"Dear Father: I write of many complicated and sophisticated things."

[BannedFromDU]

Star Member F4lconF16 (3,141 posts)

An email to my dad about BLM, Sanders, and Marissa Janae (warning: I swear. #NSFW, deal with it)

As for BLM v. Sanders in Seattle...there's a lot to say. First, I've actually met Marissa Janae multiple times and talked about feminism and black feminism a couple of times with her. I'd be shocked if she remembers me, but I very much remember her. I have a poster in my room with her name on it, as a matter of fact. She is fantastic, cares about her community, and I really like her. The bullshit that's been floating around DU is just that: bullshit. She's a hell of a strong woman, and she's black, and that scares the crap out of a lot of people.

I think that the BLM protests are some of the best things that could have happened to Sanders. He's clearly been listening; he's already updated his stances and changed his perspective, and that's the most important part. It's also gotten him a ton of publicity; the media's been doing its best to shut him out of the race, of course. This is giving him a huge chance to listen, understand, change his positions and emphasis, and gain the support of black voters before the primary or the general.

That being said, it hasn't gone that way. The reaction of white liberals has been, how do you say it, racist as hell. Respectability politics are a bunch of crap; neither you, nor I, or any white person has any right to judge or command the way blacks in this country protest. 314 black people killed since Mike Brown, and we scream that our poor candidate is getting attacked. That's not right, at all. He can handle it; he has handled it. And it's a good test as to whether he deserves the presidency. I personally think he's done a great job, considering. It's his movement and his followers that has been the problem. This is the best piece I've ever read on it: http://rhrealitycheck.org/ablc/2015/08/11/blacklivesmatter-hurt-feelings-white-progressives/--it's dead on in basically every way.

But yeah. I fully support their actions. I hope they continue to do it, too. If nothing else, white liberals need a slap in the face. Black communities are being literally wiped out, and most of them (believe me, I know--I live in the most white progressive place ever, around the most annoying white liberals ever) couldn't give two shits, because it isn't happening to them. But really, I hope they keep doing it because it keeps the conversation alive. Already, BLM has made huge progress with Sanders. The question is whether the rest of us are willing to listen.

Yuuuup. Thought I might edit it for those "sensitive" white folks around DU, but **** it, who cares. Have fun, everybody.

Oh! And his response:

I have to remind myself not to look at things from my own perspective. My company provides a lot of culturally specific mental health care services, and we work closely with the AA community. As such I have to have a certain number of hours of cultural competency trainings each year. I'm paraphrasing here, but during one of them the black instructor was telling me about if a black person your are working with seems irritable or a bit hostile, to realize that something that wouldn't register with us, like the death of Sandra Bland (without the media attention now), or some even subtle racist comment on the news has an effect on them.


Did you know that as a young man, I was a manager of a drug store in an almost exclusive African American community. Quite a life experience for a young white man. It took 40 years of my life to really understand how much privilege I had growing up. Even today, I still find out things about privilege I didn't realize.

You see this on DU from time to time: DUmmies are enamored with the bygone era when people wrote letters to each other, speaking of important events and ideas. Once in a while they imagine what they'd like to write to someone, and what the reply might look like. It's always overly erudite, pedantic, flatulent, and pompous (compare the above, for example).


Interesting: the DUmmy says (s)he met Marissa Janae several times, yet somehow when that name burst into the news like a fart through a petticoat, F4lconF16 NEVER MENTIONED IT. So yeah, bullshit.

Also:

Star Member F4lconF16 (3,143 posts)

Well...it's slow going. But I've been surprised at how much people will, in fact, listen.

The internet is really a horrible place to try and change minds. It's set up in such a way that good communication becomes almost impossible without two dedicated people actively working to embrace a different perspective. (So much so that you have to make up your own conversations, huh?)And DU has one of the worst structures for facilitating that I've run into on the web. (Bravenak, anybody?)

As it turns out, though, people are much more willing to listen when you talk to them in person.(Read: when you rave and they walk within earshot)

I live in North Seattle, after recently moving upwards from the U-District. This...is probably one of the whitest places in existence. It's, in my opinion, the epitome of the culture of the white liberal. The lack of diversity is simply stunning, and the lack of awareness of basic issues affecting others even more so. While I love the apartment I moved to, I'm kinda being suffocated by whiteness, and I'm probably going to get a new place elsewhere in the city when my lease is up.

