#WrongSkin

[Bluto]

If you're alluding to slavery I don't think that's fair at all. I'll never understand the "slavery justifies/explains/excuses _____" discourse in 2015.

Try being black or Mexican in North Bakersfield in 1985. Oildale had a sign posted that read "no coloreds after dark" at the city limits at that time. So yeah, we're not talking acient Egypt or hanging with Ben Franklin.

 

[Bluto]

Anyhow, do you think she did a self tanner or spray tan?

 

[Bishop2b5]

Just be like me. Hate everyone equally. No problems.

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[ACamp1900]

Anyhow, do you think she did a self tanner or spray tan?

Cheetos duster....

 

[dshans]

Cheetos duster....

Original or those puffy balls of shit?

 

[Bluto]

Cheetos duster....

Maybe she just chugged gallons of carrot juice?

 

[Bluto]

Original or those puffy balls of shit?

Costco brand probably.

 

[pkt77242]

Costco brand probably.

Don't shit on Costco.

 

[Bluto]

Don't shit on Costco.

Damn!! Lol. Maybe she just took baths in cheddar flavor Goldfish?

 

[ACamp1900]

Don't shit on Costco.

EBT accepting bastards!!!... Sorry just had a mean flashback...

 

[gkIrish]

Try being black or Mexican in North Bakersfield in 1985. Oildale had a sign posted that read "no coloreds after dark" at the city limits at that time. So yeah, we're not talking acient Egypt or hanging with Ben Franklin.

I'm not sure how the existence of racism in 1905 or 1985 or 2015 is relevant to the fact that more violent crimes are committed by blacks against whites than the opposite. The original comment was about how the media will go crazy over a white on black crime but largely ignore the opposite despite it being more common. Then another poster commented that it wasn't always that way.

The heinous acts of whites in the past doesn't justify or explain away the realities of today. The Greeks were enslaved for 400 years up until 1821 and Greek Cypriots endure discrimination even to this day. Does that mean Greek people should be able to beat up Turks to get some revenge? Should Armenians join up and beat up some Turks too? The Jews sure do owe the Germans some payback...

 

[pkt77242]

I'm not sure how the existence of racism in 1905 or 1985 or 2015 is relevant to the fact that more violent crimes are committed by blacks against whites than the opposite. The original comment was about how the media will go crazy over a white on black crime but largely ignore the opposite despite it being more common. Then another poster commented that it wasn't always that way.

The heinous acts of whites in the past doesn't justify or explain away the realities of today. The Greeks were enslaved for 400 years up until 1821 and Greek Cypriots endure discrimination even to this day. Does that mean Greek people should be able to beat up Turks to get some revenge? Should Armenians join up and beat up some Turks too? The Jews sure do owe the Germans some payback...

I think that intent matters. It is one thing for someone to rob the next person who walks past their corner (still wrong and horrible) and another thing to say, that I am going to _____ (kill, rob, shoot, etc.) the next _____ (white, black, Hispanic, etc.). Let me be clear it is wrong no matter what race/group is committing the act. Again intent matters. I would hope (and I would personally be outraged) that society would be outraged if a black person hurt/killed a white person just because they were white. It is just as horrible as a white person hurting/killing a black person for being black.

I guess I feel like you are conflating two different things, racially motivated crime, and crime of opportunity (or random crime).

 

[Rhode Irish]

I'm not sure how the existence of racism in 1905 or 1985 or 2015 is relevant to the fact that more violent crimes are committed by blacks against whites than the opposite. The original comment was about how the media will go crazy over a white on black crime but largely ignore the opposite despite it being more common. Then another poster commented that it wasn't always that way.

The heinous acts of whites in the past doesn't justify or explain away the realities of today. The Greeks were enslaved for 400 years up until 1821 and Greek Cypriots endure discrimination even to this day. Does that mean Greek people should be able to beat up Turks to get some revenge? Should Armenians join up and beat up some Turks too? The Jews sure do owe the Germans some payback...

I think it's more of a glass houses thing than it is a justification for bad actions.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Why is it when race is a topic only white and black is discussed. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but aren't there many more races that just those two? Is it just the history this country has with those two races that limit the conversation to them?

