Dialogue With a Journalist Who Fears She is Becoming a Racist

Does it ever make sense for a person of color to talk with somebody who says they might be a racist?

That's the quandary I faced recently, when considering whether to reach out to Cathy Salustri, a white writer for the Gulfport Gabber who has written a series of articles on the notion that living in a predominantly black, petty crime filled neighborhood is turning her into a racist.

I called her up, and after a short conversation, invited her to speak at a meeting of the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists, which I lead. It seemed to fit in neatly with our mission -- here was a reporter writing for a neighborhood publication admitting a serious and growing chip on her shoulder towards black people. Some members didn't want to deal with it -- they figured we'd never change her mind, so why bother? -- but I sometimes wonder if that isn't partly just fear of a messy conversation.

So we hosted Salustri Saturday at the beginning of our regular meeting. And I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

In an odd way, I feel I learned more about my fellow TBABJ members than Salustri, who seemed shocked about the personal impact from a stream of petty crimes and quality of life issues in her black neighborhood -- black guys propositioning her when she walks her dog, items stolen from around her home, loud music and crowd of young unemployed folks hanging out during the day. 

Now, when she sees folks who look like the people who are working her nerves in her neighborhood, she gets tense. And she feels that sentiment spilling over into her dealings with other black folks. She wondered if such unspoken sentiments among postal workers, police, sanitation workers and others aren't an explanation for why the area's services are so irregular. She also suggested city officials who want to paint the area as a successful neighborhood are ignoring the problems.

(One thing that surprised me: she said her articles on these ideas for the Gabber came from her editor's insistence that she put hr biases out in public by writing about them. But would any black person who read them trust her to serve as a source for stories? She also said many white people responded to her blog posts by saying they felt the same way and it was OK.)

Frankly, it's nothing black folks haven't dealt with 10,000 times before; those who want to take the problems of the black underclass and use them to define all black people. Why did Salustri think she was so special?

Still, I thought the discussion went well. Members shared personal stories of growing up in suburbia, teaching classes of black and white kids, facing down their own prejudices and facing the prejudices of others. Some of us wondered how she could move into a neighborhood with three crackhouses and not expect some level of petty crime. How that transforms from an antipathy toward all black people is something Salustri herself couldn't explain. And would someone who really is becoming a racist worry about it so much?

I made the point of separating someone who is a bigot -- lives their lives convinced some races are better than others -- from people with tiny prejudices built on class AND race stereotypes. Comparing my own struggle to unlearn the homophobia of my childhood, I talked about how everyone committed to eliminating prejudice from their lives struggles with some awful idea brought by experience or upbringing.

I don't think you judge a person on whether they have such ideas. You judge a person by what they do, once they have the idea. Do you resist the prejudice you know is wrong, or do you accept it, to keep from facing awful truths about yourself and your ideas?

But when it all ended, Salustri seemed a little disappointed. I overheard a remark about the discussion being too "polite," as if she expected some emotional confrontation. She left so quickly, I didn't really have time to ask her how she felt about it all. But I felt proud of my fellow TBABJ members -- we engaged her with an open heart and respect, even if we were a bit skeptical of her actions and exasperated by her conclusions.

There were reporters there from WMNF-FM, Creative Loafing and the St. Petersburg Times -- a former liberal who claims she's turning into a racist seems to be hot news -- so I figure there will be lots of pieces exploring what happened.

Unfortunately, I think this discussion ended the way many such conversations do; with folks still pretty much believing what they believe, unmoved by the thoughts of others which contradict their view.

It's the most frustrating thing about my work, both with TBABJ and as a columnist. Sometimes, all you can do is put the ideas out there. What people do with them -- whether they use the resources you offer and learn from your example -- is mostly up to them.

UPDATE: Cathy has responded to this blog post with a short message of her own, clarifying her reaction. It follows from here:

Hey Eric,

I just read your blog entry. It's late and I'm exhausted, but I wanted to respond. It's up to you whether you choose to post these comments; I do not care what everyone else thinks, but please share this with the TBABJ members.

I'm not certain what you overheard, but let me clarify: yes, I thought everyone was polite, and I certainly- as would anyone- appreciate the respect shown to me Saturday. I was merely surprised that no one was expressly angry. If the roles were reversed, I would be angry that someone felt as I did. I did not necessarily want an emotional response and I certainly do not welcome anger, but it shocks me that while I recognize that what I feel- on a logical level- is unfair to a lot of good people, those same people do not respond with the emotion I would. Not that I would be right, but I would certainly expect it. Black people SHOULD be angry that anyone would respond with such categoric bias; if I am upset by it, why shouldn't the people I am categorizing also be upset?

