Nowhere have I suggested that colonialism, and all of its crimes, does not require a comprehensive solution, including reparations. But it needs to be done with the rule of law, and not with mob justice.

That’s a vast oversimplification. The white farmer unquestionably owed their land and privileges to the legacy of colonialism. In many cases however, those people had been there for generations, and were just as much Africans as anyone else born there. Suggesting that’s it is OK to “grab back” land because someone in…

I completely agree, and have been very open elsewhere on this site about what I’ve been doing. I don’t suggest it entitles me to absolution.

This. Unless and until white people are willing to recognize that the “benefits” we derive from white supremacy are far outstripped by its corrosive effects — most notably the value of living in a more equitable society — we’re not going to get anywhere.

Absolutely correct. I think about my journey on race — the multiple failures that I’ve had in my thinking, the need for continuous reexamination of my biases — and I’ve come to several conclusions.

I think this is 100% correct. Even among my fellow “enlightened” white people (“Hey! I voted FOR Obama!”), there is a startling lack of recognition about the challenges that POC face. To Geordi’s point above, it hard to talk to people about their bullshit when they don’t even know it exists.

I’ll clarify my previous statement, by stating that when I said “pull this off” I meant “get them to understand.”

I don’t know how you pull this off, but educating (white) people as to the way the criminal justice system actually operates would be hugely helpful. I remember being a green law student working at legal aid, and almost falling out of my chair when you see the way the system is not only apathetic towards advancement,…

I find myself struggling with this a lot. I grew up in a exceedingly diverse part of the U.S., and was aware of the undercurrent of resentment that many of my fellow white folks felt. But what I didn’t realize were the number of people — middle and upper-middle class folks, friends of mine, with decent jobs and…

With that logic, when he goes into a restaurant and finds they are sold out of his preferred entree, he probably sets himself on fire.

A question for the assembled: what is the highest level of wokeness achievable by white folk?

No question. But right now he’s the equivalent of every old drunk at the end of the bar telling you how things were better once upon a time.

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” - Hannah Arendt

I’ve frequently found that the former is an adjective that modifies the later.

You just know that the word “uppity” was a 1/2 a second from flying out of her mouth during her entire response.

Maybe it’s the lasting vestiges of “Southern Gentility” ™, but Virginia gubernatorial races have not been nearly as nasty in the past. I assume this is because they were “safe,” going to Republicans or conservative Democrats. But with the rise of Northern Virginia as the economic and population hub for the…

Mayo or salt water. I knew a dude in High School who went swimming in the ocean every day to make his hair tighten up.

$100 bucks says this SCOTUS is totally ok with this. Who wants action?