 

[IrishLax]

Why is it when race is a topic only white and black is discussed. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but aren't there many more races that just those two? Is it just the history this country has with those two races that limit the conversation to them?

The Japanese sure got over being thrown in internment camps pretty quick. Asians in general outperform every racial group in this country in terms of objective success metrics and have strong family units so they don't have much to get in a tizzy about. Why doesn't White Privilege work on them? Hispanics/Latinos are currently the ethnic group that gets shit on the most of any of them... they earn the lowest wages for comparable work to other groups, are exploited in multiple industries, and have almost none of the social advancement initiatives of black people. And in the grand scheme of things, I don't think any group has gotten a more raw deal than the original indigenous people of the Americas.

To answer your question directly... yes, it's because of the history between the two. You're talking about widespread slavery followed by decades of segregation followed institutionalized racism. Generation after generation of black people are raised being told that all of their problems are because of white people... which, historically, is rather accurate even if slowly becoming outdated. And there is a recent rise in anti-black attitudes among all other racial groups because of how the media portrays their riots, the fact that an Asian student has a 0% chance of getting into med school with credentials that make a black applicant a near 100% lock, etc. etc.

The irony, of course, is that "black people" and "white people" aren't homogeneous blobs. I'd bet many on this site have Irish ancestors and for decades the Irish immigrants in this country were racially discriminated against by the WASP ruling class. It's not until the last half-century that the Irish have been viewed as "white" and not a completely separate lower class. You'll also tend to find, on the whole, very different attitudes among black people that are recently off the boat African immigrants versus those that are African American descendants of slaves. Studies show that relatively recent African immigrants have less anti-white attitudes, more two parents households, less crime convictions, etc. than the other group.

Pretty much all this bullshit comes down to nature vs. nurture. By nature, primates tend to be coded against outsiders. Psychology has proven that people are naturally sympathetic to others that look like them, and generally xenophobic to anyone they don't consider "one of their own." But that in and of itself doesn't explain the racial divide, just some intrinsic prejudice.

By nurture, you have people raised on both sides view the other side poorly. Hell, in Georgia they still had racially segregated proms until this past year! The media has a vested interest in pitting the sides against each. Racial activists have a huge financial interest in a culture that keeps racism alive and their constituency the victims. I'm personally skeptical that people will ever actually work to solve the problem as long as they can make millions off it continuing to be a big problem.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Where to start?

Kudos for everyone attempting to tackle these difficult topics!

Too bad that so many have been introduced to one thread. Ironically, this means that white girl from Montana, claiming to be black in Spokane, has done more to advance the racial conversation in American since guys like this, (He has at least one Irish ancestor in the last four generations) :

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6JDM4MY71G4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Back to crime statistics :

The only problem with the host of articles and blog posts quoting FBI crime statistics is that the FBI stopped tracking Hispanics the same way they do blacks and whites back in 1987. That fact alone skews any official federal numbers as Hispanics now represent an estimated 20% of the American population. For what it’s worth, the Bureau announced last month that it would go back to breaking-out Hispanics starting next year.

And . . .

American crime by race

While the FBI always releases its yearly tally of crime statistics broken-out by race, it’s typically received and reported on in different ways by different segments of America. In the black community, reports tend to focus on the fact that two-thirds of all murder victims in the US are black even though they only make up 13% of the population. In the white community, reports mention how blacks commit more murders than whites, even though they only make up 13% of the population.

The black community will respond that racist police and a biased criminal justice system are to blame for the disproportionate numbers. And while both statements are true to a certain extent, one need only look at major cities like Chicago where a large number of murders are the daily result of gang wars between multiple black street gangs in all-black neighborhoods.

Finally, you all realized that all crime statistics used by the FBI are based upon arrests. People with money, power, and influence don't get arrested.

So all crime statistics are able to be manipulated to show whatever the author wants.

Imperfections in fictional race categories and problems in classifying and quantifying arrest rates, based upon a myriad of existing issues, some related to racial prejudice, make literal interpretation of the best statistics suspect at best.

The only thing crime statistics should be used for is to find solutions to underlying causes, not to support and thereby perpetrate existing prejudices!

