Race Round Up

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

News from around the way here and abroad.

The Worst Angels Of Our Nature: Rage And Racism On The Campaign Trail

Like everyone else, I am worried about the economy and the financial panic I sense around me. But I am absolutely terrified--I tremble for my country--by the rage that has been expressed at Republican campaign rallies during the past two weeks. It is a rage that partakes of the worst forces in American history--xenophobia, racism, anti-intellectualism, religious fanaticism, envy, and utter contempt for truth and reason. Lest anyone suggest that this is a bipartisan phenomenon, I should point out that no one at Obama rallies is calling out for anyone to kill the other candidate. Worst of all is the behavior of Sarah Palin, a candidate for the second highest office in the land who stood on a platform, heard the cries of "treason" and "kill him" after her anti-Obama rant, and said absolutely nothing. She went on with her vile speech as if nothing had happened.
Not Everyone Cheers Harsh Penalty for Racism

“Atletico Madrid have been hit with a stadium ban for their next two home Champions League fixtures as UEFA handed out their heaviest punishment so far for racism,” reports ESPN’s Soccernet Web site. The club was also hit with a €150,000 fine. The game against Liverpool next Wednesday, and the following Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven, will be played about 200 miles outside Madrid at a neutral venue.
Racist flier distributed in West Bethlehem, smears minorities and Barack Obama

Amid the fallen orange and yellow leaves, pumpkins, Halloween decorations and blue-and-white political signs dressing the tidy streets of West Bethlehem, residents found a single-sheet flier wrapped in a plastic bag Tuesday morning.

The flier, from a white supremacist group, shot race-themed barbs at Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama. The black-and-white flier, populated with distorted pictures of Obama, begged, "Do you really want a Black President?"
Coors escapes racist accusation but ruled 'juvenile'

A television ad for Coors Light beer featuring white men singing a ragga-style song, which was slated when it aired in May, has escaped a complaint that it was racist only to be banned for being 'juvenile' and appealing to under-18s.
Dear ARP: Should I step in to stop racial “joking” among kids?

My middle school son recently told me that his good friend was making Jewish jokes (my son is Jewish, the other boy is bi-racial African-American and Latino). It was bothering my son so we brainstormed a conversation he could have asking his friend to stop. I also asked my son if he was making racial jokes and he said no, “only, dissing him about his weight”. So they had the conversation in which they agreed to stop but clearly it hasn’t stopped because when I followed up and asked him how it was going now he claimed it was not my business and when pressed said they went back and forth insulting each other about being Jewish, black, fat, short, etc and it was just the way boys talk, didn’t bother him etc. Of course I told him my feelings about this kind of behavior but what do I do next?