The Easiest Kind of Indignation

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It’s fascinating how many black sports columnists (with varying degrees of empathy) have used their column-inches in the week since Sean Taylor’s death to inveigh against the violence that has become endemic to the lives of so many black men. While it’s difficult to take issue with their indignation, don’t these sprawling critiques miss the point? A rich, 24-year-old black man who went to private schools and lived in an affluent community is gunned down randomly in his home and we get column after column railing about achievers being criticized for ‘acting white’. This is a very easy kind of sanctimony to muster, the kind that gets heads nodding and tongues wagging but doesn’t actually change anything or yield anything substantive. And the cats who need reaching —- the ones who murk people over kicks or beefs or whatever — ain’t studyin’ the op-ed pages or Bill Cosby like that.

But we digress.

An organization in Philly called 10,000 Men has begun foot patrols around city neighborhoods, and the group hopes it could serve as a template for other cities who want to start similar campaigns to curb violence and crime in their cities. Only 100 dudes showed up for the first day, but it’s a much-needed start.

  • The federal goverment is just as trifling as your baby fah-vuh. “The collection of child support from absent fathers is failing to help many of the poorest families, in part because the government uses fathers’ payments largely to recoup welfare costs rather than passing on the money to mothers and children. Close to half the states pass along none of collected child support to families on welfare, while most others pay only $50 a month to a custodial parent, usually the mother, even though the father may be paying hundreds of dollars each month.” [NYT]
  • Jesse Jackson Jr. takes issue with daddy on the op-ed pages. Jesse Jackson Jr. respectfully disagrees with his father’s column which criticized Democrats for not addressing issues important to black people on the campaign trail (Junior is a co-chairman of the Obama campaign). Jacqueline Jackson, Jesse Sr.’s wife, has thrown her support behind Hillary Clinton. (She BLACK!)
  • What’s in a name? Speaking of Hillary: is the way politicos refer to Hillary Clinton simply as “Hillary” condescending and sexist? Is it actually more problematic for media types to refer to her as “Hillary” if that’s how she’s referred to on her campaign website (and thus, acquiescing to the desires of her imagemakers)? An interesting discussion on On The Media.
  • A licky boom boom down. Globalization means that even songs that are generational embarassments here in the U.S. can be fodder for pretty cool, expensive-looking (if completely nonsensical) music videos from halfway across the world. (Ten years from now, there will be an Nigerian cover of Laffy Taffy. Mark our words.) [from Racialicious]
G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.