An odd one from Savannah

Two black candidates for Savannah's mayor attend meeting that bars white reporters

The headline is misleading. They didn't bar only white reporters, they forbid anyone into the meeting who was not black.

What they were doing was essentially holding an ad hoc primary election so that the maximum impact of black voters was directed to a single, black candidate.

 

Man, the American south is a strange place.

 

I've never been to the South. well... not really. Unless you consider St. Louis the south. I think it's the mid-west though (hyphen?). Hmm

 

weird ... hmm.

 

I'm 55 yards from a black church and if I walked in there there to give me the stink eye.

 

thats shitty....are you white? i kind of get it, because of the history of whites burning down black churches.... but thats still shitty behavior ...... idk. not "christ-like", imho

 

Down here
Don't be getting lost out in the sticks
Some folks got a strange way of getting they kicks
Down here
Out here you might get your throat slit
By a crazy ass hillbilly drunk on a 5th
Down Here
You might wind up skin to the bone
Butt-naked in the dirt and your miles from home
Down Here
They get crazy and dance by a fire
To a demon playing banjo along with hells fire
Down here!

 

I’m not trying to be an apologist for my people but consider this………

It’s an African American community meeting

The Black church is located on MLK, Jr. Boulevard

The meeting was proceeded by a series of shootings of black men by white cops

The closed door meeting was just after a racist hate filled video went viral from a white fraternity at the University of Georgia

The meeting was in the midst of a bizarre series of frivolous 911 calls by white people reporting black people for entering their own apartment building, swimming in their apartment resident only pool, moving into their new house,
having a cookout at the local park, spending the night at a bed and breakfast, Standing in Starbucks, Renting a car, and eating at a fast food restaurant.

 

Context, details and motive(ation) matter

 

Can you possibly imagine the effect a "White Community Meeting" would have on the news cycle? It would be instantly shouted down as racist, the media would start showing old footage from the 60s while the usual talking heads take a few incidents and hold them up as "typical" examples. As for MLK boulevard, I have seen a lot of these across the country and in nearly every case it marks a terrible neighborhood steeped in crime, decay and blight. In some cities they attempt to dilute the crime statistics by changing the names of streets, nearly always in "black neighborhoods", something we shouldn't even have anymore.

As for the cops, I feel for anyone who has encounters with them. But a sure way to aggravate any dealings with them is to pick a fight with a cop. You'll have the whole pack of them on your ass and only a body cam cam can set the story straight (though too many of them get turned off or the batteries go dead mysteriously. I have no love of crooked cops, but they do come in all colors. I had one trip me on a set of stairs as I was cuffed and trying to walk up during processing. He used a nightstick to ensure that my knees slammed into the concrete as painfully as possible. Why? Because I "smarted off" with him by asking about my rights. I avoid cops entirely these days. I had another plant crack in my car, which was really handy since I was strung out on the stuff at the time. I guess he didn't think I'd find it when he set his buddies on me. They tossed me around about 2 hours after the "routine" traffic stop" by cop #1, but by then I had already visited my dealer and found the planted stuff as I was stashing my purchase. Sure, I was no angel at the time, but the cops still organized in a criminal manner to try to put me away.

As far as getting shot by cops, that's still something that happens to more white guys than anyone else. Only nobody in the news business cares about that. Because it's not as sensational since most other white folks don't give a squat what happens to a "criminal". And if I was to believe the media, it appears that black cops nearly never shoot white crooks.

So many of the "race" issues we see today are nothing more than repackaged class issues. And because of this repackaging, for sensational ratings, the REAL issues are never addressed. We're all being manipulated at full throttle by the legal system, the press, the clergy and by various grievance industry pundits. And it's easy to spot if you really pay attention. If the story affects you emotionally, it has probably been skewed for that very effect. That's where my alarm bells go off. Another good indicator is when politicians get involved. For them it's a way to advance their career by feeding into the frenzy while shouting down key facts and opinions. All that's important at that point is being able to say "I'm right", regardless of the consequences or implications. There absolutely MUST be someone to blame. And when there isn't, it simply MUST be the result of events from the distant past, well outside of our lifetimes. Using history as a way to explain today's events, is a manipulation as well.

