[Vision2020] Godwin's Law Strikes Again!
david sarff
davesway at hotmail.com
Fri Feb 9 13:15:53 PST 2007
I think that Michael Richards action involves a complex foundation. It is
something worth examining because it reveals mechanisms of defensive
aggression that can befall any number of persons that many people hold up as
good and respectable. It is revealing of gross undercurrents freely flowing
in the human condition.
In this case I separate the person from the act. The scale of his action is
not forgivable. I suspect that Michael’s person deserves forgiveness, but he
needs to earn it and examine within himself what unconscious investment he
had made at an earlier time. Why? Because his use of the N word indicates
that he earlier invested (consciously or not) in a hate based theme. When he
found himself in an aggressive environment, his examination of the situation
led him to withdraw this banked investment and expend its value in a self
defensive act. He must have been susceptible to an environment that helped
cultivate negative definition of persons actions perceived as connected to a
certain racial background. I have made similar mistakes, it may be that more
of us have than we care to admit.
In Gary’s example a person exclaiming anguish and uses the R-head word at
the sight of an innocent having their head cut off. This also indicates an
earlier investment conceived in an environment that cultivates negative
meaning of persons of a certain dress or ethnic background. It is an
expression involving hate of more than just the action of individual
perpetrator/s. At a minimum it includes “all” persons who wear turbans. The
use of the word, not forgivable. The person may or may not be.
Persons who cultivate hate, do not necessarily imbibe hate themselves… nor
love. In fact the sickest ones are immune to all emotion. What these and
their sycophants do is broadly plant, tend the crop and push to unload it
onto persons. The tool of repression is implemented commonly in society as a
coping mechanism. Its incredible what trespasses are perpetrated by a few
that we cumulatively ignore.
Individually, we can be culled out by those negative forces. I think that to
effect change of source/s that inculcate and perpetrate hate, these deserve
open examination by the mass of society .
What do I know about hate and bullying? In one sphere, as a youth growing up
in 1960’s and 70’s Moscow. I was one of only a few children with long hair
in my particular pier group. There were many college and high school male
persons who did at that time. In my youthful group I regularly experienced
hatred and occasional extreme physical violence. Perpetrated by just a few,
supported by the repression of onlookers or worse by those who would egg on
the perpetrators. Only because of my hair.
A lot of people demonize with the word Liberal these days, just at they did
Hippy or Gook in days past. You can be certain that there are children are
suffering from the expression of demonizing words found broadly disseminated
in the adult world... Including R-head.
We do live in a much better society now, but there is much work to do.
For good , bad or indifferent we become proficient at what we practice.
Dave
>In answer to you respective, probing questions...
>
>"Do you think Richard made a forgivable mistake?"
>
>Perhaps, but it would surely not be up to me to decide or grant the
>forgiveness.
>
>"Is there something there that he needs to remediate within himself?"
>
>I am inclined to say no but, then again, who am I to make any kind of
>judgment? Only Richards can know what goes on "within himself." How I feel
>(or more correctly don't feel) personally about the incident matters not
>one bit.
>
>I hope this clears up any lingering mysteries, now if you'll excuse me I've
>got a "support group" meeting to get back to. As you might well imagine the
>guys get quite testy when I hold things up.
>
>g
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "david sarff" <davesway at hotmail.com>
>To: <jampot at adelphia.net>; <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
>Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 2:53 PM
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Godwin's Law Strikes Again!
>
>
>>
>>>Hi Gary,
>>It seems to me there is a difference between cultivating hate and
>>expressing situational anger. Cultivating kindness, a higher order art. In
>>my opinion a better route to an improved humanity. Not easy for a lot of
>>us.
>>I don't see you as a hate cultivator, in fact it seems you might even be
>>trying to make efforts against it in concentrated areas.
>>In this situation and others similar to it, I think you miss-measured
>>Sue's reaction. It was situational in reaction to a clear practitioner of
>>hate cultivation. Can she do better, you bet. Your knowing that, taking
>>the grain of truth in her grain of fault and hyper-inflating it, is a
>>bully's support group method. This technique is not a strength for
>>anybody.
>>I agree with Sunil's response, but in light of your effort here, wonder if
>>you might be amenable to exploring your examples a bit.
>>Recently, comedian Michael Richards made a lot of trouble for himself
>>using the N word. I suspect you are familiar with that news line. Do you
>>think Richard made a forgivable mistake? Is there something there that he
>>needs to remediate within himself?
>>Dave
>>
>>
>>>Gary,
>>>
>>>So if an African-American killed the same person in the manner you
>>>describe,
>>>the statement "That miserable nigger just cut the head off of a American
>>>non-combatant," would not be racist?
