also about the guy that didn’t get hired because of his name. i wasn’t saying that ALL employers are like that. i am just saying that this problem still exists. and my problem is that you are saying that it doesn’t.

@patrick
sorry, i think i just didn’t write that well. i didn’t mean to imply that the choice was a conscience one. “why be good if you are treated like a criminal anyways” is a state that naturally evolves.

as per dressing for the interview. this wasn’t even at that stage. the employer simply looked at the resume for a second. read the name, and laughed. straight to the garbage.

anyways… PATRICK! great friggin show!

if you ever need the opinion of a mixed raced person let me know. i am peruvian (incan, african, spaniard decent) and japanese mix. my gf is native canadian (potawatomi and mohawk) too. both living in toronto canada, we have a very different view on a lot of things…. though so far, i tend to side with the french. hehe

Excellent podcast by the way, have added it to me regular listens list

( For more info, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chung_Kuo )

Also, I have a slight problem with the part where you talk about someone going to an interview dressed like he’s “back on the block”; why would you assume they wouldn’t dress properly? This seems to come out of nowhere; did it happen to you when you were hiring?

Hey Dude, I believe you when you say you believe you weren’t doing anything wrong. It goes to point of view. I bet we can both see the same situation and draw different conclusions. I hate to say it but the way you dress has a lot to do with how people treat and view you. That goes for everyone. That whole, why be good if we are treated bad is a cop out. Also you’re admitting to not being good the whole time, so your interaction with the police is somewhat justified. Also can you swear to your friends behavior 24hrs a day, is it possible that they did something when you weren’t around? Plus you can get some of the squares to believe you but come on, you and your friends were angels never doing anything wrong? Please, you just hate because cops know what the deal is. I don’t care what color they are, groups of teenagers hanging out not doing anything is a recipe for trouble. How many times did you and your friends not do something stupid because the cops were around or you thought you’d get caught? Quit making excuses.

Of course racism still exists. I don’t think it is as bad as it used to be but it’s still there. You also have to realize that it’s just not the province of white people. Every culture has some form of it. It’s part of the human condition, like it or not. It’s like the black police sergeant that was on scene when Gates was arrested has been called an “Uncle Tom” and has received threats. That’s racism also. The only racism that was on scene at the time was in Gates mind. With all that education and honorary degrees he reacted to the situation by falling back on the intellectually lazy ” The only reason they are harassing me is because I’m black.” If he had given it more than a few seconds of thought he could have come up with other plausible explanations.

Addressing the going for a job thing. I don’t subscribe to the “I can’t pronounce their name so I won’t bother with them school.” I have a business and have hired people with difficult names. I do have to say though if you come in for interview dressed like your “back on the block” I will never hire you. Also the promotion thing happens to everyone. I had people get promoted over me with less education and experience. It sucks but it happens to everyone.

P.S. I haven’t read anything about his driver being there, where did you read that?

this is a great read,

http://enperublog.com/2009/07/29/the-revolt-of-tupac-amaru-ii/

and although not about black being oppressed, it has to do with my ancestors which were similarly opressed. this happaned in 1700s. now you compare the abuse of a human through his youth and young adulthood, and how much healing he would need. imagine a entire people abused for over 300 years. healing usually takes 10 times longer than the actual painful event.

the conclusion to the article is my point, growing up we (the minority groups and decendents of slaves) feel a shame of who we are. we usually only have 2 choices. conform or find out who we are. which is not easy, being native american, our language was destroyed and people displaced.

after reading that, perhaps the way mrGates reacted might have not been so entirely drastic. it was stupid yes. getting your emotions take you over is usually stupid. but its understandable.

we weren’t doing anything wrong. i was a straight A student with an 90% average. most of my friends were 80%+. we played handball, basketball. no one carried weapons etc. after a few years of getting harassed by cops, getting looked down upon by the ‘community’ for the way we dressed, and getting into ‘trouble’ for no trouble, some of us decided that there was no point in being ‘good’ if you are treated like a criminal anyways. by our early 20s, most of us had a bleak outlook on life. a few managed to make something of ourselves by joining the military or sticking it out in factories and low paying jobs until we can get lucky and get hired in a high paying job.

racism still exists. i have seen managers throw resumes in the trash as they laugh about how they couldn’t possibly hire someone that they can’t pronounce their name. my friend’s university educated uncle with over 15years experience in the factory didn’t get a manager position that was instead give to some white guy that didn’t finish highschool.

now i totally understand that being police is a high stress job, but as far as i am concerned, despite that there will always be criminals, their own actions caused this mistrust, the social separation and the bleak futures. their own actions turned kids to crime when they are treated like criminals in the first place.

the history of police actions caused mrGates to react they way he did. he lost trust in police down to his DNA. people can’t just say, “oh well it was the past”. the price of such actions has to be paid far into the future.

people that were abused or raped as a kid spend a life time seeking help and healing themselves. sometimes they can never truly heal. can you even begin to imagine an entire community, an entire race that was abused, not just as a child, but for decades? sometimes centuries? this will not heal fast, and you can’t expect people to forgive and forget. one day that day will come, but until then, the ruling class must understand to be extra sensitive, because WE are sensitive to such situations.

i understand that cop was not there during slavery, and even during the police beatings of the 60s and 70s, but he should understand that those events shaped mrGates existence is such a way that he could not possibly imagine. if a cop can’t empathize, or sympathize, then he must at least be POLITE.

PS. his friend was also there during the talks with the cops. at least that is what i read. so searching for a second person was a no go.