Integration, when I was in the fourth grade in East Tennessee, happened without much notice. The small number of black children who suddenly appeared at Rose School, the beautiful, now historic brick building that housed grades one through six, were assimilated without incident. Perhaps, it was because they were so small in number. Perhaps it was because there was no bus bringing them there. Perhaps it was because blacks had always lived in our town, albeit on the other side of town, where most of them would still live for many more years.
I didn’t notice at all. Having been one of the “others” in my own right since pre-school, when I had been subjected to my first incident of virulent anti-Semitism, I knew I was different, too; so more different kids seemed like a good thing to me.
I tested my mother’s Northern liberalism by openly dating black boys during high school and having them pick me up at the front door; Mom was charming although she did try to talk to me, calmly, about the difficulties of interracial dating. On the other hand, I picked up my good friend G. every Friday night and drove her to the projects to see her boyfriend and we both lied through our teeth about it to her mother who would have locked her in her room forever had she known she was involved with a black boy.
I have lived in the South most of my life, although I have spent a fair amount of time in the North also — summers on the Cape and Islands, school and work for ten years in New England, two stints living abroad, and a lot of overseas travel. I have made my peace with the South and would actually like to move farther South than Virginia; I dream of a house near the water in Beaufort, South Carolina, even though I hear it’s very hard to be a Democrat in that state.
Sometimes it’s hard to be a Democrat in Virginia, too, especially when the race for president involves a black man and people just don’t want to talk about it. Some Republicans actually make fun of it. And others disguise their racism by calling it something else. Or claiming, still, that Obama is a Muslim.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Clavos
I am seriously starting to think we need a mandatory civics exam given to every graduating high school senior. And it needs to be passed before he or she gets his or her voter registration card.
Shades of poll taxes and other exclusionary policies!
Your idea would most likely serve to exclude primarily the very people you champion; the poor and disadvantaged.
2 - Clavos
BTW, your idea is also unconstitutional...
3 - handyguy
Clavos, out of all the good, heartfelt material in this article, you focus only on the apparently-not-literal suggestion of the civics test, as if that were the subject of the piece. Do you actually think that's fair, or useful?
PS Lisa, I grew up in Tennessee too. My first integrated school was in the 7th grade.
4 - Clavos
handy,
I found it astonishing that a liberal would even give voice to such an idea.
You may have found the comment to be "apparently-not-literal," but what I read begins "I am seriously starting to think..."
5 - Lisa Solod Warren
Ok, Clav: How about this: We start teaching civics in first grade, teach it in every grade, a little more advanced each time. Then, by 12th grade, the kids have it. They take a civics test, like statewide SOLS in Virginia and tests in other states.....
And with that, we reform education so that teachers actually KNOW their subjects, get rid of Ed Schools, make teaching a professions, pay properly, reward performance, get rid of the stranglehold of teachers unions, get rid of tenure in lower education.....
PS: It's not just the poor and disenfranchised who are ignorant. Haven't you seen Jay Leno's bits on the street? And I'll bet you donuts to dollars that Cindy McCain couldn't name the three branches of government, either....
PPS: Thanks, handyguy, for making sense once again.
6 - Irene Wagner
She then said that it seemed to her that a lot more could get done if the president could just work alone and make all the decisions himself without congress and a lot of other people getting in his way, and didn’t I think so, and why wasn’t that a possibility? Hello, Lisa Solod Warren. Don't knock your elderly friend's grasp of the Constitution. It sounds like she may actually be an Executive Order ghostwriter.
50% of the population is at or below average intelligence, no matter how many civics tests are crammed for and passed (with perhaps a little help from sympathetic proctors.) Should an IQ test be administered instead of a civics exam? If there were a Constitutional amendment enfranchisement specifying an IQ requirement for enfranchisement, there should definitely be a "virtue" test required as well, for Intellect and Inclination to Oppress are often companion traits.
Or, we could just let the system work the way it was designed to work, and hope that the vote of the Wise and/or Good trumps the vote of the Stupid and/or Evil.
7 - Clavos
@#5,
A pity you didn't put that in the article to begin with, Lisa. Had you done so, your point would have been unassailable.
8 - Lisa Solod Warren
Clav, bite me.
Is that a personal attack?
Okay, bullshit. You were just looking for something and you would have found something else. It was a rhetorical statement. Give me an effing break.
9 - Clavos
Oh my...
10 - Mooja
Cutting to the heart of the issue as I see it; the author is suggesting that the average U.S. citizen is too ignorant to properly decide who they would like as President and goes as far as denying a citizens right to vote had they fail a civics test. Though i'm not against more education I also don't believe choosing a leader requires a civics major. You choose the candidate who you believe is most closely aligned with your beliefs and values and appears capable of executing their vision. You don't need to know anything about the three branches of government to do that.
