posted by Mike Jefferson
That’s a photo of Brian Milligan with his girlfriend, Nicola Fletcher. He’s white, she’s African American. Young and in love. Here’s the short version of the story:
On August 18, Milligan was beaten nearly to death on a Buffalo street by a group of black males because he was dating Fletcher. By all accounts, that’s factual. He’d been threatened many times by various black males for “being in the wrong place” and “being with the wrong girl.” But they were in love…until August 18th when the threats manifested into reality.
Though this story is still developing, it offers an useful opportunity to look at the subject of “hate crimes” in the context of hypocrisy, racism, and free speech/thought. Given Sam’s definition of racism as “believing that some person or group is superior or inferior than another person or group because of some identifiable physical characteristics that they can not change,” I think most everyone would agree that this particular crime, and true hate crimes in general, are amongst the most egregious forms of racism.
But what about the hypocrisy surrounding this event? In my experience, hypocrisy is a foolproof indicator of ignorance and intellectual dishonesty. And let there be no mistake, there is a great deal of hypocrisy in this incident of a white boyfriend being assaulted for dating his black girlfriend. I’ll admit that I may have missed some of the details of the case but to my knowledge Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson (nor any other Civil Rights activist, for that matter) have not been to Buffalo to protest this hate crime. Sharpton doesn’t miss many opportunities to publicly demand justice in hate crime cases. And to be fair to Sharpton, I haven’t heard a peep out of any of the race baiters, black or white.
At this point, you probably think I advocate having the Feds roll into town and arrest everybody involved for violation of Federal Hate Crimes law. You’d be wrong. Make no mistake, I think the punks that ganged up like a pack of animals to beat one lone guy nearly to death need to be locked up. Or forced to face a 
real fighter mano-a-mano, but then we’d have to clean up the mess that would be left. And then they need to be locked up for what they DID (e.g., assault, attempted murder–take your pick) and not WHY they did it or WHAT they thought.
Our constitution actually demands that people be allowed to wallow in their ignorance. They just can’t act on their ignorance when it adversely affects others. Let me clarify that. With a few exceptions, you can say and believe and read and write most anything you want. And your thoughts and words can be really, really dumb–like rock dumb. But when your stupidity infringes on the safety of others, as it inevitably will do, like when you decide to blow up a tree stump in your back patio with five sticks of dynamite, then “the man” will come knocking on your door.
Hate crime laws cross the line by attempting an end around “double jeopardy” in criminal cases that are not properly prosecuted the first time. [Double jeopardy is prosecuting someone twice for the same crime.] They came about because of some missteps of justice in the past where crimes were committed against individuals but the guilty were not brought to justice. These miscarriages of justice were often attributed to racism. But instead of doing the hard work of fixing the corrupt judicial systems, the “powers-that-be” decided to exert more federal control over the populace and punish thought rather than deed.
The problem is, if you have an interest in freedom of speech, you might want to recognize that hate crime legislation is just one more step down the slippery slope of constraining this important right.
And so I cry “foul.”
On another note, if black and brown people want to be treated as equals, then why do so many cry “foul” when hate crime laws are applied to them? Is it only white people who hate? Is it only white people who victimize others because of their ancestry? In the case of Brian Milligan, it took nearly two weeks for some prominent members of the black community in Buffalo to stand behind this young man. This occured when a number or preachers excoriated their parishioners for not helping to find the culprits:
“The story [finally] touched a nerve with several members of Buffalo’s African-American community, including a local pastor who leads a predominantly black church in Buffalo. ‘At first, it didn’t affect me the way that it would have if I heard it was a black teen attacked,’ said the Rev. Darius Pridgen, who spent years fighting for civil rights for African-Americans. ‘But after I saw his father on TV pleading with the community to find the assailants, I decided I had to go after the people who beat this kid.’ Pridgen said he felt that the community has turned a collective blind eye to the beating. So he gave a fire-and-brimstone sermon at the True Baptist Church on a Sunday after the attack, appealing to his congregation to help find the culprits. ‘He didn’t deserve to be beaten this way,’ Pridgen recalled saying at the service. ‘If you believe this, put your hands together.’ If it was a black teen, Pridgen said, ‘We would have been protesting with flags and everything else.’” [CNN]
By the way, this is where the hypocrisy enters the story. You either walk for justice for everyone or you don’t walk at all. People know who these attackers are…and I want to ask them what they’d say to the white people whose silence protected white thugs who attacked a black or brown man.
Let me just start out first by saying that in this day and age, racism is very easy to pinpoint in its overt forms. Subtle racism is obviously a little bit more difficult to pinpoint, as implied by the term “subtle”, but as minorities in this country, we know it’s there. In fact, we probably feel it even when it isn’t there- when it’s simply ignorance, naivete, whichever you feel more comfortable with as a term. It is a constant around us- there to remind us that we are of “less importance” in this country. There to remind us that we are judged sometimes primarily based on the color of our skin before we are even given the opportunity to open our mouths. This knowledge has been bestowed on us ever since we were old enough to start being socialized to notice these differences between other humans beings- and quite frankly, we’re just a little paranoid.
That said, it is always a little easier for us to point out racism against minorities, from whites. We know when you’re being racist. We know when we’re being discriminated against. Even if you aren’t discriminating against us on the basis of our skin color, we might suspect something. Yes, some of us are a little doe-eyed and don’t pick up on those hints, but for the most part, as minorities, we are very aware of the stigma that comes with being of color. And, because it is easier for us to point out racism against minorities, it becomes a little foggy for us when it comes to racism from US directed towards whites. I’m not sure if it’s because some people believe that only whites can be racist considering they basically created the term for us in this country, and considering all the history behind being colored in this country. I’m not sure if it’s because we feel that, due to the history behind being colored and the treatment we have received throughout the European dominated parts of the world, they (whites) deserve whatever we give to them. Because we had to go through so much, right? Wrong!
Well, yes, minorities have had a hard time in this country. I know, I am very aware of it. But we should call it as it is- a hate crime. It’s irritating to see people try to defend it in a way- like we should stick to our own races and things like that won’t happen. First of all, that’s a really naïve outlook to have. Secondly, hate crimes are going to happen regardless of intermixing between the races. Yes, it doesn’t do anything to help it, but how do we know it won’t help in the long, long, long run? I think there’s a hatred, or maybe a better word would be resentment, so deeply entrenched in our minds as minorities that due to the way we were treated over time in America, we fight against “the man” because they didn’t want us here as citizens in the very first place. I understand that. I don’t condone it. I hate that people still feel that way, though I know there is some resentment somewhere inside of me. I hate it, but somewhere deep within me, I understand it. Regardless, I’m not going to let anyone tell me who I should or should not date based on race. Whether I fall in love with someone white, black, Indian, Puerto Rican, Lebanese- it doesn’t matter. Hopefully he’ll have a black belt because maybe America isn’t ready for that.
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Hearing about this hate crime that happened in Buffalo was just another example that proves racism is still very much alive. As a black female I was upset hearing the group of people delivering the hate crime came from black males. In our society, there are many factors that contribute to the setback of black men; and even though these issues do exist, black men have prevailed. To me this hate crime was a step back for black men. There was no need for these individuals to perform in this manner. It shows how ignorant people can be. In this day and age people need to be more opened minded. How can we forget about our differences if people aren’t acceptable to change and different races combining?
It’s interesting to see that it was black men beating on Milligan for dating a black girl. There was a time when black men were tortured and killed by white men for even looking at a white girl. I believe the culprits who nearly killed Milligan reacted for the same reason white men in the 19th/ 20th century abused black men: They didn’t want the other race getting “their” girl and I feel jealousy could have definitely been a factor.
It think Sam was right when he mentioned people don’t think something is a hate crime unless it’s a white person beating on a minority, which is why many people probably didn’t take this incident serious. For this reason, I hold a lot of respect for the pastor who made his community aware of this hate crime where a white man was targeted; and the importance of finding the men who harmed him. I have to be completely honest; I think what happened to Milligan is horrible and he didn’t deserve this, but I really feel if it was reversed, and it was a black man who got jumped by a mob of white men it would affected me differently I would have been angrier if it was a black man who got jumped. I am fully aware of this hypocrisy; I have always been down for my brown people, but no one’s perfect and hopefully in time my feelings about this would change.
Never the less, I don’t think anyone should ever even be question, yet alone beaten up for the person they are dating. I was reading someone’s blog entry that went by the name of Anonymous. In her blog she mentioned how her sister who is white got slapped in the face by a white man for dating a black man. I thought it was sick that someone would really stoop that low. This is n example that shows that hate crimes come from both black and white people; and there is not one race to put to blame. It was eye opening for me to read her blog. It just shows how corrupt this world really is when it comes to black and white. We have made progress but we still have a long way to go in being equals. The more we dwell on our racial differences the harder it will be to come together.
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The instant that I saw the title of this Blog along with the picture of this multiracial couple, I knew exactly what it was going to be about. Although this beating is an extreme case, and probably the reverse of what we usually think happens, (i.e a black guy being discriminated against, violently or verbally, for dating a white woman), the hypocrisy involved is truly mind-boggling.
It’s interesting and also frightening to realize that one of the premises the United States prides itself on is freedom; freedom of speech, freedom of pursuit of happiness, freedom to do what we please. This looks great on paper; it looks great to the outsiders looking in from so many worse-off, less-free countries, however, I do not really believe in a gradient of freedom. I believe that a country either enjoys freedom or does not. When I read about cases like this, I truly believe that our country is not free at all. This young Caucasian man was in love with an African American woman, and they were happy, content, and supposedly enjoying the freedom of it all. It’s only in certain countries, some might argue, that mixed race relationships are tolerated, legal, or maybe even accepted. However, read into this case. It is quite clear that multi racial relationships are anything but acceptable, and that there are still major barriers to overcome in race relations.
And here is where I think the hypocrisy lies; African American’s are awfully quick to accuse white people of hate crimes violence, keeping blacks lower down in society. Hence why this situation proves to be strange; it was a white man dating a black woman, not a black man dating a white woman. In a patriarchal light, white males are often looked at as the end all be all, supreme, most powerful members of our multi gender, multi racial society. If a white male is dating a black woman, in a racist and unforgiving point of view, this man is making a statement and taking a stand to deteriorate the lines of color. This man loves a black woman; he doesn’t have bad intentions towards the black race– only good. If I were a black onlooker, I’d see this as a wonderful thing, a guy who just does not think race matters. He should be appreciated, not harassed and beaten. By the way, by no means do I think he is a hero for dating someone outside of his own race. However, he is brave and so is she because in this society their relationship is unconventional and rare. This is completely unfortunate and irrational, but it is truthful. How many people might look twice or question a multi racial couple walking down the street even if we are not hating on them? From experience and observation, I’d guess quite a few. So the problem lies here: Common ground has yet to be found, but when a white man makes the effort to be with the one he loves and she happens to be of a different race, the people of this different race do not support it. How can we ever be truly integrated to the point of loving one another despite race when this kind of hypocrisy, violence and hate exists?
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I think it’s easy to agree that this type of hate crime is the most serious eye opening and thought provoking of hate crimes. The term “hate crime” can mean a series of tons of different acts and forms of crime involving hate. But when you hear of physical assault, abuse, or murder it really is awful. The fact that this was a black on white act makes it interesting to read about and hear how the community reacted. For a second while reading I thought that in this day and age the community of Buffalo would have stood up for the boy but I guess that wasn’t the case. Why did it take two weeks for someone on the black community to speak up, I feel like it always takes some time for people to realize what is truly wrong. Even this pastor didn’t truly feel anything until he heard the boy’s father plead to help find the people who did that to his son. So yea it seems that the African American community turned their head for a period of time, but everyone knows that the white community would have done it as well. I’m sure in this case for those two weeks black people at first thought were like “well that’s what happens when a white boy has a black girl”. I’m sure black parents were having dinner conversations with their sons and daughters not about how horrible the crime was but how they shouldn’t be dating people of a different race. I’m sure the same conversations would be happening in white homes weather the crime was switched to white on black or not. The only thing that frustrates me is that I know if the crime was switched to white on black there would have been more of an uproar in the black community. The funny thing is possibly at the same time as the uproar in the black community there would have been white members that had the black boys back, but that wasn’t the case in Buffalo. I also am thinking that there probably wasn’t that much of an uproar from the white community because most thought that he shouldn’t have been going out with her as well. We didn’t see individuals like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson because why would we, the kid was white. It’s silly to think about how white people don’t have any famous figures that closely resemble them in any way. Regardless this white guy was almost beaten to death by a group of people that ganged up on him and that’s horrible. What I was trying to lead to before was that regardless of your views after a certain period of time you realize that this type of hate crime matters, and that it wasn’t fair or righteous in any way. That period of time was two weeks in this case because that’s what it took for a black community member to speak out with a voice that people listened to. In my eyes this couple has every right to date each other and do what ever they like. I just hope this kid is strong enouph to go back to his life with her in that community before he was beaten, but most of me is making a bet that he won’t.
