It is an insightful commentary, especially the closing statement.
Too bad he didn’t teach Treyvon not to punch people in the nose and beat them on the ground.
Almost word for word what I tell my sons:
Always pay close attention to your surroundings, son, especially if you are in an poor black neighborhood where white folks are few. Understand that even though you are not a target, some people might assume you are, especially if you are wearing certain clothes.
You should see the Code for women!
I had a conversation like that with my ten year old son:
“Boy, don’t start a fight with someone, because they may have a gun.”
I believe he’ll take that to heart and I feel better now.
Hmmm, perhaps I didn’t read that article very close but I didn’t see anything about .... not beating the crap out of someone, knocking them to the ground, and breaking their nose.
I think it can go for White Male Code, too.
As I explained it, the Code goes like this:
Always pay close attention to your surroundings, son, especially if you are in an black neighborhood where white folks are few. Understand that even though you are not a racist, some people might assume you are, especially if you have a slick shaved head.
Never argue with police, but protect your dignity and take pride in humility. When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up.
Please don’t assume, son, that all black people view you as a threat. America is better than that. Suspicion and bitterness can imprison you. But as a white male, you must go above and beyond to show strangers what type of person you really are.
"Fast forward 25 years later," Stephney said. "We've come a long way to get nowhere."
The author can thank the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, 90% of Democrats and all the other race baiting Poverty Pimps in the so called "Civil Rights Movement.
But for some reason.....I don't believe the author will tell his son that.
Pure driveling racial clap trap!
Here is a clue Jesse.
Adolescence is a dangerous time.
It’s a time when many cherub faced kids try to define themselves as adults.
I can relate to most of what you say, but don’t make this a racial thing.
And that is it in a nutshell....
Thought experiment:
On a city street on one side there are 10 black youths wearing hoodies, smoking, swaggering, talking loudly and laughing.
On the other side of the street are 10 black youths dressed conservatively, speaking quietly, carrying bibles.
Which side of the street are you going to be walking on?
He forgets to mention The White Male Code. Where you have to work harder and smarter to beat “preferences,” quotas, PC and “affirmative action”
My, my.... The knee-jerks are out today proving they didn’t read the article and only know what they already know....
“Son. When you attack people, some of them will resist. I know this is racism but all of the people you attack will probably be racist.”
Don’t forget to tell him about the roving packs of blacks that randomly attacked people last summer there in Philly — that sort of thing kinda makes whitey a little edgy.
I started telling my son about the "code on day one"
The Minneapolis newspaper (Strib) ran this story but turned off the comments feature for it. I wonder why?
Well, I’ll say this. If Hollywood/media didn’t present black kids as ‘thug life’ being ‘cool’, (Thug life including ‘Da Hood’, bustin capZ drugs, crime, pimps hos, shooting cops, ectectectect) then 1: an insane number of black kids might not adopt that philosophythat it was cool and become a part of it and 2: White people wouldn’t be fed a steady diet of the Hollywood version in real life.
Lets face it, all humans learn by repitition. If we see this on TV movies, magazines, music et all, and go out our door to see the very same thing, is it such a shock that non black people are wary?
Here’s a new ‘Code for black fathers to teach their kids...and white ones too...
“Son, if you look and act like a thug, even if thats the ‘style’ and is considered by all your buds to be ‘cool’ don’t expect anyone with a brain to think you’re just playing dress-up.”
This is not rocket science and liberal ‘free to be me’ BS gets black kids, white kids and a whole lot of innocent people killed.
He was one small voice in the cacophony of separatism that depleted the conciliatory dream of MLK.
What you call a self-inflicted wound.
""Jackson’s remark illustrates a basic fact of our social existence, one that even a committed black civil-rights leader cannot escape: ideas that we may not endorse — for example, that a black stranger might harm us but a white one probably would not — can nonetheless lodge themselves in our minds and, without our permission or awareness, color our perceptions, expectations and judgments.""
From Scientific American, quoted here: