Race, lets make this serious! It is nearly 2013.

[Vrede too]

I took it to refer to goofy and/or irrelevant people. There was no official segregation in the DC area by the time I was old enough to have noticed, but de facto segregation of course persisted.

Here are some commonly used terms that actually have racist origins

Peanut gallery

According to linguistics experts, the origin of this phrase derives from the late 1800’s Vaudeville era, a popular style of entertainment that included jugglers, comedians, singers etc... The "peanut gallery" was the cheapest section of seats usually occupied by people with limited means.

The 1940s and 1950s-era children's program "Howdy Doody" used the term to refer to the groups of kids who participated in its audience.


PHOTO: Howdy Doody, Bob Smith as Buffalo Bob Smith entertains the 'Peanut Gallery' on an episode of 'Howdy Doody.'

However, in the segregated South, seats in the back and/or upper balcony levels were mostly reserved for Black people, according to author Stuart Berg Flexner, an expert on the origins of American phrases. In his book, "Listening to America: An Illustrated History of Words and Phrases From Our Lively and Splendid Past," he writes that “Peanut gallery was in use in the 1880s, as a synonym for n----- gallery (1840s) or n----- heaven (1870s), the upper balcony where blacks sat, as in segregated theaters.”

I think Howdy Doody popularized it for our generation and the one prior, but it's my guess that it won't last.

[O Really]

While we're at it, we better not talk about "slaving in the yard all afternoon"
And drop The Pretenders "Chain Gang" from the play list since most people actually put on a chain gang were Black.
Change the name on "Raid" bug spray because the commercials "..RAID!!" is frightening to immigrants of colour.
Can a white guy be a blues singer without being guilty of cultural appropriation?
And shouldn't Steve Martin be excoriated for "The Jerk", playing in a gag-laden comedy about an idiotic white man, raised by a poor family of black sharecroppers, who doesn't realize he's not black.

[Whack9]

Can a new baby born still be named Karen?

[Vrede too]

Can a new baby born still be named Karen?

Think of all the unfortunate boys that have been named Donald.

BLM has gone universal:

Nasa to change 'harmful' and 'insensitive' planet and galaxy nicknames

Eskimo Nebula
Siamese Twins Galaxy

No word on Uranus yet.

[Vrede too]

Found:

Saying, "All lives matter," is like running through a cancer fundraiser shouting, "There are other diseases, too!"

[Vrede too]

What happens when a semi-decent pol jumps on the PINO bandwagon:

Nikki Haley tried to argue the U.S. isn’t racist — but she just proved the opposite point

... "In much of the Democratic Party, it's now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country." she said. "This is personal for me. I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. They came to America and settled in a small Southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a brown girl in a Black and white world. We faced discrimination and hardship, but my parents never gave in to grievance and hate. My mom built a successful business. My dad taught 30 years at a historically Black college. And the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor. America is a story that's a work in progress."

While she declared from the outset that the United States isn't racist, the story she tells is deeply shaped by the country's racism. Her parents, who she takes time to note wore cultural garb that set them apart in the South, faced discrimination. Her father taught at a historically Black college, institutions which have been necessary in U.S. history because of the extreme racism Black Americans have faced in higher education. She pointed out that she was the first governor from a racial minority in South Carolina's history, a fact notable precisely because it exemplifies how racism has affected who has had access to power.

The last sentence quoted above is the biggest tell. Haley noted that the country is a "work in progress." But what are we progressing from? As her preceding remarks were meant to reflect, we're making progress against racism. But being a "work in progress" means we still have further to go. This is a concession that the United States is still a racist country.

So what's going on here? Why is Haley, undoubtedly an intelligent person, making such an obviously contradictory argument?

The whole night, and likely the Republican National Convention more broadly, is a rather clumsy attempt to thread a needle. Many of the night's speeches were filled with racist fearmongering, most notably from the McCloskeys, a St. Louis couple facing charges for brandishing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) warned that Democrats want "MS-13" to move in next door.

But while Trump and his allies clearly think that racism is necessary to win in 20020, they want to soften that message so it doesn't scare off voters who might otherwise vote for them. So the night also featured several Black speakers and people of color like Haley, who mostly served to reassure white Republicans that they can support the president without being racist.