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This blog entry truly opened my eyes to a new view on hate crimes. When I think of a hate crime the first thing that comes to mind are racial slurs or any other verbal confrontation along with some exclusion of the racial individual or group. After reading this article I have an entirely new view. The fact that this individual did nothing to this group of men but date a women of their race, and he was nearly beat to death by them is outrageous. The only hate crime that I have ever heard being this intense and grotesque was when an individual by the name of Matthew Sheppard was beaten to death in Colorado by a group of teens simply for being homosexual. After examining this blog entry it is evident that there is an equal amount of racism and racial tension amongst every demographic.
Like we have talked about before racism can be described as the belief that one race is superior to another. Most often racism and hate crimes are highlighted against white individuals. This case is different because there was a violent hate crime against a white male. Clearly the black males who attacked Milligan felt that he was inferior to them for being white and he had no right to date a woman of their race. We usually see cases of racism and race crimes against any other race besides whites blown up in the media, and some similar faces that appear in all of these cases. Jesse Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton are always seen fighting for justice of hate crimes because usually they are against minorities. This time, once again, was a little different. These two African American males were not in Buffalo fighting for justice. This is bias to the extreme, they would have earned a lot of respect for being they’re fighting how they usually do for Milligan, but they would have chanced losing the respect of the black community. I guess they weren’t willing to risk that. One individual; however, was ready to chance it. Preacher Pridgen said it himself, the story would have sparked his attention more if it was a black teen, but then after the story he was outraged. He at first had racial bias, but he proved to be the most unbiased as anyone could be when he called out his predominately black church. This was very brave and respectable; the world needs more people like this.
Like Sam stated in the article, white people are not the only group that hates, and this case clearly proves that statement. Milligan experienced one of the most horrifying moments anyone could imagine. His vulnerability is what makes it so horrifying, but what’s more horrifying is the fact that things like this are still happening, and not even over things we would expect like gangs or drugs, but love. Ponder that.
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The thought of any person being beaten to the point of death solely because of the race of their significant other is terrifying, wrong, but most of all, happening right before us every single day. The story of Brian Milligan and Nicola Fletcher is heartbreaking yet makes me feel very disturbed at the same time. In our culture, so many people are used to hearing about white hate crimes against minority groups and not minority groups against whites. We don’t hear very often when hate crimes occur in the opposite way we are used to seeing and I think it is because white people are the target for being blamed as racist. In any situation that occurs between white people and black people, the white person is instantly targeted as being in the initiator of the situation because he is racist and only likes people of his own race. The terrible incident that has ruined the lives of Brian and Nicola is terrible and should be given more attention than it is. I believe it happened because black people are just as racist towards white people as white people are to black people, and this happens because we allow it to. There is so much anger and hostility still, among races and it is not going to just disappear unless we work to make it go away. I think that a lot of black men look down black women when they choose to date a white man or someone from a minority race because they feel women should stay within their own race. However, they are not going to attack the woman and beat her to death. Instead, they will target the white man and accuse him of stealing their girl and make him pay for it. I just don’t understand why it is so common to see people bashing the white race for being so racist yet the same thing is occurring only black people are the ones being racist and everyone holds their tongues and closes their eyes to it. I do find it rather peculiar that Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton have mentioned nothing about the hate crime that occurred. What is the reason for this?
Someone here deserves justice and this time, it is not the black men. To go and beat someone to death just because he chooses to date someone outside of his race is sickening. I don’t know if it is plain hatred, jealousy, or anger but no one, no matter who you are deserves to be treated this way. We are supposed to be spending our time making changes and helping to make our world a better and safer place for our future but when I hear incidents that occur out of hate, I cannot help but to think we are right back where we started. Nicola Fletcher has to live with this for the rest of her life; a perfect love story ruined because of racism and hate.
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Hate crime is defined as a crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward a member of a gender, racial, religious, or social group. In my opinion I believe that any type of meaningless or motiveless crime is wrong let alone the idea of a person being beat up, almost to the point of death is terrible. This young man were in love and no matter the idea of the color of their skin they were not breaking the law or by any means showing off. So I ask myself the question “What do those assailants get out of beating up one white kid for being in love with a black female?” To me it makes absolutely no sense why you would be violent to an individual who is just in love with someone of a different race. You cannot help who you fall in love with or what race he/she may be. I can completely understand people saying derogatory things to the couple but I am sure they are used to hearing things so therefore it may not affect them much at this point. But to go beyond morality to beat someone almost lifeless when they have done absolutely nothing to you is just not even moral. The guys who did this should be caught and should have to face the penalty in which they are given for such a hateful and animal like crime. What bothered me a lot as well was the pastor who was ignorant enough to say “At first, it didn’t affect me the way that it would have if I heard it was a black teen attacked.” Are you serious!?!? Why should it matter the race of the person who was beat up? Either way an innocent person was beat up close to death because they were in love with someone of a different race and you have the nerve to say at first it didn’t bother you because he was white? To me that pastor is an absolute hypocrite and should be ashamed of himself. If I was a family member of the boy who got beat up and I had heard that a pastor said it didn’t bother him what happened because he was not black I would be outraged. I am by no means racist but I cannot help to wonder what if a white priest had said it didn’t bother him because the person who was violently attacked was not white? Would that bother African Americans? Sometimes I just feel as if there is a double standard with the race card and I believe that race should NOT play a role in situations like this. Lastly I would just like to wish this young man and his family well and hopefully he is able to make a full recovery and those animals are caught and punished.
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It is extremely tragic to hear about the beating of Brian Milligan. What kind of person or people would beat someone, almost to death, because he dated a black woman? I really have to ask myself, what is wrong with people these days? You hear about these types of stories in the news and it boggles your mind. First off, I am strong believer that fighting gets you nowhere in life. I understand people who use fighting as a form of self-defense, but to pick on someone because he is “in the wrong place” or is “dating the wrong girl” is completely ridiculous. I am really glad that this case was brought up because I think it is true that since a white man was beaten by a bunch of black men that it was NOT hyped up so much. People didn’t consider this a racial issue, but dam straight it is. The group of attackers thought they were better than this white male, and they looked at this guy as inferior to them. I thought it was 100% true that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been there in two seconds if it was a black male beaten by a bunch of white guys. It is interesting how Obama was asked his opinion about the Harvard professor, and how he said the cops didn’t act accordingly. Did anyone bring up this case to President Obama? I am interested as to what he would say about this, would he address it as a race issue or as another type of issue? I think the fact that white people are discriminated against gets extremely underplayed. Whatever happens to people involved in hate crimes toward white people should face the same thing that people who are involved in hate crimes toward black people should face, and that includes the public scrutiny. Seeing Milligan’s picture after the beating makes my stomach drop. Those guys did some serious damage to the poor kid, and I am sure he is going to be psychologically affected as well. I also think it was interesting that the writer picked out how some black people cry foul, but usually only cry foul when a white person says something. Unfortunately, it seems to me that black people have a tendency to pull out the race card more than white people do. I usually don’t hear people say “it’s because I am white,” but I am more prone to hear people say “it is because I am black.” I am interested to know why it took so long for people to really take notice to the Milligan beating scandal. It took two weeks for people to really catch on, or was it that no one really cared because it was a white man? Did anyone in the Buffalo area see this as a race issue? I really don’t think that when people watched the news that they thought, “Oh, a white man was beaten up… that must have been a hate crime.” Everyone needs to be aware that hate crimes are crimes that are committed towards another race, not just crimes toward one specific race. I am not going to lie; it bothers me that this issue wasn’t talked about as much as a beating of a black man would. The writer talks about hypocrisy, and I strongly agree. I think that it is unjust for some people to claim that their race has been hated on, and then turn the other ear when another race says that they too were the subject of hate crimes.
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First off, I think accepting hate crimes is horrible. Yes there are different extents of hate crimes but regardless of how bad they are, hate crimes should absolutely without a doubt not be acceptable. In the case of Brian Milligan, this hate crime is so unacceptable that the culprit should be tracked down and sent to jail. Brian Milligan did not deserve to get beaten almost to death just because of who he was dating. I see this more in the situation of a white guy dating a black girl then the other way around. Unfortunately, people, particularly African Americans have problems with “their” people dating other races. That most certainly was proven in the Brian Milligan, Nicole Fletcher case.
Of course I am not saying that this is how all African Americans think, nor do I think this incident happens every time a white male is dating a black female. I just see it more common in this case than others. Now, no matter who was what color, any person who heard about this crime should have felt the same way; horrible for this poor guy in the hospital and some sort of hate for the criminals who did this terrible act. Any African Americans who felt like this guy deserved what he got should literally go dig themselves in a hole and stay away from the rest of mankind. It is a terrible thing to even think about that; that some people actually agreed with the people who did this to Brian. It is a shame that a few people’s ignorance can make such a huge group of people look so bad. You always hear African Americans getting discriminated against by whites and you hear this case much less. I really hope that media and other people make both cases equally public.
This is an extreme case of racism, but it does not mean that racism does not happen on an everyday basis. Unfortunately not everyone can live with other people’s everyday decisions, like dating a girl. I do not care what color this guy or this girl is, it should not matter to the outside world. It is their decision and if it does not personally affect you for whatever reason then mind your own business and worry about your own life.
The ending part of the article really caught my eye when it says how a number of African American preachers reprimand their parishioners for not helping to find Brian’s attackers. The preacher admits to not being immediately affects by Brian’s story because it was not a black teen that was attacked. It was not until later that he felt compassion for this guy. I agree with the very last paragraph of this article when it states, “You either walk for justice for everyone of you don’t walk at all. People know who these attackers are…and I want to ask them what they’d say to the white people whose silence protected white thugs who attacked a black or brown man”. It is sad that a lot of people cannot put themselves in other’s shoes to help a cause as strong as this one. I really hope that those attackers get what they give.
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After reading this blog about how a white man got beat almost to death because he was dating and African American was rather shocking. In my opinion, I don’t see anything wrong with a couple of a different race falling in love. I think everyone is has the freedom to chose who to marry or who to have a relationship with; I don’t think anyone has the right to stop anyone from doing this. The United States is suppose to be a free country that doesn’t have any rules form preventing these type of situations like these, so why are incidents like this happing? Obviously this is a form of racism against the white race, there was no reason for Brian Milligan to get beat up just because he was dating an African American. These criminals in my opinion should be punished because if the government doesn’t do anything in regard to these incidents people are going to take the freedom of repeating these same situations over and over again with other people. And action like these aren’t right, nobody should live with fear of getting killed or getting beat up for reasons like what happen to this couple. I am aware that racism against other races is an issue that seems endless and that there is always going to be people that are racists , but what I think is that everyone should learn to respect one another. Therefore, people will learn not to get into other people’s business and they will be able to live peaceful lives with no fear of getting killed. Being a Mexican, I can somewhat relate to this topic because one of my Mexican cousin’s was going out with a “white girl” and I could see a lot of discrimination towards their relationship. Every time we went out, everyone in public stared them down just because they were holding hands or just for the fact that the “white girl” was surrounded by Mexicans. My cousin’s girlfriend was also always asked if she really was going out with a Mexican and she was always made fun of with her friends, they never wanted to hang out with her while he was around. In my opinion I don’t think anyone has the right to judge anyone for who they date or from what race they are from. So what happened to Brian Milligan was totally unnecessary, it was kind of childish for those guys to beat him up. Beating people up because of a girl is something that was done back when you were in middle school not now they are adults. So the government should investigate who committed this crime against this guy and punish them. Therefore situations like this won’t happen occur anymore because no people can be aware that actions like these have consequences!
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As a mixed/bi-racial/(whatever you want to call it) person, I can attest and relate to these kinds of things. My dad is Black and my mom is white and they come from totally opposite ends of the spectrum. So it feels like nothing when I’m walking down the street with my family and get dirty looks for no reason. Once people know I’m mixed, they see it, but often times I’m asked if I’m adopted, especially when compared to my sister who is practically glow in the dark. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I feel as though my family is almost immune to people who have issues with interracial couples and families. Part of that may be because we live in a bubble that is very diverse and accepting. Because of my genetic make-up I also feel like I’ve been able to get a perspective of both sides of racism.
