Are You Desensitized to Racism?

In the back of my mind, I thought something like this might happen, especially in light of recent events with Loren Feldman and with the surprising amount of support many were showing him.  What was a shock, to me, was to see the organized fashion it occurred in. 

Just as Wayne Sutton and Corvida started their interview this afternoon, the chat area was bombarded with a flurry of racial slurs, bigotry, and malicious prejudice. I’ve been through this before in many past years of chat rooms, discussions boards, and such.  Unfortunately, each time, I think it just desensitizes you a little bit.  One positive: everyone else now has the opportunity to see that racism isn’t a myth; it isn’t just something that ended with slavery; and the neither the blogosphere nor the web are exceptions.

I applaud Wayne and Corvida for the level of class and professionalism they held during the interview.  They are great role models for other Black Tech Bloggers, including myself. 

Personally, I’m way too feisty to put up with that kind of stuff and it makes me tense.  I never want to be desensitized to it because; unfortunately, I think many of us have — Black and White, old and young.  So when folks hear stories about possible racist activity, what are the reactions? “Oh stop playing the race card”, “Aren’t you being a little sensitive?”, “That’s just how the world is *shrug*”.  I’ve had all these things said to me at some point in my life.

Louis Gray has a blog post describing his experience and reactions to the interview and I’m thankful he’s speaking up about it, and not shrugging it off.

Here’s a screenshot I took after the interview was over.  Yahoo Live, is this the kind of community you want representing you?

