Last evening I found a very interesting post over at RachelsTavern.com providing an alternative view on what the Jessie Davis/Bobby Cutts murder story – all the media attention is directly related to Interracial sex. What?!?
Before we even look at w…

True.

But, you leave out a very important factor in racist miscegenation.

In order to get to the “black savage brute” who would violate any white woman, you cannot leave out the most important aspect of this dynamic:

white men’s mistreatment of black women during slavery and segregation.

You cannot leave out this very important part of this dynamic. You cannot talk about one (WW/BM) without speaking of the other (BW/WM). Because this is what set into motion the white man’s fear and digust of white woman/black man sex. It was what was done to black women by white men that set into motion the position and condition we are in in this country today.

Because of the massive gang rapes committed by white men during slavery and segregation, the white man had to justify his defilement of black women. He knew that his wanton degradation of her was seen by the black man, daily, monthly, yearly. The white man fathered tens of thousands of children with the black woman, children he denied. Because the white man raped and debased the black woman he knew in his guilt that he had created a race of people raped into existence and therefore, he feared that the black man would do to the white woman what the white man had done to black women for over 400 years.

Four hundred years is a very long time.

Rape. Pedophilia. Acts of outrages and sexual excesses that would shame a rabid dog were done to black women. And the white man saw that the sexual cruelties done to black women and girls and the resulting progeny were a daily reminder of his psychotic mistreatment of an entire race of women.

Knowing that the result of his actions (his mixed-blood children) walked around as living reminders of his cruelty, he began to fear the black man’s vengeance. He began to fear that what he did to the black woman things that were so shameful and hateful, that words could not begin to describe the unspeakable acts of the most grossest abominations that he did—–then and there the white man began the act of “projection” against his perceived fears of the black man:

“If I have degraded the black woman so, when will the black man eventually start to do to my “women” what I have done to his “women” for centures?”

Then and there the die was cast.

Because of the white man’s guilt, and fear and rage, he projected onto the black man the image of bestial beast, of savage brute, when in reality it was the white man who was the bestial beast, savage brute who caused an entire race’s bloodline to be polluted.

Then in the late 1890s, the vicious lynchings started.

The “over-sexed, hung like an ape, walking life support system for a huge insatiable penis” image of the black man was born. The savage “can’t wait to lay up with a white woman brute” black man was born. The “we must protect, defend and honor our white woman” psychosis was born. And soon, black men’s (as well as black women’s bodies) were hanging from Southern trees; black men’s bodies were tortured and burned; black men’s bodies had sex crimes committed against them ( for what is castration if not a sex crime?)

And the savage lynching bee spectacles that lasted for nearly 100 years occurred.

The white man projected onto the black man all his sexual transgressions that HE had commtited against innocent black women and girls.

Then and there the black man as “Brute” as “Black Beast” was born.

Therefore, the white man was punishing the black man for the transgressions HE had committed against the defenseless black woman.

And the more he raped the black woman, the more he put the white woman upon that pedestal.

The more he creeped down to the black cabins during segregation, the more his guilt grew.

And the more his fear grew.

To even think of a white woman being with a black man sent him into a rage. No white woman in the white man’s mind could possibly love a black man; no white woman could possibly find a black man as having any humanity. No white woman could possibly desire a black man.

Therefore the white man greedily kept the white woman away from the black man and constantly told her, (and himself as well) that no sane, pure white woman could possibly have anything whatsoever to do with a black man. And the white man set about to destroy the “beast” he had created in his sick, demented mind. No white woman was safe around a black man, so the slightest look at a white woman brought with it death.

The legacy of that twisted perversion of sex by the white man still lives with us today:

*Black man as brute beast rapist (no white woman could possibly want anything to do with him. If she does, she is the lowest of the low, insane, demented, trash)

*Black woman as animal, “good enough to fuck, but, not good enough to marry”; insatiable “Whore/Jezebel/Slut” not worthy of having her humanity validated.

