Beth Macbain

A part of white privilege that doesn't get talked about enough is the luxury to remain oblivious - and it is a privilege because it's a choice, especially in 2020. White people can make the decision to shut out a 42 million voices trying to explain how black people are not afforded the same basic human decency that white people are. Black people aren't afforded that choice. They have to live with it every single day.

it was a copy item, and I never delete copy items from my inventory... only the rezzed copy I have out. It was from a well known creator, though I can't remember which one, so I doubt it's gone. I can't remember if I bought it in a store, or on the MP. It's going to drive me bonkers until I find it.

Needing something that I know damn good and well is somewhere in my inventory but not being able to remember the name and being completely unable to find it. It's a screen/room divider thingie and it has ribbons on it that are color change. I used it in a house I lived in a year ago. I've tried all the keywords to search. I've looked through every folder that it could or should possibly be in. I want to scream. My inventory. My entire inventory is a pet peeve.

I'm not blaming her. I'm pointing out the truth that it happens. She has never been pulled over by the cops for driving while black because she isn't black. She has absolutely no knowledge of it happening to her because she isn't black. She keeps making an argument that since she's never seen it, it's obviously not a terrible problem for black people. Again, though, let me point out that she isn't black. I've never been pulled over for driving while black, either... because I'm not black. Do I blame myself for that? Of course not. I'm not blaming her, either. Acknowledging an issue is not the same as taking the blame for it.

Are you saying that black people who have experienced those things, or white people who have see those things happen to black people, are making them up? They're all lying? I'm simply asking you to acknowledge that it happens. It happens in your neighborhood, I guarantee it happened in your childhood neighborhood, it happens in every city in every state. I will bet every single breath in my body that you have been treated differently because you are white - whether you know it or not. I'd also be willing to bet that if we asked your two bi-racial best friends if they'd experienced it in your presence without you even noticing it, they'd say they had. @Janet Voxel - Can we make an exception for blackface when it involves sending white people out on their own to experience life as a black person?

Oh god... yes, please!

Why are you making it all about money? Privilege isn't necessarily about money. It's about driving through Brentwood - is white Fairre going to be pulled over, or is black Fairre going to be pulled over? How does the cop treat white Fairre and is it different to how the cop treats black Faiire. It's about going shopping along the Third Street Promenade - who is going to be followed by security looking for shoplifting? White Fairre or black Fairre? Who is going to get seated faster in that restaurant - white Fairre or black Fairre? Who is going to be subjected to a stricter dress code? White Fairre or black Fairre? Do people cross the street when they see you walking towards them? Clutch their purses, lock their car doors? How difficult is it to find a variety of shampoos for your hair? When you turn on the television, how long does it take before you see a white person? You're making your definition of systemic racism far too narrow.

I sometimes wonder if that's what provokes them to be so violent. They know they'e at the bottom and are just one step above those they are beating, choking, and killing in the eyes of the people higher up on the pole, and that they'll never climb higher because although they were born with white privilege, there were many other whites born with much more privilege.

And this is why you are a better human being than I am. I just don't have the patience for it unless it is with a person that is showing a willingness to listen, and think. It's been my experience, though, that most people know full well that they have some biases, and admitting it would mean that they have to change it, and change is really hard, and it's just easier to say, "Nope... no biases here, you're crazy, I don't see color, I have black friends, and you are wrong," or they own it by saying things like, "Black people need to get over slavery," which someone actually said in one of these threads. There's no sharing with people like that, and I'm just not going to be nice and polite to them. They are wrong, and they need to wear big signs that say they are wrong so everyone who encounters them also knows they are wrong and can shun them as well.

Is anyone else noticing the trend of people desperately wanting to blame the state of race in the US to everything except racism? It's poverty, it's classism, it's the police... No. It's racism. All of those other things exist, yes, but the root of it all comes from one source - the white man's belief that their race is superior to that of the black man. The US hasn't had some great moral awakening since the Civil Rights movement - racists just got better at hiding their racism until Trump came along and encouraged all the racist white people to rise up and shout it out proudly that they do, in fact, still believe the white race is superior to the black race. Shamefully, a lot of those people are cops.

My experiences in California are very different from yours. Of course, I worked with black and Hispanic teenagers from Watts, Compton and east LA, and not the lily white Valley. I also have friends from Philadelphia that I know and love that are the kindest, most accepting, loving people I've ever known. You do, too, Fairre. You've painted the entire north east part of the country as racist, the entire city of Philadelphia, the entire southern US, yet while you acknowledge that there is racism in California, you won't acknowledge that it is just as racist as any other area of the country. Being from another one of those areas of the country, as well as having lived in your area of the country, I find that offensive. I live in Louisville, KY. Breonna Taylor's home. We have a problem with racism. You live in Los Angeles. Home of Rodney King. You have a problem with racism. This is the United States of America. We have a problem with racism. That ain't free. For many, it's a hell of a price to pay. And why would anyone sign up willingly for anything where the actual price could be their own death, or the killing of others, in some other man's war? People who have a problem with terms like "white privilege" are going to have a problem with any terminology. It's just another attempt to deflect. And, sorry, @Drayke Newall... Luna has more patience for this than I do. There are all different sorts of racism, but they're all still just racism. This is a fight for a better world. I'm fighting that fight. And I'm fighting the closing of those threads as well, and I'll fight it on this one, too, if I have to. LL has asked us to stand in solidarity alongside them in support of BLM. They have plainly stated their intent to fight racism. In their own words, "Now is the time for us to come together as a community and to stand up for what is right, just, and decent. We hope that you will stand with us in our fight for a better world and in recognition that Black Lives Matter today and every day." I'm working my way right up the LL food chain to protest the closing of those threads. Silencing everyone rather than silencing the racists is antithetical to the Lab's own words. I'm not going to be civil to racists. I didn't bring the fight to you - you came to these threads - and the discussions haven't been civil on your part, either. Using all the words you can fit on the page isn't civility. You, and others, are trying to discredit what black people know to be the truth, by coming into these threads with no intent to learn about their own personal racial biases and how to recognize them and how to overcome them, or how to help BLM, or the progress BLM is making. You come to these threads to disrupt. You can couch it in all the words you want, and pretend that you're being civil (colonial might be a better word for it) but that's the truth of the matter. I won't tolerate it, I won't be civil, and I won't fight pretty.