I think the Black guys who beat this dude up are just the same as any white people who respond negatively to interracial couples and relationships. It seems to me that the community almost didn’t see anything wrong with the fact the overall attack because those who committed the act are colored. All throughout middle school and high school I went to school with a pretty diverse population. Amongst my closest friends there included a Jew, a Peruvian, a Pacific Islander, and a few white people. I’ve had uncomfortable experiences with more than one race, but that doesn’t prevent me from getting to know a person. They Black guys who did this act of violence obviously had some kind of problem with the fact that one of their “own” was dating someone who is not like them. But then comes the issue that is truly that most difficult to explore which is: why should that even matter? You’d think that the Black males would be tired of the stereotypes that all African American men are violent but here they are committing this act. And why don’t they respect the Black female’s decision to be with a man of a different race? I have so many question that I would love to ask these people because I don’t think there is any justification that they could make that would make sense to me.
It is extremely frustrating to me that, because the man who was attacked was white, his experience was seen as less important. Civil rights are all about equality, are they not? Well apparently the Reverend guy’s definition of civil rights was strictly about the progress of African Americans without considering how racism (etc.) impacts other races. This situation obviously holds racism, but it seems to me that people are often more afraid of confronting a Black person about it. But why not protest with “flags and everything else” on this white kids behalf? I guess my point is that you can’t get anywhere with your cause by strictly sticking to your own race or gender or sexual orientation. I don’t understand why this Reverend believes he’s helping his cause, especially when it is pretty much going against what he is ultimately shooting for.
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A white man gets nearly beaten to death by a bunch of black guys for dating a black girl. I don’t even know what to say about that. It’s just not right. If they love each other who cares. It was seen as a hate crime but nobody did anything about it right away. If a black guy was beaten by a bunch of white guys people would be all over it and everyone would be freaking out. As the blog said, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been all over this in an uproar if it was a black man beaten. They have worked to stop hate crimes for a long time but the majority of hate crimes are directed towards blacks. It’s rare to find a hate crime directed towards whites. If anything race related goes on in the media that involves blacks then those two are all over it and stage large protests and make a huge deal out of it. But now since it was a white man involved they have not done a thing. The men who had beaten him, said that he was with the wrong girl. Why does it matter who he dates, if he loves her then it should not matter.
On the subject of hypocrisy, I agree one hundred percent on the fact that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton doing nothing is complete hypocrisy. These guys need to open their eyes and see that hate crimes can occur towards white people and not just blacks. Just because it does not happen that often doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen at all. White people in inner cities get beaten and even killed sometimes when they enter a neighborhood that is predominantly black. Those neighborhoods are crime ridden and people are afraid to leave their homes because something bad might happen. I have friends who go to Temple University and they are afraid to go anywhere because if you leave the campus then you are in one of the most dangerous sections of Philadelphia. And many people will take advantage of young white girls down there because they don’t know any better and don’t realize that they shouldn’t be in certain neighborhoods. I have heard of some cases where some girls have been raped down there because they were taken advantage of for being in a bad neighborhood and just looking to have a good time.
Either way the beating of this guy was uncalled for. If you really think that it should be illegal or that it is wrong to date or marry someone of a different race, grow up. If they love each other it shouldn’t matter. That’s why I don’t understand why people are so opposed to gay marriage. They act as if it wouldn’t exist just because they don’t approve of it.
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When you think of hate crimes you usually think of a crime where the white person is doing it to a black person or person of color. But this article really caught me off guard. And that’s what I think the problem is sometime; how people always assume it’s a white person doing the crime. Well in this case, it was black men nearly killing a white man. And for what, to prove that he is white and he should not be with a black girl? Come on now. If those black guys were in a relationship with a white girl, I am sure they wouldn’t want to be targeted by whites. I personally think interracial relationships are perfectly fine, and I think most of society feels that way. If this incident were to happen 30 years ago, it probably would not be as surprising and shocking. The fact that they brutally beat him almost to death makes it all worse. I don’t get why those black guys got so angry over something that doesn’t even concern them at all. It’s all very hypocritical. It’s kind of funny; you don’t hear a word from those black protestors Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. They have nothing to say, and they should be embarrassed and probably should continue to keep their mouths shut. If this were a white on black crime, we would be hearing every little thing they have to say about it. Whites aren’t the only criminals in hate crimes. Of course if there were white protestors there would be something wrong with it. Thank God that black preacher finally touched base on the event with the black community. I feel like if he didn’t say anything, then there would not be any support from the black community in Buffalo. And he couldn’t be any more right when he says, “We would be protesting with flags and everything else” if it were a black teen who has been beaten. This incident clearly has to with race, and racism to be more precise. The black men attacked the white for one reason and one reason alone. Because he was white. These guys should be put away for a while. That kid should not be lying in a hospital bed while those guys live their lives. That just isn’t fair at all. I was looking through the comments for this blog and came across one by Brodi. I’m there are other blogs like his, but I must say I do agree with him. As children we grew learning about slavery and segregation, and then as we get older we learn about black protesters that make look whites ever worse. People need to stop and realize that whites aren’t the only racists. There are probably just as many white racists as there are black racists. This story should help people realize this.
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The story about the white boyfriend and the black girlfriend most defiantly pisses me off. Especially how the pastor is quoted “At first, it didn’t affect me the way that it would have if I heard it was a black teen was attacked, WTF. If that’s not racist, I don’t know what is.
When we think or racism, many people picture white people attacking, degrading and being superior to black people and other minorities. But that’s not the case anymore, maybe before the abolishment of slavery yes that was true, but now that we are in the twenty first century that is not longer true. So what do we picture now, many people should picture black, white and brown people all being racist in their own little way. Oh yeas minorities can be racist so don’t think you are not because you are, and you are probably the worst ones out there it just comes to your attention. What I can figure out, however, is why I haven’t heard about this white dude getting nearly beat to death by a bunch of blacks. Consider this, what would have happened if this story were versed, say a bunch of white dudes beat up a black dude, exactly the white s dudes would have considered a lynch mob or the KKK, isn’t it funny how it works?
As I moved further down the page I saw the white dude’s picture, lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life which pissed me off even more, not because he’s white but because someone was beat nearly to death because on their race. I grantee that when that man comes back to a normal state of mind he will hate every black person or minority person he comes in contact with, so will his parents and friends. This man wasn’t racist “he was dating a black women” but I guarantee from this point on he will racist and who promoted him to be, not his friends.
Yeah, so the justice system does need color blind and enforce its rules based upon the person not their skin or race, no matter if they are white or blacks the system does need to be equal for everyone. I was highly pissed when the pastor made the first remarks about how it didn’t affect him because it wasn’t a black teen that was beat. However he did clean up his remarks and thought truthfuly and with logic when he said ‘If you believe this, put your hands together.’ If it was a black teen, Pridgen said, ‘We would have been protesting with flags and everything else.’ Isn’t funny how he knows it works like that. Hey, it came from the black man’s mouth maybe he was trying to cover up what he said the first time, but still he knows it would have been different if it were a black man that was beaten.
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I’m thinking who in their right mind would ever act like this? Love is love, right? Well according to the guys that beat up Brian, love doesn’t exist to them, especially when it comes to a white male loving a black female. I feel that those guys should be brought down with no second chances. It was not fair for either Brian or Nicola. To beat someone up that you can’t even recognize them is taking things way out of control. It is disrespectful, it is downright wrong. These are things we see every day, and I personally do not think anything of it. But yet some people may think, “What is she thinking? She is with a black guy?” But what if the tables are turned in this scenario? What would have happened if it was a black male loving a white female? Same setting, same lifestyles, would he get jumped by a group of white guys? I think not. Why? Well because like I stated before, we see these things every day, and personally I do not think that a bunch of white guys have enough balls to bring down a black male. But for the group of guys that beat up Brian to say that he was “in the wrong place” and being with the “wrong girl” is just uncalled for.
This kind of reminds me of the movie “Guess Who” with Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac and Nicole Sullivan. I’m sure most of us have seen it, but to make a long story short, Ashton Kutcher, who is white, falls in love with Nicole Sullivan, who is black. Now Bernie Mac is the dad and he expects his daughter to marry a nice, young, black male, when really, she is marrying a nice, young, white male. Now throughout the whole movie, Mac treats Kutcher like crap, all because he is a white guy who is trying to fit in with a black family and he wants to marry his daughter. It is a really good movie; it just makes you think that situations like the one in the movie are similar to situations to what we have in real life, minus the beating up part.
Its just funny to me that from the time this blog was posted and from the time that I wrote this, I have noticed more and more relationships between colors and more and more movies that dealt with relationships between colors. But you do not see black guys going around beating up the white guys who are dating black girls and telling them their dating they are dating the wrong girl and in the wrong place do you? Or vice versa?
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After reading the “Hate Crimes, Free Speech, and Hypocrisy” blog, I couldn’t help but think of how racism is actually the weirdest concept. Racism in the United States is commonly viewed, at least where I’m from, as whites against blacks. Yet in this situation, although absolutely and completely racism, it is the other way around. People who didn’t even no this guy, jumped him and beat him for just going out with someone of their race, whom from what I can tell they had little relation to also. These people could not be arrested for what their racist thoughts, which was clearly the case, but for their actions. The truth is, and this actually boggles my mind, that if it was a black person that was beaten to death (as the preacher who was quoted had said), there would have been protests and riots and whatnot for African-American rights. How does that make sense? How can we live in a world where people (besides the fact that they ARE racist) are racist to being racist? What I mean by this is that, how can we protest for one race and say how racist acts are wrong, and not protest for all races? It makes absolutely no sense. In the case of Brian Milligan, this poor guy, whether he was white, black, yellow, brown, etc. got beaten up because he was being NOT racist. Dating someone outside of his race, which I’m sure nobody would disagree with me here, doesn’t occur as often as same race couples. I don’t consider myself a racist person, yet if I brought somebody outside my race home to my parents, I don’t think that would go over well. This guy was stepping outside the box and got criticized for doing the one thing people in the world have been trying to get others to do for years.
This situation actually reminds me of the movie “Guess Who?” It stars Ashton Kutcher and he is the white boyfriend to a black girlfriend and she brings him home to her black family. It’s interesting to watch throughout the movie how racial stereotypes play out and how the family eventually grows to care for Ashton. The question I had throughout the movie however, was are they finally accepting him as their daughters boyfriend? Or because he is white?
In the case of this blog, how could the community turn a “blind-eye” to this beating when whether or not he was white or black, he was part of their community. Members of the community hurt this guy and nobody stood up for him. My question is when people are going to realize that their attempts to not be racist ultimately end in racism? I don’t think it will ever stop and I think that people will continue to be racist, because not being racist is against the social-norm.
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I think the sad story for Brian Milligan is just another testament to the fact that racism still exists in this country. Racism is blatantly obvious in this story when a group of black individuals ganged up on Brian, a white male, for having a black girlfriend. But racism is also shown, more subtly after the fact, by many black people in the community turning their eyes and ears to the attack and not believing in justice and the fact that it shouldn’t have happened to a white male but if the situation was switched around, the protests would have been ongoing. I agree with Sam’s definition of racism: “believing that some person or group is superior or inferior than another person or group because of some identifiable physical characteristics that they can not change.” By this definition it’s obvious to see that this is a case where black people were racist towards whites. It is no surprise that this happens. It is usually a topic that tends to be shied away from because white people do not want to bring it up in fear of being tagged a “racist.”
Hypocrisy is also rampant in this example because of the fact that the black community was not even behind finding the assailants. It took a black reverend of a predominately black church to rally up the congregation into realizing that the young man could have been one of their sons or brothers. It could have happened to anyone and the fact that he was white should not have made a difference. It is about justice.
Thinking about the question of why they beat him up and what they were thinking leads me to believe that it is all about territory. The group of black men who ganged up on Brian were obviously upset that he was dating a good looking black girl because it took her away from their community. It reminds me of the movie Save the Last Dance when the black girls get upset at the pretty white girl for dating one of the studly black guys. The black girls said the white girl was taking one of the only good guys they had left in their neighborhood and she could get a good white guy anytime.. etc etc. Maybe the black guys in this situation felt the same way. In this society, its predominately ruled by the white male so seeing a white male, who could have anything in this country, choose to take a black girl away from the black community was controversial. I can only make assumptions as to what these guys were thinking and I could be completely wrong. Brian was just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. It’s sad because biracial couples are becoming more accepted but setbacks like these bring them two steps back.
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After reading this blog, I realized that the majority of the racism we hear about deals with white people being racist towards black people and not the other way around. We learn about white people being racist in school, and we hear about white people being racist in the news. As a result of this, we tend to believe that hate crimes are things that occur when white people hurt black people. It is rare that we would think of them the other way around. Just because stories about white people acting racist is the majority of what we hear and read about, it does not mean that black or brown people do not act in racist ways as well. The issue of Brian Milligan and his girlfriend, Nicola Fletcher, helps to illustrate this point. A group of black males nearly beat Brian Milligan to death because he was dating a black girl. An individual’s belief that couples should not be of mixed race, does not in any way give that individual the right to interfere in any couple’s personal relationships.
This blog reminded me of the movie “Save the Last Dance.” This movie is about an interracial couple who has to overcome the obstacles that face them due to their difference in race. Both the black and white people in the movie couple’s lives were not very accepting of their relationship even though it was clear that the two people were an excellent match for each other. Just like it was evident in “Save the Last Dance,” Brian Milligan and his girlfriend may be perfect for each other even if their skin color is not the same. I think it is a shame that people cannot be more accepting or at the least, learn to mind their own business.
I thought it was very interesting how the one local, black pastor pointed out that if a black man had been beaten up, the people of his congregation and other local people would have been protesting the situation. In Milligan’s case, however, no one was doing anything about it. The pastor asked that his congregation help to find the culprits. It is fascinating to me how quick society is to label the inappropriate actions of whites as being racist. Yet, when black or brown individuals act inappropriately, their actions are seldom labeled as being racist.
I have a friend from high school who is biracial. She has a black mom and a white dad. I can remember her saying that sometimes being biracial makes her feel somewhat awkward. The truth is that in the world today, biracial couples are becoming more and more common. If we do not accept this, terrible situations like what happened to Brian Milligan will continue to occur. No matter what the situation, nothing good comes from handling issues with violence.
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I believe this is wrong and the people involved in this need to be found and held responsible. We go back to the black and white issue. It should not matter what color a person’s skin is you can’t help who you love. This article made me mad because he did not deserve to be beat the way he did. How can someone with a heart find it ok to beat someone like that? That is someone’s brother, son. It is a shame how much hate there is in the world and I believe something needs to be done about this. I think more people need to open there eyes and see that the world is changing, people should be able to date who ever makes them happy, either black, white, Latino, Hispanic or Asian.
I think anyone who gangs up on people is nothing higher than a coward. I can only imagine how his family feels. How are we supposed to move on from racism if things like this are happening? I know if I was white and I saw things like this I would be hesitate to date someone of a different race because of how I might be treated. There is no right in this these boys doing this their morals are messed up. I also agree with the statement that “You either walk for justice for everyone or you don’t walk at all” I completely agree with this because there are people that may not stand up for this cause because it did not happen to their race or their cultural ancestry. So what do we call these people? Racist I don’t think so I just think people need to think with their heart and not their skin color. In my personal opinion I would be equality upset. I don’t stand for people hating people because they are a different color then you. People prides is in the way and that needs to change all around the world.
I think the boys who did this were acting with their pride, they probably felt threaten by this white man, with a women a different race then him. Then there goes black vs white I’m so sick of these issues anyone with a heart would understand this as wrong and promote it as that way. I believe justice for this man needs to come quick to get those boys off the streets, and more black and white and Hispanic people need to stand up and speak out about this. I believe when people are preaching justice for one race and not another they are contradicting themselves. I believe “if you don’t stand for something than you will fall for anything”
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We talked a lot about multiracial relationships in our discussion groups this week so this has already been on my mind. Dating interracially is becoming more and more common. And I think it is something that we have to become accustomed to. Just like gay and lesbian relationships. If it is something we aren’t used to seeing it will strike us as odd when we see two men holding hands or a black man and a white woman holding hands. But as it becomes more common we won’t even bat an eyelash at it.
When I took the personal survey for class, I came across the question “have you ever dated someone of another race?” My instinct was no, but as my roommate looked over my shoulder she said, “Yes you have, what about Eddie?” Eddie was a Filipino guy I dated in high school. It never once occurred to me that he was a different race than me. It honestly never crossed my mind. And I’m not one of those people who grew up in a really diverse school and was used to different races or anything like that. And I’m not saying that I’m so “un-racist” that I don’t recognize race, either. I just genuinely never thought of him as Asian. I can’t figure out exactly why this is and it baffles me.
But in the case of Brian Milligan and Nicola Fletcher, if they’re happy why the hell does anyone else care? This is outrageous. Ok, you might second glance the couple walking down the street wondering how the two got together, but to physically beat him, almost to death because he is dating the “wrong” race? That is blatant racism, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. People should be able to date whoever they want without having to fear for their lives when they walk down the street. I realize that it may make some people uncomfortable, but it is a personal preference and who are we to judge each other? No one has that right. I agree with Mike that maybe these guys should get a taste of their own medicine. I can’t believe that it took so long for the black community to even say anything about the issue. I agree with Mike’s statement about the African American group that didn’t act right away. “You either walk for justice for everyone or you don’t walk at all.” That is profound and I never really thought about it before. But it’s so true. If you are begging for justice and equal rights for your people, you should expect the same for other races and ethnicities. They are quick to point out hate crimes that victimize blacks, but when the tables are turned they turn a cheek to it and act like they saw nothing. That makes you just as bad. If you see racism happening it is your duty to do something.
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I will be writing of the hate crime, free speech and hypocrisy. This blog was mainly about white people are not the only ones that know how showing hate and demonstrate to color people. This time this article show the opposite how far can color people go with their hate. This proves that color people can lead all the way to committing a crime. In this particular time blog is about a white man going out with a black girl which he loves. People around her tell him that he doesn’t belong with her and that if doesn’t stop dating her or coming around her block he is going to get hurt. After warning him throughout a period of time he decides to keep on going and that almost beat him to death. We usually think of a racist as a white person but now we know that others have different perspectives. This show that black people still hate white people not just the rich people, but white people in general. I think that the group of guys who did this to him was very hypocrisies they didn’t think of their effect when they did this. This is not right now white people are going to be afraid to go near black neighborhoods. They are going to be aware not to want to go with a black woman so that they don’t get harm by other black men. I think that black guys should never done that to Brian because not only are they given the black community bad name but they are also given others to talk bad about them like for example of how crazy they are. I believe that people should be able to go out and explorer there lives with others of different races. Without the need of worrying about what other think or be worried that someone will come and hurt them in any particular way. I don’t understand why people discriminate others for their diversity in dating other races it doesn’t hurt them nor does anything to them so why do they even care. Me in particular I love dating other types of races to learn and discover new things in their culture from my own experience I had to go through discrimination for dating guys that weren’t of my same back ground which I hated but there is always someone that will keep on talking and someone that will keep on making these stupid decision that don’t help anyone just harm someone. Plus if they would have killed him what would that have done it would just made their love last forever in their hearts and have those involved in the beating in prison
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I think it is so unnecessary and horrible that anyone in any race gets beaten up because of the person he or she is dating. The two people who are involved in this relationship cannot help how they feel, or decide who they fall in love with. If that significant other happens to be another race or ethnicity then so be it. It is no one else’s business, and it is truly depressing that racism has to be brought into love and relationships. It is bad enough that there is racism in almost every other part of our lives.
I think that the issue here between Brian Milligan and the group of black males is jealousy. In my opinion, black men who treat white men the way Brian Milligan has been treated see his relationship with Nicola Fletcher as stealing their women, and invading their territory. This could possibly be a reason why Fletcher decided to date Milligan in the first place. Maybe she knew from previous experiences that she wouldn’t want to be with a black man that could treat anybody the way they did. I am not trying to stereotype all black males into criminals who make it a hobby to beat up white guys, but I can only assume that if the situation was reversed and a white female was dating a black male, the white male wouldn’t beat the black man up and nearly kill him. Now this is most likely because a black male would intimidate a white male too much, but I think that this issue goes deeper than that.
I can understand being upset about one of your friends dating someone that you don’t like for any number of reasons, but taking that dislike to the next level is a whole other story. It does not look good for someone when he or she turns to violence every time something upsets that person or something doesn’t go his or her way. I mean what good came out of beating up Brian Milligan? Sure the group of guys felt a little accomplishment for about a minute but then what? I can’t speak for them, but maybe there was a little guilt that came later. Was beating Milligan up worth getting told by their parents that they are disappointed in you? In the long run, there was no benefit in hurting this guy. Also, I don’t think that that they’re just against interracial relationships because if a black male and a white female were dating I don’t think they would have the same reaction. It seems to look like that they feel as if black women are their property and no one else’s, which is completely not the case because women are never property and I actually hate whenever that statement is used. This proves that Milligan is better than these black criminals, because while he is following what he feels is right, they’re acting out violently, irrationally, and without thinking about the consequences of their actions.
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It’s hard to believe that a group of grown men would participate in such a hateful crime all over interracial dating. It also upsets me that Brian Milligan received little support from his community after the attack. Like Reverend Darius Pridgen said, “If it was a black teen, we would have been protesting with flags and everything else.” Why the double standard? Why is it ok for white guys to get severely beat up, but when a black guy does for the same reasons, it’s a hate crime?
I agree with Mike Jefferson when he said, “You either walk for justice for everyone, or you don’t walk at all.” People seem to be blind to their own hypocrisy. They turn the other cheek when situations aren’t affecting them directly. We’re all people. Black, white, Latino, Asian, or whatever, any crime against any individual stemming from hate is outrageous. In class, Sam defined racism as, “believing that some person or group is superior or inferior than another person or group because of some identifiable physical characteristics that they cannot change.” Just because the color of one’s skin, or the shape of their eyes, or the texture of their hair is different than your own doesn’t mean standing up for what’s right should be any different than before.
I would like to know how Brian’s girlfriend, Nicola, is dealing with all of this. Why isn’t her community coming to her defense and supporting her, considering her boyfriend was just nearly bludgeoned to death? And we can’t forget Reverend Al Sharpton. He seems to always be out in the forefront of any hate crime committed against his people, demanding justice. If he is a civil rights activist looking for justice in hate crimes, why isn’t he out now demanding justice for Nicola’s white boyfriend, Brian?
Not only is it hypocritical to not walk for justice for everyone if you will walk for one, but it appears that civil-rights activists that don’t take a stand for any hate crime, either side, are a bit racist. What makes it okay for Brian to get beat up and his attackers get off scot-free? If it were your people that you so passionately support, you’d be up in arms over the fact that no one had come forward with any information regarding the group of men who could have possibly attacked your brothers and sisters.
It’s a shame that people nowadays, when we all think we have progressed so far with racial equality, there are people the act as roadblocks in the path to progress. I hope people who read about Brian and Nicola can see the absurdity in the hate crime that took place. I also hope that people see that we as a nation still have a long way to go on the route to racial equality. Not walking for justice for everyone will only slow down the progression we hope to all make.
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So, the problem here is just that racism has evolved. Let me rephrase, it has devolved. It has become centered around all but white people, so that the white man has no say when it comes to his own well being due to racism. The fact is, people no longer consider it racialist to point the finger at the white man. The vast majority thinks that everyone suffers differently. While that may be true, it is not to the level that one may think so. If the people in control are racist, and want “their” people to have the upper hand, that cannot and should not transcend to the layers of whites that don’t even support the racism of those people in control. Not everyone thinks that the white man is superior be they black or white. And now, it has shown that this is true. But then again, the president is just a puppet among others, playing by the rules of the elite.
This enrages even myself, as does it many others. The problem comes when people get blinded by all the hate they receive and decide to retaliate. Or is it even hate when people are simply in a box of their own and taught against all others of a different race? In fact, the African Americans who beat up the white man are like the KKK in a way, only a black version. They know to hate the white man and that he shouldn’t interfere with the blacks. They overlooked the fact that the black woman loved her partner and wasn’t willing to give him up, and what series of events lead to that.