And also... simply because I may not have shown it outwardly, please do not assume that nothing anyone said to me mattered. I have learned that I need to think about things before I respond. I do not think anything that happened was in vain. I do not fool myself into believing that one day we will all see things eye to eye, but everything that transpired Saturday has given me a lot to think about. I simply do not wish to post random thoughts as a response... especially now that people are actually reading my blog.

I believe very much that if a lot of white people could have sat in on Saturday's meeting it would have mattered. People need to hear what was said; I don't know if you or anyone else there realized how much of what I heard was new information. We are all so scared to talk about it that it has become the proverbial elephant in the room. I have to wonder how many people on my street might have chosen a different path if people- white people mostly- had been able to be as honest with them.

Eric, as I said, I'm tired and I certainly need a bit of rest, but I wanted to respond to your post because I'm glad you invited me and I wanted to dispel any misconceptions you or the group may have. I honestly don't care what you post, but I wanted to make my feelings clear to you and the group. I'm sorry if any of my actions indicated otherwise. Thank you all for talking to me; please do not assume it was for naught.

C.

Comments

[Carolyn]

It isn't the personal attacks against ones comfort zone that cause one to become a bigot or racist, it is ones own unwillingness to see that the actions of others who may be different from you are not the actions of a race of people or representative of their culture. It is in fact the result of ones environment (regardless of color) that creates these individual actions and reactions. Some people react with prejudice, others take each incident as just that, a single incident to be dealt with individually, not as an affront to or representation of an entire race of people. Ignorance and fear is what leads these people to the wrong conclusion or excuse for their alleged “new” feelings. I had asked the question when I first received your email, that if the people in her neighborhood had been white unemployed youth or white men propositioning her or white folks hanging out at a crack house in a poor white neighborhood or trailer park, what would she then find her self becoming? In my white upper class neighborhood in a gated community, it is the white youth that race down the street playing their music loudly and often hang out on their respective patios getting drunk. It is the white neighbors who don't pick up their dogs poop .. should I now become prejudice too! I think not, because I am rational, I know that some young white youth are responsible drivers who don't play their music so loud that you can't hear you television inside your house, that some unemployed whites have had circumstances that placed them in that particular predicament and what does it matter to me anyway and that the white men that look at me, smile and often try to strick up converdation while I walk my dog are actually paying me a compliment. Your writer from the Gulfport paper is too easily intimidated, clearly insecure and should not be living in a neighborhood with black or brown economically disenfranchised people. To say it another way, I would venture to guess that black and brown women in that neighborhood have experienced the same things that this woman has experienced. It isn’t about the color of the a peoples skin, it is about the conditions within the neighborhood that put any/everyone at risk for the same criminal acts and negative behavior.

[Robin 'Roblimo' Miller]

I'm not a racist but I am a 100%, unashamed culturist.

I do not like what I call "ghetto culture," and I don't want to live in or even near it.

The no-work, petty-theft crowd makes me sick. I totally can't stand the ultra-loud, house-shaking car-boombox morons. They should be used for target practice. (And I'm already a pretty good shot.)

Standing out in the street and screaming at the girlfriend (she's never a wife) that she's a ho and a b**ch lets me know that you're such a loser that the only kind of woman who will pay attention to you is a ho/b**ch. And she's probably a drunk and/or drug addict, too -- just like you, Yo.

The graffiti goons? I have no use for them, either. Or for open-air drug dealers or whores who sell themselves on the side streets near our home.

In my Bradenton neighborhood, we have more whites than blacks who display these behaviors.

When we lived in Baltimore City, it was mostly blacks who ruined their neighborhoods.

My wife is black, but if we're driving through someplace like Gulfport's "midtown" or North Sarasota that's full of ghetto blacks, and I say something about "your people," she'll inevitably say, "these are NOT my people." And she's right. They aren't. (Yes, Debbie knows I'm joking when I call the black ghettoites "her people" -- and she sometimes pulls the reverse on me when we're around ghetto-acting whites, AKA "wiggers" in some circles.)

When I was a child in California's ultra-conservative Orange County, most black men I met were called "Mister" and treated with respect. We had a fair number of black neighbors, mostly families of Marine drill sergeants and other NCOs or officers at nearb y Camp Pendleton. These were the straightest straight arrows in the world. They had no more in common with the people rioting up in Watts (40 miles away in L.A.) than my wife has with the thieving loud-rap people in Gulfport.

It takes just a tiny bit of effort to look beyond skin color at carriage and attitude and make those your judgment points.

I've met you -- Eric Deegan -- briefly. At the time, I was carrying a $3000 video camera. I didn't worry for a second that you were going to steal it from me.

I can think of others I've met, both black and white -- and other races too -- who set off my cabbie-tuned (I drove a cab for eight years) threat detector no matter how hard they tried to act polite and unassuming.

I am also saddened by police who seem to feel that a neighborhood they perceive as "ghetto" doesn't deserve the same level of law enforcement as one they consider "middle class." But that's another story, one I'll probably post on roblimo.com at some point.

