Students at the University of Pennsylvania were subjected to a GroupMe group called “N*gger lynching.” But Penn officials have learned that the group was started by students in Oklahoma. Raw Story has been compiling a list that is currently just under 100 incidents of assault, overt racism and intimidation coming from Donald Trump supporters following the election. They range in severity from hurtful to criminal. From signs over water fountains saying “white” and “colored” to a 10-year-old girl having her genitals grabbed by a boy in school because the president told him he could do it.
“Earlier today a number of Black freshmen students at Penn were added to a racist Group Me Account that appears to be based in Oklahoma,” Penn said in a statement. “The account contains violent, racist and thoroughly repugnant images and messages. Our police and information security staff are trying to locate the exact source and see what steps can be taken to cut the account off. Staff in the office of VPUL are trying to determine exactly how many students were impacted and how best to provide support.”
The Daily Penn also reported that black freshmen were added to another group called “Mud Men” and “Trump Is Love.” Both groups had explicit and racist messages. While those responsible may have done this to silence students of color it has only empowered them. The paper reports students are now organizing.
Scare tactics will not work. No student of color at @Penn that I've spoken to is anything other than resolute. They won't succumb to fear. pic.twitter.com/TQfhbw6rqY
— Sam White (@samwhiteout) November 11, 2016
Via Raw Story. Don’t be one of those idiots who tries to tell me it really won’t be that bad. It already is.
Hi Caine -- I can’t go near PZs blog at the moment -- it’s so full of toxic whining and handwringing from those who want to dissect and discuss. It’s like they are talking about fucking Game of Thrones and not the real world where real fucking people will die because of this.
Stay safe, keep your sanity and keep the birds coming.
Hallo, Gobi’s! Glad to see you.
Oh, I know! Several of us were talking about that in the endless thread. You’re more than welcome to join in there, y’know.
I’ve been reading the stupidest stuff lately, including people making seriously awful “jokes” about what’s going on. I don’t have anything against jokes, or wit, providing someone actually has any. That hasn’t been the case around here. There will always be birds. :)
Great way to put it.
POC and other minorities are more alone than we thought before Nov 9.
Saad:
Bystander intervention is more important than ever, it’s crucial, and people are going to have to stand up, and stand against this tidal wave of hate. I’ll be posting about bystander intervention a lot in the coming days.
As a straight, white, cisgendered male, I have to say that I’m deeply ashamed of those who belong to those categories who put us into this situation. I’ll be glad to intervene and help anyone who needs it. I don’t want to come across as a wannabe white savior, but I feel like non-white people, women, and LGBT people are going to need support from anyone who is willing to give it. I’ll appreciate any advice on how to go about this that you can give.
Emergence:
I will be posting about this in the next couple of days. It isn’t going to differ much from intervening in cases of sexual harassment or a potential rape. Mano has a nice graphic up about how to intervene, and mostly, it’s going to be a matter of people being willing to put themselves between a harasser and the victim, and turning the focus around.
One of the tweets Shaun King posted was by a woman who was at a gas station, and witnessed an Asian woman being harassed by multiple Trumpoids, and she walked right over, introduced herself, and put her arms around the woman, and stayed that way with her until they left. There’s no one way to do things, the most important part is being willing to stand up for others, especially those who are paralyzed by shock and fear.
What pisses me off to no end is that right now, people like us are talking about how best to protect people and show compassion, while the pro-Trump camp are talking about how “best” to intimidate and hurt people. Somehow, the Trumpians seem to think that this makes them morally superior to us. Believing in some nonspecific threat that people who are different from you pose, and then deciding that you’re justified in doing anything to them to “protect” yourself from them seems to be behind most of the evil in the world.
Emergence:
You won’t get an argument out of me. This is othering at its most extreme, and reducing people to things, or as Excluded Layman said on another thread, prey.
… And yet these same people believe that their side is the good side. That they are somehow right. That people of colour have been posing to them and their safety the very same threats that they are putting up now.
There is no bridge that can be built.
Most important thing about bystander intervention is to think about it NOW.
