What Were They Not Thinking?

Wow. This was the first thing I read this morning and not exactly how I wanted to start the day. Since it is here, it should be commented on.

I have two reactions to this story. The first was, ew! The "ew" feeling is my wrenching but expected feeling of disgust with those making the comments. It is this behavior that has been given a pass by the Free Republic types. Usually the remarks aren't so obviously racist/sexist/homophobic, they have more nuance. In this case, they were obvious. This is why I had a second reaction.

I may be an optimist, but I also thought "at least they DID take them down". It may have taken a day or two to make the right decision, but the site moderator did remove them. This is a sign of progress rather than regression. Those who are wrong, are now becoming more conscious they are wrong. It may not change them to the positive, but it could be one stress that moves them toward the positive later. I was proud that at least some (if only a few) of the bloggers on the Free Republic site did stand up and tell others that the remarks were inappropriate. It has to start somewhere, even if it is like 40 years later then everyone else.

I also have two other thoughts on the topic. One was about how shaded the new racism is. There is sometimes debate upon whether something is or is not racist. My definition of "racist" is when outdated stereotypes are used to infer behavior. "Racism" is when the outdated stereotypes are used to deny equal power to a group. In this example there are a few outdated incorrect stereotypes. Bitasking a comment with a skin color characteristic in the same one as "monkey" is a reference to the eugenic and, what I would call, poorly done physical anthropology of the past. It is a historical reference. Which lead to my second thought, would history lessons reduce racism?

History is not directed at changing behavior like "sensitivity training", "diversity" workshops, and even batterers' treatment models, are. Is describing the history and ordering it so we learn where our unconscious beliefs come from a way that those who still are using outdated stereotypes to be addressed without the immediate defense going up? When we call for particular histories to be told that have been lacking (Black History, Women's History, Gay History, ect...) we aren't just wanting examples of heroes, we are asking for our own lives to be put into context. We are asking for counter examples to the outdated stereotypes. Could it be history that is lacking in education, more than any intercommunication training?

I'm not sure, but I'd like to have the discussion.

And my last thought, real quick before I go get my waffle fix...
This behavior is not unexpected from the Free Republic site. White supremacist groups use sites like these to recruit new members. "Tea Parties" and small libertarian groups, and even small Christian congregations, are being perverted by the bad guys out there. It makes me sick.

clipped from www.vancouversun.com Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front. The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds." Such was the onslaught of derision on the site that the person who originally complained about the slurs, a Kristin N., claims only one comment in the first hundred posted actually criticized the remarks as inappropriate. Only after significant negative attention from a host of left wing political blogs did the maintainers of the Free Republic site place the thread under review for a second time, before finally pulling it.