Even today, when a WW/BM couple is seen it illicits rage and torment in the white man. Since the white man can no longer castrate and lynch the black man physically before the white woman’s eyes, he feels he must “lynch” the black man in her eyes by not hiring the black man for high positions/careers, by economically tearing him down; allowing in many instances the black man only obtaining employment in certain low-paying jobs. He can no longer physically tear the black man apart, but, he constantly strives to tear him down economically and socially in the white woman’s eyes. But, on the other hand, the site of a BW/WM does the opposite because it is still acceptable in this scociety, this country that a black woman is to be given no human regard and is to always be used, not just by the white man, but, by ALL men. Make no mistake, the white man has not stopped working on destroying the black woman either. He disparages her beauty. He negates, marginalizes and erases from people’s psyche’s her womanhood—–he in essence renders her INVISIBLE. Not worthy of love or respect.

Whereas on the other hand, the white woman is to always be accorded the utmost respect and to always have her humanity validated.

That is why many people look at a white woman and question “Why should she be with him?”

On the other hand, a black woman is seen as having no right to have the love and adoration of ANY man, and that her womanhood has to constantly be impugned and assailed every chance anyone gets to do that to her.

So, you see, you cannot speak of the BM/WW aspect without mentioning the BW/WM aspect of this dynamic, the residue of which is a holdover from the depravities of slavery and Jim Crow segregation.

It did not start with the white woman/black man.

It started with the black woman/white man binary where the debauchery of black women set this dynamic of black sex/black privates/black bodies were vile, evil, filthy, perverse into motion.

But, it also set into people’s psyche’s the dynamic of white bodies/ white sex/white privates as pure and normal.

It is the white man’s perversion of interracial sex that has left a damnable and twisted sexual fabric in ths country that exists to this day.

And it started with the white man’s subjugation and defilement of the black woman.

Which is why the white man feels that he is to always have all the women he can greedily get his hands on; the white woman is not to have anything to do with the black man; the black man is to be looked upon as a sex beast; and the black woman is to be looked upon as a mule, as an animal to be worked to death, fucked to death, kicked to death both figuratively, and literally.

Through both marriages, I have had my share of negative reactions, comments, and shared the hostility my wives experienced from native-born caucasian Americans. I’ve also shared the hostility they experienced from members of their native commuity, although I think the Filippino communty was far worse to my first wife, than the Chinese community is to my present.

Over the years; I’ve picked up on people thinking my wives married me only to better their lives and gain American citizenship. I’ve picked up on native-born American “white women” wondering why I don’t find any interest in “them.” I’ve picked up on native-born Americans acting as though I married immigrant women because I couldn’t attract an American-born wife. Or that I somehow needed to “buy/bribe” a woman into marrying me.

The stereotypes go on, and on, and on. Now, the open hostility we’re getting from locals about immigration is getting very tiring, in a way that the hostility from just being an Interracial Couple never has. It just seems as though so many people in this country need someone to hate so they can feel good about themselves.

“Suspicion immediately fell on two of the custodians, Brandley and Henry (Icky) Peace, who had found the body. During their joint interrogation — as Peace would recount — Texas Ranger Wesley Styles told them, “One of you is going to have to hang for this” and then, turning to Brandley, added, “Since you’re the nigger, you’re elected.”“

Also, Christopher McCowen was convicted on Nov. 16 of killing Truro (Cape Cod) resident Christa Worthington. Two jurors have now testified that the jury proceedings were replete with racist comments. See http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/06/10/judge_to_hear_race_bias_claims/

I understand that, in that the black cop in question was male, not female. But the nature of the original post also speculated on why some types of relationships get more coverage than others. Surely, you’ve noticed that when talking about white/black IR the default language used is that of BM/WW?

“Lee, I grew up in Northern California amongst educated, liberal, vegan, environmentally aware people. I got some unkindness when I started dating a rather attractive white man.”

Likely, they would not have objected as much if he was black and you were white. They would have preferred each race keep to itself even more so, of course, but that hierarchy of acceptability is still there.