[Teresa Thurston]

I am saddened to hear that Salustri chose to characterize herself so quickly as a "racist" due to unforeseen circumstances she has been subjected to in a lower socio-economic area such as Midtown. She stated in her attached articles her reasons as to why she chose to move to Midtown, however, the first thinng she should have done was to look up a criminal report on the area. There, she would have been able to see the most recent lists of crimes that have been reported for Midtown. If she did that, and still chose to move there, then that is on her.

I am black, and I am a little dishearetended to see that she would summarize a whole race, due to her not being able to afford to live in an area better suited for her taste.

I was also taken aback to see her write about why people do not hire blacks, because of those she sees in Midtown. Since when has Midtown been the microcosm of a people. That would be unjust if someone in New York didn't want to live in Little Italy because all Italians like her were mafia and drug smugglers. I believe that there is something deeper than this that allows for her to call herself a racist, for as of now, I simply think of her as one who lacks sense in making sound decisions. As a reporter, I would have thought that reporting 101 would have taught her better in buying property - I am sure she is aware of the word investigate?

Nonetheless, she made a choice to live in a community that is first and foremost "impoversihed". The question now arises, maybe she needs to change jobs or budget her spending better as to afford a neighborhood best suited for her.

Lastly, she stated that there was no one in her community that she could say wasn't corrupt or ill-natured and then further down mentioned the kind neighbors who fed her for Thanksgiving and greeted her along her way. Slavery is over madam and these people don't have to "yes master" you, they are doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. Shame on you Cathy, really.

To TBABJ, I applaud your efforts and your professionalism in handling a situation such as these. I truly believe that racism is taught and can be erased one person at a time.

[Patrick]

I think people of all colors and creeds have found themselves in Cathy's situation at least once in their lives.

I constantly hear people complain about the Mexicans where I live in Dunedin despite the fact that when I wake up in the morning, my hispanic neighbors are already on their way to work. As others have noted, it's a class issue. There are plenty of meth snorting whites in my neighborhood who are far scarier than the kids with thumping bass in their cars.

I have the feeling that if Cathy moved to certain parts of Pinellas Park she'd probably have the same ill feelings towards the skinny white crackheads who roam US 19 at night, or the barefoot rednecks who steal cans of beer from gas stations.

The answer? There isn't one. Learn to protect yourself and don't leave valuables where people can grab them. There's scumbags everywhere and they come in all shapes and colors.

[Anita]

Salustri expressed anger because the group of black journalist were not angered by her growing racism. This is just yet another example of her ignorance. First she moves into a poor neighborhood with a high petty crime rate and then acts surprised when she is a victim of the petty crimes. Now that she has become a victim like many of the other people in the neighborhood she wants to blame it on race. When she sells her house she should try moving into a poor white neighborhood with a high petty crime rate and see how that goes. Next she gets upset with a group of black journalist because they aren't mad at her. I can't help but to laugh at that. As a Black woman with a Master's degree working in a majority white field let me explain something . . . if we spent time getting upset with ignorant people we would be upset all the time. Guess what? Life is short. Too short to spend time trying to categorize an entire race of people and way too short to get angry every time some else chooses to do so. Besides, I actually feel sorry for her. Sorry that she has allowed herself to succumb to such ignorance.

[vox pop]

I'm not just disappointed in cathy who has an actual style with her writing yet chose to divide and create problems with her words.

I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with the st pete times for giving her 'feelings' any MSM play. This subject deserved a quick death. I realized after I re-read her piece and after she came to my blog and called me 'sweetie' (such a feminist, too, I guess. LOL) ..... that she is reactionary and immature. WHO goes in to a court room and sizes up an entire group of people because some scared kid waves at his family?? Or if he is NOT a scared kid, he's still in custody and hasn't seen his family ergo would like to wave at him. If Ms. Salustri got a DUI I can practically guarantee she'd wave at her daddy when he came to court for her.
At any rate, all this over a scooter? And her comments that so many people agreed with her are BOGUS. She is wrong. (i've read them ALL!!) If the St Pete Times has a shred of decency they will choose to cover UNITY and NOT DIVISION. I've read every word on this subject at all the outlets and just finished a reading of the TBT article. I was perturbed when I saw the cover (can this fifteen minutes of infamy be OVER already??) but then when I read the article I felt better.( Her 'friend's advice is best)Just knock it off.
I've had five cars stolen in Tampa. Chances are half of them were stolen by black persons. So what??
My black neighbor was also the quickest to pick up his shovel and help me dig out my car when I got it stuck.
People are people. NOT SKIN.
Knock it off giving this bullshit any attention.
If you hate me I bet I can figure out all kinds of reasons before you get to the color of my skin.
Noted there are those among us in Tampa/St Pete who feel they are too good for ANYONE but they cross the spectrum.