That being said, locking up people like that is unjust. Justice is not ruining peoples’ lives to teach them a lesson. You live once, and unless you kill or harm a person to the point where they cant enjoy or live their lives, you shouldn’t need to be locked up for too long. I don’t understand why people who do drugs don’t get sent to rehab, but go to jail. If you are only harming yourself, you should be smart enough not to go that path. However, some people get caught in the mix and suffer, so why not help them? Or why not understand them and talk to them to see if you can change their view of the world and make them better people. We might have locked away the next Einstein for all we know, but we never will. The whole system is unjust. Justice is rarely served. If those people realize that what they did was wrong morally and believe it, then maybe they will be advocates against what they did. It is true that they did wrong, and maybe community service would be better, not losing their lives as young people for a mistake they did just because of circumstances they couldn’t have changed. In other words, they cant be held accountable if they were brought up in the wrong place, and the only person deserves justice is the white man in this case.
People need to be made aware so that it doesn’t happen again; you don’t need to wait until someone dies to realize that something is f***ing wrong with this place.
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“You either walk for justice for everyone or you don’t walk at all”. To me, this is in essence what this story is about. Yes, race is indeed a key issue in the complexity of the story, but to me, this comes down to the disappointing fact that human beings are not as smart as I thought they were. Following the idea that “hypocrisy is a foolproof indicator of ignorance and intellectual dishonesty”, our society as a whole has not come as far as I would like to think. As Americans, we like to believe that we are among the most intelligent in the world. We boast some of the world’s most prestigious schools, highest academic achievements and some of the most innovative thinking in the world all the while incapable of grasping one of life’s most simple ideas: compassion.
If we can master quantum physics, why is it that men are beaten for dating someone of a different race? This article truly proves how we are innately the same: we share 99.9% of our genetic makeup and the ideology that when someone different than us needs help, we don’t need to help them. The hypocrisy that this article uncovers truly allows me to understand that we are lying to ourselves. We are not as smart as we think if we cannot get over the issue of race and feel the need to resort to barbaric measures to have seemingly outdated thinking heard.
So how is it that a country that is supposed to stand for justice and democracy allows this to happen? While there is no simple answer, one could theorize that we carry out justice all wrong. If the assailants in this case were found and prosecuted, so that justice could be served, “they need to be locked up for what they DID (e.g., assault, attempted murder–take your pick) and not WHY they did it or WHAT they thought”. This leads back to the idea of intellectual dishonesty. We think that our ideals and values of justice in the United States are so progressive and intellectual but in fact, the exact antithesis is indoctrinated in our own Constitution. Free speech allows people to “wallow in their ignorance”. People are not forced to really think about their actions, and if no one stands up for those who are victims of injustice, NO ONE EVER HAS TO THINK ABOUT IT.
I believe that black people are the face of justice. They worked so hard in order to gain equality amongst all people in the United States, I truly believed that they had worked to change the world. However, I am disappointed to say that this is not the case. This idea is not to undermine everything that black people have done and what they stand for, but rather to express my disappointment in the human race. We are so blind to everything going on around us, and it is honestly angering.
This is an issue of compassion. Let’s stop thinking about the color of skin, cultural norms and what have you, and start thinking about CARING. We are all the same. Most importantly, make sure do not be hypocritical about it. Make sure you can hold the mirror to your face and be able to call yourself out on your own misguided action. So if you stand for justice, you stand for justice for everyone and you will do what it takes for whoever needs it in order to call others out on their misguided actions. But, if you are not willing to do it for everyone, do not be a fair weather fan.
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I think this story was very powerful in showing the hypocrisy and inconsistency that exists in our society’s general definition of racist or racism. In our country I would say even including white people, that 95% of people would imagine a white person if they were told to picture a racist person. I know that’s complete speculation, but even if the number isn’t that high, its somewhere up there. That’s a very powerful number and I know racism still exists today, but I don’t believe that white people are a large majority of what makes up the racist population. In the case of this story, a white man having a hate crime performed against him, I am shocked by the result. It is rather ridiculous that it took nearly two weeks for anybody to come out and speak against what had happened. Whoever wrote the story was completely right in saying, “you either walk for justice for everyone, or you don’t walk at all.” I think white people are targeted all too often as the only people who hate. I think racism goes all around in our county and nothing is going to happen about it unless we stop pointing fingers. It’s sad and embarrassing that we can’t get past our deepest roots and put everything behind us. Maybe, too, this act shows lack of caring or laziness of white people. If the crime had been committed against a person of color or a different heritage, I think its safe to assume there would have been some kind of rally or protest against it. White people also do not have the same past, but regardless, nothing happened. I think the biggest surprise of this story was the pastor who said he wasn’t all that affected by the crime until two weeks later when the man’s father called out for help to find the criminals. I know its not his problem or responsibility to be the first from the black community to back up the man and his family, but I think his words were kind of questionable. First of all, the man didn’t deserve to be beaten at all, let alone “beaten like that.” Interracial relationships are 100% legal and the man did nothing to deserve what happened to him. Also, the pastor admitted that he had heard the story beforehand and wasn’t really affected. After this he said, “we need to put our hands together because if this were a black teen, we would have been protesting with flags and everything.” I think its sad that even a man like this, a pastor, took two weeks to come around and realize that beating a guy near death is some sort of injustice. I think we have come a long way with racism in the United States but this story shows that we definitely have a long way to go as well.
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I think this story was very powerful in showing the hypocrisy and inconsistency that exists in our society’s general definition of racist or racism. In our country I would say even including white people, that 95% of people would imagine a white person if they were told to picture a racist person. I know that’s complete speculation, but even if the number isn’t that high, its somewhere up there. That’s a very powerful number and I know racism still exists today, but I don’t believe that white people are a large majority of what makes up the racist population. In the case of this story, a white man having a hate crime performed against him, I am shocked by the result. It is rather ridiculous that it took nearly two weeks for anybody to come out and speak against what had happened. Whoever wrote the story was completely right in saying, “you either walk for justice for everyone, or you don’t walk at all.” I think white people are targeted all too often as the only people who hate. I think racism goes all around in our county and nothing is going to happen about it unless we stop pointing fingers. It’s sad and embarrassing that we can’t get past our deepest roots and put everything behind us. Maybe, too, this act shows lack of caring or laziness of white people. If the crime had been committed against a person of color or a different heritage, I think its safe to assume there would have been some kind of rally or protest against it. White people also do not have the same past, but regardless, nothing happened. I think the biggest surprise of this story was the pastor who said he wasn’t all that affected by the crime until two weeks later when the man’s father called out for help to find the criminals. I know its not his problem or responsibility to be the first from the black community to back up the man and his family, but I think his words were kind of questionable. First of all, the man didn’t deserve to be beaten at all, let alone “beaten like that.” Interracial relationships are 100% legal and the man did nothing to deserve what happened to him. Also, the pastor admitted that he had heard the story beforehand and wasn’t really affected. After this he said, “we need to put our hands together because if this were a black teen, we would have been protesting with flags and everything.” I think its sad that even a man like this, a pastor, took two weeks to come around and realize that beating a guy near death is some sort of injustice. I think we have come a long way with racism in the United States but this story shows that we definitely have a long way to go as well.
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So a white man got his ass severely beaten by a group of ignorant thugs in Buffalo because he was in love with a black girl. This is wrong in so many ways, but what tops this case off is the fact that no one in the black community even bothered to acknowledge the beating ever happened. It took a handful of God’s speakers to discuss their disgust in this event before anyone in the community took any action. Actually there’s something else that tops it all off: the fact that a majority of the community admitted that they would have been more outraged if the victim had been a black male. Everything about this issue is hypocritical and racist.
First issue: black man loves white woman, gets ass whooped. How many times have we seen black males with women of different races? There have been so many occasions where I have seen a black man with a white or Asian girl, and it is no problem. There is no hate or animosity in the black community when this happens (unless the girl is way fine…then jealousy may cause some problems). I don’t understand why that when the tables are turned and it is a black WOMAN dating someone of a different race it causes so much trouble. Honestly I feel that black men feel that one of their own potential girls is being taken out of the picture. Dude, there’s millions of black women on this Earth…find one! Giving a horrendous beating to the white boy who stole “your girl” won’t solve a thing. As a matter of fact, you have less of a chance at getting with home-girl now. Congrats!
I commend the preachers for taking some sort of action, even if it was a few weeks late. There are very few people in a community who hold the authority and respect of their people, so the preachers, especially the one in the article, did the right thing by giving a “fire-and-brimstone sermon” to the parishioners. Second issue: the sermon was a few weeks late. My man, you are God’s son, and you just let an act like this slide for that much time?? Where is the goodness in that? A preacher, with all of his authority and respect, should be the first to act and inspire people about what is true and right. Maybe they were all confused for those weeks. Maybe they were just preparing the right message. Good thing they did because if the preacher from the article is anything like the others, there would have been a heavy bias involved.
Third issue: the community would have been more upset if the victim was a black male. Even the preacher admitted, “At first, it didn’t affect me the way that it would have if I heard it was a black teen attacked.” Why? I thought God’s children were equal. Or maybe that’s only Black God’s children. It’s horrible to hear that a teen was attacked, but to hear that a community would have been more appalled had he been of a different race just blows me away.
This case is racist and hypocritical, as I have said. It proves racism is still alive and that whites aren’t the only ones who are racist. I think the blog entry says it best, “You either walk for justice for everyone or you don’t walk at all.”
Truth told…
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Because I’m just completely retarded at times, I forgot to post last week so after the discussion in class about the white dude being beaten to death by the black guys I had to go back and do my entry on this article. When I first began reading I was intrigued by the fact that the community took so long to run to the defense of Mr. Milligan. The picture was absolutely amazing. He was not just “beat” up. The way in which his face appears is gruesome. These men not only beat him up but they continued to pound on his face until he was completely demolished. Actions like this are just simply unexplainable. Who do these people think they are? The fact that his girlfriend was of a different race means that they have the right to “protect” her like this? Obviously she liked the white man and they had a strong relationship I just do not understand people sometimes. The thought process that had gone through their heads had to be just absolutely absurd. The discussion that we had in the “circle” last week I think was a good discussion. The “interracial dating” world that we live in today and the multicultural awareness that my generation possesses makes the world we live in today a completely different place than 50 years ago or so. I just think that today, we look more into “who” not just “what” people are. Black, white, brown, orange, yellow, people are always and will always be people. Like Sam says in class, 99.9% of us are the exact same. Genetically we are all one. We may appear different but really we are one species. I truly believe that the world will never reach the point of equality however. Like Sam has been saying in class, racism is all around us. There’s more black people in jail than in college. White people earn more money than black and brown people on average. There is most definitely reasons for these things. Subconsciously, we as a society are racist. Race does matter. As much as I say color doesn’t mean anything to me, underneath there is some sort of level where it does. Subconsciously yes, but it is still there. I think it is a shame, I mean we have come a long way but certainly not far enough. I think education is so important. The more we learn about race and the more that we as a society are exposed, the better “our” situation will become. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I refer to this quote a lot, and it applies here once again. Change needs to happen. One person by one person, change is happening. It is a process but I know that we are traveling in the right direction. We are on the right path. We want to change, and thats the most difficult part I think.
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This article makes me angry beyond words. I don’t know if I can adequately put into words what I feel from reading this essay but I will try. The beating of anyone, from just a punch to death, is a CRIME. It is against the law to beat someone up to near death. It is worse if it is an unfair fight, like 6 against 1. So why don’t people report this crime? How are people not absolutely appalled and shaken to their bones that people they know or even just people in general are capable of such crimes and able to get away with them? I find it absolutely revolting that people could nearly murder a man, and for such a thing as who he is dating. How does a person’s personal life justify a beating? Isn’t it the American dream that everyone is entitled to freedom and liberty? Yes, I am appalled at society for not stepping up and reporting the culprits but I am more appalled at these supposed “civil rights activists” who did nothing. I don’t think these people are truly activists for civil rights and equality. They are only interested in the minority side of it, the black side. If this situation were turned around, if it was a black man being beaten by a group of white dudes, the moment it hit the news, these “activists” would be crying major foul. That white people are always trying to bring down black people and that advancement can never be made if people cannot allow something as simple as the dating of the opposite race. And yet these people had to be pressured into acting. Two weeks had gone by without a peep from these caring individuals. Why? Because the dude was white. White hate crimes aren’t even a blip on these peoples radars. Anything that puts black people in a bad light will remain hush hush. I’m surprised that these people didn’t somehow turn this beating in their favor. That someone the white dude was to blame because he was dating the black chick. I feel like that’s always what happens. There is a passing between black and white people and it someone magically turns into a black hate crime. Well, I’m tired of this. Society should have stepped up, not because he was white or that his attackers were black, but because a man was unjustly beaten almost to death. Civil rights leaders should have spoken out and the common man should have. Its not right that something like this goes unpunished. Its not right that hate crimes against white people go virtually unnoticed. Why is racism only a one way street? Why can’t black people ever be charged with racism? Because you’re racist if you call a black person racist and therefore nothing in this country will ever be solved. Because it wont be talked about.
