by Jerika L.H
Local students have rallied under the hashtag #BlackUnderAttack to express frustration and mobilize amidst yet another hate crime in Davis. Unfortunately, this incident is far from being an isolated crime. Actions of hatred and violence against people of color have risen to become a common occurrence in Yolo County, with little being done to protect victims and communities.
While UC Davis boasts about the diversity of their campus, only 3% of UC Davis students identify as African American. This falls seriously short of the national average.
Uniting under the #BlackUnderAttack hashtag, students shared both their anger and empowerment, as well as recounted personal stories of racism in Davis. “Anti-Blackness pervades every aspect of this society, including academia. ‘#BlackUnderAttack’ is the movement to fight against anti-blackness.”
This is a stark reminder for those in the community who have the privilege to feel that racism is something that happens elsewhere – not in Davis. Yet, racism is a reality for countless students of color. In fact, for years students have voiced concerns over not feeling safe on campus and are now looking to their community after these concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
Instead of waiting for action by the UCD Student Senate, the Davis African Diaspora made their voices known during yesterday’s Senate meeting. “It is your obligation to hear the concerns of every student and take action. Improving the experience here at Davis must start with involved students. It is your obligation to serve every community, even the communities you may not belong to. I need you all to stand with us Black students. Us Black Students are under attack!”
The UCD Senate, as well as the campus administration, has been long criticized for not doing enough to ensure that Davis is a safe space for students of color. Chancellor Katehi’s mass campus community email fell desperately short of that to some.
Her statement showcases the exact denial of real racism that is present in the Davis Community. The re-invoking of the “us and them” rhetoric – the claim that students should not worry because the perpetrators were from Sacramento, not one of our own – does not do justice to the daily struggle of Black students in our community.
While she purports that this act of hate will “further advance dialogue,” one must ask oneself how much more violence needs to occur before action and not just dialogue is taken. Davis has a long history of dialogue. It also has a long history of racism. #BlackUnderAttack is stepping in where many have failed. “We are a movement that serves to make real change. We are tired. We are determined. We want results. We are acting. Stand with us.”
“Actions of hatred and violence against people of color have risen to become a common occurrence in Yolo County with little being done to protect victims and communities.”
Jerica LH
First I want to thank you for writing this article for the Vanguard. I do not doubt your central point that racist incidents do happen in Davis. From my point of view, even one is too many and it is up to all citizens to make improvements in our community working from where each of us are at the present time. I see this article as a call to action. However, it was bereft of specific suggestions.
In order to “stand with someone” it is necessary to know specifically just what one is “standing for” and what specifically is being requested. My request would be that you write another article, or elaborate further here or point us to a source of online information that contains your specific action plan with recommendations for how to become involved. Many of us do not use Twitter. Specifically, most of the readers and posters on the Vanguard are middle class, employed full time, and many are already fully civically engaged in a number of community activities. Considering this specific audience, what specific actions would you recommend that this group engage in and what specific sources of information ( other than Twitter) can you direct us to ?
Jerika is going to be one of our regulars reporting on social justice movements.
Here is an article from 2011 on her: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-ostertag/uc-davis-pepper-spray_b_1161409.html
Welcome to the Vanguard, Jerika. Keep a thick skin and you’ll do great!
Let’s honest here, no matter what Katehi did wasn’t going to be enough because imo this is all about stirring up trouble.
Perhaps there is an element of that. But that doesn’t mean that what the Chancellor did was sufficient. That needs to be analyzed separated to the perceived motivation of student activists.
Not according to this guy:
Notice that he’s a first year student, which means he’s been here less than four months.
The students graduated from Davis High so I have to believe they have a pretty good perspective of life in Davis. I know it doesn’t fit race baiter’s depiction of life in Davis.
the students who graduated from davis high would have been there through the noose incident, so i’m perplexed. you call people race baiters and yet you haven’t walked in their shoes and had to experience what my daughters and others had to. you seem very dismissive of people with different experiences from yours and yet you’re not willing to even talk to some of them.
Perhaps they didn’t see the “incident” the way you do.
bp: my daughter lived here a long time, would you like to talk with her about her experiences as an african-american in davis? no, i didn’t think so.
I would believe any anecdotal experiences from your daughter, because my kids had African American pals at Davis High, and mixed race pals at DaVinci. In mourning of Harper Lee’s passing today, will choose to stay positive, in honour of her life. Thanks to the author and to Davis Progressive for your remarks today.