“On the list of desirable races, we are at the bottom, with white women occupying the rarified atmosphere at the top and Asians somewhere in between.”

Hmm. I see where you’re coming from, but it’s a general rule that anyone who tries to dissect race using a Black/White/Asian triumvirate - especially if ‘Asian’ refers only to East Asian, and pale East Asians at that (Polynesians, Filipinos, and Pacific Islanders notwithstanding) is spouting a whole lot of nonsense.

“Similarly, the narrative with this murdered woman is that she definitely had some emotional or mental problems…why else would she go out with a black guy? She was a nice looking girl, she could have gotten ANYONE. Why HIM? The blogs and the commenters are not-so-subtly saying that she must have been white trash and therefore was asking for it. After all she was having it off with a black guy…no better than a farm animal, right?”

Emphasis on that second last word. In my experience, white women who have it off with a black guy are usually considered sexually loose, or something along the same lines. Because he’s obviously a sexual animal with no control, she must be as well.

“It puts the burden on the listener to justify their feelings, and it undermines the relationship by implying the listener hasn’t already determined any amount of priviledge loss is worth the bond and love the interracial couple share.”

I think this is true for about 80% of all relationships we have as far as our meddlesome relatives are concerned, but you’re right in that listing the problems a couple is going to have is not being some sort of neutral fact-relayer. It’s being adversarial. You’d see the same thing if he didn’t have a steady job, she had kids in a past marriage, etc.

As far as the subject of the thread itself, I don’t doubt that race is now an issue with this case (for some), but I don’t think it was what originally gave it its “draw” as a story because, as many have pointed out, in all of the initial reporting (at least that I saw) there was no indication about the race of the father/boyfriend at all. I had no idea he was African American until after the “mystery” was resolved and they found the body and arrested him, though I admit I did not follow the case too closely. It is difficult to argue that the first week of the story was about race when the racial element to it was not mentioned in the coverage. At the time I assumed the story got so much attention because it was a pregnant woman who was missing and might yet be found alive, taken in suspicious circumstances. In other words, a mystery with a ticking clock, something the media always loves. It also reminded me of the Peterson murder, which is yet another hook for the MSM to sink into.

And now, again, I confess I’m not exactly following the story, but I have seen snippets of it since the arrest and I’ve seen no mention in the MSM about anything involving race. The “mug shot” that revealed the father’s race was shown without any comment on the matter.

Personally, I think the interracial factor simply isn’t interesting or novel enough for the MSM (MainStreamMedia) to see it as much of a “hook” simply because, while plenty of prejudice and racism exists, interracial couples are old news.

Regarding RonF not understanding/believing Rachel’s assertions on the intent AND effect of “Your life is going to be harder if you marry a black man, and is it really worth it to you?” has on the receiver of that statement.

RonF, the speaker may feel they are looking out for the listener, but mostly it’s about the speaker’s fears and a projection of the speaker’s fears onto the listener. It is racist because it isolates the listener from the speaker, and makes it a problem for the listener, which is a primary effect of racism (that is, it creates an environment which puts the burden on individuals, instead of society as a whole). It puts the burden on the listener to justify their feelings, and it undermines the relationship by implying the listener hasn’t already determined any amount of priviledge loss is worth the bond and love the interracial couple share.

If the speaker truly wanted to be supportive and was concerned about the listener, on the listener’s terms, then the speaker would say something like this: “What steps can I take to learn/continue modeling anti-racist behavior so I can support you and your fiance?”. If the speaker isn’t able to speak to the issue that directly, a simple assertion of “Good for you, how can I help?” also does a lot to tell the listener they aren’t being judged, doubted or isolated.

Rachel,
Whether the story highlighted in this post started out about race is immaterial, in my humble opinion. It certainly is about that now. Calling the media on their shit is hard work, particularly this type of shit.

I really appreciate the time and energy you put into articulating interracial relationships, as I get a lot out of it. I hope you do, too.