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First of all I am so appalled to here that in the year 2009 people of different races do not want to see interracial dating. Are we in the 40’s or 50’s where there weren’t any interracial relationships allowed at all? It got so bad in them years that they men and or women of black skin use to be arrested and jailed for that and the white men just use to be scorned. Our society has come a long way from them years and we have work long and hard to try to keep it that way. So why is it that we have people that do not get the meaning of hard our ancestors have worked to get us as people to love who ever we want to love no matter what color we our skin happens to be? Have we not learned anything from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech? People these days have not learned the meaning of life yet so why are they discriminating against different race of people.
It is crazy that no one talked about the racial discrimination that happen in Buffalo, New York towards that young man who happened to be white. However, with Jena 6 everyone was talking about how the black young men in that city were being treated unfairly and every one protested against it. They held little meetings, marched from state to state in order to get them young men free, even reverend Jesse Jackson was there speaking his mind. However, now that something racist happens against someone who is not of African American of black decent no one is there to speak up for him.
This young man almost died because he happened to be in love with someone who was of another culture and no one of the black culture even cared to see if he would live or die. That puts me as an African American in shame to know that we as a culture did nothing to prevent that from happening. However, I am also mad at the Caucasian culture because just like the black people always protesting for our people the white people should have been protesting for him. That made the culture as a whole look weak and as if they do not care. I feel so sorry for that young man because he lives in a city that probably does not get as much recognition as any other big city in the world. If that were a bigger city everyone in the United States of America would have known what had happened to that young man instead it was kept quite. On the other hand, I don’t understand why black people the recognition they get coming from a smaller city. Oh wait yes I do, it is because us as a black community looks after one another in any situation.
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This story is very heart breaking and filled with hypocrisy. First, I think it is so sad, unjust, and absolutely terrible that someone would intentionally hurt or kill other person because of the color of their skin or commit any hate crime. I truly feel people need to be punished for torturing innocent people. People need to ask themselves, what if this was me, or what if this happened to one of my loved ones? I can guarantee no matter what the circumstances surrounding the case, if this happened to someone you love, you would not rest until the criminals were arrested. I would do whatever it took to bring those hateful people down.
I think it is so ironic and interesting when the point was brought up in the story about Rev Al Sharpton not making any statements. I cannot stand that man; he is one of the biggest hypocrites of all times. He is at the scene yelling murder if you accidently step on a black persons shoes. He is a racist, and he is only out to help colored people, but I think he is an asshole. I fully agree with Dr. Richards regarding racism you either walk for everyone or you do not walk at all. You need to either stand by your statements and values no matter what race they are, or shut your mouth. I absolutely cannot stand when my friends make comments regarding some individuals of other races but say the opposite when it is a member of their own race. I truly and sincerely from the bottom of my heart believe that NO ONE deserves to hurt or mentally or physically, especially not beaten like that. What happened to that man is wrong. The person who is getting hurt has a mother and father. They have a family, maybe a child; they have people that love them, just as you do. How would your family feel. I would die before I would cause a family or person that pain. If you have ever had a tragic event occur in your life, or lost a loved one remember the pain and feelings of despair you felt. How could you have the indecency and lack of heart to do that to another human being? This topic physically makes me ill.
I find it very alarming that a black pastor actually had to think about whether or not to get involved in this case? Is he serious? You mean a person of God or whatever higher being he prayed to, would actually have to think about helping a hurt soul? WOW, that is ridiculous. So what would his God would be like, “oh don’t worry about it he wasn’t black, keep your mouth shout, he wasn’t killed.” I doubt it. If that isn’t hypocrisy I do not know what is. However, I am glad that the man actually came to his senses and realized that no one deserves that. I am not prejudice but I am making a statement on my personally observations that is if this would have been a person of color beaten it would have been national news with everyone raising high hell. The media and the other people of the race would not have slept until they had someone to persecute for the terrible crimes. Everyone would have to care because they would treat it as the end of the world because a colored person got hurt, they would want all the sympathy, it’s just really pathetic all those people, would most likely be hypocrites if the situation was changed, just like in this case.
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I cannot believe this recently happened. It has been some time since I heard about a hate crime. I kind of thought they had completely died off. But to hear of a hate crime against a white person is truly shocking. I had never even considered a white person could be the victim of a hate crime. Always when you hear the term you assume a white person has beaten up a gay or black person, never the other way around. So, what happens when a group of black people or a group of homosexuals beat up on some redneck? I do not know I guess it is actually a hate crime. In this case though, it is truly despicable that someone was beaten near death by a bunch of dick heads just because he was in love with someone outside his race. The fact that nothing was done by the black community immediately in Buffalo is unsettling. If it had been the other way around and a black kid lay near death in a hospital there would be a riot in the streets of Buffalo, but just because he was white not a damn thing was done. That hypocrisy is something we do not often get a chance to look at but this is a good opportunity to examine the way we as a country and as individual communities of people are looking at crimes of this sort in general. There are laws for a reason and that is hopefully among other things uniform punishment, but this clear hate crime is not treated in the same manner as it would if the group of people beating had been white and the victim had been another race or had been gay.
It was good to hear that at least one member of the black community stood up for this kid albeit belated. But perhaps it takes an incident like this to make people and communities look at themselves and reevaluate the way they see other races and people in general. There needs to be uniform humanity in the world regardless of any other factor (society, country, race, gender…etc). And if this event can somehow show this community that they as humans have some work to do, all the better. If all this does is entrench a community into further ignorance and seclusion than they have gone in the wrong direction. The fact that a whole community was going to keep silent on this issue until this pastor spoke up and attempted to correct the situation which hopefully he has done, bodes ill for the former idea of enhancing moral outlook on life, but perhaps if there are enough people like this pastor, they will grow from this incident of blatant racism.
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The story of Brian Milligan really upset me deeply. I have absolutely zero tolerance for this type of behavior and it is incredibly baffling to me that human beings are capable of this type of hate and violence. Nobody can help who they fall in love with and nobody should ever be punished for feeling emotions that they cannot control. Unfortunately, these types of things happen in our society for black, brown, and white people and I believe that each event disgusts me to the same degree. It really upsets and appalls me that people actually admitted (the reverend) that had it been a different race that was the victim they probably would have paid more attention. This is clear cut racial discrimination. How can we say that we are only willing to help out our own kind? It is not fair to pick and choose based on the color of someone’s skin who we want to help and who we don’t and who is deserving of our sympathy and concern. I completely agree that had the situation been reversed and white people were refusing to give up these criminals the black community would be outraged and this, to me, just shows that we still have so much work to do to make our society just.
I also believe that hypocrisy lies in the direct actions of that group of black men as well as in the reaction by the community. For years, black and brown people have fought for equality and justice, and while I acknowledge that much progress has been made there is still a long way to go to completely eliminate deep seeded prejudices that many people still possess. I believe that Brian Milligan and Nicola Fletcher demonstrate the epitome of equality in a perfect world. These are two people that have looked past all differences that they share and gotten to know each other on the deepest of levels. They see each other as equals and as partners and want to share a life together full of love and happiness. This concept is what black and brown people have been fighting for in the United States for years and yet when it becomes reality, they hurt and attack a person who has reached out to them more than most people do today. What was Milligan’s crime? Reaching out to a black woman? Is this really a crime? Black people demand equality and demand that white people view them as equals and yet when Milligan does just that he is beaten nearly to death. To me, this makes no sense and just shows the ignorance, racism, and violence that exist in the world toady among all racial groups. Someday, I hope that these terrible hate crimes become nonexistent, but I believe that due to our past it is going to be very difficult to completely reverse history and eliminate all feelings and beliefs which have been passed down over the years. Now would be a great time to press that all encompassing world rewind button and fix a problem that started at the beginning of human existence. If only …….
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This situation of the white person dating a black person is one that has always been a hot topic. Many years ago you wouldn’t see an interracial couple at all, and if you did they were the most scrutinized couple alive. Back then it was wrong for a white man or woman to even speak to a black person. Nowadays it is at least accepted in most of our communities. BUT there are always going to be those people who get jealous of their fellow race dating the enemy race.
Those black men obviously were thugs who have no sense of right or wrong. They most likely had a thing for Nicola Fletcher and couldn’t take the fact that a white man had her love. I don’t know what I would have done if I were in this situation and these black men were threatening me and telling me this isn’t where I belong. I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it as well as Brian did. He probably was a little bit nervous, but when you’re in love it is hard to stop it.
This particular case is very interesting because it is hard for a white man to be a victim of a hate crime because it seems they are always getting the charges. I would love to know why Al Sharpton didn’t rush to this white mans aid. Sharpton is always the first one there when any sort of hate crime is done to a black man. He calls all of these white people racist when in fact he is the most racist of the bunch. He only cares about his race and his race only. If he was smart he would have jumped on this case just to verify his status in this country, but he didn’t because he is a one race man. Reverend Jackson is another one of these guys who says all this stuff about how whites are always ganging up against blacks and how they are racist. Where were you when this white man got beat down by black people Reverend Jackson? Its disgusting how these two men get all this love for being morally correct and righteous when in fact they are not.
A man that is worthy of the name Reverend would be Darius Pridgen. This black Reverend has great justice in his heart and he should be known for it. He is the only man who understands true justice in this buffalo community because everyone else was to afraid to speak out against the minority even though they were completely wrong. I have a lot of respect for this man who stood up against his own race and said that they were wrong.
I have a lot of sympathy for Brian and his family. They were apart of a horrible hate crime that should have never happened. Hopefully one day they will forget this and be able to move on with their lives. I hope that these black men who did this receive justice and maybe one day realize what a horrible thing that they did. And maybe one day Brian and Nicola will forgive their actions.
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I’m doing my journal entry on, “Hate Crimes, Free Speech & Hypocrisy.” Can I just say something? Is it just me or does those pictures make you want to throw up? If I were in that poor girl’s position I don’t know what I’d do. They looked so happy and then there’s a picture of him all mangled up it honestly makes me feel sick. I don’t get it? Why the heck would someone do this? I’m white and so is my sister and she is dating a black guy. I hate when people make comments to me like, “Oh, well my mom and dad would flip out if I ever brought black guy home.” Shut the hell up. Do what you want not what other people think. If you love someone you love someone. This goes for gay people as well. Some times people just feel a certain way about someone and that’s that. We need to acknowledge that and let people make their own decisions. As for hypocrisy I completely agree that that’s being shown here. If a white person beats a black guy to death we hear about it and someone get it because of things that our race of people have done in the past. But now…a white guy gets beat up by a black guys because he’s dating a black girl and no one says anything…. amazing. That is extremely hypocritical and unfair. Whoever did this needs to get the same punishment and treatment that a white person would get. If anything they should have looked at it like wow this guy isn’t racist at all he’s dating one of our girls. I’m really impressed. When I see interracial relationships it makes me so happy because they don’t care and they’re taking a stand to other people, and even though we’ve come a long way in other things we haven’t with that. My sister for example hears all the time from my dad’s side because they’re catholic and they are racist. My mom’s side is completely different but I’m proud of her for doing what she wants and going after what she loves. That’s not an easy thing to do. If anyone knows about this I wish that they would come forward not only for the fact of the matter but for his family, the boy who was killed, and the girlfriend’s justice. Whoever did this just ruined three different lives and needs to take the consequences. I don’t know how someone could live with such guilt on their hands. I personally could never. I hope that one day we can all get past everything and stop being so hypocritical it’s only a matter of time when it will be too late to change our behavior and our actions will turn into consequences.
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This story is so sad. It’s so upsetting to see that violence is still occurring because of interracial relationships. The group of black males who beat him had no reason to do so. It’s crazy to see how racism still occurs and how people don’t like to see white males with black females. We had a discussion in my dialogue group about how people seem to have more a problem when they see white males with black females rather than black males with white females. I don’t really understand why society has come to be this way. Interracial dating is interracial dating no matter what the sex of the male or female is. I feel like if you have a problem with dating someone outside of your race then you should have a problem no matter if the male is black or the female is black.