Tags: racism, yahoo live

Related posts

  • July 10, 2008 at 4:07 am Louis Gray
    Clearly I'm not. So frustrating.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:09 am Mona Nomura
    Those words ARE shocking when it's right in your face...most people only say it behind closed doors
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:14 am Charlie Anzman
    I respect those who rise above it. Wake up each day, work and smile
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:23 am Nathan Eckenrode
    i want to make a comment. i want to contribute, but i am having a hard time. Last Month in all the stadiums that the European Cup had matches there were huge black billboards that said "Stop Racism." billboards, expensive billboards in what generates lots of viewers, so its not just the internet- its everywhere- and it stinks.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:23 am Shey, Jamaican of FF
    @Mona Beleive it or not -- I'd rather have it in the open. Trust me.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:26 am Shey, Jamaican of FF
    @Nathan Racism in European soccer is horrendous -- I couldn't believe a presentation I saw on it.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:27 am George Smith
    @shey - I agree with the rather having it open. Your known enemy can be dealt with - it's tough when you find out people you consider peers, colleagues, and even friends don't reciprocate because of deep seeded, hidden racist leanings.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:27 am Mark Forman
    Shey-of course Sun Tzu said, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Sad how much ignorance still prevails in light of all the information available on the Net.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:32 am Hutch Carpenter
    In some ways, yes. I heard about Loren's video and thought, there's another example of not understanding culture, history, sensitivities, even of being a racist. But I figured most people write that stuff off as yet another example of the change we need. Then I see what's on that screen from Wayne Sutton's webcast and it newly pisses me off. The cro-magnons coming out of their caves.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:38 am Mark Krynsky
    Shey, just wanted to let you know I appreciate the voice you've brought to this. It's a shame to see those idiots hide behind anonymity, but that's the nature of the web and it just solidifies your points. Glad to see FF users rally in your support.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:41 am Shey, Jamaican of FF
    Thanks Mark - that means a lot
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:43 am Kenya
    Wow, there's nothing subtle about those comments. It's shame that it's 2008 and you almost can't tell except for the fact that we have fancy tech toys. I find it depressing that no matter what we achieve in life, we still have to deal with this type of treatment and to add insult to injury people claim you are imagining it. I'm glad you documented this.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:45 am Andrew Smith
    nope, don't like it.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:45 am Shey, Jamaican of FF
    Thanks Kenya, I almost titled the post to make that point.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:51 am Tim Moore
    Charlie Anzman on your blog post sez, "I respect those who rise above it. Wake up each day, work and smile" I say meet it head on and smash into it. Until people have fear that they will be personally touched by being ass-clowns it will continue to propagate within "that" community. Reach out and touch someone is my motto...
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:53 am Shey, Jamaican of FF
    If you wish -- the Yahoo Live comments may still be up: http://live.yahoo.com/waynesutton
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:56 am Charlie Anzman
    Tim - This whole chapter has been as upsetting to me as many others. I wouldn't have commented unless I felt I had been and still am active in trying to be part of a solution rather than being pessimistic like many others. I think Shey knows why I'm right here. I'd hope so anyway.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:04 am Shey, Jamaican of FF
    Charlie, I definitely appreciate your support. Thanks :)
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:05 am Bwana ☠
    I deal with it almost every time I'm on my live stream. I "moderate" my chat often to remove them from the experience. I agree with Charlie in that I take the high road and don't feed the trolls, I simply remove them from the equation. All the while I don't get upset because it's not worth the stress. I couldn't deal with Yahoo live, the moderation tools are horrible compared to Ustream's (IRC)
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:09 am Marco(aureliusmaximus)
    Despise it but also in a quandary - reality is that someone pathetic enough to say some of the things that have been said is desperately demanding 1 thing - attention. Don't know this feldman guy - comments from Corvida and Wayne's cast were anonymous cowards - part of me feels like every second of attention I pay to anyone with no respect for others (and by extension themselves) is 1 second more than they deserve - even if I am denouncing them. (sry need to cont)
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:12 am Marco(aureliusmaximus)
    ...I once heard this quote "the opposite of love isn't hate - its apathy" the disdain I feel for individuals so insecure that they feel they need to exercise their right to free speech or create their "art" at the expense of others is so deep that I want to strike them with the hardest blow I can: to ignore their very existence. Please don't take these thoughts to an extreme - def believe that we need to stand up and defend wonderful people like Corvida and Wayne against insecure slime
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:16 am Paul Short
    Mona N, these people were making their comments behind closed doors. I've seen this on lots of sites and forums. Try Justin.tv or stickam.com. The slurs on those sites, especially on the broadcast chats of black people or asian people is just sickening. Shey is right. It's better to have this out in the open and computers do that, so we can all see how big this problem is. Remember, these people ARE in their own homes. This is what they think in their daily lives in the privacy of their bedrooms and dens.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:19 am Nathan Rein
    not sure what to say about this other than you have my support. It's an ugly thing, but it's definitely out there.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:25 am Charlie Anzman
    Thank you Shey. It's become apparent to me over time that Louis and I are alike in many ways. Desensitized? Between this dialog and the Congressional vote today, I was seriously upset reading the through the threads tonight. Better days ahead my friend. No gloom and doom from this guy.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:25 am Clay Newton
    Wow, that's brutal. It really breaks my heart to see people acting so horribly. It's really frustrating because there is so little that can be done. In fact, this is one of the challenges with social media: when people are shrouded by pseudonyms, it gives them full immunity from social capital.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:26 am Paul Short
    Addendum to my above comment - also a lot of these people are kids, 14 or 16 year olds and this is how they learn from their friends or even parents to look at the people around them. Sad. Anyone who thinks racisim doesn't exist on a large scale needs to see this sort of thing and not be so complacent in ignoring it's existance.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:56 am gfox
    I recently worked on the Wimbledon campaign which involved posting highlights and interviews to our youtube channels. I was shocked and horrified by the comments people make in this vein. I guess, I live in a bubble. I just can't relate at all. I think the only way to combat it is with complete intolerance. We have to make people feel like they need to go into dark corners to talk like this and NEVER accept the slightest of infractions.
  • July 10, 2008 at 7:03 am Larry Kless
    Shey, I'm here as well to add my voice of support. I left a comment on Louis' post and I echo the same message that we need to shine a spotlight on this type of ignorant racist behavior. It's out there and we need to do what we can stand against it. Thank you for activating this discussion.
  • July 10, 2008 at 7:08 am Ryan MF
    Char limits are a bitch, but here's a start: I played basketball at a high level until my frosh year of college when I blew out my knee. Before that, I played year round, including the big club/aau tourneys every summer in Vegas. Often, I was the only "whiteboy" on my team. As early as 8th grade, my teammates insisted I call them "nigga;" the "dude"s and "man"s I relied on as a kid from the SoCal burbs made them really uncomfortable. How should *I* react to the claim that anyone using that word is a racist?
  • July 10, 2008 at 7:12 am Ryan MF
    To clarify: I'm not suggesting that because some 14 year olds from Long Beach insisted that I call them that in 2000, that I have the inalienable right to use it at my whim for all eternity, nor am I trying to center this discussion on myself. What I'm saying is that I'm not the only member of my generation who has had experiences like mine. These strange subtleties and variations are going to make this conversation more complicated, not less, as time goes on.
  • July 10, 2008 at 10:02 am michael sean wright
    May we never become desensitized to racism, for when we stop feeling outrage at this type of behavior, we've lost the very essence of our humanity. I believe that Wayne Sutton and Corvida are strong and hope that they know that this "exposed" hatred has us all scratching our heads tonight. I'm so saddened when I think that there are people who are so addicted to hate that live in it 24hrs/ day. My prayer is that they will someday come to know what love is, for obviously they are blind to it.
  • July 10, 2008 at 12:59 pm Shey, Jamaican of FF
    Ryan, you have to look at the bigger picture here. Look up the contextual usage and the history of N-word. You asked how should you react to others using that word? Negatively. It's a word, regardless of Black usage, that SHOULD NOT be used, especially by non-Blacks.
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:46 pm Michael Markman
    A small, heartening counternote: @owillis honors an American hero who gave up his job rather than honor the racist Jesse Helms. http://snurl.com/2w805 -
  • July 10, 2008 at 4:48 pm David Cook
    Growing up in Chicago I saw a *ton* of it but not so much after I joined the AF. Haven't been exposed to much of it for 8 years until I was playing COD4 on my 360. A white guy started bashing a black guy with the N-Bomb and then he started using it right back. It went on for about 5 min straight and I had to bail on the game. So I guess the answer is no. I got pissed off! I just can't believe it still exists in 2008.
  • July 11, 2008 at 3:16 am CannonGod
    Just looking at that chatlog at the end says it all. It's truly disgusting what people can say, especially considering this was direct to their face.

