I’m so livid!! We all know Racism is alive and well (whether you like to admit it or not). When said acts of racism happen at your school, it is infuriating and heart breaking. My friend left her phone in her room and the three kids pictured below took her phone and took the snapchat pictured below. The captioned it “locked the black bitch out”. My friend was not aware that they had done this and didn’t even realize they had put this on her snapchat story until another friend of ours pointed it out. The University of North Dakota needs to take action against these students for this blatant act of racism.
Once again, Ndakota demonstrates its jolly spirit of racism and sexism. Hey, girls – that’s not a joke. That’s not a prank. It’s rank racism and the vile stench is now wafting across the internet. Supposedly, you’re in university to learn something, not be caught up in toxic arrested development. Supposedly, you’re women now, and you should be forging chains of solidarity with other women. But no, you chose the racist, sexist idiot route. Thanks ever for making the place I live even worse.
Naturally, UND made some understated noises, all of which amounted to “in the process of gathering information.” Not much different from “well, we need to investigate.” Christ on a stick, I’m tired of those bloody shopworn phrases. I’ll hope something is done, but it will be a small hope. After all, this is Ndakota, where racism is considered a lively and cherished sport.
This was UND’s response:
— Univ of North Dakota (@myUND) September 21, 2016
Have a care reading the comments, because there’s a healthy amount of racist stupid on display:
@myUND Is pleasing the Twitter mob more important than preventing these girl's lives from being destroyed from making a harmless mistake?
— A. Wyatt Mann (@awyattmann19) September 21, 2016
Oh look, once again we see anything a white student does being relegated to a harmless mistake. FFS.
Via Raw Story.
I hate to say this but as a black woman i can no longer afford to believe that white people ,any white people, won’t try to hurt ,or disappoint me in some manner. I used to believe that most people will at least try to be better human beings, but apparently I’m wrong. It seems like White people are racing happily towards being their worst possible selves, not even trying to do better, with not one thought in their heads how this looks to the rest of us.
I’m not even mad. I’m just deeply, deeply saddened. They’re just not even trying.
Lakitha Tolbert:
I’m with you on every word. I don’t like thinking or feeling this way, but what choice is there? What really gets to me is that it’s always, in the white person’s case, a “harmless” mistake, or “gosh, we don’t want to destroy those great white lives, yeah?”
There’s never one bloody word about how people of colour feel when this bigotry intrudes violently on their lives. There’s never any talk about how that destroys a person’s ability to trust. You can’t tell by looking who is harboring poisonous, hateful thoughts, well, not if they are going about without ‘nazi’ on their forehead.
To all appearances, I’m white, although I’m mixed race, and I don’t trust most other white people farther than I could throw them.
That’s the worst thing, I think. You can’t sustain anger forever and ever, it just gets to be too much, especially as nothing seems to be getting better.
This is why I get pissed about white women talking about white men’s racism without acknowledging their own.
I spent some time reading some of the UND codes of conduct.
In addition to the racism, those people violated a few rules concerning privacy and property.
The University could pursue those if they want to pretend the word “black” was a typo.
“A Wyatt Mann” -- pronounced “a white man” no doubt.
Is that “white knighting” or “virtue signalling” he’s doing?
Marcus:
Looks like flat out racism to me. I don’t care what label he might want to slap on it. What do you call white people who promote the ‘harmless mistake’ narrative, as applied only to white people?
Chigau:
That’s probably exactly what’s going to happen. The racism will be completely ignored.
Harmless. Mistake.
How on earth can going through all the many steps needed to snapchat this -on someone else’s phone- be a mistake?
How can an action attempting to dehumanize a human being, to exclude her from her home, and to post it on her own social media, be harmless?
This concern with white people’s lives being destroyed looks like the same tactics rape apologists use. It’s like a kyriarchy multi tool. Disgusting.
1. They entered the young woman’s room.
2. They took her phone.
3. They used her phone to post racist shit.
4. They did all of this gleefully because they didn’t even take the pain they were causing into account, because hey, she’s just a black woman.