But what do know? I'm an "old white man", the most hated demographic in America. I've been hearing about how terrible I am since about 6th grade when I was bused from a good school district to a marginal school district so that my grades could preserve the jobs of crappy teachers who taught me about "plussing", "minusing" and "times-ing" among other bizarre interpretations of English. Watching all of this unfold over the decades it amazes me how many times racial strife has been utilized in the exact same manner over and over so effectively. The same old scripts are used over and over, certain proof that we will never see the end of it. As long as we can be so easily pitted against each other, what hope do we have for catching up with the 1.6% who lord over us?

Again, most of our problems are class, not race. And this begins with arrogance fueled by contempt. And once contempt enters the equation, the relationship is over. All that's left is fighting or walking away. Negotiation and understanding are left behind like dust. And we're all falling for it at one point or another. You've demonstrated it readily by invoking the tribal "my people" line as well as the title "African-American". But that's OK since I can be readily shouted down for having the audacity to actually notice. By the way, I've been to Africa multiple times and I have seen actual black slaves (it was weird how casual the locals were about it). They still exist, but can't be turned into political gold in the US, so they are ignored by most Americans regardless of race.

The only thing I am sure about is that this bullshit will continue beyond my life span and the only insulation from the worst parts of it will continue to be money. And that seems to be universal. We don't see too many black millionaires returning to the hood once they have escaped. Except Tyler Perry maybe!

 

You honestly believe those 911 calls had to do with class and not skin color, really?

If you believe that you’d have to be the whitest man on earth.

Now I admit occasionally it does involve class, such was the case recently with the New England Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts, who was pulled over for a minor traffic violation and profiled (i.e. harassed)
by a Sheriff’s deputy outside of his home in Texas.

Roberts has a base salary of two million dollars and lives in a primarily upper middle class white neighborhood, so driving while black can be somewhat perilous.
Btw Once they identified who the two-time super bowl champion was, they never processed the citation - interesting.

 

It happens. I used to get pulled over by the cops for being white, in a black neighborhood (again, something that shouldn't be a thing at all). Granted, I was there to buy crack, but the effect is the same. Although the black cops seemed to take it far more personally than the white ones. I never said we are free from racism. I am only suggesting that there's a lot more going on than that. As for 911 calls, they are a lazy way to deal with things and are easy to make anonymously, so abuse of the system should be expected. I've had the same dime dropped on me and never knew who did it. I sure didn't make a racial assumption about it, I just figured it was one of my asshole neighbors. And assholes come in all colors.

As for the whitest man on earth, your perspective is just as disturbing since you clearly have a strong bias. I can only imagine where it comes from. But keep this in mind, MOST of the discrimination and crappy deals I have been delivered over the years has been from white people. Do they take advantage of me for being white? Not likely. It's simply because I am not wealthy enough to be in their clique/club/neighborhood. So for me the bullshit has been primarily a class issue, though I am treated the same. I guess if my employers, landlords and the bulk of the crooked cops I have encountered had all been black, I might be inclined to think it's racism.

But since that was only maybe 10% of the discriminatory problems I've had over the years, I'm more inclined to think it has been class driven most of the time. Since I'm not rich, they know I'll never be able to drag them into court (I've tried with a few of the white assholes, it's a waste of time, they're all part of the same country club). So I'd stoop to vandalism and such to deliver payback the old fashioned way. Which actually does work rather well at relieving stress! I broke into one asshole's house and stole the center sofa cushions from the living room and the den because I knew they'd never be able to match the pattern and would have to buy new furniture. For others there was waking up to ice picks sticking out of the sidewalls of their tires. I haven't done that sort of shit in more than a decade or so as I have managed to pull myself up and away from that kind of conflict.

But I know I'll likely have yet another wealthy white asshole find a clever way to rip me off, "legally" some day. And I'll have to figure out how to engage the old dirty tricks without getting caught. After all, I'm not as fast as I used to be.

For the record, I have never been a racist. But I have known many of them over the years and prefer to avoid them. I don't discriminate against anyone on the basis of something as foolish as color. It's absolutely against my faith, but it's also just something my family never practiced. I only learned about racial discrimination after 6th grade. I thought it was stupid then and I think it's stupid now.