>>>
>>>You're right, I don't like or agree with your rationale.
>>>
>>>I think it's a mistake to link emotion with the use of racist language or
>>>attitudes. Racist decisions and statements are easily made in the
>>>absence
>>>of emotion; I think they're the results of attitudes developed over a
>>>lifetime and ingrained in cultures and individual people. I don't think
>>>any
>>>particular 'race' or group has a monopoly on racism. I know I've often
>>>heard racist statements expresses as casually as a request for a drink of
>>>water. There's no requirement for actions as you suggest; statements
>>>express one's views quite effectively.
>>>
>>>Sunil
>>>
>>>
>>> >From: "g. crabtree" <jampot at adelphia.net>
>>> >To: "Sunil Ramalingam" <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
>>> >CC: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>> >Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Godwin's Law Strikes Again!
>>> >Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 07:12:39 -0800
>>> >
>>> >Well Sunil, since you insist on trying to chase me out onto a thin
>>>limb,
>>> >I'll give you my take on comments such as the one you refer to. You
>>> >won't
>>> >like or agree with it, I suspect, but here goes. Please bare in mind
>>> >that
>>>I
>>> >speak for myself and not anyone else to who you might attribute a lack
>>> >of
>>> >sensitivity.
>>> >
>>> >When someone makes a remark like "All ragheads are vermin and have no
>>>right
>>> >to live" it is inexcusably racist and deserves to be denounced at every
>>> >possible turn.
>>> >
>>> >When someone says "That miserable raghead just cut the head off of a
>>> >American non-combatant," it is a minor lapse of manner(s) or tact.
>>> >Unfortunate but, forgivable. Not, in my opinion, an indication of
>>>racism
>>> >per se.
>>> >
>>> >In the first you are calmly stating your contemptible and unsupportable
>>> >opinion of a large group/race of people. In the second you are
>>> >expressing
>>> >your anger and frustration at an individual or small group of proven
>>> >evil
>>> >doers with language that is intemperate and poorly chosen.
>>> >
>>> >Racism is, in my opinion, demonstrated by actions. It is hinted at,
>>> >sometimes incorrectly, by individual words.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >I hope that this does not change your opinion of my fitness as company
>>> >on
>>> >the list.
>>> >
>>> >g
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >----- Original Message -----
>>> >From: "Sunil Ramalingam" <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
>>> >Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>> >Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 9:31 PM
>>> >Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Godwin's Law Strikes Again!
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > > Gary,
>>> > >
>>> > > Are racist slurs minor lapses of manner or tact?
>>> > >
>>> > > I hope this question isn't considered trash talk, or 'self
>>>righteous,
>>> >self
>>> > > satisfied, school yard sputtering,' though you may well consider me
>>> > > an
>>> > > additional player; happy to have you as company on that list.
>>> > >
>>> > > Sunil
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >>From: "g. crabtree" <jampot at adelphia.net>
>>> > >>To: <debismith at moscow.com>, <suehovey at moscow.com>,
>>> ><vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>> > >>CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
>>> > >>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Godwin's Law Strikes Again!
>>> > >>Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 20:07:27 -0800
>>> > >>
>>> > >>Extremely interesting. Should someone from the mildly conservative
>>>side
>>> >of
>>> > >>the fence have a minor lapse of manners or tact, the squealing and
>>> > >>castigation rises to a level at which our canine friends experience
>>> > >>profound and lasting aural pain.
>>> > >>
>>> > >>But on the other hand it's OK to demean the offender with a level of
>>> > >>calumny several orders of magnitude greater then anything originally
>>> >said.
>>> > >>I mean really, when you feel you have to resort to not so subtly
>>>calling
>>> > >>someone's mother a bitch along with the silly BS in the post to
>>>which
>>> >I'm
>>> > >>responding, you really have to wonder If Ms. Hovey, Ms. R-S, Mr.
>>>Fox,
>>> >and
>>> > >>the rest of the usual suspects have any sense of irony at all.
>>>Double
>>> > >>standard risen to the power of hypocritical joke. What's even
>>>funnier
>>>is
>>> > >>that this communication will likely raise the trash talk to the next
>>> >level
>>> > >>as well as spread it to additional players. Who needs comedy central
>>> >when
>>> > >>we've got the V.
>>> > >>
>>> > >>Commence self righteous, self satisfied, school yard sputtering,
>>> > >>g
>>> > >>
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > > =======================================================
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>>> > > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>> > > http://www.fsr.net
>>> > > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>> > > =======================================================
>>> > >
>>>
>>>
>>>=======================================================
>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>> http://www.fsr.net
>>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>=======================================================
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
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