Letter to the Editor
Racism lives on
Published Tuesday, April 15, 2008
April 11, 2008
To the editor:
Sad to say, but racism is still alive and well in good old Fairbanks.
A young relative was watching a movie with her junior high friends recently — they’re all Natives — and they were the target of racist abuse by a big group of white teenagers.
They called her and her friends names because they are Natives. One of the kids in the big group went to a Native kid and started punching him until security came over and stopped them.
What is wrong with these kids?
It makes me so angry to hear about this. I grew up here and I was subjected to the same treatment 25 years ago by racist white teenagers. I guess things will never change, and that makes me sad.
Community Discussion
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So blaming white people isnt racist? I see it go both ways. Racism will always exist.
I feel disgusted, "it was a big group of white teenagers!" Considering population isn't that usually always the case?
The letter writer doesn't blame "white people," he blames specific "racist white teenagers." He makes no generalizations about white people. His letter is not racist.
I'm not accusing the writer of racism but more of a error excluding all races in general behind the senses.
Natives had the true and pure way of life before the white man came along and destoyed eveything in their path. I am mostly white with some native american and am ashamed of the way most humans treat all life on this lonely planet.
You can bomb the world into pieces, but you can't bomb the world into peace.
Sledheads: I was responding to Brian, who did suggest that the letter was racist. I can't even guess what you're trying to say.
There will always be people who are hateful and cruel. It's a sad fact of life. Many people have a dislike or distrust of anyone who is different than they are.
Sad to say, I think many Native people invite racism by emphasizing their race. The phrase "Native Pride," for example. Why not put more emphasis on pride in accomplishments and character?
My mother used to say, "Beauty is only skin deep." The same is true of skin color. We're all the same on the inside - just people. Some good, some bad, most somewhere in between.
It would be wonderful if we could all look beyond skin color and race and just learn to appreciate people for who they are.
I am not Native, but most of my closest friends are. I see racism going both ways. Some whites deride Natives. Some Natives deride whites.
I remember a poem that says, "They drew a circle that shut me out, so I drew a bigger circle that included them in." There are many wonderful people in Fairbanks that we will miss the privelege of knowing if we avoid those of other races and cultures.
Babylon,
You always take a side of ignorance and "the minority is innocent". It is shameful that this group of natives was harrassed and they should have done the right thing and beat the crap out of those white kids. I'm white and would expect that to happen if I had done something so stupid. With that said, let's examine how white people get treated when they go to the bush communities to fish/hunt etc. Things get stolen out of trucks and boats, people get threatened and property gets vandalized. You rarely hear about this because it happens to white people and nobody gives a darn about whitey. If the individual stood up more often when necessary, you can bet that people would think again before screwing with strangers or their belongings. It goes both ways!!!
olypopper,
What you have said has a whole bunch of truth to it and I have had it happen to me while out fishing and hunting. By saying this, I will still try to walk the thin line of seeing both sides. It is a shame that this type of harassment can still happen in 2008 in this country. The problem is, most people only write about it or are concerned with it when it hits close to home. More time should be spent teaching our kids, I should say ALL KIDS, that this behavior is not right and will not be accepted. We would all like to be the innocent ones when it comes to these types of occurences, but when we stop and think of the many times we all have said or thought the wrong things about others, well, it should make each one of us stop and think why we do it. I know that can be a hard thing to do sometimes, but self evaluation is a tool everyone should be using! These kids learn this behavior from somewhere...If it is from the home, then the parents should be held accountable for their kids actions, especially when acts of violence are involved. If it comes from their friends, talk amongst the families and do something. This goes for the cities and villages alike...Hate can be passed on from generation to generation in one form or another and guess what, it usually is.
Remember the old adage: If you are not part of the solution, your part of the problem.
This is just my opinion though...
Jaded
Calvin Moses - Racism Lives On.....how true that is. It has, and always will live sad to say.
It comes from the parents, the realitives of the parents, it never dies it is passed along from generation to generation.
If you were around durning the Racial Riots of the 60's? The quips you see about them are TRUE, the police beat the "heck" out of em and anyone who got in there way. (must not of been TOO many lawyers then) peoples were hung, dragged behind vehicles, dissapered, ect. Very sad !
And right up there with the hate, was the hate against the American Indian (First Native People as there called now). And in the early 90's when my child was graduating high school - the "Hatred" was still on, and still is. It will never end.
Good luck to all of you. " If one could walk a mile in my shoes" - how does that go...............
Would it be considered racist if I said that if I were to walk down South Cushman at 2am - it wouldn't be the huge gangs of white kids I would be worried about?
Also - would one feel more or less scared walking around at 2am in University West or Second Avenue?
