[Vision2020] Challening issues

[Rosemary Huskey]

Hi Scott,

 

Thanks for wading through my (once again unedited) message.  Most literate
folks will shake their head at reading "Challening" rather than Challenging.
Thanks for not mentioning it.  On to more important things.


I don't suppose that anyone will have a complete sense of what thought
process informed the grand jury. I hope that more than one of them will
write a well-documented tell all book.   I mentioned the specific history of
Missouri racism based on attitudes I knew from childhood. My mother, who was
born, educated, and lived in Missouri until well into her 30s could not have
been described as a civil rights advocate.  Missouri was a slave state with
a long post Civil War history of segregation, race based hate crimes,
lynching, and more currently, segregated schools as late as the  mid 1960s.
The following contemporary work offers well documented examples of life in
Ferguson and the greater St. Louis area:
<http://www.epi.org/publication/making-ferguson/> The Making of Ferguson
Public Policies at the Root of its Troubles By Richard Rothstein.  The paper
is lengthy, but is extraordinarily well researched and offers concrete
examples of the effects of institutionalization of white privilege. 


I don't believe that the cultural ambiance of St. Louis, or the white civic
power structure encourages an introspection examination and exposure of the
racist history (and present problems) of their state or city.  There has
been a great deal of legitimate criticism (by that I mean from professionals
within the legal community) on the conduct of and the material presented by
Prosecutor Robert McCulloch.  Certainly we can compare and contrast remarks
made by a conservative justice,
<http://thefreethoughtproject.com/supreme-court-justice-scalias-words-expose
-ferguson-grand-jury-legal-farce/> Anton Scalia, commenting on the purpose
and duty of a grand jury, with Mr. McCulloch's mismanagement of the grand
jury.  I don't think, given the circumstances, race can be separated from
Officer Wilson's behavior, (who appears to be a rather pathetic figure with
a constellation of unresolved issues), the actions of Prosecutor McCulloch
who carries a heavy load of historic heartache, or the verdict of the jury.
They are who they are and acted accordingly.    And, no matter how much we
would like to think otherwise it is an unsavory yet accurate picture of life
in America.  


Rose


 


 


 

 

From: Scott Dredge [mailto:scooterd408 at hotmail.com] 
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2014 7:02 PM
To: Rosemary Huskey; vision2020 at moscow.com; 'Paul Rumelhart'
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Challening issues

 

I know this is aimed at Paul, but I'm going to chime in all the same.  To
specifically answer your questions to Paul as if they were asked to me:
- do you acknowledge the existence of institutional racism? Yes
- If so, what criteria do you use to evaluate whether or not it is present
in a situation?  Statistics of the category of institutionalized racism that
applies coupled with specifics of the present situation
- Do you admit that white privilege exists? Yes.  Here is a summary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege

Now since you've previously written that you were 'hoping that the majority
of the white members of the jury would overcome a long standing history of
racisim in Missouri and bring an indictment that would have facilitated a
public trial', would it disappoint you if they made the decision not to
indict solely based on the information presented to them and didn't consider
present or historical race issues at all?

-Scott



  _____  

From: donaldrose at cpcinternet.com
To: vision2020 at moscow.com; paul.rumelhart at gmail.com
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 17:58:58 -0800
Subject: [Vision2020] Challening issues

Paul, do you acknowledge the existence of institutional racism?  If so, what
criteria do you use to evaluate whether or not it is present in a situation?
What  is the history of institutional racism in the U.S.  Do you admit that
white privilege exists?  Have you ever experienced prejudicial treatment
based on skin color?  I ask because these questions not to criticize but in
the hope that you will reflect upon them and perhaps consider that it is
likely that you have not had wide experience with the concept.  You may want
to seize the opportunity to learn from others who have first-hand experience
on the topic.

Rose 

 


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