In that moment you won’t have the mental resources to do that.
Also, you know, if “you mustn’t make lists of black people to be lynched” is “political correctness gone mad” and “the end of free speech” then I’ll happily embrace madness and dictatorship.
I am sorry, Caine, that it came to this. My heart is with you.
I was getting somewhat overwhelmed by the ongoing shit, depression was creeping up on me again, so I took a short break to recover my wits and gather my strength. It was of no use. I do not wish to inhabit this planet anymore and there is nowhere to go. After spending my childhood in the shadow of possible nuclear war it seems I will spend the rest of my life watching the world force-march backwards from any progress made so far.
Hitler took over Weimar republic again, there are again people who think it will be possible to appease him, there are again people who think he won´t be as bad as it seems (because they think they themselves will be unaffected). History repeats itself, humanity as a whole did not learn anything at all.
In Germany everyone with whom I spoke about this is horrified. They know very well where this leads. It would be prudent for the politicians of world to look into the history and perhaps visit Auschwitz to remind them what people like Trump do. And oppose him, not appease him. But I do not believe they will do that. Unless strongly opposed both within and outside of USA I think following will happen:
I expect that first step he does will be to surround himself with people who support him. Second step will be consolidating as much power as he can into his own hands. Third step will be to use that power to disassemble even the laughable pretence of democratic process that is still left in USA. Fourth step will be to try and remain by power by any means necessary, including violence, making opposition illegal etc. Fifth step will be war and genocide against an arbitrary enemy in order to keep his base united and focused.
I hope I am mistaken. I do not believe I am.
Charly:
I don’t either. Senator Aodhán O’Riordáin has it right.
Isn’t there anything we can do? Is there any way that we can get the rest of the people who don’t want this to happen to realize that it will? How are we supposed to convince the democrats that still hold office to come right out and oppose Trump and the monster that he created? Will that just guarantee that they’ll lose their positions? What about the people that didn’t vote for Trump, or the ones that didn’t vote for anyone at all? Even if everyone with a shred of humanity in them came out vocally against Trump and the rest of the deplorables, would that do anything to keep society sane?
What does the rest of the world look like? I know that similar groups are trying to gain power in other countries, but I can only hope that most of them will recognize the pattern that is emerging and work to fight against it in their own countries. If the US turns into the next Nazi Germany, will the combined forces of the rest of the world be enough to stop it?
I have so many questions right now, and I want to think that as bad as this presidency will be, it won’t become a complete autocracy. At the very least I hope that it won’t get any worse than it is right now in many countries. At the very least I hope that the country won’t revert to pre-civil rights levels. I want to think that I’m just overreacting, and that even if people suffer, at least decent people will gain control back in the end.
What am I supposed to do for now? Should I just keep up with my school work and pursue my career in science? What if Trump threatens that by demolishing the universities? I almost want to flee the country and try to find somewhere where this toxic bullshit hasn’t taken hold, but then there would be one less person here to oppose it.
Emergence:
I don’t have any answers. I’m still trying to shake myself out of a spiral of shock and despair. There’s an extremely slim chance the electoral college might get a conscience on December 19th, but I’m not banking on it.
The only people in this country who have a true understanding of fascism are the Indians, because we’ve been dealing with white colonials from the beginning. Well, the Japanese too, because they got to experience being rounded up and put in camps.
Most Americans however, don’t have any experience of fascism, and there’s no history in this country to look back on and say “hey, repeating mistakes!”, whereas European countries do have long histories, and have dealt with very bad leaders, so there’s more vigilance, and more knowledge of how to deal with such things.
emergence
My advice comes with the caveat that I’m not Murikan, but what I’d do now is look for allies and be an ally. Black organisations, LGBTQ organisations, organisations that help refugees. I think right now many people are feeling a dread of isolation and helplessness. Those in the big cities are doing the right thing already: get together. I’ve been in quote some protests. They’re not just important to show the other side, they’re also important to tell yourself and your own: we’re here.
How To Get Through This: Tips From A Lifelong Depressive.