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So I was pointed to...well a mess of a video really.
Perhaps some of you will recognize this guy once I start the video.
As always, a link will be in the description to see the original, full version and I will
include everything I think is necessary for context...
So why don't we just jump right into this one?
Computing Forever "Alright guys, so an impromptu video here but people have asked me to talk
about this because I put a thing up on on Twitter about it and uh- [chair squeeks] squeaky
chair.
So [laughing] USA 9 in America has put out oh my god DEFCON 12! DEFCON 12!
Major breaking news white supremacy is a wash on college campuses don't you know..."
USA 9 you say?
Can't say I'm familiar so let's take a look.
That appears to be a legitimate news broadcasting station, from what little I can tell glancing
at their site.
Of course, they're a Washington DC station, not something broadcast throughout the country,
so it's not really a surprise I haven't heard of them in Southern Illinois.
So they look legit, but unfortunately, I can't get any information on their biases
or tendency to report things factually.
This is the result for WUSA9, while more specific searches oddly bring up pages of unrelated
results.
I suppose this is probably fairly irrelevant for the moment, other than showing this apparently
isn't that commonly relied upon as a source.
Go on...
Computing Forever: "Not true.
Actually the opposite.
Hatred of white people is mainstream it seems.
In the media, in academia, in entertainment, in the workplace, right"
Perhaps it is some places.
Certainly I hear PLENTY of insistence that this is the case absolutely everywhere.
I wouldn't mind seeing something indicating how prevalent it really is, or what part of
each area has these issues.
But while we're dealing with anecdotes and examples, I haven't seen any of it.
I happen to be white, though a woman so likely viewed as more oppressed by those you appear
to think control things and less so by those you appear to agree with.
I've lived in three states, all far more toward the middle of the country than anywhere most
of the examples usually come from.
Within those states, I've lived in five different cities or towns each located in a different
county (or in one case, no county at all).
I've also recently been to part of Florida.
Not once have I dealt with any kind of hatred based on my skin color.
I've had some issues because of my economic status, what brand of supernatural nonsense
I was interested in at a time, and even what I was or was not able to readily do, but never
because I was white.
I haven't even witnessed anybody making any racist remarks or the like toward white people
if we're discussing in-person only.
I can't actually say the same when it comes to some other demographics, though.
Of course, none of this actually means that it doesn't happen to people - I'm sure it
does - just makes it a little hard to agree that it is "mainstream."
After all, something mainstream is, by definition, something normal and accepted.
Hatred toward white people is neither anywhere I've spent enough time to know about.
He then goes on to list measures meant to counter perceived discrimination and mentions
having covered it ad nauseam before.
I won't get too far into them right now.
Though I will say that whether any given program (or even the idea of the programs) is beneficial
is a worthwhile discussion to have.
Reasonably.
Engaging the ACTUAL arguments for or against, not straw men or extremist examples.
Then into the motives of, as he called it, the "liberal media."
Again, not what I'm interested in here.
Nor am I interested in arguing about the various examples provided, especially as I would have
to look into every single one.
But even if I granted, just for the sake of this discussion not that I really agree, that every single
that every single example mentioned was legitimate...
And even if I also granted, whether I agree with it or not, that some untold number more
examples could be found, AND that the mention of it being "everywhere" was hyperbolic...
All of this STILL would not show that it was normal, that it was accepted, that it was mainstream.
No more than showing examples of crime makes crime a "mainstream" activity or career path.
And it also has little to do with the incident here, other than perhaps showing the background
of why things occurred the way they did.
Computing Forever: "we live in a time where it's totally okay for you know black per-
and it should be, as it should be - for a black person to walk down the street with
a t-shirt saying black and proud or black lives matter something like that or an Asian
person to do the same with Asian proud what-have-you but if a white person does that you know they're
a neo-nazi or whatever"
So...I don't entirely disagree here.
If I were looking around from the outside, at even the so-called "mainstream" media sources,
let alone the alternatives with usually a very different slants, I'd see that as the case as well.
And certainly any of the above should be able to wear something like that.
Who cares?
But unfortunately words do convey meanings. Meanings that often beyond even
the sum of the definitions of the words themselves.
And even when they don't, things can be misinterpreted.
And actually because of what words can come to mean from their use, the area I live in now
and the one I used to live in would both be pretty hostile toward a black person with
a black lives matter t-shirt.
Because of the protest movement and what it is most known for, many people would take
that statement as something FAR more than stating their life matters, even to the point
of seeing it as anti-police, having a victim mentality, supporting terrorism (though they
might not label it as such), and/or hating white people.
