Critical Race Theory

[Rev. Rye]

I have yet to actually read New Kid, but looking at IA's response to it, I have to ask: how certain are we that it (and other things like it) are teaching black kids to find any potential microagression worth throwing a shit fit over? From what little I understand of the black experience (and I'm not 100% convinced such a thing is possible), it seems more like many black kids have already felt the way Jerry does and, if it's teaching anything, it's that they're not alone in feeling the way they do. If it's meant to be teaching anyone anything, it seems like it's trying to teach white people to be more mindful in their interactions with black people. It sounds like it's no more teaching black kids to be resentful than Catcher in the Rye taught teenagers to be resentful back in the day.

I admit I'd have to read it to be certain, and I'll probably either find a copy the next time I go to the library or find it via some... less than legal methods. And given that you listened to an audiobook, and it's a graphic novel, it's also possible that something might be missing from the visual dimension.  But, going from what you've said about it, and the discourse on race in general, I doubt this take will be too far off base.

To be clear, I certainly don't want any books to be banned. That's not me. Sure, some black kids may feel the way the author does, but that doesn't necessarily mean those thoughts should be validated. I'm sure 99 % of us on the forum can agree that chocolate is not a racist gift, whether a black person takes it that way or not. And I'm sure we can also agree that basketballs are not quite the new Swastika, especially given that the black kid in the novel actually had a Knicks poster in his locker at school and loved basketball. If Colin Kaepernick came out with a children's book showing children trying out for a football team and compared that to slavery in the children's book like he did in his Netflix show, that would be a similarly dumb book.

I know that CRT is not taught in schools other than colleges/universities. I don't agree with the Republican talking points and I certainly want history to be taught, but microagressions over being given chocolate as a gift is a bit out there, and wow, what do you even say to something like that? That's a new one for me. I never knew some blacks were microaggressed over chocolate or saw the symbol of the basketball as the new Swastika. This knowledge is new to me, so forgive me. I have no doubt that it would be tough for a black kid going to a mostly white school, but some of the examples that this book gave are pretty yikes.

Okay, I'm looking through New Kid right now. And, looking over the "chocolate" scene, it looks like the point isn't that chocolate or basketball cookies are racist per se; the problem is "why those gifts?" The problem is, in this case, basketball is strongly associated with black people; in addition, he got a $10 KFC gift certificate, which also has its own racial connotations. And I suspect that the previous two gifts primed him to see a chocolate Santa as being a racial thing as well (and, frankly, knowing Santaland Diaries, which has a passage where David Sedaris has to deal with a mother who insists that he not send her kid to see a "chocolate Santa" at Macy's certainly did not help matters in my eyes; for the record, he sent her to one anyway). And, at least until the "Secret Santa" actually explains her motives (honestly, I probably would have the same reasoning with the KFC, because who the fuck doesn't like fried chicken? And vegans don't count), it makes sense that this is why he got those things. Why a basketball cookie? Because you're black, and black people love basketball. Why the KFC gift certificate? Because black people all love KFC. Why the chocolate Santa? Because you're chocolate like him! You see, the fact that you're black tells us all I need to know about you. And, at least for some people, shit like this happens all the time.

And the misnaming, that actually has its own little explanation. Besides the explanation the book gave, I'm seeing a different issue: the assumption that black people are somehow interchangeable. That might sound strange, but it is, in fact, a thing. Malcolm Gladwell was inspired to write Blink after an incident where he was pulled over by the police, interrogated for 20 minutes, and let go because it turned out he wasn't the rapist they were looking for. This is all because he matched a description. And when I say he matched a description, I mean he was black and had an afro. The fact that Gladwell and the rapist were of different ages, builds, and heights meant nothing when the cops saw him. And back to New Kid, the teacher's not knowing her student's name could have an innocent explanation, but, then again, she keeps calling Drew by the same name as a former student; one who's also a black male, but otherwise, looks nothing like him.

The one thing that really struck me was the sort of tightrope that Jordan has to go through: Being a respectable and nigh-on perfect person among the white majority, but risk being seen as "not black enough" for the other black students. It reminds me of Dr. Edwards from The Knick (one of my favourite shows.) For the white staff of the Knickerbocker Hospital, he's stupefyingly qualified (studied at Harvard, worked with some of Europe's foremost surgeons, with residencies in multiple hospitals and several inventions under his belt), and, to boot, he's probably the only black person in history to be named Algernon, but he still has to jump through hoops just so he can actually do anything in his post as Assistant Chief Surgeon of The Knick. But when he's with other black people, all the shit I just mentioned makes him look like, well, an Oreo. So, when he's not being relegated to minor surgery work, or working in his back-alley clinic for black patients (it's 1901, and it's still segregated), he goes to bars and acts like the baddest motherfucker in town.