Haley also obliquely referenced her decision as South Carolina governor to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse. But she referred to it only as a "divisive symbol," rather than draw attention to the tension between this action and others at the RNC railing against the removal of statues.

Haley clearly wants to be the future of the Republican Party. So she's trying to walk a fine line of arguing that the country has overcome racism, and may even have more to overcome, while not scaring away the party's white voters. She tells Americans that the United States is not a "racist country," suggesting its offensive to say so, even as the story she tells confirms that it is....

But it's hard to believe that Haley's tactic will gain much traction. It's trying to accomplish too much — wielding the populist and racist impulses in the GOP for her own ends — with too little — hairsplitting wordplay. But it is possible her posturing could help Trump where he needs it the most: comforting white suburban voters that they can vote Republican without being bigots.

Watch the clip below:

[Vrede too]

Hurricane Laura topples Confederate statue (2 weeks) after Louisiana parish votes to keep it



God's vote counts for more.

A behind-the-scenes look at Asheville’s Black Lives Matter mural


TO THE LETTER: Prominently featuring African nationalist colors of red, black and green, the Black Lives Matter mural will be on display in downtown Asheville for one year. Photo by Reggie Tidwell/Curve Theory, courtesy of Asheville Area Arts Council

The site of the Zebulon Vance Monument in the heart of downtown Asheville has long been a source of tribulation for the local Black community and its allies. Built near the spot where enslaved people were sold and traded, and honoring a Buncombe-born political leader who staunchly opposed abolition and equality, it’s served as a painful public reminder of prominent white supremacists and the lingering effects of centuries of racial oppression.

Now the same plot of land has transformed into one symbolizing unity as well as hope for true equality and lasting change. Since July 8, the obelisk has been shrouded from base to top and a city/county task force has been formed to prepare recommendations for altering or removing it. And on July 19, the arc-shaped street around the site became home to a Black Lives Matter mural, spearheaded by Asheville City Council member Sheneika Smith and Asheville Area Arts Council Executive Director Katie Cornell, that will be on display for a year....

I'll bet that galls the cops that violently attacked protests at the same locale earlier this summer.

[Vrede too]

'You matter to us': Delta Air Lines upgrades Black traveler harassed by white flyer

The female Black kindergarten teacher got support from fellow passengers and the flight attendants, along with Delta, and she went viral on Facebook.

[billy.pilgrim]

I bet she was one of those Thugs On a Plane trump warned us about

[Vrede too]

I bet she was one of those Thugs On a Plane trump warned us about

More White victims:

Trump ends anti-racism training in federal government: White House

[Whack9]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/11/us/nfl-c ... index.html

...
The Chiefs remained on the field while both anthems were played while the Texans went into the locker room.
Minutes later, when the National Anthem began, which was sung by R&B group Chloe x Halle, the Texans did the same thing -- leaving the field and returning once the song finished.
Moment of Unity
While the Houston Texans did not stay on the field when both anthems were played, they returned to the field and linked arms with the Kansas City Chiefs for what they called a "Moment of Unity."
"Please join us in a moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country," the announcer at the stadium stated ahead of the moment.
Boos were heard from the crowd at Arrowhead stadium during the "Moment of Unity."
...

WTF, America? Boo'ing a moment of unity. Classy...

[neoplacebo]

Fear and hate; make it great. trumpy America on display. Putin is rolling in the floor laughing. Plus, the booing was likely from folks who choose to forget that trump didn't even know what state the Chiefs played their games in. And the idiots cheered anyway for their messiah. Cultists.

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/11/us/nfl-c ... index.html

...
The Chiefs remained on the field while both anthems were played while the Texans went into the locker room.
Minutes later, when the National Anthem began, which was sung by R&B group Chloe x Halle, the Texans did the same thing -- leaving the field and returning once the song finished.
Moment of Unity
While the Houston Texans did not stay on the field when both anthems were played, they returned to the field and linked arms with the Kansas City Chiefs for what they called a "Moment of Unity."
"Please join us in a moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country," the announcer at the stadium stated ahead of the moment.
Boos were heard from the crowd at Arrowhead stadium during the "Moment of Unity."
...