I'm also disappointed in other local bloggers who did not stand up just as firmly as myself for the fact that OH HELL NO not everyone is harboring secret racist feelings. Many of us are shocked that someone would say that. It's beginning to look like a ploy for attention. Someone buy her a scooter already.
As well, I'm sure the article did wonders for her 'home sale'.
Cathy, let it go. You were wrong to label yourself a racist and start this crap. If you'd walked in to a court room and it had been a white/chinese/latino/whatever kid would we all be wasting time on this??
Or was that just your excuse to stir the pot like the bush admin wants you to?
Color me bored stiff. And, I wonder where Rachel is on this. An ardent supporter of equality. She speaks out against racism. The word itself is a HUGE mistake.
Read my post concerning this and then Cathy's 'pithy' reply (where she calls me sweetie) and the rest of the commentary.tampasbackdoor.blogspot.com/2007/06/not-so-much-on-race.
Hint: Whenever people have anonymous people come to their blog and have them slur the 'opposing view'(in this case: eric) you can be sure it's because the blogger doesn't have the nuts or the expertise to make their argument hold water. Before I came over here, Eric I read some pretty nasty stuff about you at her blog by a rather mysterious commenter. I guess it's possible that you and she could be trying to drive this to a pulitzer prize but ... maybe you should go on your own.
I started out being pretty much okay with cathy and still find her humor likable but I am beginning to get the picture that she has problems with LOTS OF PEOPLE, not just black ones.
I also noticed that once I commented at her blog on the fact that two journalists in the bay area missed the fact that whites had fallen into the minority here and I'm not thinking she liked that, though it was the truth. But it did finally make it through to comments. When people moderate their comments, I'm always a bit suspicious about that. It's like when Bush chooses his audience. Maybe the control freak inside of them just can't deal with the mess of humanity. We're ALL HUMANS and we happen to be american humans. If you're seeing more than that it's you who needs to change. Her friend gave her the best advice.
I hope this is now over. Way too much attention to a matter that started over a person's inability to stifle their anger. (over a THING) so the loss of a thing supposedly triggered a hatred towards humans. What does that say?

Just wonderin' if it says the same thing to the rest of you that it does to me.
Two more questions: Why doesn't this blog allow html??

Does anyone else feel that this 'written without thought' blog post of Cathy's was a little more purposeful and driven than she would like us to believe?
It's such an obvious ploy to drive division and hatred. I've seen so much of this in the last six years that I am extremely suspicious. When it raises it's ugly head I beat it back down. Everyone else should do the same.
You cut me, I bleed. Same with you.
I'm going to close by saying that the ST PETE times better give some equal coverage to those who aren't hate-bating self-processed racists who are too immature to realize that most people don't get where they are coming from.

[Daniel]

Eric,
You mention the black underclass in your post. What percentage of the black community in the Bay area is the black underclass? How do you define it? By education?, income?, jail time? It just seems a too convenient way for a successful and educated black man such as yourself to explain the 50% black jail population and the glorification of the gangsta drug culture.

[vox pop]

not just black ones. (the rest of my comment which got CUT OFF)
I also noticed that once I commented at her blog on the fact that two journalists in the bay area missed the fact that whites had fallen into the minority here and I'm not thinking she liked that, though it was the truth. But it did finally make it through to comments. When people moderate their comments, I'm always a bit suspicious about that. It's like when Bush chooses his audience. Maybe the control freak inside of them just can't deal with the mess of humanity. We're ALL HUMANS and we happen to be american humans. If you're seeing more than that it's you who needs to change. Her friend gave her the best advice.
I hope this is now over. Way too much attention to a matter that started over a person's inability to stifle their anger. (over a THING) so the loss of a thing supposedly triggered a hatred towards humans. What does that say?

Just wonderin' if it says the same thing to the rest of you that it does to me.

[Patrick]

Vox, this is sounding a bit personal. Do you have an actual counter-argument that doesn't involve personal attacks and generalizations that are equal to Cathy's?

If I get this right, you're accusing one of America's most liberal newspapers as race baiting? C'mon, they're giving insight into a very real and very disturbing phenomenon that EVERYONE experiences at least once in their lives, for better or worse. It's how we handle these situations that makes the difference.

[vox pop]

St pete times: No space to cover Dennis Kucinich's IMPEACHMENT movement against DICK CHENEY. Which is historic, by the way. BUT, plenty of space to give racism a shot in the arm.

SMOKE SCREEN !!!

[Patrick]

Ah Vox, it all becomes clear now.