11 - Lisa Solod Warren
Nope. Never said it required a major. Just knowledge. A democracy is a wonderful thing, but it seems to me both a right and a privilege. Sure, you can vote if you're stupid and uneducated...but then you get what you get.
Sure, you don't need to know anything about the Constitution or how our country runs to vote or even to be a citizen, but wouldn't it be nice to think that people would graduate high school (mandatory in this country, or at least education until age 16 is, supposedly) knowing those sorts of things? I mean, what is the point of free education for all if we don't teach people anything of value?
The woman asked me a question to which she genuinely wished to know the answer, an answer she wasn't getting anywhere else. I found that both tragic and troubling.
BTW, the article was about racism and classism and a lot of other things, too. The general dumbing down of the American public and what we don't know and what we don't talk about.
You want to talk about one issue, so be it. I think we've done that one to death. Or at least I have.
12 - Mooja
To the Author, If you are intent on getting your message out and truly affecting change it may be a good idea to not call a large portion of the people you are speaking to "idiots", for instance. Don't let your emotions override your sense of human decency.
13 - Baritone
Lisa has a legitimate point regarding both ignorance and pervasive racism in this country.
Ignorance regarding our government, how it functions and how our electoral process works is rampant in all areas of the country including urban, suburban and rural communities. While the notion of a voting test is untenable (and as has been aptly pointed out, illegal,) more and better education regarding history, civics and economics as well, starting as early as possible is highly desirable. Sadly, those subjects are, more often than not, taught far too little and far too poorly.
My wife has a former grade school mate who did not understand that Bush could not run for the presidency again. She had no inkling about constitutional term limits. She thought that Bush could be president until he chose to retire or died. I guess she got being a SC Justice confused with being president.
I know that is only one anecdotal instance, but it is indicative of the level of understanding that too many people have.
As to racism AND ignorance, just in the last couple of days, I have witnessed two disturbing examples of both. I live in Indianapolis. My neighbor hails from upstate New York. One thinks of that area of the country as being a part of the "elitist" east. However, I have become painfully aware that at least when it comes to the particular area of NY state my neighbor was born and raised in is more akin to the deep south than to New England.
I get along pretty well with my neighbor, and on balance, I like him, but he is a racist. Often he laughingly threatens to sell his home to blacks, hoping to get a rise out of me. He has a brother who still lives in NY who won't watch any sport that has black or hispanic players. He is a hockey fan. (Help me out here. I don't follow hockey. Do any of the NHL teams have either Hispanic or black players on their rosters?) He hates Tiger Woods claiming that he must cheat somehow because no "darky" could honestly play golf that well.
Yesterday, I met my neighbor's daughter's boy friend. Now this "boy friend" is probably in his mid 50s (the daughter is in her mid-40s and they both live in NY.) After only a few moments of introduction he noted that my neighbor told him that I had driven a cab in NYC. He wondered how I got that job since I wasn't "dusky" enough. A bit later he spied the Obama sticker in the rear window of one of our cars. While he didn't become abusive, it was obvious that his opinion of us had taken on a large chill. "Obama, huh? You mean you'd actually vote for that black cloud?" Yeah, "black cloud." I said, yes indeedy, I will.
Earlier this evening my wife and I were having dinner at a local cafeteria (cafeterias are big in Indiana) when a guy sitting with two others a couple of tables over said in a too loud voice that "by god, I ain't votin' for no muslim!"
A lot of people watch and listen to Limbaugh and Hannity. Even more listen to other right wing talk radio programs of which there are dozens, perhaps hundreds. Right wing programs outnumber left wing shows something like eighty million to one. Many unquestioningly buy into the racist, jingoistic, hate mongering bullshit that these programs spew out pretty much 24/7 all across the land. It is with that attitude and lack of knowledge many people walk into the voting booth.
B
14 - Dave Nalle
I found it astonishing that a liberal would even give voice to such an idea.
When dealing with the people incorrectly termed 'liberal' in modern parlance, you have to sometimes reconcile their populist poses and their genuine elitism. Just look at their presidential nominee. He's the living embodiment of that contradiction.
As for Lisa's article it's very revealing. She outlines her history as a member of the privileged class and especially as part of the elite left. I think that she's absolutely right in identifying racism as common among those of her class and political persuasion. But it's only a part of a much broader elitism. If anything they despise poor and southern whites more than they despise those of other races.
I come from that kind of background too. I got out and broadened my experience and discovered that while working class and rural people of all races tend to use more racist language, they are also much more accepting of people of different races and social classes in ways that really matter.
