It’s been festering for a long time


Trump has just brought it to a head. Watch this young white man go on a tirade against black fellow citizens.

Shut up, slave! yelled the man, later identified as 23-year-old William Boucher. Do not talk to me!

Boucher also referred to the man as livestock and suggested he should be tagged with a bar code involving his Social Security number.

You’re disgusting, the man yells.

The argument spilled outside, where the dispute became violent.

Your children are disposable vermin! Boucher yells at one man, who is also videotaping him, and spits on the 30-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman.

The man shoves Boucher, who continues ranting at black bystanders.

Get on all fours right now! he yells. Get on all fours! Do not walk off on two legs! You don’t deserve to walk on two legs, vermin.

That’s the kind of contemptible attitude that it takes years to incubate: you need to get kids when they’re young and bring them up with those kinds of dehumanizing beliefs. It’s hard to teach kids a basic understanding of science, but what’s even harder, and isn’t usually taught in our STEM classes, is an appreciation of humanity.

This is one of those situations where we need more sociologists and psychologists. This country is just way out of whack.

Comments

  1. johnson catman says

    Boucher, who Starbucks employees said had been a problem customer in the past but never violent, was charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery.

    Privileged white prick.

  2. jrkrideau says

    I never have been a fan of Starbucks but I had not realized what the coffee did to a person.

    I don’t think I’ll be visiting the USA this year.

  3. says

    Perhaps the sociologists and psychologists could teach such horrible specimens of humanity the concept of projection. Or, you know, teach everyone else so we can all point and laugh at them.

  4. Artor says

    Let’s all hope that every time this revolting little piece of shit goes out in public, someone pours a whole cup of coffee over his nice, shiny suit. Every goddamn time.

  5. cleese says

    You’re right in every way. This sort of thing never happened before Trump “brought it to a head” and the guy obviously majored in a STEM field, which explains his lack of empathy for other people.
    Before you leap to conclusions about me, too, I didn’t vote for Trump and see his election to the presidency as a calamity. However, as someone who has read and appreciated many thoughtful and provocative posts on this blog, I can’t let your facile reasoning in this case pass without comment. Really, why pull in Trump when the guy didn’t say anything about him? And why bring STEM classes into this when, even if the guy had shouted that he was, say, an engineer, that would jut be circumstantial unless and until some direct link to his education as an engineer could be established?

  6. cleese says

    @laurian, artor, and johnson catman
    Your comments are not much different from Eric Trump’s “they’re not even people”.

  7. Saad says

    cleese, #9

    Your comments are not much different from Eric Trump’s “they’re not even people”.

    I know. They’re coming dangerously close to hurting white people’s feelings. That’s up there with like slavery or something.

  8. cleese says

    @Saad, don’t assume that’s my concern here. What is my concern is the dehumanization of anyone to make it easier to attack them. In this case, there is plenty of material on which to base criticism without dehumanizing the person.

  9. logicalcat says

    Calling someone out for white privileged is not dehumanizing them. Its pointing out the problem. Maybe not use the gendered insult but if he said “privileged white asshole” the same still applies.

  10. Holms says

    #9
    Of those three comments, none of them are dehumanising, and only laurian’s is at all objectionable that I can see.

  11. magistramarla says

    We were waiting in line for a popular restaurant here in South Texas this weekend, when I noticed that in the family ahead of us the father and son, who appeared to be about 13 or 14, were wearing matching t-shirts. The shirts featured pictures of Trump and said “Offended??” “I’ll help you pack!”
    The song from South Pacific “You’ve got to be carefully taught” started running through my mind. I grew up believing that this country was slowly progressing away from the prejudices and bigotry that I saw in my mother’s generation. I actually thought that it was my generation that would lead the country out of it. I’m the same age as PZ. Sadly, I now see that many in my generation never learned those lessons and are passing their prejudices and bigotry on to yet another generation.

  12. says

    We’re not dehumanizing them. They’re all too human. We’re pointing out the obvious facts: These are violent, dangerous people, with no regard for other human beings. You can’t compromise with people like that. You can’t have a sensible discussion and hash out your differences, because they essentially hate the fact that you even exist.

    You can beat them, join them, or wait for them to kill you. Pick one.

  13. Feline says

    @cleese #8

    However, as someone who has read and appreciated many thoughtful and provocative posts on this blog

    Lying

  14. Saad says

    cleese, #12

    @Saad, don’t assume that’s my concern here. What is my concern is the dehumanization of anyone to make it easier to attack them. In this case, there is plenty of material on which to base criticism without dehumanizing the person.

    What a bunch of nonsense.

    I’m not assuming that’s your concern here. It is quite clear.

    Calling out white privilege isn’t dehumanization.
    Pretty much saying anything about a Nazi short of “you’re not human” isn’t dehumanization.
    Saying you hope someone ruins a racist’s suit with coffee isn’t dehumanization.