Last week we talked about the rise in hate crimes as reported by the Anti-Defamation League. This week comes the ugly dispute between a school board member in San Francisco and the Asian community, illustrating once again that hate and racism come in many forms and skin pigmentation.
San Francisco School Board Vice President Alison Collins, who is black, wrote some nasty tweets in 2016 that accused Asian Americans of using “white supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘get ahead.’” Collins explained her racism by saying she was only seeking to “combat anti-black racism in the Asian community.”
Racism is where you find it and just because Ms. Collins is Black doesn’t give her a pass to speak her own brand of racism.
Don’t take this old white guy’s word for it. The Black mayor of San Francisco and leaders of all skin pigmentation say Colins’ tweets were racist stereotypes. They want her to resign. Although she said she’s sorry if she hurt anyone’s feelings, she says she won’t resign. And, most problematic to the situation at hand, she maintains her tweets were not racist in any way.
That’s the thing about racism: Denial is a hallmark of it. Accusing Asians of using “white supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘get ahead’” is — what? — just a legit observation about a community like, say, Mexicans are lazy?
Look, here’s the plain truth: Hate is real in America. It can take many forms and it is not exclusive to one culture or skin color.
What’s important is that we acknowledge that hate is on the rise. Be on the lookout for it and adopt a zero tolerance of it in any form.
SETBACK
Many will be disappointed to learn about the step-back on same-sex marriages contained in the Vatican’s recent “responsum” from the Congregation of the Doctorine of the Faith. The CDF, as it is called, articulates and clarifies Church teaching.
So, can the Church bless same-sex unions? The answer from the CDF: A flat-out N.O. It goes on to explain in language that will no doubt piss off many that same-sex marriage is a sin and the church cannot bless sin. Even though there may be “positive elements,” these elements cannot “justify these relationships.”
Pope Francis has been the most open-minded pope on same-sex marriages in my lifetime. The absolutist language from the CDF suggests a hard line forming against him in the Vatican.
(Postscript: As an Episcopal priest now retired, I blessed many-a same-sex marriage and found them good and worthy. I felt blessed to have done it. But, of course, that and $3.50 will get you a single-shot cappuccino at the Vatican coffee shop.)
SERIOUSLY?
Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in an event with Bill Clinton on the empowerment of girls. Seriously? Isn’t it time to drop pervert Bill Clinton from polite society? Or, was the Me-Too Movement just a joke for the Democratic Party?
San Marin High School cheerleaders out at the school’s first football game in almost a year.
PREP FOOTBALL
It was so nice to see high school football back in the newspaper. Thanks to Rod Miles and Eliot Karlan for shooting the games for us. Also, kudos to administrators and teachers who slogged through the COVID-19 pandemic to at least get a little in-person school on the books in 2021. It will be nice to see the fall semester return back to normal — or as normal as it can be.
ONE MORE THING
— I’ve never seen anyone jogging and smiling, so that’s all I need to know about that.
— If you see me jogging, please kill whatever is chasing me.
— Synonym: (Noun) A word used in place of a word you cannot spell.
— Only in math problems can you buy 60 cantaloupes and no one asks “What’s wrong with you?”
I’ll pick up my knitting and let myself out. Be safe and be kind in all that you do and say.
(Sherman R. Frederick is the founder of Battle Born Media, a newspaper company dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. He may be reached at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
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