Back to human gender development :

Chromosomal -Turner's Syndrome
Turner syndrome - Genetics Home Reference

Klinefelter Syndrome
Klinefelter syndrome - Genetics Home Reference

47,XYY Syndrome
47,XYY syndrome - Genetics Home Reference

48,XYY Syndrome
48,XXYY syndrome - Genetics Home Reference

Triple X SyndromeTriple X syndrome - Genetics Home Reference

There are tons of materials out there about the anatomical, structural, functional, and chemical differences of men's and woman's brains. I chose a respected MD site which has processed the information from a wide range of studies, filtered out the bad or incomplete science, and presented findings in a comprehensive and easy to understand format :

How Male and Female Brains Differ

Researchers reveal sex differences in the brain's form and function.
. . .

Recent studies highlight a long-held suspicion about the brains of males and females. They're not the same. So how does the brain of a female look and function differently from a male's brain, and what accounts for these differences?


Disparities Start Early in Life

Scientists now know that sex hormones begin to exert their influence during development of the fetus. A recent study by Israeli researchers that examined male and female brains found distinct differences in the developing fetus at just 26 weeks of pregnancy. The disparities could be seen when using an ultrasound scanner. The corpus callosum -- the bridge of nerve tissue that connects the right and left sides of the brain -- had a thicker measurement in female fetuses than in male fetuses.

Observations of adult brains show that this area may remain stronger in females. "Females seem to have language functioning in both sides of the brain," says Martha Bridge Denckla, PhD, a research scientist at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Consider these recent findings. Researchers, using brain imaging technology that captures blood flow to "working" parts of the brain, analyzed how men and women process language. All subjects listened to a novel. When males listened, only the left hemisphere of their brains was activated. The brains of female subjects, however, showed activity on both the left and right hemispheres.




This activity across both hemispheres of the brain may result in the strong language skills typically displayed by females. "If there's more area dedicated to a set of skills, it follows that the skills will be more refined," says David Geary, PhD, professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri.

As a whole, girls outperform boys in the use of language and fine motor skills until puberty, notes Denckla. Boys also fall prey to learning disabilities more frequently than girls. "Clinics see a preponderance of boys with dyslexia," Denckla tells WebMD. ADHD also strikes more boys than girls. The symptoms displayed by girls and boys with ADHD differ, too. Girls with ADHD usually exhibit inattention, while affected boys are prone to lack of impulse control. But not all differences favor girls.

This is the crux of the difference between male and female early development versus racial identity. We can see that there are absolute chemical differences between male and female, while that is not evident between males of what we deem different races. Nor is their different basic chemical differences in development of females of what we deem to be different races!

Disparities Start Early in Life continued...

Boys generally demonstrate superiority over female peers in areas of the brain involved in math and geometry. These areas of the brain mature about four years earlier in boys than in girls, according to a recent study that measured brain development in more than 500 children. Researchers concluded that when it comes to math, the brain of a 12-year-old girl resembles that of an 8-year-old boy. Conversely, the same researchers found that areas of the brain involved in language and fine motor skills (such as handwriting) mature about six years earlier in girls than in boys.

So, do these sex differences even out over time?

Females and males maintain unique brain characteristics throughout life. Male brains, for instance, are about 10% larger than female brains. But bigger doesn't necessarily mean smarter.

Disparities in how certain brain substances are distributed may be more revealing. Notably, male brains contain about 6.5 times more gray matter -- sometimes called 'thinking matter" -- than women. Female brains have more than 9.5 times as much white matter, the stuff that connects various parts of the brain, than male brains. That's not all. "The frontal area of the cortex and the temporal area of the cortex are more precisely organized in women, and are bigger in volume," Geary tells WebMD. This difference in form may explain a lasting functional advantage that females seem to have over males: dominant language skills.

How Males and Females Use Mental Skills

Geary suggests that women use language skills to their advantage. "Females use language more when they compete. They gossip, manipulate information," he says. Geary suggests that this behavior, referred to as relational aggression, may have given females a survival advantage long ago. "If the ability to use language to organize relationships was of benefit during evolutionary history, and used more frequently by women, we would expect language differences to become exaggerated," he tells WebMD. Women also use language to build relationships, theorizes Geary. "Women pause more, allow the other friend to speak more, offer facilitative gestures," he says.