As for ignorance, it exists in the rich and privileged as much as it does in the poor and poorly educated. It's nice to know how the government is structured, but how much is it worth if you don't understand the needs and beliefs of the people who make up the contemporary body politic? How much can you really help people you don't understand. It's the mentality of those who tell people what they should have rather than asking them what they actually believe they need.
Dave
15 - Condor
"And with that, we reform education so that teachers actually KNOW their subjects, get rid of Ed Schools, make teaching a professions, pay properly, reward performance, get rid of the stranglehold of teachers unions, get rid of tenure in lower education" Lisa
I'm not beating the NEA drum here, but have you taken a look at a praxas (sp) test? Those tests are mandatory for teachers every 4 years or so... in Virginia. The tests are also comprehensive in nature. I looked over the course material of a neigbor who was prepping for the battery and I was actually quite surprised at the body of knowledge contained therein.
I can't imagine a teacher passing the praxas battery and then being labled an idiot. I'm not sure about other states, and whether private schools require the testing or not, but it seems to me that if you want/desire english majors to be teaching basic sentence diagraming your taxable pockets must be very deep. Higher math and hard sciences perhaps, but english, lit, typing etc... any degree would probably suffice, along with a healthy (and verified) GPA.
16 - Andy Marsh
Sometimes it's hard to be a Democrat in Virginia, too, especially when the race for president involves a black man and people just don't want to talk about it.
From the Virginia Historical Society on Douglas Wilder, former governor of VA... He was the first elected African American governor in United States history. Oh yeah, he was a democrat too!
The fucking south is SOOOOO racist!
What a load of shit!
17 - Lisa Solod Warren
Ignorance: the condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed.
Idiot: A foolish or stupid person. A person of profound mental retardation....
Surely, all of you here at BC have dictionaries.
Nowhere did I call anyone an idiot.
If I am a member of a "privileged or elite" class it is only by virtue of my father, a first generation American's hard work; his parents, Russian peasants, completely uneducaated, came over to escape the Russian pogroms; he went to college, the first and only of his family, on the GI bill, and supported his widowed mother all her life (she lived to be 99 1/2).
Did ANY of you read the links in this article?
They clearly documented that a large number of people stated they were not going to vote for Obama because he was black, and Virginia was specifically cited (see also my piece in HuffPo).
But, no, Andy, Virginia is not alone.
And Dave, using language is still offensive. Those working class people may accept people one on one, yes, and they may actually have people of different races in their family, but when it comes to voting, that is a whole different story.
Condor, you need to realize that while the tests are hard, many teachers do not pass them. I am only asking that a civics curriculum be included in all school years, instead of being taught, as it is in Virginia, as a one-off, in middle school, where kids often quickly forget it, by the time it comes to graduate and exercise their right to vote.
Dave, I already said ignorance exists across all classes, remember? You added nothing new to the discussion.
I am just offering an opinion. That it would be more instructive to vote for a candidate who, rather than makes us like we would like to have a beer with him, makes us feel like he is, indeed more intelligent than we are, and might be able to do something good and right about running this country.
Most of us could NOT run the U.S., including clearly, that Congressman from Georgia who called Obama uppity and who, when interviewed by Stephen Colbert, showed himself to be very close to an "idiot." Perhaps some of us could. But I, for one, would like to choose a man or woman who was clearly more intelligent, more thoughtful, more creative, more nuanced, and vary more intelligent than the body of the Amerian people, but who would excite them into action and commitment to their country. That is what Obama is doing right now: getting people interested and involved again in our country and making them feel less complascent and more like they can do something more than just sit back and let someone else drive--especially someone who seems to be driving us right off a cliff.
I would encourage all of you to follow the links in the article, especially the one that talks about the Republicns making fun of racism and the ones that link to the articles in Salon, and also the one in the last graf.
You might also take into account my own personal history with anti-Semitism in this country, and realize that is has not stopped, even if it has gotten slightly less virulent, and realize that this wonderful country of ours still has a very long way to go to root out ignorance and true nastiness of The Other. Ask many Hispanics what they have been subjected to and how they are all lumped together, no matter if they come from Mexico, Central America, South America or Spain.
Racism=ignorance. Ignorance=fear. Fear=making bad decisions for our country.
18 - Andy Marsh
Lisa - Show us some statistics on people that are voting FOR Barry for no other reason than the color of his skin. I'd bet there are plenty.
But of course, that's a different kind of racism. That's positive racism, I guess...so it's okay.
Why do liberals assume that Barry's gonna lose because of the color of his skin. Why can't you face the fact that your party put up for nomination the MOST liberal guy they could find and once again, it ain't working? Not only did they put up the most liberal democrat in congress, he picked the third most liberal democrat in congress as his running mate!
It may be a change, but it's not the kind of change anybody wants! And blaming it on ethnicity, because it ain't a race thing, we're all part of the human race, as my BLACK cousin once told me, is just to much bullshit!