[vox pop]

oh please patrick. The timing ALONE is suspect.
Yes, my opposing argument is posted at my blog which I linked to. after a fashion as this blog does not allow html.
I have felt antipathy towards other humans but it had nothing to do with their skin. If you have, I'm sorry.
It's like you were sitting here waiting for me. No link, of course, just an anonymous voice. I've lived here all of my life and the ONLY rampant racism is present in the courthouse where white men can get away with murder but black men go down for robbing stores.
I SEE the problem but it's not among the people, it's among the corrupt assholes running the place. And if you read you know who they are.
Yes, vox has an actual statement. And it's against this fluffed up bullshit that people are a bunch of racists. LOOK AROUND. Where I"m sitting this very moment is an extremely mixed group of people and five 'mixed' couples within sight. Mixed is not even a correct word to use .... they're just humans of differnt hues.
Get over it.

[vox pop]

What becomes clear Patrick??

That the St Pete times can drive this ridiculous piece on imagined racism buried in all of us but has no time to cover the actual real news??

I'm not imagining Dennis Kucinich driving impeachment but Cathy IS imagining racism.

AND, what's getting the coverage?? That's just a FOR INSTANCE.
I see lots of things that the St pete times skips over.
But, they're still much better than the tampa tribune.

So, what exactly is clear?
Don't you sit there and try to pretend that this is important and the politics of this country are not !!!

And, that the unfairness which exists in society is driven by people not of WHITNESS but of MONEY NESS

[Patrick]

Apparently while caught up in your rabid Bush-hating fervor you neglected to read my above posts. At some point or another people- no matter what the age- are confronted with the option to blame their frustrations and insecurities on a certain class of people, be those people gay, black, white, Asian, or just poor.

As I said, it's how we react to those dark impulses that defines us. I could care less about race, it's abusive scumbags that I have a problem with.

I'm a native too, so get off your high horse.

[Eric Deggans]

Obviously, this story has touched a nerve with people.

I think part of a journalist's mission is to spark community conversations. And to that end, this story was an important piece of work.

I must say, I can't remember the last time the same person posted five comments on a single blog item, or ran out of space in the comments field to give their thoughts.

So I wonder, Vox, if your wouldn't want to admit that this story has touched you deeper than you have previously indicated....?

[Eric Deggans]

Also, just for the record, I haven't even seen the comments on Cathy's blog about me,though i'll check them out now.

I assure you, there are enough folks out there who have a problem with my perspectives on race and other issues that I don't have to post insulting comments about myself anywhere.

[vox pop]

Patrick, you're probably not a bad guy but thus far you've accused me of having no argument, trashing cathy personally, which I certainly DID NOT (in fact, I reread what I wrote and it compliments her twice) and now you are calling me a rabid bush hater for what? Because I posted a 'for instance' of what the st pete times chooses to cover rather than covering actual news. I read the comments here every day; I'm hardly the first to pose this argument.
They kinda skip over the things that the 'favored' son has led us off the path on already. (charlie) I just chose what to me was pretty big. When a Congress Person of the United States of America files Impeachment against the Vice President of the United States that is HUGE. It's HUGE. It is the first time in history that articles of impeachment have been filed against a VP. Even FOX news covered it. I was fairly shocked to find that SPTIMES did not even give it a bump.
Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you would stop hurling accusations at me because I do not have any warm feelings for scumbags, either. Race, to me, is such a dead issue. The word itself is a mistake as used here.
I don't have any problem with decent people of any color and I accept responsibility for myself and actions.
I can't remember blaming anything on anyone else. I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Enjoy your day and I mean that sincerely. It's very pretty today. Fresh air blogging.

[vox pop]

Well, let's touch on reality, first. I had only one comment here. The rest were replies to 'patrick'. As well, I felt it was Cathy who posted the mean commentary pertaining to you on her blog. Or someone trying to drive some attention to this.
Ummmm, touched by it? Yea, I like your coverage and feel hers is asinine which I've said pretty much from the beginning. On her blog, creative loafing, my own blog. and now here. Although I'll still say that she has a certain style I like. Hopefully she'll find better avenues to use that interesting voice. One article does not make a journalist.
I thought she was trying to spark a conversation TOO until I carefully re-read her piece and also what you said here about her disappointment in there being no anger, because she seems reactionary.
My main intention is not to let this go by without being sure there is a BALANCE. Cathy says we're all racists deep down.
I disagree vehemently.

I also tried to do so politely.
It's all in black and white, it's just all over the place in different venues.
Also, I'm dead curious how this got top billing ..............
LOL.
So, now that we all have reality, I'm sorry but I'm fresh out of time.

I posted my comment and saw the bit from patrick and replied. And replied. And now replied. But, I have other things to do so check back later.
I just don't feel the sincerity. I feel a smokescreen.
I feel the need to correct this being given play by the MSM that all of us harbor racism.
It simply isn't so.
I'll hope for the rest of the community to speak up now but that's never been Tampa's strong suit.
Enjoy your day.
Why the big DRIVE to keep this alive?