But I also think it's stupid to make blanket assumptions about people for just being white as well. For that opinion I have been lamented in all kinds of odd ways. How dare I "defend" evil white people. And "don't you know that all white people are racists" etc etc. Even here I catch shit because I don't think that all republicans are racists either. And I don't think Trump's a racist. And I don't think that Carl Benjamin is a racist. I also don't think Nancy Pelosi is a racist. But I do have serious doubts about the Obamas and the people who propped up a senate rookie for the top seat (Hillary WAS more qualified). But again, there's a class element I can't ignore.

 

yes, but the church dont fair well with the entire neighborhood. about 10yrs ago the pastor died and left it to his kids. they are thugs using the pastor status to avoid paying taxes.
a giant yard that kids cant use, because they wont pay the insurance. what kinda of congregation is this
so they would give me the stink eye because we question their status as s church.
even the blacks of my neighborhood dislike them. they are outsiders from 2 neighborhoods away. Why couldnt they get a church building there?

 

thats really upsetting and im so sorry you have to put up with that.

 

Most black church burnings have been hoaxes, inside jobs to game insurance as well as raising sympathy donations. In the last 30 years only 4 of them have been proven to be the work of white racist assholes. But why let facts ruin a good story?

The press is more than happy to comply. Any time a black church catches fire, out comes the footage from the 60s and all of the terrible stories from that time. It makes for a sensational narrative that is bought readily by people who prefer to blame the entire white race for their problems. Hate is hate, in any direction.

 

It doesn't matter if you've ever been to the south. Just watch Mississippi Burning, Deliverance and To Kill a Mockingbird. Then you'll be an overnight expert on the south because absolutely nothing has changed since the 50s. The KKK is on every corner. Cops beat black guys in the streets on an hourly basis. And they still have black children segregated in 1-room school houses (with no air conditioning).

Oh the horror!

 

White Community Meeting.
yeah, the gathering of the Juggalos.

 

This is a pretty bold claim, do you have a source?

 

Actually it's a pain in the ass to look them all up. And I missed the most recent because I had cut off at 2015. But in March of 2019 there were 3 black churches burned by the same asshole in Louisiana (the son of a sheriff's deputy, a real incel-looking loser). That ups the tally to 7. The ones in Ferguson were all hoaxes.

Wikipedia has a list, but few details and it doesn't separate the accidental fires in any obvious way. The only way to know it was arson is that an arrest was made, but then you have to search for each one with an arrest to get better coverage. USA Today did a bit on it as well.

If you search for "black church burning hoax timeline" you find a lot of individual cases, but a convenient, consolidated list has been elusive. One interesting year was 1995 when 27 black churches were burned by arsonists (the same year 45 "white" churches were also victims of arson).

It takes some work, but the numbers can be consolidated. Here's a few to start with, but the search leads to a LOT of rabbit holes (and inconvenient truths):
Michael Fumento: A Church Arson Epidemic? It’s Smoke and Mirrors
List of attacks against African-American churches - Wikipedia
Who's Burning Black Churches? Oh. | RealClearPolitics
Both Ends Burning
Fires at black churches raise concern

 

“Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow” – Funkadelic


The reason you were stopped by the police in a black neighborhood was to protect you from them, not them from you. When the police stop blacks in white neighborhoods it’s to protect white people from blacks. The reasons are diametrically opposite and by implication implies that black people pose a threat.

I served 6 years in the military, I spent 4 years in College, I have a squeaky clean record, and yet I’ve found myself in some situations over the years that can only be explained away by the color of my skin.

For instance, I grew up in a mostly white neighborhood and was stopped 3 times by the police while walking home from school. Once in middle school, and twice in high school. During all 3 occasions I directed their attention to the books I was carrying, and twice to the school logo imprinted on my jacket.

Those were the most egregious of course, but there have been others including a few years ago while walking to the mail box. I was stopped by a cop who asked me what I was doing, despite the fact that he actually saw me drop the letters into the mail box. He claimed there were some recent break-ins in the area but he's full of shit, because I read the police blotter every week, and I know all of my neighbors, and believe me if there was a single break-in that’s all everyone would be talking about.