Now take it a step further and note what the population densities are in these areas. I guess we can blame it on the system....that, or in my opinion, poor parenting...
any thoughts - or do I go too far in asking this question? Maybe instead of thoughtful discussion one can just label me as racist and avoid the discussion altogether?
I will grant that the little white punks at the theater should have been stopped - and I would have done so had I been there....again, I blame parenting
A breakdown of the family structure hurts us all, regardless of the color... and letters like this perpetuate the sense of racism even more.
Wow! I say blame Clinton and Obama! It is all President Bush's fault!
so why was race even mentioned? Hate is hate no matter what color, sex, religon!
Carry a bigger stick
I agree with AKguy on it being the parents. I grew up in this town over the past 30 plus years and I remember what it takes to survive in this town, friends. Friends to stave off cabin fever, friends to hunt with, friends to help and friends to ask for help from. Because of that, I have learned that people are people, everyone wants to be respected and everyone wants to do there own thing, to some degree.
I ask the same question about parenting to Calvin, what is the lesson out of this that you are teaching to your kids; that THOSE white kids where in the wrong or ALL white kids are in the wrong? Your letter implies the second, in my opinion.
Well said, JB...well said
much more poetic than I could ever hope to put it
I have one major question: where are these "teenagers" parents. Now don't take this literally, I don't think you should follow your teen to the movies. In this day and age where we are working so hard to end the hate and bigotry, it is us as parents to teach our children to appreciate each others differences. It is our ignorance as parents and adults that has taught our younger generation that this is ok. We need to be responsible and watch our own actions make sure we are setting a good example for our children.
I am not angry anymore, just sad and resigned to the fact that my 14 year old daughter and her jr high friends were subject to this type of abuse. I grew up in a home where my father and mother taught us to respect all people regardless of color and to always try to help people out. I grew up with my father bringing canoeists to our home to eat and visit and my dad still gets mail and gifts from people in Germany, Japan, and other countries. I was angry because my daughter is a jr national honors society student and she does not deserve this type of treatment, neither does anyone. I was angry when I wrote the letter and I apologize if I mistakenly painted all white people as racist. That was not my intent, I should have thought out my words more carefully. With that I hope that people take these words and talk to your kids, they should not treat kids like that. I feel so sad that my girl had to endure that type of abuse, it breaks my heart to see that she accepts it and she has moved on. I truly hope that she will learn from this and she will be a stronger person because of it. I am proud of who I am and I hope that my kids learn to be strong people and that they know that not all people are racist. Thanks for your time. Peace. Calvin Moses
I'm an outsider, been here now 17 years. It wasn't till I came to this town that I EXPERIENCED racism. I'm a petite, white woman with long brown hair. I personally thought it was 'cool' at first b/c I had never been on the receiving end of racism(I'm from the South ya'll) However, 17 years later and the Natives are still restless over my skin. (Don't anyone hit the fan over that remark...I'm 1/2 Cherokee and I have freedom of speech!)Racism goes both ways, and it always will. Prejudice, jealousy, greed, fear, ... it all gets mixed up and it comes out as RACISM or BIGOTRY.
That's right folks, drop your spawn off at Regal Cinema and pick them up hours later. Where are the parents? Oh that's right, they need the 'break' from raising their children.
All it takes is one kid with an attitude, to organize support to gang up on another kid. If the 'recruits' don't engage in the gang activity, they become the one who is labeled a 'wussy' and harrassed.
It all gets back to: parents not involved in their kids lives, latch-key kids, kids who's parents don't monitor their activity, parents who don't respect people different than themselves, parents who don't give guidance and parents who don't take responsibility to raising healthy adults.
Anger, detatchment, hate, insecurity; these are things that children learn. Children are born innocent. It's up to the parents to teach their children; right and wrong, boundaries and limits, respect and tolerance, and love....or hate.
With all due respects, racism against natives isn't the real problem here, Calvin. It's primarily misdirected anger and frustration and a need for attention in kids. If your young relative was wearing the wrong clothes, he/she could have still been the object of ridicule and harrassment. Bullying is what angry children do without proper parenting, guidance and boundaries.
The author asks: "What is wrong with these kids?"
Blame for the situation can't be reduced to a singularity.
They're not mature. They're stupid. They have crappy parents. They don't have fully developed brains. They're subject to peer pressure. They have crappy parents. They haven't met anyone of another race they respect. They have crappy parents. They associate Native culture with being drunk and living under a bridge. They are poorly educated, starting when they were squirted out of the womb.
That said, it's out there: from all sides, directed at all races from all races. Even Sidney recognized that, in his letter the other day wherein he said that Native peoples, "...and yes, even whites..." would benefit from the land swap.