Translation: LET ME THROW THOUSANDS OF WORDS OF YOU AND THEN I'M GOING TO BLOCK YOU BECAUSE I LIVE IN A VACUUM AND CANNOT HANDLE PEOPLE DISAGREEING WITH ME! You'd be a lot happier if you kept your head buried in that fine Australian soil and just skipped right on past threads about racism in a country that you have little to no understanding of instead of bloviating about resumes. You don't think racism is a real problem throughout the entire world. You don't like anything to do with the actual topic we're attempting to discuss here. You've shown your distaste quite clearly. Why can't you just skip past it?

I thought it was funny. Fart jokes are funny. I like rickrolls, too. It's awesome that people have different senses of humor!

Jumpin’ Jesus on a pogo stick.

I had to google her to see if she’s still alive. I’m pleased to say she is, and is still performing, still has the hair, and still looks like a million bucks.

This is why I asked if you’d traveled outside of LA. Beverly Hills is very racist. Pasadena is very racist. Glendale is very racist. Hollywood is very racist. San Diego, racist. Riverside, San Bernardino, Palmdale, Bakersfield, Barstow, Sacramento, Huntington Beach, Fresno... California is racist. It isn’t some magical bubble that has eliminated racism. When you point out how racist other areas of the country are, especially ones you’ve never spent any time in, without acknowledging it is right on your doorstep as well, you’re making racism a SEP - Someone Else’s Problem - when it’s an All Of Us problem. There are 88 hate groups in California, and quite a few of those are in LA. Hate crimes are on the rise in Los Angeles County, highest they’ve been in a decade. 50% of those hate crimes are racially motivated. You have convinced yourself that California is different from the other 49 states. It isn’t.

People with perpetual victim mentalities People who think racism is a political issue People unable to skip topics they have no interest in People who use the word "retarded" as an insult

Change the “or” to “of” and you’ve got yourself a new band name!

One of my alts NEEDS the last name Sassypants!

I believe you're talking about me, and I didn't call it "menial". Menial means something entirely different, and I never once said laborers working in low paying jobs are doing menial work. The jobs they do are absolutely back-breaking and they should be paid far more than what they are, and treated far better. The truth of the matter is that the Mexican immigrants do take those jobs, and someone has to because California would come to a standstill without them. Since many of them are undocumented workers, they aren't in a position to demand better pay and conditions. Unemployment pays more, and if a person is a US citizen, they're going to take unemployment over working harder for less money picking crops. Far from menial, I would call them essential. They aren't imported here - they come willingly because it's still better than what they can make in Mexico, and yes, they are often treated no better than as slave labor even though, as I said, they are absolutely essential to the economy of California. As a matter of fact, I went back to make sure of what I said: "The jobs that many immigrants work are jobs that even the poorest white person thinks is beneath them. They work their asses off, and they deserve far more than they receive in about a billion ways." You might want to consider why you defaulted to the word "menial" when thinking of low paying jobs. Please don't twist my words into saying something I didn't say. From Merriam-Webster: menial - noun me·nial | \ ˈmē-nē-əl , -nyəl \ Definition of menial (Entry 1 of 2) : a person doing menial work specifically : a domestic (see DOMESTIC entry 1 sense 4) servant or retainer menial adjective Definition of menial (Entry 2 of 2) 1: of or relating to servants : LOWLY 2a: appropriate to a servant : HUMBLE, SERVILE b: lacking interest or dignity

"Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses..."

I bet it wouldn’t be difficult to get that region renamed. A couple tweets aimed at Ebbe might even do the trick. I can’t imagine it’s terribly hard to rename a region and it would be a good way to show the residents that they’re listening.

Congratulations! I know this is something you've been waiting forever for! YAY!!!

Here's some BLM progress! I'm pleased to know @Ebbe Linden isn't afraid to stand up for his beliefs! Rare to see a CEO do that. Super proud of him!

No idea who that particular Tom is, but he’s full of 💩💩💩. Why does he think people can only think about, or care about, or tackle one single issue at a time? And the things he’s talking about are part of one large issue - systemic racism in the US that started the day Columbus stepped off his boat. Right now, the issue under that big umbrella that is getting attention is police brutality. That is only one branch of a giant tree whose roots are deeply embedded in US soil. We’re trimming all the branches, but this particular branch is sprouting new branches so we have to saw it off first. Uncle Tom can bite me.