None, none, none of this is a “harmless mistake”.
And if they haven’t learned yet that this is wrong then the University being soft on them will only teach them that no, in fact they were not wrong.
Stellatree:
It’s exactly like that. Mistake my ass.
Someone else on the UND tweet commented that if the caption was “locked the white bitch out”, no one would have cared. They didn’t seem to grok at all that if the person was white, that wouldn’t be mentioned, because it’s the default, so you’d have “locked the bitch out”, and yeah, I’d still care about that, I’d care about the intrusion, violation of space and trust. What these students did was wrong, no matter the colour of the victim, but they didn’t do this to a default person, they deliberately chose a black woman.
It looks to me like most of the dorm rooms at UND are doubles.
One of the people in the photo is probably the roommate of the owner of the phone.
Lakitha Tolbert @1 and Caine @2
It sounds like “Schrodinger’s Racist”. Sorry if that’s obvious but I couldn’t help thinking of it.
Stellatree @ 13:
It is, and it’s that way for everyone. Some people, I knew for years, when all of a sudden they blurt out all kinds of racist isht. It’s a shock.
What do you call white people who promote the ‘harmless mistake’ narrative, as applied only to white people?
I call ’em assholes.
As Giliell pointed out, several steps of this “mistake”. It can’t be ruled out that the perpetrators don’t consider some level of racism a virtue.
As for not trusting any white not to be racist, it hurts, but then again, racist indoctrination lives on even if official curricula etc. may be anti-racist. It takes conscious effort to reject fully the attitudes bigoted* peers and authority figures as well as the cultural heritage push and even more when non-bigoted people are being oblivious or ignorant. So, I don’t know if anybody’s free from racism. At least calling it out gives a chance to improve. As of now, I’m not complaining.
chigau @ 12
That makes it even worse. Sleeping in the same room with the enemy.
__
* = with bigot I mean a person who considers racism, sexism, homophobia etc. a virtue.
Ice Swimmer:
I’m more than willing to say that white people in other parts of the world may well be trustworthy, but I cannot say that about anywhere in uStates. The bigotry is terrifying here, at all levels, and as in this particular case, it’s unthinking bigotry -- I doubt any of those students consider themselves racist, and that’s a massive part of the problem.
Caine @ 17
Of course, I don’t actually know the levels and depth of bigotry there. The culture and context are different. We didn’t have chattel slavery and Jim Crow in our heritage here in Finland, but we haven’t been unaffected by the racist ideas in the European/American culture, even if Tarzan, Wild West stuff and Gone with the Wind didn’t make everybody into raging bigots.
Here, the officially stated policies have been anti-racist since 1960s, but immigration policies have been relatively tight (very tight until 1990s). I’ve seen popular racism against Roma people (a small but visible minority here) my whole life. One of the most popular TV sketch comedy shows in the 80s had two “Saami/Lapp” characters that were huge drunks, wore something resembling Saami dress (gakti) and had faces covered with soot, started their sketches with a badly done “joik” and spoke stereotypical Lapland dialect (putting “h” in the middle of every word).
Back in 1990s when the Somali refugees started to come here (granted, during a huge economic downturn and unemployment) it didn’t take long for the racist youth subculture to develop (first rockabilly guys who started to shave their heads leaving only a residual ducktail in the front and switched from “Stars and Bars” to a swastika, then skinheads) and many older people who started to speak “I’m not racist, but…”. I was a teenager at the time and felt outnumbered when they bragged about beating up blacks or repeated what the sensationalist tabloids wrote and continued with racist statements. Afterwards, I might have exchanged a few words with like-minded friends or relatives (who were probably a majority and still are). All this has left its mark.
@ Robertbaden #3:
Because people don’t want to talk about racism and sexism, they want to talk about people more sexist and racist than them.
I feel so bad for the girl violated by her idiot roommates this way. I hope she was able to get out of that room ASAP. I couldn’t live w/ people after something like this.
If the three are not expelled, then UND is condoning their actions. The discussion should be framed that way.
lakitha tolbert (#1) --
The only way to know someone is a decent person is that time passes and nothing bad happens. Given past and present events and the actions of white people, the unwillingness to trust is justified and understandable.