I wonder if your daughter, had she been born white and all other things being the same, would still have had a similar time living in Davis.
My mother used to remind me “don’t attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance.”
I reflect on this all the time.
– When someone cuts me off driving.
– When I am given crappy customer service.
– When I feel I am treated unfairly.
What I have determined in my older and wiser years is that there are a lot of insecure people out there and some turn to immediately bulling others in a desperate attempt to make themselves feel better by comparison. Others shrink like violets… and unfortunately draw attention like a wounded animal to a predator.
And grade school is the most personally and socially traumatizing time for almost every human… lots of insecure predators and wounded animals.
My observation is that wounded animals that happen to be members of some protected victim class, instead of growing older and wiser about how to deal with the massive amounts of insecurity and ignorance that exists in the human race, have instead transformed into the aggressor… the passive-aggressive style of the crybully.
I might be wrong here, but I doubt it.
“I wonder if your daughter, had she been born white and all other things being the same, would still have had a similar time living in Davis.”
i’ll go out on a limb and say no.
Maybe not, but I know several people where the the answer would be yes.
I would listen to you more, Frankly, if for once you didn’t use the word “victim” when arguing your case. Because fairly often you make good points.
Sisterhood – Victim mentality is a real thing. I know it is a provocative concept, but frankly there is not a sensitive way to bring it into the conversation.
I see victim mentality as being a huge destructive force in the human condition… individually and collectively. It is frankly what therapists should be helping people solve, but then it is also the primary source of their business… so there is that.
My family history is one where most of the bad stuff is directly related to members afflicted with a strong victim mentality malady. They just could never “get over it.”
Bad stuff happens to good people. It always has, and it always will.
But some people cannot seem to get over the bad stuff and they wallow in it. It becomes a filter for all their other relationships and life-choice decisions.
I’m sure you know that you cannot really change others. We also cannot really prevent all the bad stuff from happening. We will waste years of your life thinking that we can. The only thing you and I have the power to change is how you we deal with the bad stuff that happens. We can chose to take the path of the victim forever demanding empathy and restitution for what happened to us, and ongoing excuses for bad life-decisions caused by the perpetually revisited trauma of those bad events in our lives; or we can learn how to productively compartmentalize each event and build personal strength from them.
There are victims and there are heroes. And most heroes have been true victims at times in their lives.
There is not consensus out there in the black community about the state of racism in this country. Most successful people that I know that happen to be black, are of the mind that the problems in the black community are more social and economic and not racial. They agree with me that material institutional racism is really no longer a big deal in this country. In fact they see more problems in the adoption and acceptance of black urban pop culture. But like me they do agree that there is an underclass of people being spoon-fed a race-based victim mentality that is preventing them from adequately building the personal strength they need to grow prosperity and happiness.
I cringe when I hear a parent involved in this “Davis is a racist place” narrative… because, although I certainly get the motivation of a parent to be protective and defensive of the struggles of their children, I see it as feeding an unhealthy victim mentality and a wasting of potential personal growth opportunities for how to deal with the myriad of ignorant and insecure people out there that will never go away and will always be there to cause bad stuff to happen. If a person cannot escape the trap of victim mentality in a place like Davis, God help them out in the real world!
Frankly
““don’t attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance.”
Your mother gave you some very sage advice which doubtless helped you to avoid some very unpleasant experiences in your life. However. the presence of ignorance does not exclude the presence of malice both of which were doubtless being demonstrated in this incident, and probably many others perceived as both by those who are the targets.
The quote is: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”. The person who said, Robert Hanlon
Wow… one black guy is quoted as feeling safe. That must totally discount the scores of other students who, for years, have voiced concerns. You now… since all black people are the same and everything. Next time one of my friends or peers tells me about feeling out of place as the token black student in class, or feels unsafe because they were called a racial slur….I will be sure and tell them to undo those feelings because some black guy name Ray Stevenson feels safe.
You’re exactly right, over the years I have spoken to literally dozens of people who have told me about incidents in Davis. Those accounts – often verified and reported on – are not negated a single individual who appears to have had a better experience than others.
Was just pointing out that the black guy quoted who grew up in Davis said he didn’t see racist things in Davis. It’s just one example and doesn’t prove anything just as the few isolated incidents doesn’t prove Davis is racist. But race baiter’s try and run with any incident to push their agenda. Maybe the student quoted doesn’t view life with a chip on his shoulder and like playing the victim.
So what specific actions should be undertaken so that these types of incidents don’t continue? So far, Frankly is the only one who has come up with specific actions that society should take. Do you agree with Frankly’s suggestions?
