News for June 18

Racism, Privilege, and Perspective

In today’s news roundup we look at racism, privilege, and its effects on how we understand the world and how we learn about the world.

Racism continues to rear its ugly head – even in the allegedly post-racial era of Obama.  An “historical” image of the 44 presidents circulated by the staffer of a Tennessee legislator clearly crosses the racial line, helping to debunk the myth that the election of an African-American president has somehow dramatically altered the state of race relations in the U.S.  A further look at the work of an avowed white supremacist in academia raises questions about how white liberals treat the question of race poorly by not delving into the deeper issues of power and privilege.

Visual Racism in “Historical” Photo  |  Racism Review

A couple of weeks ago, an administrative assistant working for a Republican elected official  in the Tennessee state legislature sent around an email with this image (from here) and the caption,  “Historical Keepsake Photo.”

As you may or may not be able to tell from the image, it depicts all the presidents of the U.S. through to the current one, and in place of a portrait of President Obama, there is only a dark square with two eyes peering out.    The image evokes the racist blackface iconography characteristic of the Jim Crow era.

White Prof, White Pride  |  Racism Review

The problem here, in my view, with people who are appalled by Griffin’s views — and they are appalling — is that they the standard white liberal response is insufficient to the task because it only concedes Griffin’s premise.   Calling him a “neo-Nazi” allows Griffin to continue to claim the high ground in this debate and assert that he is “interested in ideas” while others are merely engaged in name-calling.   Similarly, attempts to discredit his assertions of ethnic pride within the context of multiculturalism-absent-an-analysis-of-power is equally fraught.   In a multi-vocal world where “all voices” are valued equally, there is no basis for critiquing white pride.

The key that’s missing in this debate is an analysis of power and white privilege, and these have everything to do with knowledge.   Epistemologies of race, that is, how we know what we say we know about race and racism, are rooted in profoundly different experiences for whites and people of color living in a social context of racial inequality.  Within such a context, some people experience the constant drumbeat of racism as part of their everyday life,  while others enjoy the privilege  of ignoring race and racism on a daily basis. The danger in views like those of Griffin’s  is in the pernicious way that his claims to “knowledge” challenge important values that are politically hard won, values such as racial equality.

And dealing with the question of privilege and priorities, Kristoff at the NY Times highlights a panel exchange between Ann Curry of NBC and Rick Sanchez of CNN debating newsworthy vs. sensational.  Kudos to Ann Curry for supporting responsible journalism over sensationalist pandering.

Topless Celebrity Shoplifting vs. Darfur  |  On the Ground

“Let me come clean with you guys, and let’s not pretend that we’re talking to children,” Mr. Sanchez said. “If today, Britney Spears is caught shoplifting topless, I’m making this up by the way, and we don’t do it…”

Ms. Curry interjected, her lips pursed at her microphone: “I’m not doing the interview and I’m not doing it.”

Mr. Sanchez talked over her. “But I guarantee you, normally, they will have a million viewers to our 20,000 if we decide we’re going for Darfur.”

“Some things you’ve gotta do,” Ms. Curry said.

Which leads us to another pressing question of newsworthy import and almost zero coverage: war casualties.  Michelle at Change.org reminds us of the other side of war – foreign casualties and muses over the lack of coverage given to the ongoing death toll in Iraq.

War Sucks.  |  Stop Genocide :: Change.org

I can’t remember where I was, or who I was with, but I recently had a conversation with a friend about how the casualty rates of Iraqi civilians hardly ever, if ever, make it into mainstream media in the US. No one has any idea of the figure.

And then, oddly, a report from AlertNet appeared in my Google Reader, despite the fact that it was posted nearly 2 years ago:

Iraq Death Toll Rivals Rwanda Genocide, Cambodian Killing Fields

That would be: 1.2 million Iraqis…and that was in 2007.

Of course, it’s fitting to offer a salute to those journalists who do get it right.  However, this tribute to Jim Wallis and Jon Stewart also brings to light some other important points that aren’t regularly making it into homes on the evening news.

Jim Wallis and Jon Stewart Get It Right  |  God’s Politics

They asked me a lot of questions I couldn’t answer. Why does the media seem to believe everything the Rwandan government says, and why don’t they peer beneath the shiny appearances to some of the more shady realities? (For example, see this.) Why don’t they cover the incursions and interferences of Rwanda and Uganda in the Congo? Why don’t they investigate the East African Mafia that coordinates corruption and exploitation among Uganda, Rwanda, and Eastern Congo? Why haven’t any journalists investigated the killing fields in Eastern Congo – where mass graves of Hutu bones serve as icons of retaliation after the genocide of Tutsis in 1994? Is there a U.S. military base in Southern Rwanda – and why do nearly all Rwandans seem to know there is, but almost no Americans do? Why aren’t journalists talking about the “dirty Coltan,” which is part of all of our cell phones, extracted by near slave-labor in Congo  – no less a tragedy than the “dirty diamonds” that grace many fingers and necks?

So let’s close out the day with an update on the war supplemental bill from yesterday’s news and a couple of hopeful items including a renewed call to service by the President and a look at the future of green driving.

War Supplemental Narrowly Passes  |  Editor’s Cut :: The Nation

Just a few minutes ago, the Obama Administration’s $106 billion war supplemental passed on the House floor by a vote of 226-202. Congressional Democrats who oppose military escalation were in a tough position. They were whipped aggressively by both Speaker Pelosi and the White House. And they support President Obama.

Which is exactly why they did the right thing in voting no.

President Obama himself has said, “There’s got to be an exit strategy.” Yet we are sliding into a military escalation and commitments without a full and necessary national debate about the ends, means, or exit strategy for this war.

Obama Issues New Call to Service  |  44 :: Washington Post

President Obama is looking for a few volunteers, asking Americans to dedicate themselves this summer to local community service projects in an extension of his earlier calls to sustain the nation’s increased interest in public service.

The United We Serve summer service initiative, announced today by the White House with a Web video, above, will begin June 22 and run through the National Day of Service and Remembrance on Sept. 11. The new holiday, which marks the 2001 terrorist attacks, was established earlier this year with passage of Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Generating Usable Energy, Just by Driving  |  Autopia :: Wired.com

Sainsbury’s, the self-proclaimed eco-conscious superstore that dots the UK, installed “kinetic road plates” in the car park of its latest store in Gloucester. They work a lot like speed bumps, and the store says vehicles passing over them can generate enough power to run the cash registers.

These aren’t run-of-the-mill speed bumps. The plates depress slightly under the weight of the cars, creating a rocking motion that turns a generator without the driver feeling the difference.

“Customers can now play a very active role in helping make their local shop greener without extra effort or cost,” Alison Austin, the company’s environmental manager, said in a statement. “We want to continue offering great value, but we also want to make the weekly shop sustainable.”

Related Articles:

• Bloggy Monday: Race & Racism
• News for June 17