I don't know the man. I don't believe him to be racist, but it is interesting that his presentation preemptively identified an "us" and "oh yeah, them too" attitude.
Two weeks ago, I was asked for money 3 separate times between the back door of Lavelles and Noble street. All were Native. All were drunk.
One can apply mathematics (as usual), to say that demographics can be described in a binary voronoi diagram, so it's not accurate to judge an entire race based on the encounters in downtown Fairbanks at 11pm. It's unrealistic, however, to expect children to do so.
So it's left to the parents. They have crappy parents.
I did some work at FCA with the Street Outreach Program for a UAF class and was stunned to learn there are around 800 homeless youth in Alaska today; about 500 in the Fairbanks area alone. What does homeless really imply? Not that these kids do not have a place to live, rather, no place to call home. These are kids that may or may not go to school, but usually don't have parents to guide them or at least parents who aren't liquored up, and/or high on meth. I worked with Raz and some homeless youth for about 3 months...some of the stories I heard just broke my heart, most including a form of abuse. So yes, it is about parenting, these "bad" kids never had a chance to be raised properly and are constantly finding themselves in trouble. It is hard not to get angry at teens these days who are bullying and up to no good; but just try to imagine what kind of upbringing, or lack thereof, they might have had. I wish I had the magic solution to fix this problem, but it's going to take a lot of time and money that just isn't available. More after school programs, counseling options, adults who are willing to be there for them...are all great ways to start helping these teens who need to know that they matter to this world. And to their Fairbanks community.
uafgrad08: I had no idea...those numbers are sickening, and to know that they are only the tip of the iceberg regarding 'families' who don't put the time and effort into raising healthy adults explains this anger in these children at the Regal all too well.
I'm sorry, Calvin. I hope your daughter can grasp these numbers too. Though the statistics don't excuse what happened, hopefully it explains it and answers her questions as to 'why' these this happens.
* why this happens. *
oops.
sdoownek,
"They have crappy parents..."
You and I have 'crossed words' before but this time, I have to say, you've hit the mark with remarkable accuracy.
They do, indeed, "have crappy parents"!
I am shocked that someone didnt step in before security could. Since it was security that stepped in, didnt they call Alaskas Finest?
I think we have come a long way in a short time in this country regarding race.
Right or wrong, im my opinion, any group of people need to police their own. Stereotypes are there for a reason, there is some truth to them. If white are seen as being racists, we need to nip that behavior in the bud when we see it happening. Same with in the villages where property is stolen/destroyed. Whether the rate of occurance there is any more than in town doesnt matter. Perception is everything. Stop your buddy from being a moron. Thats the only way to get rid of it. Peer pressure in the right direction.
But I could be wrong.
To uafgrad08 and samiam, I don't think these were "homeless, parentless kids that were being racist and making racist comments! I would venture to guess that they are being raised in well to do homes by well to do parents with poor attitudes toward minorities!
uafgrad08, what you say is probably true of many of these "homeless" kids. But let's not be too quick to buy into the "poor me" message of these kids. The simple truth is, many of these "homeless" kids have perfectly good homes. "the "problem" is that they also have perfectly good parents who expect them to obey the rules, act responsibly, show some respect, do a few chores, do their homework, become a contributing member of the family, etc. Many of these kids choose to rebel against parents and other forms of authority, and they are living "on the street" (usually rotating between friends' homes, sleeping on the couch) because they believe this "freedom" is a better choice than obeying their parents who are trying to teach them discipline and respect and all the other things a good parent should teach.
I know one of these young men very well. He spent two years "on the street" and two more at the Youth Facility. He had a good home, but didn't want to follow the rules. His parent loved him and provided him with guidance and all of his material needs. He told tales of "abuse" in vivid detail, but I know they were all made up to get people to feel sorry for him. He admitted this to me.
And what happens when kids choose to live "on the street?" They have to find a way to support themselves. Drugs, theft, burglary, prostitution, etc. They also tend to get caught up in the drinking-drugs-sex lifestyle of their "homeless" peers.
This is an aspect of the "homeless" problem that I have not seen addressed.
Calvin, I didn't see you painting all caucasian children with a broad brush at all (me thinks some folks protest too much), and your humbleness in your reply is admirable.
My daughter's also 14 y.o., is also a member of the Junior Nat'l Honors Society, as well as involved in other activities rather regularly. She is THE most responsible teen I know.
Yet, when she requests to go to the cinema with a group of friends or class mates, an adult attends with them. (Typically, my wife goes along).
The 'group dynamic' of teens in a crowd has been known for years to sometimes find them getting involved in behaviors that they otherwise wouldn't get involved in on their own.