I don’t agree with Frankly. I don’t believe that there are a list of actions that can/ should be taken.
The Title of the article says specifically “Demands Action”. If there are no actions that can/should be taken, then what are we to make of this article? Is it just a bunch of malcontents venting their frustrations?
Perhaps we could re-phrase it, “It is just a number of students venting their frustrations” – thus eliminating the pejorative “malcontents” from the sentence, you might be a little closer to the truth.
Yes, I’m good with that 🙂
Speaking to the specific incident: A group of idiots with ugly racist tendencies got drunk and harassed a black woman and were arrested. What action would have prevented this? The campus cannot — and I am no fan of Linda Katehi, not by a mile, I think she should have been fired after the pepper spray incident and still should be — the campus cannot take action to surgically remove racism from a rotted heart. So, what action is being proposed?
Racism exists, and it is so very much less institutionalized than when my sister was an activist with the black movement at UCD in the 60’s. At this point it lives on in racist hearts. How do decent people or institutions take action — what action — against that? Decent people aren’t doing this — that’s most of us — and racists simply are; a few will change but I am befuddled as to what action any person outside of the racist themselves can do to stop in advance an incident such as this.
So, start the list of effective actions that would prevent racist incidents below:
Me too. I can’t see anything here talking about what action is being advocated.
the problem here is that you have a bunch of older white people who have never had to deal with this stuff weighing in on the activities of a bunch of younger people of color. i’m glad that the vanguard is giving voice to this and presenting the perspective of people who are perhaps outside of its core commenting readership.
Amen!
I think you and Biddlin are a couple of older white people.
DP and Frank Lee both love to call people “old” as an attempt at insulting them when they don’t have an actual answer to something.
DP here, when asked to list actions, as called for in the article, calls people old.
Dismissive and pointless.
You may be glad the Vanguard is giving perspective of people, but none of you are answering the question. Not a single action item.
Tick, tick, tick . . .
1. Completely reform public education to focus on developing students to be economically self sufficient.
2. Tax and regulatory reform to spur small business starts and growth and increased industrialization.
3. Reductions in public assistance to be replaced with investment in economic development in undeserved areas of the country where poverty is highest.
4. Immigration reform to reduce the oversupply of cheap labor that drives down wages in primarily areas of low income.
5. Increased and enhanced law enforcement to reduce crime in low income neighborhoods. Include stop-and-frisk to capture criminals with firearms before they use the gun in a crime.
6. Morality investment in low income neighborhood – help and incentives for non-profit moral institutions to help reduce the occurrence of out of wedlock procreation and fatherless homes. Also these institutions should have a mission to combat the acceptance of all corrosive and destructive pop culture artifacts.
7. Reduced drug possession laws and sentencing to be replaced with drug addiction treatment services.
Crickets as I expected.
Yup. The headline says they “Demand Action” but they completely failed to say what action they are demanding 🙂
Frankly: 1. Completely reform public education to focus on developing students to be economically self sufficient.
Assuming you define this in terms of earning power, this focus is too narrow. It is but one of many other outcomes of public education. If you go this route, you will come up with the same results as focusing on standardized test scores as a measure of educational quality. Other components and outcomes will go missing.
When you look at the human condition through a lens of needs hierarchy it is pretty easy to recognize that the problem in the black community is that those in control of the education system are pushing it to deliver too far up that hierarchy… and also failing to understand that self-actualization is better achieved through work and enterprise and not paper-writing unless that is the requirement of the job.
If you want to fix what is broken in the black community the education system will need to change to satisfy those lower hierarchy needs of safety and security as a prerequisite for trying to mold all those young minds into good liberal citizens.
Frankly: If you want to fix what is broken in the black community the education system will need to change to satisfy those lower hierarchy needs of safety and security as a prerequisite for trying to mold all those young minds into good liberal citizens.
First, if you want to talk about this purely in terms of race, I think you will find that a huge distraction and a red herring, and a dead end as far as productive conversation about education. The black community is not monolithic. Go look up Chris Rock’s comedy routine called, “Civil War.”
What I infer you mean to discuss are economic issues. After all you used that phrase, “economic self sufficiency.” Yes, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has physical needs — food, shelter, clothing, health — as primary. But the real problem is that of mobility. The opportunity to move beyond physical needs. Many lower income families can actually or almost meet basic physical needs, if a shorter average lifespan is acceptable.
