None So Blind as the 'Color Blind'

I was thinking some of these exact same things yesterday in the context of the Jena Six, as well as a slightly unrelated (or maybe not) Baytown event, so instead of my own rant I'll use this guy's.

By Sean Gonsalves via Alternet.org:

No matter how many times a disturbed white male shoots up a school, church or workplace, bombs an abortion clinic or is arrested for being a serial killer, nobody raises questions like: is something wrong with white suburban culture? The response is either: that's one sick individual, or it just goes to show you how bad society is getting

[...]

Quarterback Tom Brady knocks a girl up, then starts dating some other chick while the first girl is pregnant. And the water-cooler talk is: Tom is such a stud. Why did he leave the first girl? She's so pretty ... But if it's not Tom Brady, but Antoine Brady in the spotlight there's a whole different conversation, variations on the what's-wrong-with-those-people theme.

[...]

[...] it completely misses the point when "color blind conservatives" talk about "playing the race card," or making whites feel guilty. It's not about making anyone feel guilty, or making excuses for the morally questionable behavior of individuals who happen to be black. It's about being honest about cultural dynamics and majority power in a race-conscious society. As Rabbi Heschel said: we are not all guilty but we are all responsible.

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The not-so-unrelated Baytown event I've been pondering is this little-big uproar in about how we have to "take our city back," because supposedly Baytown has become just ridden with "crime." I haven't seen any such changes myself, but then again I live in Highlands. I'll tell you what change I have noticed in Baytown though: more minorities. Hmmm, could it be that the group I'm speaking of could really be worried more about keeping Baytown predominantly white than predominatly safe?

Someone said--I don't remember if it was quoted in a Baytown Sun article or if it was on their website's message board--but someone said, "I don't care what the stats say, crime has gotten worse in Baytown." This suggests that there are some numbers out there that are telling a different story than this psuedo-vigilante group, and makes me further wonder if these people are just looking around Baytown at the growing number of minorities and thinking, "These folks are up to no good! Crime is out of control!"

I use the term "psuedo-vigilante" because this group is actually planning on cooperating with the authorities about this supposed issue, and our new mayor was at their El Toro gathering. This isn't some kind of Minutemen thing, but at the moment it's still a little silly to me. Maybe I'm just naive, and I'll admit I've witnessed a tad bit more crime in recent years, but I still can't rightfully testify that Baytown's crime has really gotten BAD.