I work in one of the most profitable grocery stores in the US (I've heard corporate puts us in the top 10 individual stores). The customer base is not just white liberal, but rich white liberal. We sell beets for $11.99 a pound. It's nuts. And the store's got the whole "organic, local, etc." crap going on to make the rich liberals feel good about themselves (and, of course, buy more).

Basically, I am surrounded every day by white liberaldom.(Which is what you are. You simply hate yourself. There are solutions for that.)

Despite all this, people are willing to hear me out. It's not easy to have conversations about things like racism, feminism, and socialism with people that have always thought differently,(and also when they just want to get their ****ing groceries without listening to a hipper version of TwixVoy) but with a lot of time and patience, I've been getting through.(Because that's a grocery monkey's job)

In the past two weeks alone, I have:

- convinced a Trump supporter that immigrants should not be called "illegals" and got him to identify structural racism against immigrants in his own experiences(I thought you said everyone was liberal where you are. Liar.)
- convinced a clueless libertarian (aren't they always?) that structural racism exists--fingers crossed, I might be able to get him to read "The New Jim Crow"("" "" "")
- got multiple Sanders supporters to see the BLM protests without anger, and even some support as minds changed(Yet this happened like two days ago.)
- managed to get one particularly obstinate liberal guy to understand why "All lives matter" is not the greatest slogan in the world, though progress slowed rapidly afterwards
- had a wonderful conversation about race and privilege with three people who hadn't really thought about it before--one of them looked like a deer in headlights the whole time, it was kinda funny(you sound like a complete asshole.)

Anyways, I'm not really sure why I'm posting this. Guess it's just been fun, and wanted to share it. I know there's a lot of shitty things being said right now to the people in this group, and I don't want to distract from that very real problem white progressives are causing, but I figured it might be nice to hear a positive change or two.

(You're a pompous, lying sack of liberal shit whom I hope dies from hippie-food-borne listeria and salmonella. )

Is there anything more tedious than a pompous liberal?

[thundley4]

I have to remind myself not to look at things from my own perspective. My company provides a lot of culturally specific mental health care services, and we work closely with the AA community.

Sounds like he works in a drug rehab center or for  a county court system. 

[GOBUCKS]

I cannot imagine how my father would reply had I written him a load of tripe like that.

Of course the pompous DUmbass didn't write that, and his father didn't write that reply.

In fact, most democrats do not even know who their fathers are.

[BannedFromDU]

I cannot imagine how my father would reply had I written him a load of tripe like that.

Of course the pompous DUmbass didn't write that, and his father didn't write that reply.

In fact, most democrats do not even know who their fathers are.

    GOBUCKS, I require your email address so that I may retort in appropriate fashion. I have much to relate to you concerning my dealings with African Americans, and I believe you can benefit from the exchange. When you are in receipt of the email, I recommend you pour a glass of absinthe and don your smoking jacket.  I shall expect an appropriate response forthwith.

[JohnnyReb]

 My company provides a lot of culturally specific mental health care services, and we work closely with the AA community. ........ We use those suckers to milk the system.

[GOBUCKS]

    GOBUCKS, I require your email address so that I may retort in appropriate fashion. I have much to relate to you concerning my dealings with African Americans, and I believe you can benefit from the exchange. When you are in receipt of the email, I recommend you pour a glass of absinthe and don your smoking jacket.  I shall expect an appropriate response forthwith.

Well, now, that's pretty complicated and sophisticated.

[BannedFromDU]

Well, now, that's pretty complicated and sophisticated.

     My travels have taught me much, which I intend to impart to you. My chests will arrive shortly on a freighter, at which point I will have access to my writing-pencils and such, if you prefer handwritten correspondence. In that event, I may include my charcoal drawings of various native peoples I encountered along my way. I shall relate to you their issues. You shall know my correspondence by its characteristic aroma of farts and pipe tobacco.

[Maverick1987]

We sell beets for $11.99 a pound. It's nuts.

No, they're vegetables.  You, on the other hand...

F4lconF16, there sure seems to be a lot of folks needing your type of convincing in "the epitome of the culture of the white liberals".  What a load 

[landofconfusion80]

     My travels have taught me much, which I intend to impart to you. My chests will arrive shortly on a freighter, at which point I will have access to my writing-pencils and such, if you prefer handwritten correspondence. In that event, I may include my charcoal drawings of various native peoples I encountered along my way. I shall relate to you their issues. You shall know my correspondence by its characteristic aroma of farts and pipe tobacco.

ok, you guys need to keep writing like this, it is immensely entertaining!

