From the Department Of Imagine Had This Substituted Black For White
Opinion: Can My Children Be Friends With White People? https://t.co/BRfO6tRVuW
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 12, 2017
From the article
My oldest son, wrestling with a 4-year-old’s happy struggles, is trying to clarify how many people can be his best friend. “My best friends are you and Mama and my brother and …†But even a child’s joy is not immune to this ominous political period. This summer’s images of violence in Charlottesville, Va., prompted an array of questions. “Some people hate others because they are different,†I offer, lamely. A childish but distinct panic enters his voice. “But I’m not different.â€
It is impossible to convey the mixture of heartbreak and fear I feel for him. Donald Trump’s election has made it clear that I will teach my boys the lesson generations old, one that I for the most part nearly escaped. I will teach them to be cautious, I will teach them suspicion, and I will teach them distrust. Much sooner than I thought I would, I will have to discuss with my boys whether they can truly be friends with white people.
Here’s a suggestion: teach them respect. Teach them that someone “disrespecting you” is not an occasion to become violent. Teach them to obey commands from law enforcement. You can always complain up the ladder and/or get council in a secure, controlled facility. Teach them that learning is a good thing.
History has provided little reason for people of color to trust white people in this way, and these recent months have put in the starkest relief the contempt with which the country measures the value of racial minorities.
Let me point out that the people who were rioting and destroying Black neighborhoods and such were Black people. But, hey, let’s teach Blacks to hate Whites. It’ll work our well, eh?
Yes, pity the poor white man, Black folks get all the breaks.
I am glad you realize that, fool.
And I am glad you miss the point, dogbreath.
So you support picking friends based on their race, Jeffery?
You support a mother teaching her child to look at the color of someone’s skin rather than their character?
I’m not surprised as racism is an important part of the liberal / leftist / progressive beliefs.
GC,
Wow, tRump supporters are a sensitive crew.
In essence, the Professor writes, we can all pretend to be friends, we can be civil and be polite – but a white person who supports Donald Trump cannot be a trusted friend to a Black person. And as a Black parent, how do you teach your children to know the difference between a decent white person and a tRump supporter?
TEACH: Does that really describe racism against white people? Is the mere criticism of white tRump supporters racism?
You should read the essay with an open mind and then re-examine your response.
How can any decent American have a true friend who supports the messages of tRump? That was the author’s point. Perhaps the author, naive to a fault, is just now discovering that white superiority is the cornerstone of conservative political strategy.
On cue, TEACH leapt in blaming Black people for all the problems and proceeds to defend white superiority. He misses the point of the essay – and TEACH and white people suddenly but become the aggrieved – How dare this Black man criticize white people?!?
Professor Yankah concludes:
Clearly you think that racism is acceptable.
Your defense of this woman is pathetic, but typical of SJW’s.
We disagree that this is racism. It is not racism to criticism tRump supporters.
What woman was I defending? And please explain how my defense of Professor Yankah’s words was “pathetic”. Or do you prefer not to discuss any substance?
Jeffrey wrote:
That works both ways, doesn’t it? Since black Americans gave 89% of their votes, it is plainly obvious: anyone who supported Mr Trump’s candidacy can, and should, realize that almost no black American can be a trusted friend.
If Jeffrey supports Professor Yankah’s discrimination, he must, inter alia, support discrimination by anyone who voted for Mr Trump against blacks; that is the logical extent of his argument.
Nice try. You can dislike whomever you want for whatever reason you want, including skin color or because you, like dave, think you are superior to non-white people.
Dr. Yankah did not describe discrimination – in fact he advocated the opposite. You consider a Black man not welcoming your friendship as discrimination? If the professor gave you a C based on your leucism, when you earned a B, THAT would be discrimination. Not trusting you because of your color might be considered bigotry – a concept with which most conservatives are comfortable.
Again, here is what Professor Yankah wrote:
You now want to distrust Black people because they didn’t vote for tRump who ran a racist campaign (NB – we understand that some tRump supporters still do not think he ran a racist campaign)? That’s your right and we suspect most Black people won’t suffer for your lack of civility toward them – they’re used to attitudes of white superiority and racial animus. Perhaps, just perhaps, you could try to put yourself in the position of an American minority and examine the impact the tRump campaign and presidency has on them.
The good professor must, himself, have white colleagues with whom he must interact on every working day. He just told them all that no, he cannot trust them due to the color of their skins. Even if he didn’t think he was saying that, he was.
His children will have to go through life interacting with white people in school, in college and in their professional lives, yet he is teaching them that they cannot trust any of those white people. He is, in fact, crippling them, educationally and professionally.
One wonders: does he advocate resegregation of schools, so his children won’t be exposed to the Evil White People?
One could not find any hint that Professor Yankah advocate segregation. In fact, the professor advocated treating white people better than Black people have been, and are now treated, by many white people.
He wrote:
Certainly, he is more open to white people than many commenters here are to Black people. Professor Yankah was expressing the opinion that it would be very difficult for a Black person to be a genuine, trusted and true friend with a tRump supporter.