Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
It’s still Black History Month. Going on the theory that Black History Month should help people learn, not just about Black History, but also about aspects of white racism which may well never have occurred to them. Now, I could write about this until the cows come home, but I’m just a white broad. I would rather let people of color speak for themselves. So I’ve looked up a bunch of videos, four of which I’m embedding, and the rest linking to. None of them is over five minutes, and most considerably less, so I could embed more without monopolizing your day (or month). But I figure that, if I link some instead, the sidebars on the YouTube sites may lead you to other videos which, depending on your own experiences, may turn out to be even more educational. Sneaky, amirite?
I’ll start with this video on things white people do and say without (probably) intending to be racist in the least, but which need to stop. (At least one also needs to stop for disabled people, but that’s another story.)
Next, here are links to two videos addressing children and racism. The first will teach you how racist centuries-old nursery rhymes can be. The second is sort of an antidote to that – some books to lift up black children and black imagination.
This next video is about the misconceptions which lay people, medical students, and even certified doctors have about the physiological differences between patients with different skin colors I alluded to some of this in a comment Thursday, but it goes deeper than that.
And the next link will take you to a short video on actual, as opposed to imaginary, genetic differences. Note that at least some of these difference are not just between black and white, but between black and black. One trait is characteristic of West Africans – another of some Kenyans (which lies on the east coast.)
Here is a video summarizing a study on who has to wait longer just to cross a street. You can probably guess the answer – though maybe not the care that was taken to match up every factor BUT skin color, or the number of trials the math is based on.
Here are two links to videos addressing the relationships between people of color and business. The first points out some markets which, based on the usage of the products by people of color, black entrepreneurs ought to dominate. The second shares something you may never have even thought about – which highly successful corporations today were built in some measure upon slavery.
Now let’s take a deep dive into the darkness inside white people, with a study on how the percentage of black people overrepresented in prisons affects the willingness of white people to fight for criminal justice reform.
OK, that’s as deep as I can handle today. I will share one video about ten of the most racist movies of all time – I doubt they’ll surprise you – the only thing that surprised me was that six others 
preceded “Birth of a Nation,” which says something about the importance of LISTENING to people who are most affected, because someone less affected may not see things the same way. Finally, I link to a video that is actually about history: the history of “the Moors” and their occupation of chunks of Europe, and exactly how that occupation benefited Europe and, by extension, all white people today.
Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, please help us learn, for the sake of our own consciences, and also to help us better educate others, what reality really, really is like.
The Furies and I will be back.
Cross posted to Care2 HERE.
