I Talked About The Latest Bit Of Ugliness
I tried to keep it brief, because I don’t have all the answers. But keeping it brief wasn’t easy.
The “Smirking teen (and classmates) and the Native Elder” incident in Washington, DC was more complicated and a deeper story than the first reports in the news media and on social media indicated.
The Catholic boys they weren’t quite as evil as the internet and the news thought, but they weren’t heroes and they weren’t saints. Their chaperones failed them and mob mentality took hold for a time.
The Native Elder’s heart was in the right place, but he may not have taken the best course of action.
Oh, and there was a third group: Five members of the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) sect. Those fellows were the biggest assholes of the day. They were the instigators. They were the provocateurs. They were the ones hurling the racist rhetoric, both at the white kids and, long before the incident, at the Native Americans who were there to take part in a ceremony.
However, I’m not letting the Catholic boys of the hook. They may have been provoked and the led to some displaying the “Tomahawk Chop” as the Native Elder and other Native Americans approached to get between the boys (the little assholes) and the BHI fellows (the big assholes). The “Tomahawk Chop” is at the very least a racially sensitive gesture and, as someone stated on my Facebook page, provoked racism is still racism.
I’m going to link to other’s opinions and points of view. I’ll also link to the video the BHI fellows has produced themselves. The portrait format of their video is the least offensive aspect of it. And you know how much I hate vertical video.
Check them out.
From The Atlantic comes a pretty thorough run-down of what the various videos showed happened that day: Here.
Also from The Atlantic is this article about how video can tell different stories depending on what’s show and from what point of view. Here.
From The Chicago Tribune, an opinion how how the high schoolers were failed by their adult chaperones. Here.
From Glenn Beck comes a more conservative viewpoint, in which he conveniently leaves out the “Tomahawk Chop” done by some of the Covington boys: Here.
And, if you can stomach it, the video made by the assholes who instigated the whole thing: Here.
Indulging In A Fantasy
And to wrap up my talk on the ugliness, I fantasized about what I would like to have said to the entire crowd that day.
The MAGA Hat
It may not be fair, but, like it or not, the Make America Great Again hat is now considered to be a symbol of racism. In the interest of fairness and charity, the hat may have started life as just a campaign slogan and a show of support, but that’s not what it is now. Now, it’s seen by many to just be the modern equivalent of the white hood.
Like it or not, wearing it is a distraction you don’t need.
And the slogan is regressive and silly. America may have been great for some in whatever time period the MAGA hat wearers are thinking of, but not for all. How about we look forward? How about we try to make America great for everyone?
That’s a goal worth striving for, don’t you think?
Hand Gestures And Black Face
A couple photos surfaced on the internets of the Covington kids at sporting events that raised eyebrows and were claimed as evidence of the systematic racism of the boys and their school. One images shows the boys playing basketball and making the OK gesture, which is said to be a symbol that means “white power.” The other shows a section student fans at a basketball game attempting to intimidate an opposing player. Four of those student fans are in black face.
There’s an attempt (see here) to explain and put into context these two images. I think the OK gestures are probably not the racist signal, but black face is never cool.
You can click here to learn more about the white power OK gesture.
It’s Not True: Cow Tipping
It may be possible, but it’s highly unlikely that anyone has really gone cow tipping. For one thing, it would be extremely difficult. For another, where are the videos of people tipping cow? Hmmm.
This video explains how cow tipping is not likely. It takes a while to get to it, but there some other interesting things in there about cows and gates.
A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Bad Grammar On The Internets
I know. I shouldn’t expect a celebrity gossip site to have well written sentences, but I can complain, can’t I? Here is where the offending sentence (actually, sentence fragment) can be found.
Three Cool Things
2) Sarah Silverman and Patton Oswalt get attacked by trolls online from time to time. Recently, both decided to see why their trolls were so angry and what might be happening in their lives. Both comedians decided to help rather than block or to return the anger.
3) I had a camera in my penis! It wasn’t the most comfortable sensation, but seeing inside my wiener and my bladder. I’ve been having some peeing problems. But no cancer! I’m on a medication that should help. Not having to pee all the time would be cool.
Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram‘ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Falling‘ by Angelo Badalamenti & ‘Intruder‘ by Peter Gabriel
That’s it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com
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