Coming Soon: SC-Epilogue, Part 5a

Agreed, hidden racism is the worst. People excuse microagressions as "just the way he/she/it is," but that doesn't change or even lessen the damage. It makes it worse. Like you said, things are changing. Believe it or not, having a blatant racist (Trump) in the White House actually might do some good.

Nick Scipio

I live in a country that has more non white than white. Racism here is much more "hidden" what makes it more dangerous in my opinion. But things are changing I hope. We, very slowly, are starting to unveil the hidden racism. First step to chance things. We have a very long way to go, unfortunally

Sad but true. I'm 100% positive that the racists I banned recently would shout themselves hoarse that they aren't racists... FWIW, what you're talking about are called "microagressions." They aren't cross-burnings, lynchings, or white-hooded assholes, but they're racist all the same. Hell, I'm <em>aware</em> of my privilege and the systemic racism, but I still screw up and say, think, or do racist things. Oh, none of them rise to the level of calling someone the N-word, but I have a lot to unlearn. Day by day, I suppose. We have to do better.

Nick Scipio

I should accept responsibility and say that I know many who are passive or subliminally racist, but would pop an artery if they were called out. Young people (&lt;30 yo) in our social and professional groups are showing the older people how and why they are racist. Derogatory or pejorative references (even humorous ones) to language, dress, type of work, smell, tribal beliefs etc. are also racist, only not overtly so. But we must first unlearn what we have always taken for granted as acceptable, and then improve and change.

Thanks. Unfortunately, I've heard that Canada has its own share of QAnon and racist garbage. Everything Trump touches dies.

Nick Scipio

While I'm Canadian, and am somewhat removed from the debate, I applaud your stance.

You're aware that a warrant isn't a conviction, right? And even if he's guilty, that's not an excuse for police officers to fire at someone, right? Police aren't the entirety of the legal system. They're separate from judges, juries, and jailors for a reason. Everyone deserves their day in court, even guilty parties. That's one of the cornerstones of this country's justice system. I'm not celebrating sexual assault, or criminals, by saying this. I'm espousing American values. Rethink your stance on this. Or don't, I don't give a shit. But your hypocrisy is apparent, and you should probably make good on your promise to show yourself to the door.

Before I end up showing myself to the door, can you at least admit that Blake is a piece of shit sexual assaulter who under any other circumstances would be vilified instead of celebrated for stealing a woman’s keys and holding her and the kids hostage because they couldn’t leave. He then resisted arrest and pulled a weapon on the cops and paid the price for his stupidity. Regardless of the color of his skin, he is a piece of shit who was wanted for arrest. I, for one, am glad the piece of shit is finally off the streets so he cannot easily assault anyone else. And, Yes, I’m from Wisconsin and do not live far from Kenosha. I’m sick of seeing my cities burn to the ground and people I know out of jobs and businesses while people celebrate criminals just because of the color of their skin. I’ve enjoyed your content from the beginning and always stayed silent regarding your love for HRC and your distaste for Trump, but to celebrate a criminal who assaults women is not something I would have ever expected from you regardless of how much you hate Trump.

Expecto Patreonus

Make a plan to vote in November. And then vote like your life depends on it.

Nick Scipio

And I've already banned you from returning. Good riddance. Racist piece of shit.

Nick Scipio

Enjoy your bully pulpit. I've already seen myself to the door.

Thank you, Nick. Everytime I see another black man or woman get shot by law enforcement for no legitimate reason, it makes my blood boil. Then I have to hear/read that clown's tweets about "Law &amp; Order"....I'm not gonna go into a rant. I'm tired of this. This needs to stop.

GentlemanPlayer

Thanks, Dan. And thanks for speaking up. It makes a difference.

Nick Scipio

Kudos Nick. You're doing good.

Preaching to the choir, brother. The GOP of 2020 is the party of racists, sexists, and homophobes. Been that way for 20+ years. It just took a grifter like Trump to say the quiet parts out loud.

Nick Scipio

I draw the line when "freedom of speech" is used by people to excuse their bigotry toward an entire class of people. Victim-blaming is a classic racist tactic. I mean, why else do we talk about a Black man's arrest record but a white man's "bright future" (Brock Turner)? And exactly what <em>is</em> the "right forum" for discussing justice and basic human decency? I wasn't aware that these things had a "right forum." I suppose it's because you're a white man, and you don't want to be <em>bothered</em> by nasty little things like police brutality, systemic racism, and a long history of injustice, especially when you have the privilege to avoid them entirely. Sorry, but you can't agree with the message and disagree about the "right forum." That's just a half-assed excuse for being a racist. Read Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." He says it better than I can. Here's a link: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Read it. Trust me. You might just learn something and grow as a person. Besides, you'll have plenty of extra time, 'cause you aren't going to be reading <em>my</em> stories anymore.