And lastly, calling anyone that doesn't vote for YOUR candidate a racist has surely got to be the best damned strategy I've ever seen in a political contest!!!
19 - Doug Hunter
"And lastly, calling anyone that doesn't vote for YOUR candidate a racist has surely got to be the best damned strategy I've ever seen in a political contest!!!"
It silences people in public forums when you level charges or racism, but I don't think it'll change what goes on in the privacy of the voting booth. And yes, between Hillary and Obama, who have the same policy positions, 90%+ blacks voted their skin tone.
20 - Lisa Solod Warren
Andy, I never said that everyone who doesn't vote for Obama is a racist. I merely said that racism is a factor in this election and that no one wishes to talk about it. It makes people feel uncomfortable. People in American don't like talking about race or class or anti-Semitism because they refuse to think they think like that, even when proved otherwise.
And we DON'T assume he's going to lose. At least I don't, nor do many others working for him. We hope and pray he will win.
I am SO glad you have a black cousin. Any Jews or homosexuals in your family?
21 - Mark Saleski
you have to sometimes reconcile their populist poses and their genuine elitism. Just look at their presidential nominee. He's the living embodiment of that contradiction.
woo! republican talking pt #327. yay!
there must be something comforting about taking threadbare old political cliches and weaving them into a shawl.
modern politics, and the generated 'discussions', make me sick.
22 - Andy Marsh
As a matter of fact, I have a cousin who was gay, he passed a few years ago from HIV/AIDS...I have a very close friend who's Jewish...I remember visiting his house back in the day and they had a tree up around Xmas. I pointed and said, WTF? He told me it was a Hannakah bush! I also found ham in the fridge and I won't tell you what he said about his mother and her shopping habits, you'd probably find it offensive.
The reason I bought up my cousin was because years ago, when I lived in AZ one of my neighbors asked me what I would do if one of my daughters dated outside her race...I said I didn't know...I figured, if he treated her right then I wouldn't be upset about it. When I bought this discussion up with my cousin. His response to me was...outside they're race...what? You mean like a chicken or a pig or something? I honestly had never thought about it in quite that way before and I've never thought about it the same since.
But I can tell from the tone in your comment that my bringing up the fact that I have blacks in my family is somehow a bad thing. I guess you equate it to something like, I have plenty of black friends...but see, it's not like that.
But you assume what you want, just like you assume that VA is a racist state, even though we were the first to EVER elect a black man governor.
23 - Lisa Solod Warren
Never said Virginia was racist, Andy, you inferred that.
Said it was hard to be a Democrat here. It is. This is a red state. Might go blue this year, we shall see.
Said that a percentage of whites in the state persist in thinking Obama is a Muslim, borne out by research (documented in piece, follow the links) despite much evidence to contrary, which they don't want to read about or think about.
Said good percentage won't vote for him because he is black, also borne out by research.
You draw your own conclusions, as always, and twist and turn things to your own liking, and then attack at will. And sit back, smug as ever.
Might help if you learned how to read things properly, rather than read them skewed to your own political beliefs.
Sorry, but I don't think having a black cousin or a Jewish friend makes you an expert on anything, or even more enlightened. It's not a BAD thing to have a black cousin, it just means you have a black cousin.
(and p.s. in graf #2 it is "outside their race" not "they're")
'Nuff said.
Gotta run. Talk, as I have said before, amongst yourselves:)
24 - Andy Marsh
Never said I was an expert on anything!
This a red state that consistently elects democrats to everything except the presidency. A red state that elected the very first black governor, a democrat. You also said in that same comment...especially when the race for president involves a black man...you can pretend all you want, but your comment says you believe this is a racist state...it's an EASY inference.
You asked me if I had any homosexuals in my family and I answered you, then you throw the answer back in my face. Guess you didn't like the answer? Don't ask the fucking question!
You're one to talk, for a person who claims to have been an editor, I don't see how it's possible, you seem to have a problem with comprehension...still.
Research usually involves trying to find a FEW points from folks that don't think exactly as you do. But hey, the liberal bible (NYT) is more than enough for someone like you!
Nice that you can take the time to correct my grammar though.
Do you have any friends or relatives that don't think like you? You can answer, I promise I won't throw it back in your face like you did to me.
25 - George
If after all the bloody mess in the Wall Street, high oil prices and high unemployment, people still vote GOP, particularly the working class whites whose jobs could be lost due to the financial mess, outsourcing or whatever, racism is the reason. And after McCain's victory, if Dick Durbin and other bleeding heart liberals try to help those racist working class whites who screwed them, they deserved to be called just that "bleeding heart liberals" who dont hold people responsible for their actions, just like they dont hold murderers responsible for their actions by supporting death penalty!