I personally don’t think it should matter what race you choose to be with although I know that society doesn’t always agree with that. People are always judging people by who they hang out with or who they are having a relationship with. I was surprised to hear in my discussion group that some people would never think about dating someone of their opposite race. I grew up in a really diverse area like 15 minutes outside of Baltimore and never discriminated against people that were a different race of me. I don’t think that the thought ever went through my mind of thinking “oh, I would never date him because he’s black.” I always looked at people equally. I never really realized how open minded and diverse of an area that I grew up in until I came to Penn State. Most of the people I meet here had like 1 black person in their graduating class and aren’t used to the culture and some have never been around it. I think it’s crazy to say that you would never have a relationship with someone of a different race no matter what. I guess it’s just how I grew up and the values that I was taught. I had relationships with people of different races and am really open to it. I wish that society had a more open view on interracial dating.
It makes me really sad to see violence still occurring or prejudice still happening against interracial dating. The boy in the article was nearly beaten to death simply because he was dating a black girl. I hope that one day people will be able to freely choose who they want to date without getting judgments from society and their peers. I’m glad that the preacher finally decided to take a stand in it because as he said, if the races of the people doing the beating and the one getting beat were switched, everyone in the community would have been outraged. Hypocrisy definitely plays a huge part in the story. Either you should demand justice for everyone or not demand any at all. It goes back to the movie we saw in class where the people in the store were doing nothing to stand up for the girl who was Muslim and not being served. Not doing anything at all is just as bad.
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After reading the post about Brian Milligan, I can honestly say I felt sick to my stomach. Seeing the kind of destruction people cause for what I consider to be the dumbest reasons is incredibly disheartening. I know how naïve it sounds to say that I thought our country was past hate crimes like this, but I thought that we were at least learning to accept situations like Brian’s much more than previous generations; that it was ok for biracial couples to be seen out together without fear of persecution.
This topic particularly hits home as my sister just ended a 2-year relationship with a guy of a different racial background. She, 100% white, was dating someone who was 50% white and 50% black, but by all accounts could be considered fully black on initial glance. Now this situation is obviously a reversal of the one mentioned in the blog, but the thought of something happening to either one of them simply because their skin was a different color and they happen to be dating is completely terrifying.
I didn’t view their relationships any different than the rest of my friends and family. Why should I? It was just as dysfunctional as any other one you can expect from high school kids.
The flip side to this issue is also, as mentioned in the blog, the reaction or lack thereof from the community. It does kind of put it in perspective that those who are so quick to protest hate crimes are really only there to protest when it is in their best interest. There lies the hypocrisy that is mentioned. If you are opposed to hate crimes, then you are opposed to ALL hate crimes, not just the ones that negatively affect your race. I think the lack of action against those who committed this awful crime speaks volumes about people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and their stance on these kinds of issues. There is no doubt in my mind that they were made aware of the situation, and voluntarily chose to do nothing.
I give a lot of credit to the pastor who finally spoke up and had the guts to make a statement about how wrong it was. I am absolutely positive that if the races of the assailants and the beaten had been switched, it would have made national news and mass chaos would have ensued. This is not to say that there shouldn’t be protests when blacks are the unfortunate targets of attack by whites. I just think if we’re going to make it known that hate crimes will not be tolerated, we need to stand by that notion and stand up for those victims despite the circumstances.
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I had heard about this story on the news and frankly, it is a scary thing to see and hear. The fact that it took so long for anyone to stand up and help this poor kid, Brian Milligan, is ridiculous. He was beaten up, nearly killed, for the fact that he was dating a black girl, Nicola Fletcher. I’m sure it was hard enough dealing with the looks and remarks that were being made about them just because of their interracial relationship. I should know, my boyfriend is black. Although the stares we get when we are out may not be done with prejudice all the time, we still get looked at by people. However, I have never felt that my well being was threatened by anyone, but for Milligan to have to worry about his own safety, to have to worry about his own life just because his girlfriend is black, is a scary thing. I think a good point was brought up when the blog mentioned that Jesse Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton did not go to Buffalo, New York, to protest this hate crime. Had this situation occurred the opposite way, a group of white kids beating up a black kid, the news would be all over it, and surely one of the previously mentioned men would have had a public statement about the incident, possibly even had gone to the scene. However, since it was a white kid, those mentioned above did nothing of the sort. Sure, because he was white may not be the only reason they did not respond, but it is hard not to think about that reason. The fact that it took so long, nearly two weeks, for members of the community to do something is just sad. I’m glad that finally someone, Reverend Darius Pridgen, did something about the situation. He held a sermon explaining how the attack on Milligan was not deserved, and how if it was a black teenager everyone would have caused an uproar. Just because he is a white teenager, does not mean his attack should go unnoticed. If we are to raise awareness about different hate crimes and civil rights, then everyone needs to be included, not just the ones who have been oppressed in the past. If someone is going to get civil rights justice, then everyone deserves civil rights justice. Milligan was just a white boy who was in love with a black girl. If anything, his civil rights views were more advanced and spread, than the views of the close minded boys who beat him. I just find it appalling that someone who obviously is not showing much, if any, prejudice was a victim in such a violent, ruthless hate crime.
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Interracial dating shouldn’t matter at all, and it really should not be an issue in today’s society. I myself have been involved in a interracial relationship. It didn’t bother me or my mother, but I know a lot of people’s parents are unable to accept this issue, which has a huge bearing on how people feel or think about dating someone of a different race. I think today’s generation is more acceptable of it then those such as our parents. Several of my friend’s parents are the same way while us, the children, have no problem with the idea at all. Skin is just a color, why should it stop us for having feelings for eachother? The person who makes this serious decision is only you. Your family is your biggest influence with making decisions. The second largest influence is your friends. A lot of people seem to be more comfortable dating someone their own race. There are always positives and negatives to this kind of decision making. I think we need to step out of these cultural boundaries and allow our love to run free. The problem with this is that when people actually do step out of said boundaries, there are inevitably going to be people that disagree and oppose. The kid in this blog article decided that he wouldn’t let race or color determine who he would love, and unfortunately there were people that opposed. The problem, beyond that of their blatant ignorance and prejudice, was the fact that they decided to act or their horrible thoughts, beating the kid to a pulp. This is simply unacceptable and for the predominantly black community to stay in silence to the event was a pure example of how people fight for justice but don’t actually believe in it. People are correct to be upset with the black community of this city because, like they said, had it been a black male, there would have been quite and uprising. As black people, we cannot afford to have double standards or issues such as this, because if we do, it will only hinder the progress they so many of us had to fight so hard for. It’s not easy to overlook the past, and to create a better future, we cannot act as some racist people did years ago. Yes, America has had a great amount of racial issues. But i mean come on, years have passed and people move on. Changes are needed for progression. I actually am someone who comes from a very diverse family, so my family would typically be more understanding. But I challenge anyone and everyone not to let the stipulations set forth by their parents or family control who they decide to love and be with. So in closing, I’ll leave it at this; it’s time to leave irrelevant things behind us and move on as a nation. There are way bigger problems in the world.
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Racism is a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement; usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others. Racism still occurs today all across the United States. The most common occurrence seen around Penn State is between white and black people. All the time you hear about occurrences where a white person is walking through a black neighborhood, and gets jumped by multiple black kids. When this occurs, maybe the cops are called, but you never see it on the news. But if a white person were to get a job over a black person, or make a team over a black person, they usually complain saying that it’s racist that they didn’t make the team. Things like this happen all the time. It’s not fair for this raucous from black people, or people of other races when we have laws like affirmative action. The law gives opportunities to people of other races and ethnicities a chance to have any job or get into any college. For example, if you are Native American, you have a great chance to get into penn state because it is rare to of someone of this ethnicity to come here. Schools like to be diverse, which makes it easier for people of their cultures to get into college.
Occurrences like the one in this article happen on a daily basis. It is not fair for black people to complain about racism, when the same things that happen to them, happen to white people. Many hate crimes, especially in big cities, have to do with gangs, or groups of people ganging up on someone.
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After reading the journal entry, “Hate Crimes, Free Speech, and Hypocrisy” I had mixed emotions about the reading. On one hand, it was a tragedy what happened to Brian Milligan. No one should suffer such a horrible fate because several people do not approve of who you date. When we think of racism, we typically imagine southern white men, who display hatred toward black people. However, if agreeing with Sam’s definition, racism is “’Believing that some person or group is superior or inferior than another person or group because of some identifiable physical characteristics that they can not change.’” Sam’s definition allows every racial group to be racist against another racial group and a potential culprit to hate crimes.
However, trying to level the playing field of racism and hatred between black and brown people to white people is unfair and somewhat trivial. Towards the end, I began to feel as if, the writer was once again trying to shift the blame of racism away from white people to the minority groups. Racism and hatred between the races evolved from the single hatred from white people, and through years of oppression white people expect the black and brown people to roll-over and accept it? We are naïve to think that there is no fallout from the years of prejudice of our past. As long as white people remain the majority, they will continue to be the face of racism in our society. Every society needs a scapegoat, so why not choose the majority group who has been responsible for slavery, and segregation throughout our country’s history.
According to the Merriiam-Webster Dictionary, the term racism is defined as “A belief that a race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. With the evolution of racism, minority groups were trained to believe that they displayed inferior characteristics compared to a white man. For example in the landmark Supreme Court Case, Brown V. Board of Education, researchers discovered that black children believed that they were inferior to white children in a doll test. Black children would characterize white dolls as the good dolls. If we are trained to believe such truths, how can we ever believe that the playing field will ever be level.
The writer defends white people by questioning whether or not it is “Only white people who hate” and “if black and brown people want to be treated as equals, then why do so many cry ‘foul’ when hate crime laws are applied to them?” I have never seen minority groups cry foul, when there is a potential for hate crimes to be applied to them. Potential hate crimes by black and brown people are examples of retalliation.
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After reading the blog about hate crimes and specifically the one that took place in Buffalo, I was shocked about what had happened to this man and what kind of crimes happen like this every day. Growing up in State College, it is obvious that it is a white majority community, but I have rarely seen anyone type of hate crime towards someone that is of a different race or ethnic group. Of course is there are always the sayings or side comments about people, but I have never seen an incident escalade to physical abuse. It is hard for me to imagine what it is like to live in a place where events like this happen on a regular basis. I know that may seem a little naïve for someone like me, but what I do not understand is where this hate comes from to actually cause physical pain to someone.
Also from reading the article I learned that it not just one race beating up another race. I liked how the pastor of a predominately black church in the Buffalo said how if it were the other way around and a black man was beaten up by a group of white people just for having a white girlfriend; it would not go over very well within the black community. I believe that hate crimes do not just have to do with people of white skin beating up people of color or black people beating up white people. Every situation is different, but there is definitely racism coming from both sides of the argument. These forms of hate crimes do not just involve fighting over people’s races or ethnicity. There have been many hate crimes towards people’s sexuality, their gender, groups of people that they associate with or the way someone might look.
This is the way I have seen hate crimes occur, especially when I was in high school. So many people only “belong” to their group of friends and will not even think about being friends with anyone else from a different group. Think about how the jocks hang out with jocks, nerds with nerds, popular kids with popular kids, the hicks with the hicks and there are the unfortunate ones who never really find a group who are considered the loners. We were all there at some point making fun of a person who was not in your group thinking it was okay to make fun of them and exclude them from everything. In my high school, it never got to the point where anyone was physically harmed, but there was definitely the jokes, mean comments, and excluding the “unpopular” people from every social event since they didn’t “belong” there. Even though there was never any violence, saying words can be just as painful and considered to be a hate crime too. Even though this topic is about hate crimes against someone’s race, let us all not forget that hate crimes can occur in many forms and can affect many different types of people.
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This blog entry was about the white boyfriend of a black girl getting beat near to death simply because he was black. The may seem a little backwards but what a lot of people fail to realize is that black and brown people are every bit as racists at their white counterparts. They feel a certain sense of bitterness and animosity against those that have hurt and oppressed blacks in the past. Saddest thing is that people like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton who are known as figure heads that usually stand up and speak out against such obviously racially charged acts of violence weren’t anywhere to be found. This is a whole different problem, but let’s us not forget about the problem that got this guy beat up in the first place.
Interracial dating has polarizing affects on both of the races involved. Let’s take the classic black person-white person scenario. Blacks are upset at both parties for very different reasons. They are mad at the white guys for stealing “their women” and they are mad at the black girls for being a “traitor”. White’s don’t like that whites are “tainting the pure white blood”.