Probably the worst argument you can give to a lower income family for going to college is that their kid will earn lots more money. A more effective way to motivate students to go to college is convince them that it will give them power to connect with and help others in their community. Why? Because that’s the next higher level in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (having a sense of belonging and connection, not just within the family, but in society). Having the power to help others in their family or community isn’t about being able to earn more money (although it can be an option). But if that’s indeed what you think (that it’s just about the money), then you could be a later age baby boomer.
….I am befuddled as to what action any person outside of the racist themselves can do to stop in advance an incident such as this.
That’s because you have privilege as a bystander. Maybe none of you know what action is because you are so used to there being none taken. Demanding action means having resources for the victim, calling for harsh punishments, demanding that us black people are allowed a space to speak our experiences without being bashed with stereotypes and hate slurs, putting pressure on the UC to up black enrollment, and most of all…. not doing what most of you on this feed have been doing. Being so quick to judge before you understanding what students are going through. Even when they come out with their initial reactions to a hate crime…. you bash them for not having a plan of action formulated quick enough. We want you to understand our collective grief in the racial injustices in our community, but unfortunately it looks like many of you have accepted racism as “merely a part of life”…. a part you don’t have to be on the receiving end of so its really easy for you. The students mentioned, and the quote was featured here, that they demand support for marginalized communities- even if you are not a part of those communities. Why is it in our hands, the black students of color, to tell you how to fix the oppression we’ve been put in. We’re the victims, and yet we have to both prove to you that it’s happening AND formulate all the solutions on how to fix it? Seriously though. Take a look at yourselves. Reread your comments. Actions can be both big and small, and both make a difference. Even saying “Black students of Davis… I hear and acknowledge that you don’t feel safe in Davis”. At least we will feel heard instead of chronically denied.
OK… but I’m white, was a victim of a “hate crime” (assault) by a Black kid the day after MLK was killed… I was in a public school, and a Vice Principal [who was Black] saw the incident, made sure I was OK, and reamed the other kid a new orifice… Dad and I grieved when we saw the news of MLK’s death… yet, in ’68, my ‘attacker’ was not “charged” (I figured he was either an idiot, bully, or was “reacting” [or picking the convenient white target because he was a racist?]), and had he been charged, there was no such thing as a “hate crime”. Violence is WRONG unless absolutely necessary to protect self or others.
I note, in different accounts, the victim was either male or female… at least on this site…
What does you getting beat up by a black kid in 1968 have to do with the issue of Black people feeling unsafe in Davis, with nooses being hung- Aggie cowboys calling us the N word, and yearly race driven violence. Why do you feel he need to share that you mourned MLKs death? Were you a minority group that has historically and socially oppressed, enslaved, and completely degraded as a human being? Were you being segregated and told you were half a person in comparison to black people? Were you being disproportionately pulled over by police and followed around stores because people figured your were a “dirty white thief”? Sounds like your still a little bitter and you’re really trying to convince people you aren’t racist. Whereas I’m not going to go so far and say you are racist (I don’t know you and am sure if I met you on he street you would be a perfectly pleasant human being), please be aware that social justifications to disregard and, therefore, perpetuate racism have been implanted in your mind through society. They’ve been implanted in mine too- the idea that I’m some ghetto, no fully American, jungle bunny and my life means less than someone elses. I’ve woken up to these erroneous representations. I invite you to do the same. If you do not walk around with black skin, then please don’t talk like you know how black people feel when it comes to being terrorized and discriminated against. Is it a coincidence to you that people of color are being killed in mass by police with nothing done about it? The incident you described above (and I’m sorry that happened to you) is prejudice- not racism. Racism is a system of oppression whereby one group benefits from the subtle (or blatent) degradation of another. I’d love to provide you with some more educated literature on the subject if you are truly interested in investigating the difference and learning more. I mean that genuinely, not in a condescending way. Knowledge is power, my man. Pass it on!
LaMaruja–dissing someone else’s part experiences of racism (hpierces) may not help you gain sympathy and respect for any of your accounts of recent experiences of racism you or friends/acquintances might have received.
I’m a white guy in Davis (blond/blue), and had long hair until my mid-40s, and was occassionally followed around in Davis stores, and went thru a period driving an old beat-up small pickup where I was repeatedly pulled over by police for very minor equipment infarctions.
LaMaruja
“Even when they come out with their initial reactions to a hate crime…. you bash them for not having a plan of action formulated quick enough.”