And similarly, explicitly pro-white statements often get assumed to be supporting white supremacy.
Even though neither one's necessarily the case.
But here in the US, all of the above would still be allowed. It is completely
legal to wear a shirt saying any of those things, regardless how people may
take them.
And that is as it should be, at least in my opinion.
But that doesn't mean, and shouldn't mean, that people won't say anything about any of
them.
It doesn't mean that nobody will judge someone wearing any of those shirts.
It doesn't even mean it won't influence how other people interact with someone wearing
one of those shirts.
It just means that they're allowed to do it.
Computing Forever: "leftists are always banging on about how there's institutional racism
and how somehow the system-the game is rigged against everyone else who isn't white.
But the reality is what they've actually done with social justice and all these programs
is that they have introduced institutional biases and racism, but it's against white
people.
And so obviously you're gonna have the development of a movement that advocates on behalf of
white people and it's not for, in the instance-in the interests rather - of white supremacy.
It's actually in the interests of once again leveling the playing field so it goes back
down to being about merit - the best person for the job, the best person who gets the
the scholarship at college, or whatever it might be."
If it is genuinely an attempt to go back to a merit based system, and the programs are
a problem in and of themselves not merely need to be modified to offer the correct proportion
to white people, why on earth would anyone start advocating on behalf of white people?
You don't remove something by trying to create it all over again for another group.
If people are trying to argue against [meant for] the removal of biases in favor of other groups - which
is what is really being discussed here. It's not a policy that says "if a person is a straight
white male, exclude them" but ones that can be argued to have a similar impact by allegedly
giving undue consideration if the person is part of any other demographic -
then do THAT. Argue that case.
That's a discussion worth having, and one that may have some surprising sources of agreement.
But it's not the discussion that is started by arguing that straight, white, cisgender,
men without any disabilities are the real oppressed group that needs advocacy.
Computing Forever: "So this is an absolutely extraordinary story which should go viral
everywhere.
WUSA9 has taken the bait which was put out there I believe on might have been 4chan or
some social network like that, but obviously the people who engaged and ran this this program
- basically there's some fliers that were put up around a college - they knew what they
were doing and their intention was clear.
Their intention was to highlight just how racist against white people the mainstream
media are so let's have a look at this."
So, real quick before we watch:
What you're saying here is that some network, probably one such as 4chan which is known
for working as a hub for organizing trolls, created some kind of flyer to highlight
just how allegedly "racist against white people" the so-called "mainstream media" is.
They then put up these fliers which are, by your own and as you later show their own admission,
clearly intended to cause a particular reaction.
Clearly deliberate emotional manipulation.
Admittedly an effort at creating propaganda.
Then a single TV news station for the Washington DC metropolitan area picked up the story.
And because you've found here one single news station that is so rarely cited it doesn't even have an entry
in a fact checker that reacted in any way remotely like they expected, that reaction should go
viral and proves the point of the obvious and admitted trolls clearly attempting to
create propaganda.
Do I have that about right?
But yes, lets watch this...
[Dramatic Music Playing]
News Ancor: "The news at eleven continues
with a disturbing story out of Montgomery County."
Computing Forever: "Oh my god!
A disturbing story.
Dramatic music.
Oh my god this is serious.
What- what could it possibly be?"
[Dramatic Music Continuing] News Ancor: "Students found fliers taped up
at a high school that say"
Computing Forever: "Fliers?
Oh my god!
What do these fliers say?"
[Dramtic Music Continues] News Ancor: "it's okay to be white."
Computing Forever: "I'm not seeing a problem.
It's okay to be whi- I mean if it was it's okay
to be black or...
[imintating opposition] "Oh yeah, yeah, Dave, Dave, Dave, Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah,
It's okay to be white is different from it's okay to be black or it's okay to be Latino
or or Asian.
It's okay to be white has connotations, you know.
I mean because all white people are guilty of slavery even though more people fought
to end slavery than ever engaged in it.
But, you know, that's that's neither here nor there, Dave, okay.
I mean whites by their by their nature...
[normal voice] Yeah.
If you believe those kind of things, by the way, you've been watching television far too
much.
Stop watching the mainstream media."
Maybe you should take your own advice there.
I was going to leave the ridicule of this overreaction uninterrupted.
Unfortunately, it went straight from that into likely strawman territory in your perceived
opposition and then that suggestion.
Funny thing is that you, as with most people that I hear tell people not to consume the
so-called mainstream media, appear to be taking a handful of sources and letting them get
you not only worked up but convinced that everyone is out to get you.
You know, the same thing you're claiming they're doing to at least some group of those who
disagree with you...