When it comes to performing activities that require spatial skills, like navigating directions, men generally do better. "Women use the cerebral cortex for solving problems that require navigational skills. Men use an entirely different area, mainly the left hippocampus -- a nucleus deep inside the brain that's not activated in the women's brains during navigational tasks," Geary tells WebMD. The hippocampus, he explains, automatically codes where you are in space. As a result, Geary says: "Women are more likely to rely on landmark cues: they might suggest you turn at the 7-11 and make a right at the church, whereas men are more likely to navigate via depth reckoning -- go east, then west, etc."

Now we are to two more complex and sophisticated issues, anatomical differences resulting in different brain functioning to accomplish the same task, and maybe the most important different languaging in gender identification.

How Males and Females Use Mental Skills continued...

While the brain allows us to think, it also drives our emotions. It may not come as a surprise, then, that the ability to identify and control emotions varies between sexes.

"Women are faster and more accurate at identifying emotions," says Ruben Gur, PhD, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Studies have shown women to be more adept than men at encoding facial differences and determining changing vocal intonations.

Women, as a whole, may also be better than men at controlling their emotions. Gur and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania recently discovered that sections of the brain used to control aggression and anger responses are larger in women than in men.

Gender-Based Skills Overlap and Complement

Recent studies that highlight sex-associated brain differences may lead us to believe that men and women have little in common upstairs. That's not the case. "Men and women do have lots of brain areas that are the same," Geary tells WebMD. Moreover, members of both sexes excel at skills that are commonly labeled gender specific. "All of these things have overlapping distributions. There are many women with better-than-average spatial skills, and men with good writing skills," Geary says.

Some researchers believe that nurturing one's brain can enhance what nature has provided. Consider, for instance, the general superiority of males' spatial abilities. "There's a lot of evidence that we build up our brain's representation of space by moving through it," Denckla tells WebMD. As anyone who spends a significant time around children knows, boys tend to get a lot more practice "moving through space" -- chasing a ball, for instance -- than girls do. "My hypothesis is that we could possibly erase this difference if we pushed girls out into the exploratory mode," Denckla says. She predicts that as more and more girls engage in sports traditionally reserved for boys, like soccer, the data on spatial ability will show fewer disparities between females and males.

Others believe brain variations between sexes are for the best. "Most of these differences are complementary. They increase the chances of males and females joining together. It helps the whole species," Gur says.

How Male and Female Brains Differ

So it is kind of ironic, there are differences between male and female, just not the misogynistic ones claimed by the most reactionary among us. But these clear differences do show a distinction, than no eugenics proponent can match!

 

[wizards8507]

How Male and Female Brains Differ

So it is kind of ironic, there are differences between male and female, just not the misogynistic ones claimed by the most reactionary among us. But these clear differences do show a distinction, than no eugenics proponent can match!

That's a double edged sword for the progressives to use, and I believe they use it hypocritically. When they want to normalize transgenderedism, they argue in favor of a fundamental difference between a man's brain and a woman's brain. But they use the exact OPPOSITE argument when propping up the modern-era feminist agenda. Men and women are the same, they tell us. It's sexist for women to assume nurturing roles, they argue. They can't have it both ways.

On your other point, I think chromosomal disorders are an issue to be discussed at most tangentially related to transgenderedism. Bruce Jenner doesn't suffer from Klinefelter's syndrome. He's a "normal" XY male.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk.

 

[GoIrish41]

That's a double edged sword for the progressives to use, and I believe they use it hypocritically. When they want to normalize transgenderedism, they argue in favor of a fundamental difference between a man's brain and a woman's brain. But they use the exact OPPOSITE argument when propping up the modern-era feminist agenda. Men and women are the same, they tell us. It's sexist for women to assume nurturing roles, they argue. They can't have it both ways.

On your other point, I think chromosomal disorders are an issue to be discussed at most tangentially related to transgenderedism. Bruce Jenner doesn't suffer from Klinefelter's syndrome. He's a "normal" XY male.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk.

