THE MESSAGE:
WHAT CONSTITUTES RACISM?
1. Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
2. The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
3. A doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles.
THE BLURB:
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| SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU |
TRIBALISM
I have arrived at the conclusion that mankind has not yet evolved to the point where it loses the affinity for tribalism. We cling to the behaviour and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one's own tribe or social group.
Tribalism is everywhere and easily overrides reason, morality. and pretty much anything else that could threaten our chances of survival. Tribalism may be popular and all inclusive; however, it becomes dangerous at the same time.
Consider the case of the Orthodox Jewish community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn who shunned a neighbour after he told police about a man – a fellow Jew - who was sexually abusing his son. Instead of honouring the father who was protecting his son the father was shunned for disloyalty to the tribe.
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HATE CRIMES IN THE CITY ARE UP 17% THIS YEAR,
What about Catholic Church authorities abandoning their morals and forfeiting the safety of vulnerable children by covering up, ignoring, or denying extensive evidence of child abuse by a number of priests. "Tribe first, morals second."
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Former Boston priest John Geoghan was
sentenced to up to 10 years in prison
for child sexual abuse.
In 2002, Boston Cardinal Bernard Law apologized to Geoghan's victims, and the archdiocese pays $10 million to settle lawsuits brought by victims and their families. Law moved Paul Shanley and John Geoghan from parish to parish within the diocese despite repeated allegations of molestation of children under the priests' care.
What about the children, raised without the role model of a suitable father? They take to the streets and join gangs in order to provide substitutes.
We identify ourselves as members of all sorts of tribes; our families, political parties, race, gender, social organizations. We even identify tribally just based on where we live. Go Blue Jays, go Maple Leafs and let heaven destroy those foul coloured sox!
Think of the inhuman things we do in the name of tribal unity. Wars essentially revolve around tribalism .
THE VIETNAM WAR. WHY?
OIL, DEMOCRACY, OR GREED
Genocides are tribalism. Let's wipe out the other group in order to keep our group safe. Have we given in to madness?
MEANWHILE IN SYRIA
AND MYANMAR
We identify ourselves as members of all sorts of tribes; our families, political parties, race, gender, social organizations. We even identify tribally just based on where we live. Go Blue Jays, go Maple Leafs and let heaven destroy those foul coloured sox!
Think of the inhuman things we do in the name of tribal unity. Wars essentially revolve around tribalism .
 |
| THE VIETNAM WAR. WHY? |
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| OIL, DEMOCRACY, OR GREED |
Genocides are tribalism. Let's wipe out the other group in order to keep our group safe. Have we given in to madness?
 |
| MEANWHILE IN SYRIA |
 |
| AND MYANMAR |
Consider a racism that lets us feel that our tribe is better than another's or parents who disown their own children if they dare to date or marry someone of a different faith or colour.
Yet another example is the polarized way we argue about so many issues, and the incredible irony that as we make these arguments we claim to be intelligent; yet, we ignorantly close our minds to views that conflict with ours.
As irrational as genocide and immorality may be, it makes absolute sense that tribalism can produce such behaviours. We are social animals. We have evolved to depend on our tribes, literally, for our safety and survival. It certainly is a sobering reflection on this inherent but potentially destructive aspect of human nature. It is also certain that we cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind in these unsettled and uncertain times.
Yet another example is the polarized way we argue about so many issues, and the incredible irony that as we make these arguments we claim to be intelligent; yet, we ignorantly close our minds to views that conflict with ours.
RACISM IN LA LA LAND
Ku Klux Klan
It is estimated there are between 5,000 and 8,000 Klan members nationwide, split between many factions. Here a member of the Ku Klux Klan salutes during American Nazi Party rally at Pennsylvania's Valley Forge National Park in September 2004. Lock them up!
Michael Brown, Ferguson Missouri
Was racism involved in his death?
The physical evidence suggested Brown reached into officer Wilson's car during their physical altercation and, very likely, attempted to grab the officer's gun. The most credible witnesses agreed that Brown moved toward Wilson before the officer fired his final shots — and there simply wasn't enough evidence, especially given the struggle at the car, that Wilson wasn't justified in fearing for his life when he fired the shots that killed Brown. Although some credible witnesses suggested Brown raised his hands up before he died, witnesses who disputed major parts of Wilson's side of the story were discredited by the physical evidence and when they changed their accounts.
The book was published three years ago.
It is an intriguing and suspenseful story that details the case of a black man who was sent to death row for a 1986 murder he did not commit. Stevenson, just out of law school, started a nonprofit law centre in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He took up the cause of Walter McMillian, a well-liked lumberjack from Monroe County sitting on Alabama’s death row. His friends and neighbours knew that he was innocent. His story evokes a comparison to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The facts that Stevenson uncovered suggested that not much has changed since. Law-enforcement officials were under pressure from a murder they couldn’t solve. The establishment was outraged by a black man who’d had an affair with a white woman. At trial, MacMillian's watertight alibi was ignored. Exculpatory evidence was hidden from the defence. Witnesses for the prosecution were paid off or charged with perjury and scared off. Eventually Stevenson got McMillian free, but still not to able to enjoy a happy life. He spent six years on death row and lost his business, his marriage and his health.
Where do you stand on the apparent disrespect shown to the American Anthem by certain NFL players?
THE LEMON:
THE QUOTE:
"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." Martin Luther King, Jr.
THE CLIP:
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