This is a fair point. I called ( did not bash) for your specific suggestions. But only because I perceived a plea for us to join you. When one joins any venture, one must first know what you are joining. This means having some sort of idea of the beliefs, goals, and planned tactics of those you are considering joining.
“they demand support for marginalized communities- even if you are not a part of those communities. “
Right. And I have always done so in the ways that were available to me from where I live and work. I have supported with my money, my vote, and my time volunteering in my field in ways that support marginalized communities specifically in the area of health care. My enquiry is sincere. I would be happy to do more. Now ,I need to know what more you feel I can do. This is not a form of taunting, or expecting you to “solve the problem”. I would encourage you to consider what is the most common question that a new supportive volunteer asks when they arrive at a meeting…..”what can I do ?”
“Why is it in our hands, the black students of color, to tell you how to fix the oppression”
Because each generation has new ideas to add to conversations about change. When we have been unsuccessful to date, new ideas should be considered.
Some of us have a lot of experience with protesting, organizing and building coalitions. Some of us engaged in our first calls for action during the Viet Nam War. Many of us have spent many years organizing and acting against what we see as injustices in our society. What I see that we have that we could offer is our experiences on how to act and attract support most effectively. While it is true that I have not shared your specific experiences and thus cannot share your specific pain does not mean that I have not had losses and a great deal of pain due to what I consider our countries injustices.
So here is a concrete action that I can propose. If any of you would like to contact me directly I will be happy to share with you my experiences from 45 years of trying to effect societal change. All you have to do is to ask David and he can provide you with my personal email.
Tia, its sounds like you are and have already taken action. I cannot thank you enough. One of the things that happens when we make a call for action is that so many of our allies feel pressure to perform on behalf of others, who do nothing. They think “geez, what more can I do…I’m already giving support.” From reading some of your comments, I can already tell you are a very awake and plugged in woman who cares. That is already so much action. One thing we are thinking of doing is having some teach ins for community members to come and learn about black history and the black experience. Connect with us. Be friends. Make strong bonds so that when we walk down the street we have people to wave to and aren’t just the rare spectacle of a rare black person in Davis. Thanks again for your support!
Hard to find on the mainstream media… https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/former-marine-au-student-says-he-was-beaten-in-racially-motivated-attack/2016/02/16/c12c0ee2-d4ec-11e5-b195-2e29a4e13425_story.html
There is something broken in society today, but it is not white on black racism.
Will someone acknowledge that any personal violence is unacceptable? Racism is wrong, ‘hate crimes’ are wrong, but if a “minority” attacks a ‘privileged’ white male, has anyone heard of that being prosecuted as a “hate crime”?
In this case, the alcohol issue is pretty evident… the “racism” may exist, may not… it is not evident in what has been presented to date… if all the participants (aggressors and victims) had been of the same race, would the charges/penalties be the same? If the aggressors were ‘minority’, and the victim ‘white’, would the hate crime enhancements be in play? I wonder if the victim was “random”… if anyone in the same place, at the same time, given the other facts, would have suffered the same…
My name is Alan C. Miller. I would like to acknowledge that any personal violence is unacceptable.
Thank you!
What a mess our black-white race relations are today. The black community is stuck. No other racial group in the US has anything close to this level of racial conflict.
There are root causes to the plight of blacks in this country, then there are secondary causes and there are symptoms.
Democrats own ALL of the root causes TODAY (not historically). Crappy education, crappy economic policy (anti-industrialism pursuits related to global warming theories), copious social entitlements that create a culture of dependency, and lastly Democrat’s rejection of strong Christian family values in the name of inclusion and sensitivity. In this era where we have eliminated all materially-damaging vestiges of institutional racism, these remaining root causes are all very inconvenient to Democrat power and the promotion of their liberal ideology.
So Democrats deflect by pointing to secondary causes and symptoms claiming that they are the primary causes. For example, criminal law enforcement and judicial outcomes are to blame. Or the stupid actions of three drunken idiots from Sacramento are a call to mass protest.
Unless and until blacks admit that they are being snowed and exploited by Democrats in politics and white social justice crusaders, the black community will continue to languish in inequality and all this Black Lives Matter activism and racial finger-pointing will not solve a damn thing.
That is the big problem here. The current rantings of the Black Lives Matter movement and their white social justice crusader pals will not solve a damn thing for the black community. In fact, it will just make things worse.