Nick Scipio

I gotta say Nick, I am disappointed. I read the news and follow this stuff on social media. I come to you to escape all the negativity and enjoy your very talented writing. I don't know if Mark wrote something after his shown comment that got him banished or not . If he didn't, I just lost alot of respect for you as a person. It would seem to indicate that you are one that agrees to freedom of speech as long as it fits your world view. Please find a better way to make your points. I quit watching sports, not because I agree or disagree with their message but because they chose the wrong forum. I don't want to stop reading my favorite authors for the same reason. Thanks.

The party of Lincoln is no more. Accepting Dixie-crats into the party with open arms blow up that argument and Willie Horton and other rants in the last 30 years buried it. Trump just starting yelling it out loud again. What does Putin have on Donnie? A Trump Tower in Moscow is not enough!

I've been woke for a while now (well, trying to be). George Floyd was my "hit the streets" wake-up call. I was deep into LGBTQ and Black TikTok at the time, so I saw a lot of what people were going through. I wasn't really an activist before, but I am now. Big time. Like you said, better late than never.

Nick Scipio

You’re late, my friend; I hit the streets after Breonna Taylor. (And *I* was late, at that). But welcome, anyway- glad to have your voice.

Bravo to you as well. Baby steps, but they add up. As long as we keep going.

Nick Scipio

Amen. I'm a majority owner of a book publisher/movie studio, and we're making some significant changes.

John Adcox

Thanks. And thanks for speaking up. Too many of us have been silent too long, starting with me.

Nick Scipio

And thank you for posting https://sayevery.name/. Holy hell. Devastating.

Bravo, mate.

John Adcox

Yes, Nick. Thank you for speaking up. I don't know who needs to hear this, but even if everything they're saying about Jacob Blake is true — and, of course, it isn't — he still shouldn't have been shot in the back. Police aren't supposed to shoot guilty people, either. And it's hard to be a police officer. No question. But also I don't give a shit. Be better at your job, and part of your job is to discern — without bias — if you are facing a present and lethal threat. That's when you shoot. Only then. So "he was going for a knife or maybe a gun" is a bullshit excuse, because he'd have to, I dunno, TURN THE FUCK AROUND to be a threat. Chris Rock had a great statement on this some years ago, but it's (sadly) still relevant: "Some jobs, everybody gotta be good. Like … pilots. Ya know, American Airlines can’t be like, 'Most of our pilots like to land. We just got a few bad apples that like to crash into mountains. Please bear with us.'" Sorry. I know I'm largely preaching to the converted here. And to be clear: I've got the privilege for this to just be a thing that upsets me, rather than a thing that makes me fear for my life. I just can't stand this anymore. I can no longer be silent.

Amen, brother!

Nick Scipio

I am a white guy married to a beautiful, brown skinned woman (some of the reason I was Team Gina). We are part time musicians, so we travel a lot. There have been many times when we have walked into a restaurant or some such and have gotten hostile looks. We've been lucky so far, no confrontations, but it has been uncomfortable sometimes. A college friend lives in Kenosha, also married to a beautiful brown skinned woman. His comment yesterday was "Do not come to Kenosha with your guns to 'protect' us. We don't need you. We have enough trouble with the police." There was more right wing violence on the west coast last night. Enough is enough, you have to speak up. Thank you.

David Kriel

Thank you Nick, its unbelievable and intolerable and Portland is seeing a rise in overt racist, hateful Pro Trump supporters fueling the flames of division.

Thanks. And thanks for your support. I know that sounds like a cheesy Bartles &amp; Jaymes commercial, but I really mean it.

Nick Scipio

Thank you Nick. You're a Mensch.

You're welcome. Silence is complicity. This is a problem we have to solve. It's <em>our</em> problem as white people. We have to do better.

Nick Scipio

Thanks for speaking up.

Please, blame the victim. You didn't watch the video, did you? The police managed to arrest Kyle Rittenhouse without shooting him. Rittenhouse was <em>a violent white supremacist who was known to be armed</em>, yet the police never fired a shot. Why is that? Take your comments back to Foxlandia with the other racists. I don't want people like you here. Goodbye.

Nick Scipio

Thank you Nick... Gave me a much needed moment to reflect.

Steve Anderson

Thank you.

TB