In class the other day Sam, mentioned the number of people that would be willing to have kids of a different race. Or have mixed-raced children. Most succumbed to the societal pressures of trying to look good in front of their peers and said they wouldn’t mind having bi-racial children or even adopting a child of different race. But there were a select few that said that they wouldn’t because they thought it wasn’t in the best interest of the children. I think this is a true statement; it is almost twice as bad for the children. They are apart of two vastly different and polarizing groups of people who ultimately for the most part they hate each other. If the mixed child chooses to relate more towards their white side, depending on the shade of their skin, they will find themselves with a lot more privileged while those who know about their black side will see them as a traitor or think that they want to be better than their “black side”. Or if they choose to identify more with their black side, blacks will immediately turn their noses up at them. So no matter what they do it’s always going to be a lose-lose. No one wants to bring children into a world where they are not certain they can succeed in. That is the hardest decision for a mixed racial couple has to go through when it comes to their relationship. Do they want to placed that added pressure on their child to have to overcome such adversity? The answer to this question is never easy, and few people have the clear cut answer.
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I completely agree with the post from Brodi. There was a great deal of really good topics brought up. I feel that when the circumstance of the picture to be drawn of a ‘racist’, evidently realistic. I worked in a camp once of unity and leadership through our colors, and the children ranged from 7 to 14. One of the activities was actually to draw a picture of a “racist” so that we could see how they depict racial issues. This was more so a psychological/social experiment to determine how the youth of our nation deals with day-to-day racial issues or dilemmas. Surprisingly enough, the African American or black children drew white people, the Caucasian or white children drew black people, but there was one little Dominican boy he 7 years old that drew a few different people in a picture but never colored them in. He said “we are all the same on the inside we all have stuff inside our bodies that help us to live, we all have families, and we all experience pain and happiness, so how can anyone be racist?” I felt that was so deep for a 7 year old, and I was awe stricken by what he said. It goes to show that society really takes a hold of us and those invisible strings of society literally control us and we are shaped by them.
‘The case of Brain Milligan illustrates two things, one, that racism knows no boundaries, and two, that even minorities share this narrow-minded view of racism.’ This was an extremely interesting statement; I feel that the line racism knows no boundary is evidently true. If someone can honestly and literally almost beat someone to death just because they aren’t content with seeing an interracial couple is just absurd. Who is to say that one person shouldn’t be with another because of their racial background, or color? Any crime committed such as this always raises a lot of tension and awareness to these specific ordeals. It’s true that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are so quick to be there strong-minded, driven “black defenders” but when it is the other way around they have no words. They I believe, within themselves are not essentially racist per say; however, they are very much full of pride. They always stress the importance and significance of African Americans in today’s world and how far they’ve come, but do you pat those specific people on the back and praise them when they commit crimes like these? I don’t believe everyone can be generalized and compared together just due to their race. Society in general needs to expand the horizon on racial issues and circumstances, not everyone can be segregated into each of their own racial barriers. The walls people have built up over the years need to be demolished in order for hate crimes such as these to cease to exist.
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After reading the article entitled, “Hate Crimes, Free Speech, and Hypocrisy” I was not surprised at all to hear some of the things that happened to people. They’re people in today’s world still living back in the 40’s and 50’s when what color race you are mattered. Not that it doesn’t matter in today’s world but back then people of different backgrounds and races becoming couples and getting married was just something that didn’t happen. Supposedly we’re living in the land of the free, well if people can’t walk down a street without getting bashed by racial comments, than I don’t know what this world is coming to. We live in the twenty first century now people have to stop living in the past and get with the program. Just because you grew up differently then someone else may have, doesn’t mean you’re any better or worse than they are. Some of my good friends are in relationships with people from a different race. It’s weird to see how the different generations view it too. For example I’m ok with interracial couples, my parents are sort of okay with it, but my grandparents would throw a fit. It’s pretty cool to see how the cultures have changed over the years since people immigrated here and different groups of people started to live together. I feel that the freedom of speech is taken for granted way too much also. Too many people in the world today say hurtful things to others over stupid things or for no reason at all. People, who say words don’t hurt you, are completely wrong. In my opinion verbal abuse is much worse than physical. The verbal one never goes away it’s always in the back of your head. If a black man loves a white woman, than that’s his opinion. I have no problem with interracial relationships, in fact I think people in interracial relationships last longer than others. There’s bashing coming from all over the place today, especially in the gay community. My opinion is if people want to be gay then let them it’s their personal choice, some of my best friends are gay and when I found out, of course I was wierded out in the beginning. At first, I didn’t know what to say I had to go home take it in and then I was fine with it and we are still best friends today. I think people are just afraid of anything but the norm. Some people think that just because people are different that they’re not human. Ignorant people like this are the reason why some people go crazy and do terrible things. People have to get it in there heads that the old ways of life are obsolete and the world we live in is moving into a new globalization phase, where everyone from all over the world have to work together to help us survive.
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Looking at the case of Brian Milligan being beaten to death by a group of African American kids because he had an African American girlfriend and the subsequent backlash, or should I say, lack there of, I look and I see a lot of hypocrisy. If the roles were reversed in this case and it was a black man beaten to death for having a white girlfriend by a bunch of white kids, the backlash would be immediate and brutal. There would be marches and protests and statements released by all sorts of leaders in the African American community. Yet this poor kid was beaten up for just following his heart and the news didn’t effect any of them. Brian found the girl of his dreams and he just wanted to be left alone. He didn’t let threats or social norms drive anyone away. He stayed with his girlfriend and it ended up costing him his life.
I just am not sure how the community didn’t see the racism here from the start. I mean just because it wasn’t people typical definition of a hate crime doesn’t mean that it didn’t fall into that category. This was a hate crime. He was targeted out for something having to do with his race and he was targeted for it and beaten. Yet, the African American community had no outrage until the kid’s family came forward. If roles were reversed, and the white community had no tangible reaction to an African American being brutally beaten to death by a bunch of white kids, there would be national attention circling around this story and this evidently racist town who did nothing to get justice for him and his family.
I mean, it annoys me when people don’t see they’re own hypocrisy. Are these community leaders only interested in justice when it affects their own people? How can you not be interested in justice for ALL Americans, whether they be white, brown, black, tan, Asian or whatever ethnicity you are. Why does justice have to be selective? If there’s one thing that annoys me as much as racism, it’s hypocrisy. I just don’t know how these leaders can look themselves in the mirror and say they fight for justice. What they really do is fight for selective justice, justice when it benefits their cause and that’s almost just as bad as any act of racism. I hope that in the future, leaders in this country and put aside the racial lines and fight to stop injustice when they see it across all racial lines and stand up for the voiceless, to get justice for anyone who’s been wronged. I just hope that the America I speak of isn’t too far away.
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Unfortunately I wasn’t the least surprised when I read this article. It really saddens me to know that I have come to expect such blatant racism in today’s society. However, I can’t stand to even hear about it let alone ever witness it and as I read the article I just became increasingly angry. It disgusts me to know that there are people out there who are so horrifically racist that they think that they have the right to judge another persons choice in a partner and then act on that choice if it goes against their personal beliefs. I don’t understand why interracial relationships are looked down upon by so many people. How can a persons race evoke such anger that it can lead to such awful acts as harassment, physical violence and even attempted or successful murder? It’s attacks like the one on Brian Milligan that provide white people with the basis for their assumptions that all black people are violent and hateful against white people. White people see and hear of these hate crimes which just creates or enforces racist thoughts. But why do we need these acts to occur for us to address the issues surrounding interracial couples? No doubt they face problems as a result of their race that fall under the radar. It’s only when incidents such as the attack on Brian Milligan occur that the true issues concerning interracial couples are brought to light. What really aggravated me as I read the article, besides the overall horror of the incident, was the fact that the Black community took so long to respond. It took a number of local preachers addressing their parishioners about not helping to find the culprits before they decided to react to the situation. What was even more eye-opening was the fact that they acknowledged that had the tables been turned and a black guy had been the victim there would have been an instant protest. It wasn’t until Brian’s father was on TV pleading with the community to help find the people responsible attacking his son that the Black community felt enough remorse to react. Reading that was really upsetting and I strongly agree with the quote from the article that states “You either walk for justice for everyone or you don’t walk at all”. There should be no hypocrisy when a situation like this occurs. A persons race should never be a reason for a threat on their life and if such an unfortunate event should occur there should be an immediate reaction by all members of the community not just those of the victims race. The example in class on thursday that dealt with the different reactions if a white person was to drop something as opposed to a black person in the same situation was really informative. It wasn’t surprising to find out that people are more likely to help a person of another race when they are alone as opposed to when there are multiple people, it was sad, but not surprising. Similar to what Sam said in class on thursday, you need to take a good look in the mirror if you don’t strongly agree with helping a person of another race as fast as you would a person of your own race. What kind of explanation can people have for denying help due to the color of a persons skin?
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In today’s world I find it troubling that someone would be a victim of a hate crime because of who they date. However, this is because I come a family that taught me to love whoever I wanted, whether it was someone of the same race, a different race or the same or different sex. But that’s just how I was raised. That’s why I find it so hard to understand how someone could physically harm another person because he was a different race than his girlfriend. Even though we have made great strides in eliminating racism, I don’t think we will ever achieve a racism free world. It’s not me being pessimistic; it’s just me being realistic. While this was a premeditated and clearly racist hate crime, so much of our racism comes from the subconscious. A lot of the time we don’t even think about it, or that we’re doing it, it just happens. Racism is also everywhere. Because of our nation’s history, most people see racism as whites hating blacks, and while this is true, it is not always the case. Every immigrant group that came over to United States was discriminated against one way or another. That’s why every culture lived together. Italians lived with Italians, the Irish with the Irish and the Germans with the Germans. It’s because so many years ago when we started this country, not everybody saw it as America. A lot of people saw it as their country and outsiders were not welcome. This is not meant to bash on whites or browns or blacks, it’s just that so many of the founding fathers belonged to the WASP’s, white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. And these people were not accepting of the other European cultures and blacks were not accepted by the whites, and basically it became a vicious cycle that was never really broken. Racism is prominent everywhere. It’s unfortunate but it’s true. Everyone keeps talking about how they want to end racism but I don’t ever really see that becoming possible. In the world there is just so much hate towards other cultures because of cultural differences and bad blood between countries. So many wars have been started because of racism, and while we have made great strides in trying to eliminate it, it just takes one simple look at a hate crime as erroneous as this to realize that we have not really come that far at all.
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When I was on the race relations website looking for a blog post to use for my journal one particular post caught my attention and that was the post entitled “Hate Crimes, Free Speech, and Hypocrisy.” It caught my attention for a few reasons but the main reason was the fact that it was just so tragic. I don’t live in denial I know that racism still exists in our society but this brutal attack clearly crosses the line. Back in the 1960s when the civil rights movement was going on blacks were able to win themselves a lot of basic rights most important of which was desegregation. That was a long time ago and although racism still exists I though that we were at least at the point were interracial relationships were tolerated in our society apparently we are not though. Its one thing to see the couple together and to think to yourself well I don’t think that is operate but to carry out and act like this is completely unacceptable. The fact that a man who was in a mutual relationship with a woman of a different race made him into a target of such brutal violence is simply appalling. What I also find disturbing about this crime is the fact that there are people out there to preform this. What is going though the minds of the terrible people who carried out this crime. Beating the man to the point of near death isn’t really going to change anything. The extreme violence is a definite sign for worry we can not allow people with such brutal capabilities to be on our streets. Another aspect of this story that I find quite interesting and which I though was a great point by Sam was the fact that we don’t see an outpouring of public disgust at this. Hes right Al Shaprton and Jess Jackson are no where in sight. If this had happened to a black kid for dating a white girl they would both be outraged except when its the other way around neither even turns a cheek. This is perhaps best described by the minister in buffalo who’s quote sums up everything “‘At first, it didn’t affect me the way that it would have if I heard it was a black teen attacked,’ said the Rev. Darius Pridgen, who spent years fighting for civil rights for African-Americans. ‘But after I saw his father on TV pleading with the community to find the assailants, I decided I had to go after the people who beat this kid.’” This too is a serious problem in our society we need to realise that this crime no madder who it was committed against or by doesn’t madder one bit. Its a terrible crime and the victim should be treated fairly and with kindness while those who committed it should serve some serious time in jail.
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