Frankly
“Democrats own ALL of the root causes TODAY “
Not “ALL” of the root causes Frankly. Not unless you do not include persistent white supremacist sentiment as a “root cause”. None of the things that you mentioned caused Dylan Storm Roof to massacre blacks, specifically because they were black in his own words, at a prayer meeting. Racism is alive in our country today and there is no one group that owns full responsibility. But in view of atrocities such as this massacre it is just plain wrong to lay all racist atrocities at the foot of the Democratic party regardless of how partisan you may be.
Thank you so much for this article. I am so glad you mentioned how ridiculous and disrespectful it is to call a hate crime an opportunity for dialogue. Everyday is an opportunity for dialogue! The victim probably does not want to be, or need to hear that what happened to them is an opportunity for dialogue. Why does it take a hate crime for there to be dialogue on racism? Imagine if this was your baby who was beaten, and then the head of the school says her beating is a great opportunity for dialogue. And everyone on here asking about “what can we do… what action should we take”… Your words are an exact example of your lack of action. Want to know what you can do? Actually go to the #BlackUnderAttack facebook, message BSU or ASD, connect with the community. Share your concern and support with them. Make yourself a known allie and start asking questions about why Yolo county has presented itself as a white place to live, making people of color spectacles. Get the information for yourself. Do your own research if you think racism is not a problem because you voicing your uneducated opinions is not taking action. You demanding a writer inform you is not taking action. Get involved if you really care. And if you don’t want to get active, don’t claim that racism doesn’t exist is Davis or in the USA because there is a great deal of evidence which supports just the opposite. You say “what could we have done to prevent this?” Obviously, the people who perpetrated this act did not feel like there would be any consequences- they felt confident enough to commit the act. This is indicative of a cultural, social, community problem where, when a hate crime occurs, a discourse of distraction occurs in which people try to denounce the fact that is isn’t a “Hate Crime”. I wonder if people on here even know what a hate crime is. It’s a crime motivated by a persons creed, sexual orientation, race, or allegience to a group. Anyone on here claiming this is not a hate crime should turn to any woman who has been battered and say “Its not violence against women! Its just violence between two people..I can’t control what other people do. Stop making it about gender.” These kinds of crimes have a dynamic of power, oppression, and victimization underlying it, so please do not to the injustice of saying it was just a crime. I’m glad the writer emphasized the need for action and not just dialogue. We can talk the talk all day, but victims are ready for you to walk the walk.
Your action item is slacktivism?
It’s step one in finding out what is going and the very least people can do. Of course, it doesn’t and shouldn’t end there. But atleast its connecting with people and plugging in, even if at home in front of your computer. I’m a woman of color living here in Davis and many of us feel like we our outcasts in the community. When we get a message of support from allies, it really goes a long way. But, again, just a nod is not enough.
LaMaruja
I don’t need convincing from your web site. I have a job and many current volunteer commitments and have spent the last three weeks at bedrest.
I am reaching out to you directly. Contact David. Get my address and email me. You have my name. All I have is your pseudonym.
#sigh# Not on Facebook. Could someone part of the movement give an example of an action that could have stopped this from happening? Frank Lee gave several examples. Would you agree with those?
1. The community could have sent a stronger and more dominant message to perspective perpetrators that hate crimes and discrimination will be charged to the full extent of the law.
2. Community members could halt their own views for a moment and mourn the act, instead of debating that people of color are just looking for a hand out or are playing the race card. This young woman’s wounds do not lie. And trust me, the victim and her family will read all these comments you’ve made about how its just some excuse for black protest. It will hurt. It will feel degrading. It will discount all her pain. She will have fear of leaving her house because, not only was she victimized before, but the community scoffed at it. Please, have our backs.
3. The community could get involved and educate themselves on the black experience. Even if you don’t agree, try to open your minds up to something which, even though you don’t perceive it, must be true. If you don’t have facebook…. google “institutional racism” “white privilege” “black studies”. Read up.
4. If I recall correct,the articles title was “#BUA demands action”…. not “#BUA blames white community for attack”. No one is saying one single person could prevent it, but instead wanting people to share in the collective aftermath. Maybe write an open letter to the community denouncing the act. Send your support. Communicate. Ask questions.With all the energy you spent complaining on a news forum, you could have emailed the group and asked “what can i do to help?” Here are some resources http://srrc.ucdavis.edu/programs/ace/index.html https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/undergraduate/community/african-american-student-resources/ https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/undergraduate/community/african-american-organizations
5. Work from the ground up. Not only demand a no racist policy from yourself but from others. When you hear racially biased things said in the community, speak up. People express racism when they don’t feel policed by others, when they feel it’s accepted, when they don’t think they will be challenged. Its the same as anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-muslim, anti-jewish, ect. People participate it in when they want to gain dominance and oppress the other for a feeling of power. Slighting people of color as looking for an excuse to protest and having victim mentality innervates their power. Be conscious.