I do not recall anyone advocating to normalize transgenderism. The reason it is even a topic of discussion is precisely because it is a relative oddity. Most progressives I know would ask "why should anyone give a shit?" if someone wants to be a different sex. They would look to ensure the rights of the decider would be protected. They might be curious why anyone would want to be a woman and thereby take an instant 20 percent pay cut, but they would not think it appropriate to impose their own values on somebody who is hurting nobody. You view of progressives amazes me sometimes. I think just about every progressive I know thinks this is a weird stuff. We just do not want to further alienate people who are clearly suffering (based on the single case of gender identity disorder that I have seen in my 50 years). Normalize suggest that there are thousands of people who are going to get their balls cut off if we don't uphold the stigma on these folks. I am confident that will not happen.

 

[Grahambo]

If you can get pregnant, you are a woman.

If you cannot get pregnant, you are a man.

The end.

I love you all no matter what and judgment is not my calling. Yes, I am Christian and yes, I really do try to follow the Word as best as I can. So, with that, I love you all. I hope you all find happiness in life. Smile more, frown less and let us enjoy an ND trophy..eventually..this year..please. ha

 

[wizards8507]

I do not recall anyone advocating to normalize transgenderism. The reason it is even a topic of discussion is precisely because it is a relative oddity.

Seriously? The current media storm is pushing for normalization and, beyond that, glorification. Not only is it normal, but it's stupendous. The greatest thing ever. Something to be celebrated.

Most progressives I know would ask "why should anyone give a shit?" if someone wants to be a different sex. They would look to ensure the rights of the decider would be protected.

I'm not advocating for any laws to ban, ostracize, or exclude transgender people. I'm actually advocating for what I believe is best for the transgender individual. Please answer this question directly and honestly without changing the subject, because neither Rhode nor Bogs nor anyone else has been able to do so: When a dangerously thin anorexic person looks in the mirror and sees themselves as obese, we treat that individual as one suffering from a mental health disorder. Why then, do we want to treat a man who looks in the mirror and sees a woman as if it's his physical self that needs to be altered? I don't have all the answers because I'm neither a physician nor a psychiatrist, but I think it's hasty at best and dangerous at worst to conclude that, when the mental and the physical are not in harmony, that it's the physical that must be brought into compliance.

They might be curious why anyone would want to be a woman and thereby take an instant 20 percent pay cut, but they would not think it appropriate to impose their own values on somebody who is hurting nobody.

That's a myth that's been proven false time and time again. When you adjust for occupation, hours worked, and life decisions (i.e. taking time off to be with children), the wage gap magically disappears. I'm sure it won't stop Mrs. Clinton from campaigning on it, though.

It's Time That We End the Equal Pay Myth - Forbes

Mark J. Perry and Andrew G. Biggs: The '77 Cents on the Dollar' Myth About Women's Pay - WSJ

No, Women Don’t Make Less Money Than Men - The Daily Beast

Sexual Assault, Wage Gap, and More Feminist Myths that Will Not Die

Wage Gap Myth Exposed -- By Feminists | Christina Hoff Sommers

You view of progressives amazes me sometimes. I think just about every progressive I know thinks this is a weird stuff. We just do not want to further alienate people who are clearly suffering (based on the single case of gender identity disorder that I have seen in my 50 years).

I'll let Whiskey comment on this if he's reading. He's outlined countless things that started as "weird stuff" that have now become commonplace.

Normalize suggest that there are thousands of people who are going to get their balls cut off if we don't uphold the stigma on these folks. I am confident that will not happen.

Again, this is a strawman. I'm not advocating for a stigma on anyone. I'm asking that they be helped in a way that doesn't included genital mutilation.

 

[Irish#1]

Maybe she just chugged gallons of carrot juice?

Back around 71 I worked for a grocery. There was a man who appeared to be in his mid 70's that came in a couple of times a week and always bought carrot juice. He truly had an orange hue to his complexion.

 

[Grahambo]

Back around 71 I worked for a grocery. There was a man who appeared to be in his mid 70's that came in a couple of times a week and always bought carrot juice. He truly had an orange hue to his complexion.

