I read most of my news on the Internet. It saves my house from being cluttered with newspapers. I am not very domestic and I try to avoid housekeeping to the extent possible.
I've been following a tragic story regarding the shooting death of a young college student, Eve Carson. She was student body president and in her senior year at my alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. By all accounts, Ms. Carson was a highly intelligent, caring young woman with a promising future. The police have been very efficient and have arrested her killers. The motive appears to have been robbery. One of the alleged killers is also a suspect in the shooting death of a young graduate student, Abhijit Mahato, back in January of this year.
As I typically do, after reading the news story online, I read the comments left by AOL members in response to the article. Why do I read the comments? Because I'm Ethel of Lucy and Ethel; I know better but I am so gosh darn nosey that I can't help myself.
As usual, there were the sane comments about the tragic loss of lives and vitriol as to the punishment that should be exacted on the alleged perpetrators, but what caught my eye was the litany of bigoted, hateful, observations based on the race of the suspects.
Eve Carson was white; the suspects are black. Mr. Mahato was originally from India, but no one in the comments section seemed particularly concerned about his death or ethnicity. I've been down this road before, so why am I going there again?
Partly because it kicks me in the gut every time I come into contact with blatant prejudice. I try to dismiss it as the rantings of ignorant people, but it still stings. Partly because I don't think that I should have to avoid a common activity such as reading comments in order to avoid being belittled and insulted by strangers based on my skin color. I know that they aren't speaking to me individually, but that doesn't take the sting out of it. So I keep writing about this because I think that such people will not cease and desist until enough decent people make it clear that their bigotry and hate is not wanted.
You see, what disturbs me the most, is that it is rare that anyone challenges the bigots. I know the argument that people trot out; we have freedom of speech and people have a right to say what they think. For the most part that is true, but not an absolute. (Try plotting a littletreason and sedition and see how far that freedom of speech argument gets you.) However, freedom of speech works both ways. You have a right to express your thoughts and beliefs, and I have a right to respond. Freedom of speech doesn't mean that we have to let hate speech pass with no comment. If you don't agree, say so. Don't let bigotry go unchallenged; to do so is to offer tacit approval by virtue of your silence.
I have my own dream, that if decent, thoughtful people speak out, that eventually their voices united will drown the hateful words, shut them out, force them to go back into the dark where they belong. So I left my own comment in response to some of the more bigoted remarks. As this post is getting way too long, I'll include my comment in a follow-up to this post.
What I will include here are some of the comments that I read following the news story, exactly as written, with the identifying screen name.
noapeface 03:53:44 PM Mar 13 2008 EVERYTIME THEY COME OUT OF THE TREE'S, THERES TROUBLE !!
snakeisback04 04:03:00 PM Mar 13 2008 TYPICAL BLACK FOR YA.
jimitty 02:16:19 PM Mar 13 2008 Dont you think cornrows and dreadlocks just make a man? Soooo jungle ghetto chic.Low-life coward scumbags.
veres36 12:40:52 PM Mar 13 2008 AND WE WANT TO PUT ONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE,HOW LOW CAN WE GO?
oct2nov1971 01:48:22 PM Mar 13 20 Obama's first job should be to put his animals in check.
oct2nov1971 01:40:30 PM Mar 13 2008 Obama supporters will kill ya for less than buck. They will kill ya for CHANGE. University of North Carolina student Eve Carson it is said, was an Obama supporter. An Obama supporter murdered by Obama supporter thugs. ANOTHER REASON WHY I WONT VOTE FOR OBAMA.