Unite not divide.

I'm intrigued by an article which seems to plead for inclusion while discussing an event sponsored by an organization for "black journalists" only. This along with the "Dunk the White Guy" tank at the Juneteenth celebration makes it clear that racial victimization is not exclusive to the black community.

[Eric Deggans]

Well, i have two responses to the "black journalists" crack.

First, membership in the Tampa Bay Association of Black journalists is open to everyone, just like men can join the National Organization for Women and heterosexuals can join the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The name describes the focus of our efforts, which involves trying to correct the historic lack of representation of people of color in media by helping mainstream journalism organizations cover black people better, hire more fairly and trin black journalists better.

My second reply is summed up by this great Leonard Pitts column from the Miami Herald:

NO SYMPATHY FOR GOLIATH IN WORLD OF HAVES AND HAVE-NOTS

By LEONARD PITTS Jr., Herald Columnist

Memo: AT LARGE

I write a book. It's called Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood. I receive an e-mail. Guy named Jeremy suggests that he'd be considered racist if he dared write about White Men and the Journey to Fatherhood. He sees a double standard here. He wants to know what I think.

I think he should stop whining.

Of course, I'm probably just a tad bit cranky. I hear from people like him all the time, and not just about books.

``If I started a magazine called White Enterprise. . .'' they begin. Or, ``If I belonged to the National Association for the Advancement of White People. . .'' Or, ``If I started a group called the United Caucasian College Fund. . .'' Etcetera and etcetera.

Every time I hear such remarks, I get this vision of a peevish rich kid carping because an underprivileged playmate got a few more chocolate chips in his cookie. Obsessing, in other words, on perceived slights which are minor at best. You wonder why the brat just can't appreciate what he has and stop his bellyaching.

But then, he can't even see what he has, can he? He can see only those few things he has not. White Americans who complain of a so-called ``double standard'' are a lot like that.

For the record, there's always a double standard between big guys and little ones. Imagine, if you will, that David Hyde Pierce, the prim and stick-like actor who plays Niles Crane on Frasier were to, for some reason, haul off and sock Mike Tyson. It would play as an act of comic audac
For the record, there's always a double standard between big guys and little ones.
ity. Now imagine that Tyson tees off on Pierce. Same act, but it's no longer comic. Seems cruel, instead.

Or, consider an episode that actually happened. In 1993, a man gets his penis chopped off and becomes the punch line to a national joke. The next year, an African woman seeks sanctuary from clitoral circumcision and enjoys an outpouring of national compassion.

Again: same basic act, wildly different response. If you want to blame something, blame human nature. Our sympathies tend to lie not with those who wield power, but with those power is wielded upon. With the jester, not the king, the maid, not the lady, the secretary, not the boss. And yes, the blacks, not the whites. The one has leeway and license the other is denied. The one also suffers in ways the other is spared.

SAME RIGHTS

It's worth noting that, while we'd look askance at, say, an organization purporting to speak to ``white rights,'' we tolerate those that exist to fight, say, the stereotyping of Italian-Americans. Given that Italians are white, generally speaking, you might wonder what's the difference.

Easy. It's the difference between historically privileged and historically marginalized. Between big guys and little ones.

I'm reminded of what Wilt Chamberlain told people when they asked this mighty giant why he seldom enjoyed the sympathy of the crowd. ``Nobody roots for Goliath,'' he used to say.

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know - intuitively, if not in words. Yet suddenly that understanding fails when some of us contemplate the Goliath of the American demographic. They ask that we tear our shirts and weep because there can be no White Enterprise magazine or United Caucasian College Fund?

CAUSE-FREE NATION

Oh, please. I'd gladly trade Black Enterprise and the United Negro College Fund for the right to live in a nation that had made them unnecessary.

Instead, I live in a nation where some folks are crusading to convince me that the real oppressed minority is white. I guess you can't begrudge them. Truth is, it feels good to be a victim. It's a guilty pleasure not unlike when you're bedridden with the flu: nobody asks or expects you to do anything, everyone defers to you. There's a perverse power in that.

Unfortunately for people like my friend Jeremy, the facts keep intruding. By virtually every quality-of-life indicator, white Americans are doing quite well - healthier, wealthier, better educated and more long-lived than the rest of us.

I have only one thing to say. If that's what it means to be a victim, where do I sign up? I want to be one, too.

[mommadebi]

Perhaps she is confusing and mislabeling her emotions.

If I were a single woman who had my home repeatedly stolen from, I would be concerned for my physical safety.

This fear, I did have when single and living in the so called "white" area of St Petersburg (49th St and 38th Ave) many years ago. I experienced the fear when my home was broken into, and my young son (2yrs old at the time) saw the person.

We were both in bed sleeping at the time. There were sandy footprints from the yard next to my bed. We moved the following week.