The fact that people make statement “A” but have racist motive “B” behind it does not make statement “A” racist; it just means that the speaker is lying. And while speaking out about bigots is everyone’s duty, it’s not going to change things for one’s loved one short term.

You do have a point. If someone says, “You know, you’re going to run into a lot of trouble with this” and then pursues the conversation from the viewpoint of “what’s the best way to deal with that”, it’s a different direction than pursuing it to the point of “perhaps you ought to reconsider this relationship.” And yes, I realize that the former might be being used as a mask for the latter. But it’s a matter of intent and action; the initial statement itself is not racist, it’s a matter of fact.

Rachel:

“Then in trying to justify families “concerns” (which are occasionally real concerns, but are generally expressions of oppositition to the interracial relationship)”

SamChevre:

“What I’m not seeing is how stating that to be the case (as in Ron’s hypothetical, “Your life is going to be harder if you marry a black man, and is it really worth it to you?”)”

No, that would not be “trying to justify family’s concerns”, that would be “in trying to understand family’s concerns”. And Sam, you’re quoting Rachel, not me. Rachel, just because I listen to someone and try to understand why they’re saying it doesn’t mean I agree with them.

Rachel:

“So what the family would be identifying racism, right. However, they rarely connect it to racism, which your initial statement did BTW. They connect it to interracial relationships–so they think the white partner’s life will be harder because of some sort of problem with interracial relationships, not because racists oppose interracial relationships. SO rather than placing the blame on racism they place the blame for alleged difficulties on the couple and on interracial relationships.”

Well, hm. I have little experience in this, and you apparently have a great deal. All I can say to this is that I am very, very surprised. I would think that if a parent or sibling was talking to their child or sibling about a matter like this that their main concern would be their loved one, not themselves. I find your assertion at best hard to believe and at worst quite disturbing.

(I’ve been in a white/Hispanic relationship for long years, & I have the distinct impression that lately the atmosphere has been getting a lot more unfriendly for relationships like ours, due the current festival of anti-immigrant & anti-Hispanic hate. Still, though, hostility to white/black relationships remains far & away the gold standard of hatefulness.)

I compare this to the Laci Peterson case, though, which after she was found had screaming coverage for what seemed like centuries on end, and I’m really not sure how much the interracial aspect is driving the coverage. I’m unfamiliar with the Vaughn case (I think I saw one headline on cnn.com and ignored it), but was that the one where a guy killed his wife and two kids? (Not the wrestler in Florida, the other guy.) Pregnancy makes a huge difference.

I think your point about IR marriage = loss of privilege is excellent.

Ron buddy you can’t have it both ways…if I am an alarmist for mentioning “so called extreme views” then families are alarmist for appealing to the nutball in a thousand. If my concerns about white supremacists (and others because I did say I read blogs and AOL blackvoices, which people seem to be conveniently dropping), are not legitimate, then families concerns about these people are also not legitimate.

We are talking two different things here. The first point was talking about the issue of whether or not the media circus surrounding this case was due to the interracial aspects of it. The second was referring to the reactions of a family to a specific instance of an interracial relationship involving someone they know/love. The existence of a finite but very low number of extremists is not what drove the coverage that this story got, but it could (unjustifiably or not!) drive a family member’s concern for another family member.

So even really nice liberal people with whom I protested nuclear proliferation and U.S. support of South American fascists were puzzled as to why a guy who could get ANYONE would want to date ME. Now I am no Halle Berry, but I am no dog either. But I am black, therefore, automatically ugly (or at least less attractive than the nearest white woman).

Similarly, the narrative with this murdered woman is that she definitely had some emotional or mental problems…why else would she go out with a black guy? She was a nice looking girl, she could have gotten ANYONE. Why HIM? The blogs and the commenters are not-so-subtly saying that she must have been white trash and therefore was asking for it. After all she was having it off with a black guy…no better than a farm animal, right?

It is really hard to shake the script that gets written for a group of people. Even though we like to think that our assumptions about people dont come from such a wretched place, when a case like this makes the news, it proves that to be a lie.