Today in Old White Racist Columnists

Rancho Murieta newspaper cuts ties with columnist who suggested curfew for black men

Geez. This hot take from a Sacramento-area weekly after the Stephon Clark shooting:

“Hard to know what a young man wandering the streets at night might be up to and if he has a gun. Police have to be careful not to overreact, and you black men might be better off at home after a certain hour.”

 

Presentation would have been better with art.

 

Amazing that anyone in this profession, or any profession for that matter, would think this way. Wow.

 

I always enjoy white men "advising" women how to dress or others how to comport themselves around white men. Seriously, if the white male species is lacking this much self-control they shouldn't be given any position of authority.

 

The "columnist" in this case was a woman.

Writing for a tiny weekly.

The publisher of which was filling in for the editor, and said this:

Herburger said he did not read the column before it ran in the print newspaper. "Had I read the proofs prior to publication, I would have been able to avoid all this," he said.



But if you want to scale up the white male cluelessness, look no farther than the inexplicable Richard Cohen in the Washington Post.

Opinion | Privilege is real. But being a white man shouldn’t disqualify me.

Which mostly generated responses like this:

www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-life-stevens-richard-cohen-white-men-0418-story.html


wtf is wrong with people?

 

That Cohen’s column would spark outrage is indicative of just how far culture has come since the 1970s. It’s a little doddering but damn if it isn’t sincere. The man had emotions back when he didn’t get a job. He has some now. These emotions are mixed with the knowledge that systems still need fixing and....this is outrageous? No.

Social media and the proliferation of media sites make it possible for anyone - to have a voice. You don’t need anyone to “publish” your work. You can publish it yourself online. What’s more, large-scale media is very, very interested in publishing those alternative voices. Podcasts make it possible for most Americans to record their thoughts and put those out there for anyone to hear, as well.

There’s something behind a lot of liberal outrage today and I get it because Baby Boomer conservatives have earned it. And that something is “fuck you where you stand.” Resentment. Righteous anger. A desire for revenge. And I suspect, when I believe America makes a hard left turn in 8-12 years, they’ll get a lot of revenge. The Richard Cohens of the world, and a lot of other white men, are going to be lumped in with the Sean Hannitys, and women and minority voices will get much of the power and vengeance they desire. I think it’s coming.

And fools like the woman columnist who suggested a curfew - probably in jest, but what difference does it make - will have paved the way to it. It’s coming.

 

I'm more shocked that the white people here are shocked to find out that people hold these opinions and aren't afraid to broadcast them to the world.

Ask any person of color if they are shocked to read these columns.

 

Like TSP, I'm somewhere between amused and incredulous that we tend to think racism is on the fast decline.

 

Old white women should stick to what they know: Cracker Barrel and Olive Garden restaurant reviews.

 

Two questions:

1. Has anyone else suggested in a newspaper that black men should consider a curfew?

2. Do you think she was seriously suggesting a curfew?

 

My mom passed away two years ago. I have no idea how she wrote this column.

 

Of course she was serious. Zero chance this was said with humor. What planet do you live on?