"There is a real persistence to this idea that we should see her as a potential victim instead of the aggressor and enforcer of (what she considered) cultural norms. "
Honestly I haven’t seen anyone defend her. What I have seen is a few people unwilling to call her a racist or subject her to public humiliation. I still am not able to make a judgement and I see her as neither a “potential victim” or “the aggressor and enforcer of (what she considered) cultural norms”
I see her as a woman with irrational fears and I can’t be sure what caused those irrational fears. She doesn’t mention race at all until 4 minutes into a 6 minute tape and only because she was asked. She mentioned the strange images on their shirts and while some here may recognize the images many would not. Irrational? yes, Racist? Can’t make that determination. She apologized several times for her paranoia and said she agreed it was probably nothing and the operator reinforced it was OK to call. The “sicken” comment did not appear to me to be directed at the boys as much as it was a description of the uneasiness she felt. Again, Irrational? Yes. Racist? Can’t be determined.
We (white America) seem to be hesitant to call racist behavior what it is because of a lack of evidence on the person’s motives. It’s an exercise in rhetorical gymnastics to justify what this mother did.
We are even more hesitant to label people who participate in racist behavior as racists. That’s pretty much the definition, no free pass. Handing out free passes is also racist behavior.
Crossing to the other side of the street when you see young black men is racist behavior. Defending it by saying you also cross the street when you see young white men is the old racist trope used by most of the racists I know and is patently disingenuous. In most places in this country you could never avoid every group of young white men. If your first thought on race relations is bringing up a group of young black men as scary potential criminals is, you guessed it, another old racist trope.
I’m also not giving the campus cops a free pass on this one. Telling young men of color they need to be more deferential to authoritative older white women is addressing the wrong side of the equation. Many here seem all too willing to allow us to regress as a society.
Another example of not just the person in question getting stalked and harassed, but those who simply share their name and perhaps physical appearance.
One of these people tracked down this woman’s previous employer and said “Yes, you produced a person named Emma Jane Gonzalez? They need to be questioned. Possibly arrested.” Another person showed up at her current place of employment to check her out. All because of a conspiracy theory that the person they thought she actually was was a crisis actor in the Parkland school shooting. So not only did they not have a legitimate reason for going after their real target, but they harassed people who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation and simply had the misfortune of sharing a name.
This is sadly the world we live in. It seems as though some posters here feel that what this woman did warrants her receiving this type of harassment. If her name does get out I hope that none of you or your loved ones share her name.
@Magnetron wow, you do like calling people racist. If I don’t like who is approaching me for whatever reason and I CHOOSE to walk across the street than that is my CHOICE. I cannot and will not be forced to walk anywhere so I can avoid being called a racist.
@TranquilMind I am not sure what you are trying to say. First you say a few dozen, then show over 800 in the article (which they say is incomplete.) The vast majority are justified, or at least the ones killed had a deadly weapon on them.
“But we only hear about a select few, especially where there are riots stirred up, because, as you undoubtedly know, if it bleeds, it leads.”
The ones we hear about are the ones people feel are unjustified. Overzealous police. Unarmed people. If people are tired of hearing about all the uproar POC make when it comes to these instances, it is better to turn the channel/page and not make comments. If you want an uproar when it happens to white people, go cause an uproar. That is not the responsibility of POC.
@bhs1978 Thank you for bringing a bit of sanity to this thread. To those who insist that you know what you couldn’t possibly, know that IMHO you’re part of the problem, not the solution.
The older one attends Northern New Mexico College, whose undergraduate population is 67% Latino and 10% NA. The younger one attends Santa Fe Indian School (presumably mostly NA). Santa Fe is 54% Latino and 40% white (non-Latino). However, they are Mohawk (one of the Six Nations of the southern Great Lakes area), so they would be an ethnic minority even among NA people in New Mexico.
In contrast, Colorado State University undergraduates are 73% white, and the city of Fort Collins is 83% white. For comparison, white (non-Latino) people make up about 61% of the US population and 69% of the Colorado population, though it is presumably lower for those of traditional college student age.
In other words, they probably appear more “mainstream” to others where they currently live and attend school, but less so to others at Colorado State University or Fort Collins.
I can’t agree to this. Fear of sketchy looking young men is not racist. It may be sexist, or age-ist. It is also completely understandable. Women have also had a long history of oppression and violence directed against them. Women are also a vulnerable population. For far too many women, the experience of violence is not theoretical but real. I’m sorry if that offends some innocent men, but it is reality and until that changes I don’t believe women are under any obligation to make themselves feel threatened in order to make men feel better.
None of that means that anyone is justified in calling the police based on the facts in this particular situation.
I really hope both these boys get great offers from schools – we need more native Americans attending college. As for the woman, my hope is that she privately reaches out to them with a heartfelt apology.
The link to the police report is in this document https://collegian.com/2018/05/csu-police-department/ names blocked.
The report doesn’t jive accurately with what the woman who reported the incident states nor with what the group tour guide stated in her comment on Facebook. The report states the “group leader” asked the two students their names, and they didn’t answer. From the audio report and tour guides written comment, it really appears the only person who questioned the young men (aside from the police officers) was the nosey woman NOT the group leader.
@MLM Did they release the call dispatched to the police? I noticed that too and it is either the campus police came to this conclusion themselves or the dispatcher reported it this way.
Oy. Crossing the street to avoid a group of men walking towards you is a weak move, IMO. I make direct eye contact and greet them, usually. City street smarts 101. Don’t act like a victim - no matter what race they are.
I would just like to publicly thank @Magnetron for calling me “racist” and “patently disingenuous” since I am the one who crossed the street for my own safety in a known unsafe neighborhood. (Both whites and blacks).
I will always choose my own safety and if that makes me a racist in your eyes then so be it. I will live with that but unfortunately this is exactly why I think we are not making any progress.
@“Youdon’tsay” Thanks for clarifying your statement. It helps to understand what people are thinking.
The legal definition :
“A false report is a crime governed by federal and state laws, which vary by state, involving a person who, with intent to deceive, knowingly makes a false statement that is material to the criminal investigation of a crime and makes the statement to a peace officer or law enforcement official.”
@OHMomof2 clearly you don’t live in a big city and go out at night. I hardly believe you would do that in downtown Compton at 1am. In fact I’m quite sure you would never be there in the first place. Quite different from walking on a crowded street in the middle of the day. I’ve only had to run for my life a couple of times. Most people live sheltered lives.