6. Do not look from just your experience. I am a relatively young woman of color. I see some of the comments on here as evidence of a total lack in understanding relativism. For example, if I heard that age discrimination was a real problem, I could easily denounce it because I haven’t experienced it. I could turn to a 70 year old professional and say “No, you’ve never been discriminated against. I’ve never seen it happen, so it must not be real. You’re probably just getting older, can’t work as well as other younger employee, are bitter and just looking for an excuse. Stop whining.” With this example, we can see how ridiculous that mentality is. Translate it to the black experience.
7. Demand action from your police, lawmakers and judges. They are more likely to act when the community pressures them. Unfortunately, still in this day and age, black pressure is not held in such high esteem as white pressure. Your demands are worth more than ours as the white majority. The black community has witnessed so many people get away with murder. Our public call to action (which, by the way, was ignored by many other media outlets) was a way to say…. We’re watching! We aren’t going to just let this go! We demand punishment! We demand better treatment! We demand to be equal!
Lastly, let me just say… I want to thank all of you for engaging in this topic. Even if I don’t agree with you, I recognize you are probing questions and that is still progress. You are mulling it over in your head. Hearing other opinions. Giving your 2 cents. Many many many people in the community could not even care less. I just ask you be more understanding. Have a great weekend!
Hmmm… I thought the first accounts were that a MALE was the victim… now it appears that a FEMALE was the victim… any chance this was sexism vs. racism? Meant as an honest question.
And, at this point, not sure if there is enough information to dismiss concepts that it was one or the other, both, or alcohol induced ‘random’… guess we’ll need to let the legal process play out to see what is “really” going on… [if we’re lucky]
In any event, the event was indeed reprehensible.
I just looked at the original communication from the chancellor – no gender specified
Their silence speaks much louder than do their words. It is proof that Black Lives Matter has been turned into a political race-war wedge issue.
Reminds me of the cancer research and treatment industry. Do they really want to cure cancer and find something else to do?
Frankly
In reviewing the comments on this article today, I realized that yesterday I had deleted rather than posting my concrete suggestions. So I will repost in the form of a response to your list.
1. “Completely reform public education to focus on developing students to be economically self sufficient.”
Agreed. And such education should also include an objective accounting of the full effects of slavery and its subsequent manifestations some of which persist to the present time in our society as so dramatically pointed out by the actions of Dylan Storm Roof our very own time. Unless of course you do not count his victims as such or are willing to disavow his own words that the reason for their deaths was the color of their skin. It should include the encouragement of readings from a wide variety of authors from all economic, racial, social and ideologic backgrounds. It should encourage a questioning of the beliefs that we obtain from our families and from a paternalistic society with nationalism as one of our ingrained and largely unquestioned beliefs.
2. “Tax and regulatory reform to spur small business starts and growth and increased industrialization”
Tax and regulatory reform that recognizes both the value of small business starts and growth and the knowledge that this will not be enough and that where there are deficiencies, the government has a role in stimulating economic development through public works , education, training programs and service programs on the domestic front much as the military serves with in its sphere of influence.
3. “ Reductions in public assistance to be replaced with investment in economic development in undeserved areas of the country where poverty is highest.
A complete revamping of our economic system (I happen to favor a UBI but I am open to suggestions) so as to reward the kinds of behaviors that we want. Not money as a give away, but a base provided so that each individual is empowered to contribute to their full potential.
4. “ Immigration reform to reduce the oversupply of cheap labor that drives down wages in primarily areas of low income.”
Immigration reform that penalizes not those who are seeking a better life for themselves and their families, but those who profit from the race to the bottom in employing those who cannot afford to demand higher wages.
5. “Increased and enhanced law enforcement to reduce crime in low income neighborhoods. Include stop-and-frisk to capture criminals with firearms before they use the gun in a crime.”
Improved law enforcement that recognizes that an individual’s criminality is a product of their individual actions, not the color of their skin. Include community based policing.
6. “Morality investment in low income neighborhoods”
Oh, my gosh. The “just live as I live” and everything will be fine argument. How well has that strategy worked for the Palin family ? How about respect for the fact that we originated as and have remained a pluralistic society ? How about the fact that there is no universal agreement on what is or is not a corrosive or destructive “pop cultural artifact”.