7 comments:
I see what you mean ,this is disgusting.... no wonder you felt prompted to write this entry ...love Jan xx http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeadie05/Serendipity/
First of all what has it got to do with "Obama"? We see this kind of thing in Britain all the time, and it never ceases to amaze me that these people write stuff like this on the internet and then quite happily work with Black co workers, and sprout "political corectness" bull shit, whilst all the while stabbing you so royally in the back. Fact of life people commit crime, does it matter about the colour of the skin of the person that has committed this crime NO. Going back to your excellent post "Content of their character" you clearly spell it out that bigortry is unacceptable. We had a case here a couple of years ago when a young Brazillian man was shot dead on the Tube, suspected of being a terroist, and the police were hailed as being heros until it was found that they shot and killed the wrong man, at the same time it was discovered that this man was an illegal alien, so what was the response "If he wasn't here illegally he wouldn't have been shot" illegal or not this man is dead, but people used it as an excuse to reveal their sanctimonious bigotry. I try to fight against it, but it's hard when dealing with morons.
Excellent post as usual
Yasmin
xx
Ethel, when are you going to learn not to get involved in Lucy's schemes? I learned back in the last century NEVER to read news off AOL. It doesn't even have to be a gay or race-related article to stand my hair on end, it doesn't matter what it's about, a significant plurality of the commenters seem committed to saying the same thing over and over in a million different ways: "I HATE MYSELF SO MUCH THAT I ONLY FEEL BETTER BY SAYING HATEFUL THINGS. I FEEL SO INFERIOR I MUST ACT SUPERIOR TO SOMETHING. AND I CRAVE ATTENTION SO I MUST FIND THE MOST PROVOCATIVE, ATTENTION-GETTING THING TO SAY."
And what are you doing with these sad, lost, losers? Having exactly the reaction they want you to have, one that makes them feel as important as when they hit the teacher with a spitball because it's the only way they know how to take vengeance on the Dad who beats the crap out of them any night.
You wouldn't watch Jerry Springer, so stop reading the AOL commenters. Those who spew hate are miserable, terribly unhappy people. They are there own punishment.
You know, those comments just turn my stomach. I hate small mindedness and bigotry of any kind. I'm not ignoring your e-mail by the way, just thinking about my response! I'll get to it soon!
love,
Marie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/
i don't typically read comments because i find most of them offensive....language, attitudes, insults towards other commenters...but it sickens me that people would think it's acceptable to publish such trash. i can understand the sting and hurt in reading and having to deal with such cruelty. there is no excuse for it. none!!
gina
Oh dear, these are vicious. Maybe that is what is needed. More comment to counteract such as these. Such comments upset me which is one reason I don't jump into the fray, but I have even wondered if the editors aren't culling out the more rational comments and leaving the racist ones. That would be low if that is so. Maybe they think the racist comments are more colorful, more daring. Could that be possible. When you comment do yours come up? I thought when the perpetrators of this crime were caught there would be some vicious commentary like this. The last big campus killing, the kid was white Virginia Tech's campus killer was Oriental. There have been so many white psychos killing people in Phoenix, do commenters then say "Just like a white scumbag. There is nothing worse than a white guy gone bad because he thinks he is too superior to do anything wrong!" That kind of thing. Your remarks are very provocative, Sheria. Gerry By the way, Congratulations on being one of Yasmin's pics as Guest
Editor on Magic Smoke. I am going to flag your journal in my response to being picked also and say why as I think you are writing some of the best public problem analysis going. I hope a number of journalists read your remarks.
I was reading this entry last night and my internet connection went 'tits up'. We had for a while comments at the bottom of news streams but for some reason they dissapeared or there were signs saying the comments area has been disabled on this news feed.
For me personaly, I have never looked at a persons skin colour and passed judgment for the crime they have done. In fact, if you look at history, most of the henious crimes have been commited are by white people. My country is no exception with the likes of Howard Neilson and Dennis Shipmen.
I have read all of the comments you posted Sheria, but what I feel is sadness, not madness at what theses people have posted. I would love to get to the cause of why they feel the way they do. What made them want to think or even type the comments in the first place?
We can't put it all down to not being educated, or even ignorance. It makes me wonder if these commenteers would be capable of commiting the crimes that they so dislkie if they have the thoughts they do .
Gaz xxx
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