No one was caught. The officers informed me there had been a few incidences like mine in the area.

Unfortunately, females do have to fear men. Men do not have the same issues regarding unknown males that females face on a daily basis.

On the other hand, many years before the above incident, I lived and worked quite safely in the downtown area of St. Petersburg (6th Ave & 6th St S).

It was a run down neighborhood, filled with elderly and young, black and white. I was 16 and worked at Aunt Hattie's/Uncle Ed's, while I took the city bus back and forth to Gibbs High to continue my schooling.

I was never stolen from, or felt concern for my personal safety.

Just thought I would tell my own little tale. I think Cathy has reason to be concerned for her safety. I would say the same thing if her tale's setting was in any other part of the city. Or for that matter, in any city anywhere.

PS)I grew up in St Pete ('58), graduated from Gibbs High ('76), and lived there until '91. I recently graduated from St Petersburg College and was able to intern at Maximo Elementary.

Yes, I am a caucasian female, currently living in Sarasota.

[Patrick]

Eric, well said.

There isn't a year that goes by where some co-worker or guy in a pub spews out the "BET? What would happen if we had a white channel?" line.

My answer is always the same. "White people do have a channel, it's called ALL OF THEM." I mean, you never hear people hold Telamundo to the same bigoted standard.

You see this even now with talking heads attacking Barack Obama's church because it (GASP!) focuses on supporting black communities- as if they were secretly plotting some nefarious deed behind closed doors.

The article you posted sums the idea up perfectly. So many white people have yet to grasp the idea that their race has and predominantly still holds much of the power in this country. Just look at the news- when a black youth is killed or goes missing it's barely a speck on the radar. When a white woman, and God forbid a pregnant white woman, goes missing they bring in the goddamn Air-Force!

Anyways, I'll stop spamming your board. Keep up the good work.

[John]

Eric - how many white jounalists are a member of your organization? In the photo printed in Creative Loafing I saw none.

Though your level of offense is very telling - what's the phrase "Methinks the lady doth protest too much?"

[Eric Deggans]

Well, "too much" protesting is in the eye of the beholder, I think. One reason I like Leonard's column is because I also share his exasperation at people who make these allegations, knowing full well why groups like the TBABJ need to exist.

At any rate, right now I believe we have three white members of TBABJ, of a total 40 or so dues-paid members. Many of our members don't come to regular meetings, but they attend other functions, such as public forums or socials.

We also have a lot of people who aren't dues-paid members, but do support the group by attending our functions. And many of those "friends of the chapter" are also white.

[anne]

This is the first blog I have ever joined. But I can really relate as I lived in South st. pete for >20 years.
I moved there 31 years ago because it is where my grandparents came when they retired to Florida. I loved the old trees and nice cozy feel to the neighborhoods. They would be saddened and shocked to see what has happened to their neighborhood. When I was raising a family the neighborhood was increasingly "mixed". As more blacks moved in, more whites moved out. I just figured racism was at the root of it. Our family contined to grow and thrive.I believed it was important for my children to grow in acommunity with people from all walks of life. But as my son became a teenager I was increasingly disheartened by the negative tone of the neighborhood. I still walked the streets and the parks without fear. But the shape of the houses deteriorated, the yards once so pretty and manicured, looked awful. I asked my then husband if we shouldn't move. He didn't want to.
Well I have since divorced and when I began the search for a new neighborhood, believe me south St. Pete wasn't even in the running. I refuse to shop in stores where people act like trash, talk like trash, and treat one another with disrespect. I refuse to live where every single bike we owned was stolen and I witnessed young men stealing bikes right out from under younger kids. I will not drive to work worried that someone will block my path and throw a Colt 45 bottle at my car! I wanted my home to be an investment, not a loss.
I have moved to the Largo/ClW area. I am so much happier where I feel safe and am around like minded people who work, pay taxes, don't perform illegal acts and generally enjoy life. It's noce to see the lawns cared for and know the value of my home is going up. not down.
I am not a racist. I have never felt this was about color. I believe it is about poverty and always being in the "lower" class of society whatever your color is. It is about parents abdicating their responsibilty to raise kids with a moral code. "Love one another, treat others as you would be treated" and the rest of the Golden Rules.