Add New Comment on FriendFeed




  • I'm not really shocked at how poor the response of our tech blogging luminaries.

    http://mashable.com/2008/07/08/technigga/

    There's this strange aspect of people who spout off like this and the people who spout off in their defense. They make blanket generalizations, think of it as simply that, they make blanket generalizations, and then they feign this surprise when countless people take them to task.

    Then, for fear that they might have *listen* instead of whatever it is that pundits and mouthpieces do, they start squealing like a stuck pig that they are being censored.

    Yes, it make me angry.

    And it's subtle things like that Mashable article above that make me angry. If you don't like it don't watch it.

    You mean, I can't speak out against it? I can't ask that person to leave my house? I can't tell that person that I don't want to do business with them? I can't tell Verizon (sickening firm to begin with) that I don't want to have those sentiments beamed into my phone?

    Freedom of speech doesn't mean that you are unaccountable for what you say. Freedom of speech does not mean zero accountability. A vast swath of society responding to racist prattle with open and vocal disgust is also freedom of speech.
  • You're spot on Alan. Thanks for your comment.
  • Cecily Walker
    The only people who have the luxury of being desensitized to this kind of behaviour are (1) Canadians (*grin*) and (2) people who are members of the dominant ethnic group. While I appreciate Louis Gray's sentiments, his insistence that he only spoke up because Corvida and Wayne are friends of his got my back up. What I infer from that statement is that he had been willing/might still be willing to let other incidents fly by unnoticed, but because it happened to two people he respected he felt a sudden need to make his voice heard.

    It reinforces the belief that some people who do race work reinforce time and again that people of color view racism completely different than so-called "white" people. What I mean is, according to their wisdom, "white" people tend to view racism as individual acts of meanness, while people of color tend to take a larger, more systemic view of racism and bigotry. Were the jackholes who sh*t all over Wayne and Corvida's live stream being individually mean? Of course. But it's all to easy to pass it off as one act of foolish behaviour instead of something that is indicative of a much larger problem.

    I was going to blog about this myself, but you and Bwana have already spoken so eloquently on the subject, there's just no need for me to do so.
  • Thanks Cecily -- you're absolutely right -- many are just willing to pass it off as being mean and treat them as isolated incidents, just little pockets of disturbance in an otherwise Utopian racism-free world. That's unfortunate.

    We Canadians have a long way to go on the racism front -- I know folks don't want to hear about this kinda stuff because it upsets their false reality but it has to be brought into the foreground and when it is, we shouldn't so easily discount it.
  • hi cecily ... i have lived far too long in other parts of the world than just north america, so have a hard time having a limited view of what we called racism, or discrimination ... it is everywhere, it is a human thing, sometimes it is within the same "color group" (god, i hate that phrase, there is so clearly only one race on this planet, once you have moved around a bit) and for me cannot be separated from questions of ego

    but i also see ego at the basis of religious fundamentalism of any variety, wherever you find it in the world

    in america the phrase "the dominant group" seems to be used by feminists about masculinists also, but in the racial point of view for those caught up into racial discrimanation, (seeing different races) the dominant culture in most countries is not white, it is brown ... (and i hate even making those surface distinctions .... there is only one race, and until the world sees that there will always be trouble) ... and in these (please excuse) brown worlds there is every kind of distinction made, on a microtonal basis, about who and who does not deserve power, or who one can marry, etc.

    In short, this IS a human problem, and once you see that you can no longer say it is about color... it is about ego, it is about identifying one's self as a part, rather than as the whole, it is about addiction to a limited view of oneself, the world, and reality ...

    the only way out is to erase the concept of differences, but it amazes me that when somebody does that, they are also castigated by those who are addicted to seeing difference ... you dont have the "luxury of being desensitized" because you are a member of the particular local dominant group, you have it because you have become conscious of a higher order of human functioning, one that is based on the unity of all existence.

    how to get there is an interseting discussion, but confrontation may not be one of the successful techniques that accomplishes it

    thanks for your time ... probably the short version for everybody, change your mind, change your life
  • shey I can't say that I don't encounter racism- I do. I don't tolerate it in my home and I try to stop it when it is in my power to do so. It sickens me, particularly from those who claim to share my faith, then disparage others in this way.