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[GoIrish41]

I'm not advocating for any laws to ban, ostracize, or exclude transgender people. I'm actually advocating for what I believe is best for the transgender individual. Please answer this question directly and honestly without changing the subject, because neither Rhode nor Bogs nor anyone else has been able to do so: When a dangerously thin anorexic person looks in the mirror and sees themselves as obese, we treat that individual as one suffering from a mental health disorder. Why then, do we want to treat a man who looks in the mirror and sees a woman as if it's his physical self that needs to be altered? I don't have all the answers because I'm neither a physician nor a psychiatrist, but I think it's hasty at best and dangerous at worst to conclude that, when the mental and the physical are not in harmony, that it's the physical that must be brought into compliance.

I do not have any answers either. So since I do not know the answers I will not make any judgment on what is best for these troubled folks. We know that trained doctors are performing these procedures, so in the absence of someone convincing me that they are harming the people who change their sex, I am going to continue to believe that the doctors believe they are helping. Also going to assume plenty of psychiatry happens before these decisions are made. Again, what people think might be bad might actually be good -- and we just do not see it. As long as my nuts stay in tact I am not too concerned with any of this. I err on the side of letting people decide what is best for themselves, as long as nobody else is getting hurt.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Maybe she is the female new age version of John Howard Griffin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me

 

[NDgradstudent]

While I generally agree with that, is there a tipping point where society is the problem?

AP poll: U.S. majority have prejudice against blacks

That is stunning numbers and seems to point to something larger then the individual.

It would be helpful if the AP would name the study, or link to it. They commissioned it and then reported on it as if it were news (news organizations now consciously make news). They should at least provide a link or name. It does not sound as though they surveyed blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc., to see how racist they were. If so, they did not inform us of those figures; if not, they should have done.

Some additional interesting analysis from the article:

Andra Gillespie, an Emory University political scientist who studies race-neutrality among black politicians, contrasted the situation to that faced by the first black mayors elected in major U.S. cities, the closest parallel to Obama's first-black situation. Those mayors, she said, typically won about 20% of the white vote in their first races, but when seeking re-election they enjoyed greater white support presumably because "the whites who stayed in the cities ... became more comfortable with a black executive."

Yeah, whites (or anybody) looking at the tenure of, say, Coleman Young in Detroit must be expressing racism rather than fairly analyzing the record.

 

[Black Irish]

I do not recall anyone advocating to normalize transgenderism. The reason it is even a topic of discussion is precisely because it is a relative oddity. Most progressives I know would ask "why should anyone give a shit?" if someone wants to be a different sex. They would look to ensure the rights of the decider would be protected. They might be curious why anyone would want to be a woman and thereby take an instant 20 percent pay cut, but they would not think it appropriate to impose their own values on somebody who is hurting nobody. You view of progressives amazes me sometimes. I think just about every progressive I know thinks this is a weird stuff. We just do not want to further alienate people who are clearly suffering (based on the single case of gender identity disorder that I have seen in my 50 years). Normalize suggest that there are thousands of people who are going to get their balls cut off if we don't uphold the stigma on these folks. I am confident that will not happen.

When Vanity Fair puts Bruce Jenner, in a full on glam shot in all of his trans glory, on its cover, they are absolutely engaged in trying to "normalize transgenderism." This is beyond the "do what you want, I don't care as long as it doesn't hurt me" stage. There is an obvious effort on the part of influential groups in this country to push this trans movement as the next battleground in the Social Justice War. The Bruce Jenner episode is just the loudest and most recent salvo. Just as with the gay marriage debate, saying "whatever, I don't really care" will no longer be an appropriate response in society. Sure, you can get away with that at the neighborhood cookout, but formal society: corporate/government personnel policy, admission standards, access rights will certainly hinge on how this issue plays out. As with any hot button issue, neutrality will not be accepted. Just ask someone who said they would not bake a cake for a gay wedding.

Live and let live is not the order of the day. You must either get on board completely with the issue or you will be viewed as the enemy. That is what is worrisome here. Not only are certain factions of society attempting to normalize very questionable behavior (men trying to be women, white people claiming to be black) but they are trying to label those who would even gaze askance at such behavior as wrong and bigoted.

 

[Bishop2b5]

I see that orange really is the new black.

 

[ThePiombino]

I see that orange really is the new black.

