skrewballl

skrewballl t1_j86mnjh wrote

i think the point is that you are just being way too literal about this in a situation where OP was to me kinda leaning more towards the general idea that the banner was taking a page out of the suns book (paper lol) by just not representing the community. and if its obvious enough for someone to think about and question, its worth talking about. instead OP was kind of just battered around about their question mostly without it ever being answered. and that to me is one of the insidious parts of strucural racism. if we all just figure that what the white people are saying is the same as what other races might say because those are the people that the publication is aimed at and its a general issue, then it just makes an echo chamber for one dominant groups perspectives.

sorry for the crummy formatting but i think im finished with this lil spat, nice talkin to ya!

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skrewballl t1_j85wv9p wrote

it was a question, not an argument, and the strawman fallacy still applies.

OP asked "How difficult can it be to find a Black person who rides the bus by necessity and not by choice to talk to? Or a Black transit advocate?"

you answered none of that, and redirected it to

then you suggested that they meant to ask something else: "what are you really upset about?"

then proceeded to answer your own questions instead of theirs: "s it the problems with the transit system outlined in the article you shared, or is it the fact that the article used a white person’s interview to publish and tell the story of how the transit system needs help?
If your answer is the latter, I would google the term “divide and conquer,” because that is how a ruling class achieves what is called redirection."

then you came to a conclusion that was pointed at OP and (insultingly) made a remark about how theyve been discredited: "The article discussed very real problems with the transit system. If you’re unable to process that without posting on Reddit about skin color, you have been divided and conquered."

OP never said that real problems werent talked about in the article, or even even comment all on the quality of the article. They asked about something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, which you chose to ignore.

This is a textbook example of a strawman fallacy and I couldnt spell it out for you more than that.

the point is that you missed the point and everyone patted you no the back while OP got downvoted a ton and kinda made fun of and made to feel bad about asking a legit question.

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skrewballl t1_j85vil2 wrote

are you a bot?

people keep answering your questions and then you just tell them that they arent answering your questions?

i answered you, its the lack of black voices in the piece.

better go redress yr straw, its gettin kinda stinky!

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skrewballl t1_j85e83a wrote

noun: strawman

an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument.

why couldnt you engage with their original question?

this comment im responding to being at the top of this thread really shows the state of this sub!

wild

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skrewballl t1_j85dk5g wrote

yes, the systemic (structural may be an even better way to say it) racism is in the lack of black voices in the article. simple as

idk why everyone wants to point back to the content of the article, thats not the point. the point OP was trying to start discourse about (imo) was that the article is just kind of disingenuous just by omission of specifically black voices in a city where the majority of riders are black/ non white. especially in a place like baltimore where no matter how much everyone wants to sweep discourse about the way race factors into things right under the rug, it is an integral part of the way everything operates.

this is the usa, it was built by slaves of many (non white) races, and the idea that people are MAKING things about race is ridiculous and ignorant. things are always already about race. and the more people are chastized for talking about it, the more it will be ignored and made to fester into something completely unmanagable. i know they can be uncomfortable conversations for people, but that just means they are REALLY important to talk about. the real divide and conquer and redirection lies in the taboo of talking about stuff like this. if we can agree to have open discourse about it in a calm and considerate manner then it can no longer be used as a tool to divide us!

then we can ALL really feel like were getting great public transportation.

also im still tripping on the fact that OP just made an observation and asked a question and everyone immediately blasted them about why they were asking the wrong question instead of engaging with what they were saying. this is something i feel like i see on reddit pretty often.

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skrewballl t1_j81ww2n wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in White Punks on Transit by [deleted]

this whole conversation is totally messed up! i think you had a totally valid point from the beginning. divide and conquer stuff is real but you didnt say "these white people have no idea what the real problems are that black people face on busses", you were pointing out SYSTEMIC stuff. I dont think that the banner's goal is white supremacy, but even the most progressive/equity and race conscious media outlet is still operating in a machine that has, since its beginning, been instrumental in engineering public thought. whether with sinister intent or not, its true, and what you are asking about is real shit and the kind of conversations that people love to write off. especially in baltimore! at the end of the day this points to an issue of the majority of a city's population often don't feel seen/acknowledged/represented. you shouldnt be corrected or made to feel wrong about that. especially in baltimore, which i think we can all agree has a declining population and is frantically trying to sell its image to bring in more citizens. it is important to think about why this underrepresentation might be an issue to someone. this question seems to have less to do with bus problems and more about properly representing a citys population in its news coverage.

I notice a lot on reddit that people love to act like that acknowledging, questioning, and dismantling systemic racism through discourse like this is somehow unneccessarily "making it about skin color/race". a lot of shit in this country IS about race, and pretending its not or chastizing others for bringing it up is playing into that system. making you feel silly/weird/awkward about asking a very specific question that they dont feel like is REALLY what you were trying to say sounds like some typical neoliberal "no this is what you meant" bullshit.

i dont know yalls races/whatever, but i sure have some guesses

also im white and live in the white l

skepticism and critique should always be welcomed with open arms! seems like some people around here are fond of doing a little "redirection" themselves. whether conscious or not

im glad you made this post and i encourage you to post more like this! <3

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