    Living in Memphis as I have since 1980, its hard to believe anything could shock me regarding this issue-but that screenshot made me want to puke. I'm so sorry people still have to see and hear that crap and I guess I'm sorry too that I'm so insulated that it shocked me.
  • Thanks for commenting Beth.
  • Ryan, it's not just the word, it's the context - and from what I've seen over the past two days has disgusted me. I really didn't know we're so far away from where we should be as a society and it's really disheartening.
  • Oh my! I can't people would say such awful things like that. As a christian woman things like this bother me so much. I'm not surprised because I know that we are all capable of doing and saying hurtful things, but I think when I'm confronted with it then it shocks me that it's a reality of a world going to hell in a hand basket. I just get used to being around people who don't talk this way (and hopefully not think this way) and it just makes me angry at the insensitive small minded people who have nothing better to do that hurt other people. May those under fire be lifted up like a phoenix out of the ash and become beautiful wonderful people and make a difference in the world.
  • shey, i don't know you, and please excuse me for going off topic ... i am someone who was flabbergasted at the furor around a blog video last week that turned into a discussion of race, with accusations from many directions.

    your voice was reasonably prominent in followup discussion; based on that i wish to know your opinion of the following, found on www.huffingtonpost.com ...specifically, is this racist?

    "“Chocolate News” is ostensibly a newsmagazine — the “Dateline” to Jon Stewart’s “Nightly News.” As an example of what viewers can expect, Mr. Grier pointed to an upcoming skit about the person who does John McCain’s laundry. The skit also features Mr. McCain’s “Reverend Wright-type person,” referring to Mr. Obama’s controversial pastor.

    Mr. Grier joked: “We found John McCain’s launderer, his dry cleaner, and his recordings… where the guy goes, you know, ‘Black and white cannot be together. If they mix, white will be ruined. This cannot be allowed to happen.’ ” In the skit, the comments are “used by the ‘Chocolate News’ to bring him down,” Mr. Grier added.

    is this show going to something any different than what mr. feldman did? it is by black mainstream comedians apparently

    does it seem "off" to you?

    for me, "insensitve to race" means having gone beyond race .... race has no meaning except for the phrase "the human race" and anybody who thinks otherwise is simply being limited, inexperienced, and quite possibly ignorant

    i was sad to see BOTH sides of the discussion that existed last week, because unity is a higher order of mental functioning, and people addicted to duality seem to be missing something crucial to their own peace of mind

    thanks for your time, and your opinon

    gregory lent
  • Thanks for stopping by Gregory.

    I haven't seen the video; but I don't want to get into the antics of is this or that racist or not. I think there's a fine line between folks making comedy out of their life experiences and those that perpetuate negative stereotypes.
  • sbspalding
    Alright, dropping in because I might have an opinion ten degrees off center from what has already be said and I'm leaving it here because I think that the conversation coming from you has been extraordinary so far Shey.

    I like what Alan said because it raises the interesting question of freedom of speech, which everyone has been exercising in spades. I find it laughable when people say, "if you don't like it, don't watch it." The point of freedom is that if you don't like it you can do whatever you darn well please to reconcile that with yourself as long as it is within your rights.

    Accountability is the only reasonable lesson from all of this. I just can't bring myself to heap the weight of all the world's inequities on the shoulders of Loren. He's a BSer whose BS caught up with him. That being said, there are people out there orders of magnitude worse and Louis, Wayne and Corvida did a lovely job of unearthing a few recently.

    What do I mean when I say accountability? I mean that if you put your name on any piece of content, you accept the consequences of that content (good, bad or otherwise). The less popular your opinion, the more problems you might see.

    There it is.

    Loren opened a powder keg that exploded in his face. Now it's on him to deal with it. Is it the end of the world? I'll raise you two ethnic cleanings that it isn't. All of you wonderful people are responding from your hearts, and maybe learning some new things about the medium that you've been working in. You're finding a common voice, and realizing that more than a few people support the cause of equity. This is a fantastic thing, and I encourage everyone to keep discussions like this going but expand them beyond Feldman into broader matters.

    I only wish we lived in a world where everyone rose up against and acted on all the horrible, biting inequities in the world. Unfortunately, we don't but with tools like we have now to express ourselves, maybe we can.

    If I am completely off base here, c'est la vie. Thanks for the time.
  • I don't think you're completely off base at all Steve, thanks for your thoughts.
blog comments powered by Disqus