WTF, America? Boo'ing a moment of unity. Classy...

I don't hear much booing, there is a lot of cheering after the moment of silence.

Don't tell anyone but Eric watched from his basement room tv. He booed too, you can tell that part of his protest story - just leave out the basement part and that he watched during the big boycott.

[Vrede too]

Trump supporters are increasingly isolated in their denial of systemic racism, according to new polling data

This is not an accident:

The man behind Trump’s campaign against 'critical race theory'



However, there's good news, too:

'Never be seen again': Where Confederate statues go after being taken from public spaces

After the death of George Floyd in late May, more than 130 Confederate statues and tributes to divisive historical figures have come down in a flurry of protests, acts of vandalism and government decrees.

But no matter how and why the monuments were removed, most communities remain stuck in a common struggle: what to do with them.

A review by NBC News of monuments that were ripped down or are slated to be pulled from public spaces found that most governments and agencies with oversight have no clear road map for what will happen next and have placed the statues and markers into storage for the foreseeable future....

[O Really]

Can we just admit that Trumpers are racist idiots? Hillary got into trouble over speaking the truth, but "deplorables" is almost too kind.

[Vrede too]

Can we just admit that Trumpers are racist idiots? Hillary got into trouble over speaking the truth, but "deplorables" is almost too kind.

Sure, but their bigoted moronic unanimity can still shock we decent Americans.

Speaking of racist idiots, WNC is exporting terrorism to neoplacebo's hood:

NC driver charged after video shows SUV run over BLM protester in Tennessee crosswalk

A Black Lives Matter protester standing in a crosswalk in Johnson City, Tennessee, was hit by a white SUV with North Carolina tags over the weekend, video shared on social media shows.

Now a driver has been charged.

Jared Benjamin Lafer, a 37-year-old from Bakersville, North Carolina, was charged with one count of aggravated assault after turning himself in Monday, the Johnson City Police Department said in a news release....

Brent Chaffin, who posted the video on his personal Facebook page, described the protester as a photographer who was “lawfully in a crosswalk” at a Black Lives Matter protest in Johnson City.

Police said it occurred at the State of Franklin and Spring Street intersection.

Victoria Grace Hewlett with the New Panthers Initiative, an organization that was protesting police brutality in Johnson City when the incident happened, said the protester was “violently and deliberately hit by a car while crossing a high-trafficked crosswalk with large blinking State Law to Yield for Pedestrian signs.”

The protester who was hit has two broken legs, according to Hewlett....

[Vrede too]

Story of the Underground Railroad to Mexico gains attention

Interesting. Makes sense, but first I've heard of it.

[Vrede too]

White (male) Professor Caught Pretending to Be a Woman of Color on Twitter

University of New Hampshire professor Craig Chapman has been removed from the classroom after evidence surfaced that he was pretending to be a woman of color online, The Daily Beast reports.

Chapman, who tweeted under the screen name The Science Femme, repeatedly used his false identity as a weapon in online arguments. He also bragged under the handle that he’d helped squash a statement by his department in support of recent social justice protests.

As The Science Femme, he claimed to end his “dept’s woke statement on recent social unrest...removing all woke terminology from the statement including anti-racism, white supremacy, white privilege, and claims of systemic racism.”

When people accused The Science Femme of working against the interests of people of color, Chapman claimed to be one himself. He said he was “an immigrant woman of color who grew up in poverty, sleeping on a dirt floor.”

He was eventually found out when Twitter users found remarkably similar posts from both The Science Femme and Chapman’s personal account....

I'm not sure what UNH policy he may have violated, but he's clearly too stupid to be a prof.

I'm usually suspicious of cons claiming to be female or nonwhite on web fora.

[O Really]

Jeez, that's surely a new one. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever played a person they aren't online before.

[Vrede too]

Jeez, that's surely a new one. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever played a person they aren't online before.

Touché, but it's rarely a prof that's outed.

Terrorist threats over a Black Lives Matter mural at UNC Asheville, could have been emailed from anywhere in the world, including both WNC and Russia:
https://news.yahoo.com/threat-over-blm- ... 26560.html