[I_B_Perky]

I cannot imagine how my father would reply had I written him a load of tripe like that.

Of course the pompous DUmbass didn't write that, and his father didn't write that reply.

In fact, most democrats do not even know who their fathers are.

I know how my dad would have responded. After he said WTF he would have slapped the shit out of me for wasting his time. Then he would have shot me because I was an idiot. Then he would have shot himself for raising an idiot.   

[98ZJUSMC]

I have to remind myself not to look at things from my own perspective. My company provides a lot of culturally specific mental health care services, and we work closely with the AA community. As such I have to have a certain number of hours of cultural competency trainings each year. I'm paraphrasing here, but during one of them the black instructor was telling me about if a black person your are working with seems irritable or a bit hostile, to realize that something that wouldn't register with us, like the death of Sandra Bland (without the media attention now), or some even subtle racist comment on the news has an effect on them.


Did you know that as a young man, I was a manager of a drug store in an almost exclusive African American community. Quite a life experience for a young white man. It took 40 years of my life to really understand how much privilege I had growing up. Even today, I still find out things about privilege I didn't realize.

Jeeez...... now, they're writing bouncies to themselves.   

[delilahmused]

Somebody sure likes to make trite, arrogant posts showing he's embraced all the latest liberal lingo and has gotten an A+ in "This is Your Worldview Now" reprogramming class.

What a structural white-ist!

And if you're doing this at a grocery store where customers are white, rich liberals and paying top dollar for what they think is an elitist, organic shopping experience, there's no way in hell they'd put up with this. It's sad, really, you're so envious that you have to make up stories in your head. Besides, half the rich liberals in Seattle are gay, they're too busy with their own structural gayness.

Cindie

[miskie]

-F4lconF16

I have read your heartfelt words with much haste, as I was delighted to witness postal correspondence, of such rare quality, but mostly for the anticipation a serial comma brings. You have brought me much inspiration - as the pressure and rarefied gasses trapped deep inside my colon were longing to escape for the last few days. My exhausting work upon the porcelain was for naught. Finally, long awaited success has found me. The deed is done, satisfaction returns.

I Remain.
-Miskie.

[BannedFromDU]

Undated photo of F4lconF16:

[67 Rover]

Translate that drivel to a Bevis and Butthead conversation and I suspect it would be much closer to the truth.

[USA4ME]

Poor F4lconF16. All that effort and Sanders STILL isn't going to be the nominee.

.

[landofconfusion80]

Poor F4lconF16. All that effort and Sanders STILL isn't going to be the nominee.

.

shhhhh.... they're still clinging to that hope part of hope and change.  the last set sail a long time ago.

[67 Rover]

How long before they transition to the recruit Gore for President camp?

[dane]

I work in one of the most profitable grocery stores

  I suspect as a bagboy.

[jukin]

As we all know, DUmmys lie, DUmmys lie all the time.

[landofconfusion80]

It's been a couple of years but one of the primitives decided to write a letter to the falling guy of 9/11.  it didn't go over well on the island either.

[Carl]

How long before they transition to the recruit Gore for President camp?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027075100

[Maverick1987]

F4lconF16

7. Idk if people here know this

But the old black panther party has specifically denounced the new one. From Aaron Dixon (and I'm paraphrasing what he told me): "Times have changed. Information and awareness is the new way to change minds in this era of technology. There is no way to resist the state, except through a mass effort by many, many people across racial, ideological, and state lines."

That's some serious name dropping there Falconer.  DFW weeps. 

Could it be that Mr. Dixon frequents this highly profitable grocery store in the heart of one of the whitest places in existence??

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1187&pid=22690

[Karin]

  

and I believe you can benefit from the exchange.

  I especially liked that subtle bit of pomposity.

Did you know that as a young man, I was a manager of a drug store in an almost exclusive African American community. Quite a life experience for a young white man.

 

   He definitely wrote this bouncy to himself.  He would already know this about Dear Father. 
 

[Rebel]

Tommy Sotomayor NAILED it when he talked about that BS in one of his latest videos. Liberals will NEVER say anything negative about black women, even though they're clearly in the wrong, because white liberals look at black people, women in general, as retarded children. It's not the people calling them out that are the racists, F4lcon, it's dumbasses that think like you.

His take. He talks, then shows what happened, and picks back up talking at about 5:45. (NSFW)

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU5ZP3fsxtk[/youtube]

What I saw? lol...

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hKrJIeuvIg[/youtube]