[WP]

I can't help but roll my eyes and shake my head when I read the repeated comments here and elsewhere regarding Salustri's article claiming that it's not a race issue, but one of culture or class. All three are so intimately linked to the point where it's impossible to say it's one but not another. Who we are is the sum of our experiences. Those experiences are shaped from the beginning by our race, our religion, in what part of the country we're born, how much our parents earn...the list goes on. If Cathy indicated that her experiences had led her to form opinions of strangers based on their skin color it is most certainly racism. We all form opinions based on the similarities and differences to ourselves and those people who brought us pain or pleasure, wealth or misfortune, gifts or demands. A "redneck" waltzing up into the hood is going to be treated as poorly as a black fellow wandering into Cletus' Country Corner. Both might be the nicest people in the world, but each experience is likely to be uncomfortable at best. An African-American youth in a suit who speaks clearly and thoughtfully will almost definitely receive a warmer reception than a white kid with his hat on sideways and his pants around his thighs just about anywhere that matters. Attire and color are often the first things on which we can start to form an impression of someone. Right or wrong, it's the way it is. Now put both in a suit and there will be differences in how each will be treated by members of their own and the other's race. The question is why, and what to do about it? The immediate answer is to stop acceptance of such prejudice by both sides. Stop playing the victim and start taking responsibility for ourselves and those we directly influence. I do not buy the argument that we should be allowed a WET or NAAWP or such nonsense, but your organization also continues to foster the notion that you should behave differently because of your race. While you may not outwardly forbid members who aren't black, the very name is exclusionary. You're bonded together by race to forward your agenda, not one that's color-blind. Otherwise why not be the Tampa Bay Alliance for Race-free Journalism? If equality isn't the goal why isn't that national organization the NAA All People? Until we stop focusing so much on the differences we'll never stop looking at each other through racially filtered eyes.
The longer-term debate should be about where we find and encourage that spark that allows some people to rise above their surroundings and flourish while so many others languish in the lower socioeconomic levels. In this, the land of opportunity, why do so few succeed from both black and white communities? Until we solve that, we have little hope of ending racism or the other bigotries we harbor.

[Ann]

“I don't think you judge a person on whether they have such ideas. You judge a person by what they do, once they have the idea. Do you resist the prejudice you know is wrong, or do you accept it, to keep from facing awful truths about yourself and your ideas?”

A few years ago while doing research for my grad degree, I ran across this thesis someone had published contending that there were degrees of racism. I wish I could remember where I saw this article so that I might cite it here, but it was so long ago, back when the 28K modem was really big news.

One extreme would be someone well aware of their racism and perfectly ok with it, (a KKK member for example) and the other extreme offered were some who entered socialwork fields as a means to overcompensate for their racism. Somewhere in between these two extremes were included those people when discussing race, begin their arguments with the statement, “I’m not prejudiced, why some of my BEST FRIENDS are black”. The author argued that racism was so ingrained in the mindset of some groups of people, that they themselves couldn’t recognize it.

That paper really hit a nerve with me, and my first reaction to this was skepticism. I challenged her statistics, the research method used, and the study she designed to gather her findings. Having just finished a course in research methodology, to test her hypothesis, that just about every person born in America was a racist, I decided to test myself. I thought that it would be a good idea to step outside of myself (as much as one can) and measure my reactions and behavior each time I encountered an African American. I made myself a short list of questions to keep in mind. What was my physical reaction? Was I nervous, fearful, uncomfortable or nothing? What words did my thoughts first form themselves into, were they negative, positive, or neither? Did I try to rationalize or justify negative reactions? Did my reactions change if I encounter a man or a woman? Young or old? How did my behavior change, was I overly friendly to compensate for negative feelings, did I freeze up, or did my behavior remain unaltered? And so for a short while, I did my best to be consciously aware of my reactions.

Now before anybody begins to argue that my own methods were unscientific, of course they were. I was testing me, by myself, how could I have designed a control method? I was also aware of the Hawthorne effect possibly being present. Nonetheless, I wasn’t at all pleased with my findings. I concluded that while I may not be an extreme case, racism was still present, and if I had just paid attention to my inner chatter a little more closely, I would have noticed that a lot sooner. My upbringing, my head and my heart told me that there is no room for racism in my life, but there it was. I couldn’t ignore the evidence.

And since then, I set about a plan of healing, because the least thing I want to be in this life is a racist. That decision to be conscious was made over 10 years ago, and one would think that I would have this licked by now. But every once in a while a stupid stereotype pops into my head and I have to ask me, did this come from within or without? Either way it must go. Mr. Deggans, I appreciate the help you have provided me over time to extract this beam out of my eye.

[Abe]

The only way I became a "racist" is I was violently attacked 5 times by black men (once stabbed 4 inches deep in my neck, I almost died). These attacks were not even robberies, they were just stupid violent attacks.
I used to be a "liberal" and would defend black behaviour. No more. Now I am a "racist" and the only people who made me feel this way were STUPID VIOLENT CRIMINAL BLACK MEN. It seems that they make up the majority of blacks and it is a total shame.

[Eric Deggans]

I am sorry to hear about your experience.

But I have been attacked many times by white people who don't like black people. That has never led me to conclude that all white people -- or even most -- hate black people.

Let em gently suggest that you learned the wrong lesson from your experience. I urge you to get to know a few more black people from better worlds to broaden your experience...