When we built our home, we liquidated 4 retirements, so that we could lessen the burden of what would've otherwise been an outrageous mortgage. This allowed one of us to stay home to raise our kids. We're both older-than-average persons, considering our kids' ages, but with one still at a pre-school age, one of us is still home in the day-time, raising our kids. And we have a very warm, fairly-well-built home of variable value to leave our kids when we pass on, as well as life insurance, rather than the retirements that we drained.
I think that there are lots of parents who would potentially be shocked to see how their own kids behave when they're not around; whether it be engaging in bullying in school, or behavior of the type depicted in your letter. My kids know, without question, what sort of consequences they face, should they involve themselves with such nonsense.
Parents, tired or not, there's a job to be done, and it doesn't necessarily involve two jobs to support the credit card payment for the third and fourth snowmobiles, the new SUV every third year, or the new cabin at the lake. It involves knowing where your kids are, who they're with, what they're doing, and when they're going from place to place, including home.
Well said Dirk!
I think the people here would be surprised to know how these "well to do parents" of the children involved in this attack are probably not racist at all. But the friends of the kids involved at their schools are entirely racist...when they can get away with it.
As a graduate of Lathrop High School, I was witness to many acts of racism as the student body contains a wide variety of cultures. Students who were more than willing to admit they were racist were quick to shut their mouths whenever a group of ethnic kids walked by.
It was a learning experience seeing how pathetic racist people are. These kids weren't raised racist, they just decided to be racist because they thought it would be cool.
My experiences playing hockey with black kids, native kids, even a Filipino and a Samoan kid, taught me not to judge a person purely on the color of their skin.
What excuse did these kids have to pick on this group of Natives? None. What were the native kids doing to illicit such violence from a group of white kids? Nothing. Are Native people racist aginst white people sometimes too? Of course they are.
As terrible as it sounds it is the natural way of things that people who are ignorant will hate that which they don't understand. But other times, people will become racist from one bad experience with a person from a certain ethnic group. I think we could all learn a lot by starting to forgive those who have wronged us and start to let the hate go. Life's too short to be hating everyone all the time.
Last year I was performing an emergency call downtown on a Sunday afternoon when a group of drunk natives pointed - started yelling, calling me a 'white ni**er'. Then the four started running at me. Good thing I had the keys to the building I was in front of.
Yes, racism is alive and well in Fairbanks.
I always feel bigotry, racism is such a waste of life. We can all learn from each other. Bigotry and Racisim causes wars. Do not judge each other on the color of their skin, lifestyle or age. You will find you can have a wonderful friend if you just look what's inside. Young people don't make the same mistakes we have done over the years. Learn each others cultures and be nice.
I'm 54 and I think we have a lot of good kids out there the rest just need to be taught and guided.
OnceVoice: I'd like to know what part of the South you came from. My husband has been in the military for years. I've never been treated the way I have until we were in the south. The installations were in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Arizona, and Florida. Jobs were hard to come by and nasty stares were the norm for me to see. Please tell me what part of the south did you not experience racism?? I would have liked to been stationed there!!
I agree with Valari. We have come a very LONG way. Racism exists in all ages, sex, race, religion, preference.....etc...etc...etc. It is our job as parents to raise, teach, love and yes...discipline our children the best we know how.
On the other hand: I knew this kid growing up whose parents spent as much time as they had with him inside school activities and out. But he still chose to live a life of crime, in and out of jail, and eventially out on the streets. So I can't say I'll point my fingers at parents. Some yes, but not all.
If the cops weren't called, I think the security person should lose his/her job. After all that was an ASSAULT. And can you imagine if a young child was there to witness what happened? Sad, Very Sad. Mr Calvin Moses, there are good people out there. I just hope this incident doesn't convince your relative otherwise.
Sorry I left the "S" out in relative
As an adult I have pretty much given up on going to the movie theater in town. Parents do just drop kids off & disappear, hundreds of them. Sure teenagers are old enough to be at a theater by themselves eight to twelve year olds should not. I stopped going in there because I got sick of getting ran into, cut in front of (attempted, I called them on it) & generally annoyed by every snot-nosed, rude, little brat in Fairbanks. They are abominable as a group. You can't even hear the (PG-13) movie for their cell phones & talking. Why has this business allowed itself to become a dumping ground for lazy parents? I have seen some well-behaved non demon children there, however they are the minority.
Mr. Moses, I am sorry your daughter was bullied for any reason, though I have to say it would have happened eventually. People are always doing stupid things for stupid reasons like jealousy & ignorance. I am very pleased to see that she has a good Dad to help her learn to deal with idiots & grow stronger. I can guarantee (as a daughter of a great Dad), that your standing up for her probably made it a little bit better for her right away.