7. “ Reduced drug possession laws and sentencing to be replaced with drug addiction treatment services”
At last, a point of complete agreement.
Great. Thanks for responding. But nothing except #1 and (minus the continued victim mentality component) the last item (which I expected to be the only one anyone with a left view of the world would agree with) is going to help the black community.
There is no agreement on #5 either. Again it is an empty point in terms of actionable ideas.
Much of what you write is lacking in actionable ideas.
You seem to give promotion of your ideology more importance than you do supporting things that we can actually do that will actually help.
By the way, you need to drop the Dylan Storm Roof references. They are more than weak… demonstrating a sort of desperation of yours to locate something to use to back your views.
Insane people are insane people. They don’t represent anything about society other than society has a percentage of insane people.
And for every crazy nut like Dylan Storm Roof, I can cite hundreds of cases of blacks beating and killing whites. In fact, there are many, many, many more of these incidences than there are examples of the reverse.
Since I am sure that my last statement will be challenged: http://www.amren.com/news/2015/07/new-doj-statistics-on-race-and-violent-crime/
Frankly
I appreciate your reading and responding to my post. I disagree that these are empty, un actionable points and so will provide you with small scale examples of each.
1. Prior to the beginning of each term, every teacher could assess their current materials and lesson plans to ensure that books and other teaching materials address the full range of their students experiences. For example, do they have books that reflect the experiences of all of the students in their classroom rather than just depict different color skins all living the same lifestyle ? I use this example because of the books present in my daughter’s classroom that trend strongly to the latter approach.
2. The role of government in job creation. I know that you like to say that “government does not create jobs”. And yet my first job was “created by the government” specifically for economically disadvantaged youth to teach us what a job was, instill the requisite skills and habits to be viable candidates in the private sector. I would take the concrete step of increasing such programs beyond the opportunities offered by the military and what you have called the “elitist” Teach for America.
3. A UBI was considered a concrete and feasible plan by Richard Nixon as well as others across the political spectrum.
4. Vigorous enforcement and higher penalties for those who hire undocumented individuals for sub market wages.
5. I do not know, but doubt that Chief Pytel would agree with you that community policing is not a concrete policy.
6. I would offer free and readily accessible health care including free long acting, reversible contraception to all women of reproductive age promoted directly to their communities and provided. You don’t get much more concrete than that.
Bear in mind, just one concrete suggestion each. I am sure that given our differing points of view, you, LaMaruja and I could sit down and come up with a comprehensive list of concrete suggestions on a point by point basis.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship 🙂
Frnakly
“Insane people are insane people. They don’t represent anything about society other than society has a percentage of insane people.”
I cannot buy into the idea that all of the members of the KKK and the other members of the 61 groups currently listed by Wikipedia as being in self avowed white supremacist organizations are “insane”. Some are just plain racist. Of those, a small percentage may have psychologically diagnosable illnesses or be legally “insane”.
“I can cite hundreds of cases of blacks beating and killing whites. In fact, there are many, many, many more of these incidences than there are examples of the reverse.”
The existence of black racists in no way refutes the existence of white racism. I have never made the claim that one precludes the other. As a matter of fact, this assertion would seem to me to support my claim that racism is a major factor in the United States today. It is you that insists on downplaying it when it suits your purposes.
“One thing we are thinking of doing is having some teach ins for community members to come and learn about black history and the black experience. Connect with us. Be friends.”
I think these are great ideas. Timing and location will be critical for those who work. If you haven’t already picked David’s brain on event planning, that would be a good starting point.
People of privilege need not attend.
And so the deflection continues….
“The claimant must be lying, because that never happens in Davis…”
It is still amazing to me that so many feel the need to overlay their experience and beliefs on the simple narrative of a neighbour, with no compassion for their anguish or respect for their story.
Who are you quoting? I don’t see that anywhere.
What does that mean?
Alan
“It is still amazing to me that so many feel the need to overlay their experience and beliefs on the simple narrative of a neighbour, with no compassion for their anguish or respect for their story.
“What does that mean?”
I don’t know since I did not write it, but feel it might refer to the tendency of both Frankly and BP to say that there is “race baiting” or “victim mentality” at play every time a claim is made that a racist incident has occurred rather than even giving consideration to the possibility that a real racist motive may have been behind the event.
Not crazy, not drunk, not ignorance….but actual racism….right here in Davis as a possibility. The knee jerk minimization is what I would call “overlaying their experience and beliefs on the simple narrative of a neighbor”.