Only 100 posts late:

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1546622

 

[Irish#1]

Saw on the news lat night that both of her step brothers came out and said she's white, but has been trying to pawn herself off as black for a long time and asked them not to speak about it.

(CNN)Ezra Dolezal says he didn't know how to respond the day his adopted sister took him aside and asked him "not to blow her cover" about having a black father.

On that day three years ago, he said, Rachel Dolezal, 37, told him she was starting life anew in Spokane, Washington, where she's now head of the local chapter of the NAACP and chairwoman of a police oversight committee.

Ezra Dolezal, 22, came to visit her from Montana, where their parents live. His adopted sister was on her way to becoming one of the most prominent faces in Spokane's black community.

"She told me not to blow her cover about the fact that she had this secret life or alternate identity," Ezra Dolezal said Saturday. "She told me not to tell anybody about Montana or her family over there. She said she was starting a new life ... and this one person over there was actually going to be her black father."

Dolezal's race has come under question after her estranged mother claimed she is white but is "being dishonest and deceptive with her identity."

Dolezal has identified herself as at least partly African-American but her Montana birth certificate states she was born to two parents who say they are Caucasian. The parents shared that document and old photos with CNN.

"I kind of saw it coming," Ezra Dolezal said of the controversy. "Instead of sticking to a simple story, she's been trying to make this really complex and it finally got too big for her to handle."

CNN contacted Dolezal on Saturday. She declined an on-camera interview, saying she stands by her record of service and referring CNN to a statement from the NAACP on Friday. Dolezal told CNN she would likely speak Monday night at the NAACP meeting in Spokane

The Spokane Spokesman-Review, meanwhile, reported that she has framed the controversy surrounding her racial identity in the context of litigation over guardianship of her adopted brother.

"We are her birth parents," Lawrence Dolezal told CNN on Friday. "We do not understand why she feels it's necessary to misrepresent her ethnicity."

Rachel Dolezal grew up in what her parents called a diverse family, with friends from various ethnicities and four adopted siblings who are black. She was "always interested in ethnicity and diversity" growing up, her mother Ruthanne Dolezal said.

Dolezal attended college in Mississippi, then went on to Howard University on scholarship -- not having identified herself as black then on her application because there was no such option, though people there may have assumed as much "because her portfolio of art was all African-American portraiture," her mother said.

It wasn't until around 2007, her parents said, that Dolezal began identifying herself more with the African-American community, according to her mother.

Her parents say Rachel Dolezal "has chosen to distance herself from the family."

According to court documents obtained by CNN, Rachel Dolezal's adopted brother, Izaiah -- who is black -- sought emancipation from Ruthanne and Lawrence Dolezal in 2010. The adopted brother, now 21, said the Dolezals used "physical forms of punishment" and had sent his brother and sister away to group homes because they didn't cooperate with the couple's religion and rules.

'Slap in the face'
The adopted brother wanted to live with Rachel Dolezal "in a multiracial household where black culture is celebrated and I have a connection to the black community," the court papers said. The papers did not specify Rachel Dolezal's race.

Ezra Dolezal said the accusations of physical punishment were false. They divided the family. He said he never confronted his adopted sister when she asked him not to blow her cover because he didn't want to make the situation worse.

His adopted sister was always interested in African-American culture but it wasn't until about 2011 that he started to notice physical changes.

"There was the gradual darkening of the skin and the hair," he said. "She started molding herself into who she is today."

He said Dolezal's transformation was tantamount to living in "blackface."

"It's kind of a slap in the face to African-Americans because she doesn't know what it's like to be black," said Ezra Dolezal, whose biological mother was white and father half-black. "She's only been African-American when it benefited her. She hasn't been through all the struggles. She's only been African-American the last few years."

Izaiah's petition for emancipation was dropped. In a separate legal action in 2010, the court appointed Rachel Dolezal to be the adopted brother's guardian with the consent of Ruthanne and Lawrence Dolezal.

Ezra Dolezal said he admires his adopted sister's appreciation and advocacy for the black community and culture. But he questions her handling of the race issue.

"I believe that the first most important thing regardless of what a person does is that they have integrity," he said. "Rachel has done really good work fighting against racism and police brutality ... but she went about it the wrong way. She said I was born black. I grew up black and I know what it's like growing up as an African-American in this world. She does not."

