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>School Shootings and White Denial >Tim Wise, AlterNet >March 6, 2001 > >I can think of no other >way to say this, so >here goes: white people need >to pull our heads out >of our collective ass. >Two more white children are dead >and thirteen are injured, and >another "nice" community is scratching >its blonde head, utterly perplexed >at how a school shooting >the likes of the one >yesterday in Santee, California could >happen. After all, as the >Mayor of the town said >in an interview with CNN: >"We're a solid town, a >good town, with good kids, >a good church-going town…an All-American >town." Yeah, well maybe that's >the problem. >I said this after Columbine and >no one listened so I'll >say it again: white people >live in an utter state >of self-delusion. We think danger >is black, brown and poor, >and if we can just >move far enough away from >"those people" in the cities >we'll be safe. If we >can just find an "all-American" >town, life will be better, >because "things like this just >don't happen here."
That's a generalization. I'm a teenage black male and NOT EVEN I agree with that, fully. I do agree that chunks of America is very much blind, but you shouldn't be that quick to assume every white person is like that.. which is clearly what you said.
>Well bullshit on that. In case >you hadn't noticed, "here" is >about the only place these >kinds of things do happen. >Oh sure, there is plenty >of violence in urban communities >and schools.But mass murder; >wholesale slaughter; take-a-gun-and-see-how-many-you can-kill kinda >craziness seems made for those >safe places: the white suburbs >or rural communities.
True.. but don't look into the illusion that violence is strickly in white suburbs. I'm sure there was plenty of violence in "urban" areas you never heard about, because the media doesn't seem to care when it happens in "ghettos", but they're quick to pick up footage in mostly white smaller towns.
>And yet once again, we hear >the FBI insist there is >no "profile" of a school >shooter. Come again? White >boy after white boy after >white boy, with very few >exceptions to that rule (and >none in the mass shooting >category), decides to use their >classmates for target practice, and >yet there is no profile? >Imagine if all these killers >had been black: would >we still hesitate to put >a racial face on the >perpetrators? Doubtful. >Indeed, if any black child in >America -- especially in the >mostly white suburbs of Littleton, >or Santee -- were to >openly discuss their plans to >murder fellow students, as happened >both at Columbine and now >Santana High, you can bet >your ass that somebody would >have turned them in, and >the cops would have beat >a path to their doorstep.
Very much true. An incident involving schools and police happened to me, they used "alleged" evidence to send about 80 cops to my house for no reason. >But when whites discuss their >murderous intentions, our stereotypes of >what danger looks like cause >us to ignore it -- >they're just "talking" and won't >really do anything.
Not totally true. One of the parents who heard about the kid in Santee planning to shoot up his school told one of the kids parents.. I believe. (Not much, but something). The problem is, people always think of calling the police as a last resort before doing anything else, even when it comes to life and death situations.
How many >kids have to die before >we rethink that nonsense? How >many dazed and confused parents, >Mayors and Sheriffs do we >have to listen to, describing >how "normal" and safe their >community is, and how they >just can't understand what went >wrong?
>I'll tell you what went wrong >and it's not TV, rap >music, video games or a >lack of prayer in school.
Amazing, the media has blamed violent video games for some of the pre-meditated surburban shootings. I even heard two ladies on the radio last week blaming what they called "The Rap" for school violence among white youth. But nobody trully stopped to blame pro wrestling as the cause for the pre-teen BLACK child killing a 6 year old girl by accident. How "ironic".
>What went wrong is that >white Americans decided to ignore >dysfunction and violence when it >only affected other communities, and >thereby blinded themselves to the >inevitable creeping of chaos which >never remains isolated too long. > What affects the urban >"ghetto" today will be coming >to a Wal-Mart near you >tomorrow, and unless you address >the emptiness, pain, isolation and >lack of hope felt by >children of color and the >poor, then don't be shocked >when the support systems aren't >there for your kids either.
I agree. But you seem to always associate "ghettos/urban" with blacks. Please don't fall into the same word use and generalization as the media did with that. Nowadays "urban" is code word for "black" and suburb is code word for "white". There are black surburbs (I've been in one), and there are whites in some projects. I understand it's not like that most of the time, I just thought I'd point that out.
>What went wrong is that we >allowed ourselves to be lulled >into a false sense of >security by media representations of >crime and violence that portray >both as the province of >those who are anything but >white like us. We ignore >the warning signs, because in >our minds the warning signs >don't live in our neighborhood, >but across town, in that >place where we lock our >car doors on the rare >occasion we have to drive >there. That false sense of >security -- the result of >racist and classist stereotypes -- >then gets people killed. And >still we act amazed. >But listen up my fellow white >Americans: your children are no >better, no nicer, no more >moral, no more decent than >anyone else. Dysfunction is all >around you, whether you choose >to recognize it or not.
Agreed.
>According to the Centers for Disease >Control, and Department of Health >and Human Services, it is >your children, and not those >of the urban ghetto, who >are most likely to use >drugs. That's right: white high >school students are seven times >more likely than blacks to >have used cocaine; eight times >more likely to have smoked >crack; ten times more likely >to have used LSD and >seven times more likely to >have used heroin. In fact, >there are more white high >school students who have used >crystal methamphetamine (the most addictive >drug on the streets) than >there are black students who >smoke cigarettes.
>What's more, white youth ages 12-17 >are more likely to sell >drugs: 34% more likely, in >fact than their black counterparts. >And it is white youth >who are twice as likely >to binge drink, and nearly >twice as likely as blacks >to drive drunk. And white >males are twice as likely >to bring a weapon to >school as are black males. > > >And yet I would bet a >valued body part that there >aren't 100 white people in >Santee, California, or most any >other "nice" community who have >ever heard a single one >of the statistics above. Even >though they were collected by >government agencies using these folks' >tax money for the purpose. >Because the media doesn't report >on white dysfunction.
True, so I suppose someone should do something about that... e.g. call in on one of those news shows and state facts to get people thinking. A lot more can be done besides that too.
>A few years ago, U.S. News >ran a story entitled: "A >Shocking look at blacks and >crime." Yet never have they >or any other news outlet >discussed the "shocking" whiteness of >these shoot-em-ups. Indeed, every time >media commentators discuss the similarities >in these crimes they mention >that the shooters were boys, >they were loners, they got >picked on, but never do >they seem to notice a >certain highly visible melanin deficiency. >Color-blind, I guess.
Yeah, more "irony".
>White-blind is more like it, as >I figure these folks would >spot color mighty damn quick >were some of it to >stroll into their community. Santee's >whiteness is so taken for >granted by its residents that >the Mayor, in that CNN >interview, thought nothing of saying >on the one hand that >the town was 82 percent >white, but on the other >hand that "this is America." >Well that isn't America, and >it especially isn't California, where >whites are only half of >the population. This is a >town that is removed from >America, and yet its Mayor >thinks they are the normal >ones -- so much so >that when asked about racial >diversity, he replied that there >weren't many of different "ethni-tis-tities." >Not a word. Not >even close.
Haha
>I'd like to think that after >this one, people would wake >up. Take note. Rethink their >stereotypes of who the dangerous >ones are. But deep down, >I know better. The folks >hitting the snooze button on >this none-too-subtle alarm are my >own people, after all, and >I know their blindness like >the back of my hand.
Agreed.
>Tim Wise is a Nashville-based writer >and activist and can be >reached at tjwise@mindspring.com > > >Peace > >Wendell
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