I'm doing some editing for a British-English audience, so I've got my spell-checker switched over to UK English. For some reason, when I do that, it tells me the word "if" is misspelled. "If." What -- do you wacky Brit-types put an extra "f" in there? a silent Q? a superfluous "u", like in "colour"? Maybe it's one of those words we've long ago adapted by spelling it the way it's pronounced. Maybe in Britain, it's spelled "iftershire" or something. Anyway, that's bugging me. Any explanation (besides "MSWord is evil and trying to drive you insane", which I very much buy, by the way) would be appreciated.
And speaking of evil, wrong-headed stupidity: Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my hometown, Wilmington, DE, where the police have started keeping files on people they believe might someday be criminals. Evidently "innocent until proven guilty" does not apply to the 'hood. (And yes, apparently Wilmington has a 'hood. No, I did not know this. What can I say -- I was sheltered white-bread suburban growing up.)
The god-awful paper, the Wilmington News Journal, ran a tepid condemnation commentary (which for some reason I can't find again) and a contemptuous"liberals suck!" commentary. This guy talks about understanding the need to observe "constitutional niceties" (how gracious of him) but says that anyone objecting to this is a pie-in-the-sky liberal who doesn't understand the real world.
Look, babe, I'm living in a drug area. I have been known to stand on the street corner, talking to people, waiting for the light to change, whatever. By the sounds of it, the Wilmington police would have a snapshot of me decorating an office somewhere. (Or they would, if I weren't a white woman.) What you're saying is guilt by association is valid. What you're saying is its only a matter of time before anybody who leaves their house at night is a criminal. What you're saying is there is no benefit of the doubt, there is no innocent until proven guilty, there is no reasonable expectation of being able to walk down the street without being hassled.
What you're saying is bullshit.
Do I want people dealing in my neighborhood? Hell no, and that's why I go to Community Policing meetings and joined the neighborhood association and plan to volunteer at the new community center opening up later this month. But I also know there's not a whole hell of a lot for kids to do in this neighborhood sometimes, so there's a certain amount of hanging out on the street. And I know that if I got photographed or questioned every time I stood on the street, I'd start getting the message that what the hell, you all expect me to deal drug, why aren't I?
I know that sounds ridiculous, but stay with me here. On a really stupid, simplified level, there's a certain amount of spite involved. Here's an example: When I lived in Hong Kong, I got stared at a lot. Partially that's because I was blonde and therefore "exotic," and partially it's because there's no cultural taboo against staring. But I just got to the point where I figured if they're going to stare, I'm going to give them something to stare at. So I'd smile and wave and occasionally tap dance and do whatever I had to do until they looked away. I mean, fuck 'em. Stare away, babe, because here I am. You think you can handle it? Well let's see how you react to a big white chick clog-dancing on the 77 bus to Wong Chuk Hang.
And if something that trivial got to me and made me react perversely, how do you think being watched and measured and photographed and put in a file of usual suspects would make me react? How long before I decided fuck 'em, if that's what they want...
Am I the only one who has that reaction? I don't know. You tell me.
And speaking of evil, wrong-headed stupidity: Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my hometown, Wilmington, DE, where the police have started keeping files on people they believe might someday be criminals. Evidently "innocent until proven guilty" does not apply to the 'hood. (And yes, apparently Wilmington has a 'hood. No, I did not know this. What can I say -- I was sheltered white-bread suburban growing up.)
The god-awful paper, the Wilmington News Journal, ran a tepid condemnation commentary (which for some reason I can't find again) and a contemptuous"liberals suck!" commentary. This guy talks about understanding the need to observe "constitutional niceties" (how gracious of him) but says that anyone objecting to this is a pie-in-the-sky liberal who doesn't understand the real world.
Look, babe, I'm living in a drug area. I have been known to stand on the street corner, talking to people, waiting for the light to change, whatever. By the sounds of it, the Wilmington police would have a snapshot of me decorating an office somewhere. (Or they would, if I weren't a white woman.) What you're saying is guilt by association is valid. What you're saying is its only a matter of time before anybody who leaves their house at night is a criminal. What you're saying is there is no benefit of the doubt, there is no innocent until proven guilty, there is no reasonable expectation of being able to walk down the street without being hassled.
What you're saying is bullshit.
Do I want people dealing in my neighborhood? Hell no, and that's why I go to Community Policing meetings and joined the neighborhood association and plan to volunteer at the new community center opening up later this month. But I also know there's not a whole hell of a lot for kids to do in this neighborhood sometimes, so there's a certain amount of hanging out on the street. And I know that if I got photographed or questioned every time I stood on the street, I'd start getting the message that what the hell, you all expect me to deal drug, why aren't I?
I know that sounds ridiculous, but stay with me here. On a really stupid, simplified level, there's a certain amount of spite involved. Here's an example: When I lived in Hong Kong, I got stared at a lot. Partially that's because I was blonde and therefore "exotic," and partially it's because there's no cultural taboo against staring. But I just got to the point where I figured if they're going to stare, I'm going to give them something to stare at. So I'd smile and wave and occasionally tap dance and do whatever I had to do until they looked away. I mean, fuck 'em. Stare away, babe, because here I am. You think you can handle it? Well let's see how you react to a big white chick clog-dancing on the 77 bus to Wong Chuk Hang.
And if something that trivial got to me and made me react perversely, how do you think being watched and measured and photographed and put in a file of usual suspects would make me react? How long before I decided fuck 'em, if that's what they want...
Am I the only one who has that reaction? I don't know. You tell me.
posted by SAJ at
11:58 PM
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