's the focus. Can you focus on that? That's your challenge.
I'm a subscriber but happy that The Athletic removed the paywall here: https://theathletic.com/1845455
I sometimes wish for the glory days of the 2013 national WBB tournament, but that will come again. Meanwhile, I'm always proud of our Cal athletes, who play hard for the team, and work just as hard for their fellow citizens.
Nick, I appreciate your words and this space, but most of all, I appreciate that you posted the athletes' words themselves.
Yes...folks are paying attention now. But I'm going to be very interested if you're paying attention when I bring up issues of race, and Cal, and how this isn't just about scoring touchdowns and winning games, six months from now. Because it's easy to be sympathetic in the moment. It's when the moment passes for you, because it's always my reality, that's when you see whether people are truly interested in your humanity.
Coming from an integrated high school with and equal amount of black and white students I found the virtual "segregation" at Cal very off putting. We need to accept that whites for the most part can't really understand the depth of systemic racism, no matter how sympathetic they might be individually. The fact the Civil War ended 155 years ago and we are still having these problems is very telling.
Thank you for always speaking up.
Proud to be associated with all of these people through the university we attended and love. That includes you, Nick. Thanks for being the voice of the community.
Thank you for this post in the best Berkeley tradition of rationale and passionate discussion. As an old (class of 1967), white guy, I've come to realize that in terms of lived experience, the black community is like a different nation that happens to share the same physical space. I worked with a few black colleagues, and even talked to them pretty candidly, but, in my gut, there is no way to understand their daily reality. We are long past the time for a national conversation about race. And we need a national leadership that has the courage and wisdom to open up that conversation. There is a bill (HR 40) sitting in the House of Representatives that would create a commission to study reparations. It would be a good place to begin that conversation, and, when we have come out from under the immediate needs of the pandemic, it would be a good thing for all people of good will to support. We have a lot of listening to do.
Thank you Nick and W4C. Silence in any venue is not an option right now. The vast majority are at least sympathetic, if not outraged. Will people focus this on actions that result in change?
Gee, what do you guys want? All we ask is that you endanger yourselves, your family and friends, by entertaining us during a pandemic for which there is little knowledge and no cure. We just don’t want too many people who look like you getting into Cal, especially if they can’t matriculate their way into eligibility in those fine ghetto schools we provide.
Speaking of pandemic--I have yet to hear any commentators talk about the influence of of Covid19. Racial tensions have been going on for decades. Covid19 irritates, annoys, and hurts everyone, and makes everything worse. More racial injustice, more reaction to injustice.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/19/jaylen-brown-coronavirus-covid-19-nba-basketball-boston-celtics
Good stuff by Jaylen Brown
The effects of COVID-19 in the US are also racially disproportionate:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/black-americans-death-rate-covid-19-coronavirus
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/30/865413079/what-do-coronavirus-racial-disparities-look-like-state-by-state
I think a lot of that goes back to the Paris quote above. If you are scared to call 911, lowers your chances for survival. In addition to the rampant social inequalities in health care.
I think this specifically has a lot to do with wealth/poverty/economic inequality, because we don't have universal health care, as well as of course the systemic disparities in how people of different races are actually treated even in the hospital.
I heard a researcher (whos name i cant recall) say she thought it could be partly because(it was a hypotheses) vitamin D deficiency. And thus a somewhat weaker immune system.
Also, my other half does work the covid unit here at the heart hospital all cases are sent to..and she does say most people (in general) dont go to the hospital until its "too late", so if you're at a higher risk and ignore early symptoms of respiratory distress...its no bueno.