Dolezal's time at predominantly black Howard University may have been a major turning point in her transformation, her adopted brother said.

"When she applied they thought she was a black student," he said. "When she came there, they saw she was white and she wasn't treated that well, especially by people that worked there. She probably started developing this kind of dislike for being white and dislike for white people. She used to tell Izaiah ... that all white people are racists. She might have developed some self-hatred."

On Friday, the Dolezals told CNN they didn't want to comment on a possible "legal dispute" that their daughter and the NAACP had mentioned.

One organization that appears to be standing behind her is the NAACP. The group, historically one of the most prominent in supporting causes important to the African-American community, said that Dolezal is "enduring a legal issue with her family" and that "we respect her privacy in this matter."

"One's racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership," the group said. "The NAACP Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Conference stands behind Ms. Dolezal's advocacy record."

Challenged about her race
Dolezal allegedly represented herself as African-American -- along with several other ethnicities, including white and Native American -- in an application for a Spokane police ombudsman commission.

And she has presented the public with a different family photograph posted to the local NAACP chapter's Facebook page. When she announced her father was coming to town for a visit, she showed herself standing next to an older African-American man.

NAACP official's race questioned
NAACP official's race questioned 01:00
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Dolezal's public racial identity came under scrutiny on Thursday, when a reporter from CNN affiliate KXLY held up that photo and asked her if it showed her dad. She replied that it did.

Then came a follow-up question: "Are you African-American?"

"I don't understand the question of -- I did tell you that, yes, that's my dad. And he was unable to come in January," Dolezal responded.

"Are your parents -- are they white?" came the next query.

Dolezal walked away from the microphone, leaving her purse and keys, and took refuge in a nearby clothing boutique.

Expert, advocate on black community
NAACP official's race questioned
NAACP official's race questioned 5 photos
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Dolezal has built a wide-ranging career as an expert on and advocate for the black community.

She is not just president of her local NAACP chapter; she is also an academic expert on African-American culture and teaches many related classes at Eastern Washington University.

She represents the black community publicly and vocally, including as a spokeswoman on race-influenced police violence. On Tuesday she spoke to Al Jazeera on the topic. And Dolezal has appeared alongside Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who has filed charges against police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, a young black man.

The mayor of Spokane appointed Dolezal chairwoman of a police oversight committee to keep an eye on fairness in police work.

After the allegations of faked racial identity surfaced, Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart said they take "very seriously the concerns raised regarding the chair of the independent citizen police ombudsman commission."

The city is checking to see if she has violated any policies.

Still, what Dolezal has done is more important than what race she is to the NAACP, regional President Gerald Hankerson said. He called the NAACP a civil rights organization first that includes "leaders from all different ethnicities," adding that it "doesn't do a genealogy search on what a person's ethnicity is when they" take a top position.

As to Dolezal specifically, Hankerson said, "We represent all civil rights issues, regardless of a person's ethnicity. And the quality of the work that she has done to elevate the issues of civil rights in that region is what we applaud."

CNN's Stephanie Elam, Paul Vercammen, Greg Botelho, Tony Marco and Ralph Ellis contributed to this report.

 

[NDohio]

I do not have any answers either. So since I do not know the answers I will not make any judgment on what is best for these troubled folks. We know that trained doctors are performing these procedures, so in the absence of someone convincing me that they are harming the people who change their sex, I am going to continue to believe that the doctors believe they are helping. Also going to assume plenty of psychiatry happens before these decisions are made. Again, what people think might be bad might actually be good -- and we just do not see it. As long as my nuts stay in tact I am not too concerned with any of this. I err on the side of letting people decide what is best for themselves, as long as nobody else is getting hurt.

IMO this will become an issue of people getting "hurt". I saw an article a few weeks back about a transgender person that wants to attend an all girl university. If(when) that happens, there will be females that may be left out because their spot is taken by a man.

What about hiring quotas? Police departments/fire departments all over this country have hiring quotas. Say a man can't get hired and then suddenly he becomes transgender and is now a woman. "She" gets the job and another woman is left out.

I hate to be a cynic, but some people will do anything to get what they want.