Projection much?
News Ancor: "and now there are some racist online threats connected to them.
Here's Stephanie Ramirez."
Stephanie: "Here's what's going on.
Yesterday these Flyers were posted to at least two different locations: the University of
Maryland and Montgomery Blair high school in Silver Spring.
The high school even caught the poster on surveillance video."
Computing Forever: "the best thing that they could have done here is not report on this story
and you're about to see why."
Stephanie: "when I asked the school spokesperson what was going on he sent me a web link to
an older post that shows this was planned."
Computing Forever: "well, of course, it was planned.
I mean someone had to type up the thing and plan to stick it somewhere.
But yes, there is actually a story behind this."
Stephanie: "the page even says what to write oh and the post also says this."
Computing Forever: "Right...So this is the reason why you...Just play it."
Stephanie: [reading]
Computing Forever: "yeah, yeah so just reading that again
[reading] "We expect the anti-white media" [normal] "Of which these guys are obviously
a part because they're making a big deal about 'it's okay to be white.'
Oh my god, Heaven prevent!" [reading] "we expect the anti-white media
to produce a shitstorm about these racist hateful bigoted flyers."
[normal] "right and thing is they put out bait, you prove them correct.
They were able to play you.
And here's the thing that fair enough, you took the bait, right.
I expect you to.
The mainstream media not that bright.
But you're admitting that you took the bait.
[laughing] What the hell?
It's just unbelievable!"
"Right."
[reading] "with a completely innocuous message."
Okay, okay, enough of that.
I get it.
You find it hilarious that this one individual news station took the bait.
And fair enough, that's pretty funny...but here you're going on and on like everyone
is going to treat the whole world like an unfortunately large number think the internet
must be treated.
I mean you've taken the concept of don't feed the trolls, which doesn't even work on anything
larger than an individual level online - the trolls just look for new targets or ramp up their
attempts - and then you've applied it to the physical world, to a meatspace scenario
and even to news reporting.
The fact that something is clearly trolling doesn't mean it's going to be ignored and
treated like it's harmless.
It doesn't mean it is harmless, even if this particular instance probably was.
And on top of that,
You have just taken a source that may or may not be mainstream even in its small area and
treated it like it's every source for the entire giant country it's from, the entire
mainstream media.
But there is something else said I have to address.
Stephanie: "the high school's principal says this was posted to ten exterior doors to the
school and that this appears to be a concentrated effort to foment racial and political tension."
Computing Forever: "No.
Okay.
The opposite is actually true.
That has already been fomented by the mainstream media.
Alright.
That's being fomented by you.
Already.
By supporting black lives matter and all of these identity politics movements and antifa
and everything else."
Actually, that's not at all evidence that "the opposite is true."
The opposite would be an attempt to prevent or calm such tensions.
Whether another individual or group is guilty of the same thing or not has absolutely no
bearing on if that is what was being done here.
Hypocrisy does not reduce factuality.
Furthermore, by the very admissions you have made and shown, this IS what was being done.
This was very clearly a calculated effort to stir up a particular response.
By the same admission, this response that was intended was one that involved racism.
It's actually very clearly an attempt to take an already volatile situation in society and make it
explode, albiet for the stated purpose of proving how bad a particular group is.
Computing Forever: "you want to end racism it helps if you stop talking about it and
stop obsessing about it.
And it definitely helps if everybody is treated genuinely, genuinely equally so affirmative
action has got to go."
Where in the entire history of civilization has a problem been ended by people ceasing
to talk about it?
Yes, everybody being treated equally in whatever context discrimination is to be removed from
is necessary.
And to that end, again, whether a program is beneficial or harmful is well worth talking
about and affirmative action is no exception here.
But that doesn't get done by pretending there's nothing to talk about, and it doesn't
get done by flipping things around and pulling the same kinds of nonsense you're allegedly
fighting then saying you're doing nothing wrong because someone else did it too.
But while we're looking at hypocrisy and double standards in what might have been the ultimate
form of irony, let's replay what he just said there.
Computing Forever: "You want to end racism it helps if you stop talking about it and
stop obsessing about it."
and look at how he ended his video, after some discussion about the comments and mainstream
media again.
Computing Forever: "sadly we live in a society where we judge not on the content of a person's
character but on the color of their skin.
Anyway, thanks for watching."
So...which is it, Dave?
Do we end racism by not talking about it, or do we talk about how society judges based
on the color of a person's skin?
Thanks for hearing me out!
As always, civil discussion, suggestions, and constructive criticism are welcome in
the comments or via social media.
Feel free to rate, comment, share.
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