Patricia Phillips #20
I hope she was able to stay in her room
and the stinking racist shit was made to move out.
I wouldn’t. I’ve seen the latest election results here in Europe. Our racism is different, our racist dogwhistles are different, but they’re all here.
Does it suck if I first have to demonstrate my goodwill and that some people will not let me even try?
Totally, but it sucks much less than having to live with racism. I’m not here for the cookies. I can’t retweet the shit out of hashtags about white fragility and then demand that people of colour put my feelings first and their concerns second.
I mean, I’m sick and tired of dudes needing to be reassured that yes, they’re one of the good guys, that no, I’m not talking about them personally, yes, #notALLdudes..”
Why should black people feel any different about me?
Nope. The racism might not be as overt and culturally obvious and/or ingrained or historically present in the same kinds of ways, but… as Giliell said, the same racism dressed up in different dogwhistles.
Ladies, I understand your concerns but I’m white and I stand in solidarity with those seeking equality and justice. I understand that it may be very difficult for you to understand my perspective but I assure you there are many, many more people like me.
I’m not going to say that I have not deleted at least 50 friends over the last 3 months regarding this issue. Because, I have. I also understand how it may be difficult for you to trust me because we don’t know each other and I am just a nameless, faceless person on the internet. But, I share your concerns. Not only regarding civil and human rights but the disturbing trends of black men being killed disproportionately to white men in the United States. I have listened to my friends describe what it’s like to leave their home to go to the store and be shaken down by police officers who have nothing else better to do than to racially profile individuals. I have listened to mothers warning their children about how to stay alive during stops with the police. I can’t imagine living like that. Living under those kind of conditions in a country that prides itself on justice for ALL.
It would seem that there is a pervasive trend in the United States to ensure that only certain demographics enjoy what should be basic needs for all citizens in our country. I truly believe that the search for equality and justice is right and morally sound.
So, I have your back. Always.
That being said, UND needs to make an example of the girls who did something that inexcusable and disgusting. Anything less are just words. To fully gain the public’s trust, only action will fill the void.
One other thing. The person they quoted in this blog on Twitter is A. Wyatt Mann. That is a white nationalist handle. I do some side work pro bono for a few civil rights organizations. I’ll check into this one and find this prick.
In the meantime, I would urge the author of this blog to remove that reference as it gives them too much attention and too many eyes on such a messed up philosophy. Don’t believe me? Go to google.com/images and Google: A. Wyatt Mann. Warning. The images displayed will be disturbing. They will infuriate you as much as they infuriated me. Maybe more so. Just saying.
templarloyalty #25 etc.
Bless your heart.
signed
A Lady
templarloyalty
Funny, I was under the impression that black women and black trans women were also being disproportionately killed in the United States. Not to mention other people of colour in general.
You don’t have to imagine living like that; you just have to listen to and believe the people telling you how it is.
Better late to the woke party than never, I guess.
And hiding the issue away will accomplish what, exactly? Sunlight is the best disinfectant. These people need to have attention on them -- it’s no use sweeping them away into a dark corner and letting them go on as usual.
Finally,
This actually comes off as sounding kind of creepy, but maybe that’s just me. “I’m here whether you want me or not!” *shudder*
Also, “Ladies”? Seriously?
“templarloyalty”
“ladies”
“I understand your concern”
No, no you don’t. And as the author of this blog, I don’t think we need an asshole white knight here, but thanks ever and all that. I also don’t need someone to tell me what it is I’m posting. I already know what I’m posting.
Bye.
Oooh, he’s like the definition of a white knight, right down to the ‘nym! *gag*
And so many friends on FB, they deleted 50! By golly, why aren’t we handing out the cookies?
I’m sorry, I forgot to make some. :( I was so caught off-guard by the good intentions, I forgot to smile and say a pretty little thank you.
What I don’t get is: they took the phone, made a picture with themselves in it and posted it. How could they think, that they would get away with it?