Granted, there's no way in Hell they'd let Jerry Craft get away with a lot of the shit that happens on The Knick, but that struggle between alienation between the white and black worlds is still obvious.

Overall, it's not perfect, and while it can be pretty heavy-handed (the racist teacher is named Karen, after all), it is still a pretty good book.

[Irreligious Atheist]

The 'You all look alike to me' phenomena is hard wired, research finds https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...112419.htm

I don't usually have this problem with black faces, but Asian faces do look very similar to me and it is hard for me to tell them apart. This is science. Teach the black kids that this is science and not personal, and don't validate their thoughts that the white teachers are just being racist and hate all black people. That line of thinking is not going to help black kids in life. I don't see how it could. And teaching black kids to be the angry black stereotype and rage and yell at their teachers is not the answer either. Teaching black kids to have even less respect for authority figures is not the way to go, imo, and can only cause more problems with blacks shunning authority figures and acting out.

[Jehanne]

The 'You all look alike to me' phenomena is hard wired, research finds https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...112419.htm

I don't usually have this problem with black faces, but Asian faces do look very similar to me and it is hard for me to tell them apart. This is science. Teach the black kids that this is science and not personal, and don't validate their thoughts that the white teachers are just being racist and hate all black people. That line of thinking is not going to help black kids in life. I don't see how it could. And teaching black kids to be the angry black stereotype and rage and yell at their teachers is not the answer either. Teaching black kids to have even less respect for authority figures is not the way to go, imo, and can only cause more problems with blacks shunning authority figures and acting out.

I think that the above is appropriate for sociology and psychology courses, but not history classes.

[The Grand Nudger]

There are alot of things that are "just science", and still not acceptable. I'm sure it won't take you long to come up with a list. Just think of all the things that black people do that irritate you.

Have you researched whether it's "just science" that black kids have less respect for authority figures than, say, suburban white kids..for example?

I think they're putting meth in the maple syrup. It's just science.

[Irreligious Atheist]

There are alot of things that are "just science", and still not acceptable.  I'm sure it won't take you long to come up with a list.  Just think of all the things that black people do that irritate you.

Have you researched whether it's "just science" that black kids have less respect for authority figures than, say, suburban white kids..for example?

I think they're putting meth in the maple syrup.  It's just science.

Human error/ a brain fart is unacceptable to you? We're only human. Not robots. And even more funny is the black college students who complained about being mixed up, while they were wearing masks that cover most of their faces. My parents have called me by one of my brothers names hundreds of times, and we are of the same race. And calling someone by the wrong name is completely innocent and if it's harmful at all then there is very little harm in doing so, so quit acting like I just posted the equivalent of "r*pe is fine because science explains why we would have the urge to do it" or some nonsense like that.

And yeah, a teacher reading a book to their class about how students are justified and right to be disrespectful and act out towards their teachers seems a little backwards and maybe not the best message to be sending to students that are already far more likely to get suspended for acting out, don't you think? Black parents should be the ones getting offended at this messaging, not white parents.

[Irreligious Atheist]

This is how Grand Nudger sees the average white woman and wants black children to be taught to see the average white woman, so no surprise he would think that a brain fart mistake is racism.

[tackattack]

Or perhaps a brain fart is a temporary lapse in reasoning due to a change in focus falling back on the autopilot brain (DMN). This is the place where our implicit biases live. Perhaps, GN is just shining a light on some thought patterns that you might be defaulting to that aren't the more in line with his own moral beliefs?

[Ahriman]

Or perhaps a brain fart is a temporary lapse in reasoning due to a change in focus falling back on the autopilot brain (DMN). This is the place where our implicit biases live. Perhaps, GN is just shining a light on some thought patterns that you might be defaulting to that aren't the more in line with his own moral beliefs?

Nice Freudian take on things (no sarcasm)

[Rev. Rye]

It’s one thing to accidentally misname someone. It’s another thing entirely to keep calling someone the wrong name for months on end, especially if the name you use came from another student whose only real similarity is that they’re black males.



Maybe if it was established that she had a bad memory for names, but it seems she only has that problem with black students.

[The Grand Nudger]

Are we back to worrying how much the guy rocking an imperial mullet hates Teh Whites?