I just had the most absurd conversation with my mom....

[conuly]

I was talking to Jenn on the phone, when she paused, said Mommy was calling her, and then decided not to answer Mommy. Not long after, Mommy called me.

This is why:

Mommy: Hi. Just called to tell you we don't watch Fox news. (she was in her room)
Me: What? It took you this long?
Mommy: I swear, I was just flipping channels...
Me: I mean, why would we want to watch...
Mommy:... and I heard them saying that the people who didn't leave were planning to loot.
Me:... and this is really not necessary. This is why you called?
Mommy: ...which is just...
Me: Well, I'll pass the information on to Jenn.
Mommy: Oh, you're talking to her now?
Me: Yes.
Mommy: Okay. Bye.

Me: *calls Jenn again* She wanted to tell me to tell you not to watch Fox news.
Jenn: Well, that's not really a problem for me, I don't have a TV....
Me: I know.

I'm rather baffled by all of this. Still, I'm glad that even when she's desperate for news, she won't turn that dreck on again. It does get embarassing.

My mother is also upset by the quality of news coverage and reactions in general to this disaster, she says that most people aren't donating like they would if it were richer, whiter people who were caught up in it, and also that the reactions she's hearing aren't caring, they're more like watching a reality show.

And I'm sure if she were posting, she'd tell me to tell you not to donate to the American Red Cross, for reasons other people can explain better than I.

Comments

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

thank you for mentioning the race issue as well! it seems anyone who dares say that there might be some racial motivators for any of the negative responses and such in this clusterfuck gets the shit lj-attacked outta them.

[conuly]

It might not be the case. It might be because they think of these people as rude teenagers instead of cute little babies, or because they can't imagine reasons for staying behind - I can, starting with bad ones (they were stupid) and ending with a lot of good ones (they were poor and don't have a car and weren't able to leave).

But for a lot of the actual negative responses, I think race is part of it, even if the people aren't admitting it to themselves. After all, as we all know by now, white people *find* food while black people *loot*.

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

you bring tears to my eyes. seriously. some of the flack i have been getting for my posts on the SAME THING has been so disheartening. even from close friends ... sigh ... american has REAL problems with racism and it makes me sick to my stomach.

[malantha.livejournal.com]

Aw, you shouldn't use the find/loot thing. Those 2 quotes were made by different associations(?). One was from the AP and one was from the AFP.

Also, the person who wrote the "find" caption went on to say that they were near a grocery store that was 5' underwater with no doors, so goods were literally floating everywhere.

(Not saying racism isn't an issue here. Just saying I don't think that one was.)

[conuly]

Point duly noted.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, minorities ARE generally more likely to be in criminal activites because their ancestors were so terribly treated and poor that there wasn't much knowledge or money to pass on except the concept of "survive however you are able." Gradually some are finding ways out of that situation, but it's a slow process determined largely by luck and an ability to think outside "the world they know."

But it does bother me if people differentiate between similar actions between people of different ethnicities and describe those actions in a different light.

[conuly]

Mmm, I don't think so. I mean, I understand why generation after generation of any group of people tends to repeat the same actions, but I am fairly sure that it's not "minorities do more criminal acts" as much as "minorities are noticed more when they do criminal acts, and are more harshly punished, and their criminal acts tend to be the petty larceny kind - not the kind that steals a lot more but is less showy, aka white-collar crime".