[Discussion] Post-Election Safety Concerns

A place to discuss any changes you've had to make due to the changing political climate in the US. Also a place to post news articles backing up your concerns.

f*ck me. Not even an hour later and there's another one on a different street on the windshield of a car.

IMAGE(https://d3dqvga78raec5.cloudfront.net/post_photos/1a/1d/1a1d495f21ac201dba4999a92147d4e4.jpg.max800.jpg)

And people wonder why I carry. I've lived this sh*t before. I won't be a victim again.

"you're days"

Edwin wrote:

f*ck me. Not even an hour later and there's another one on a different street on the windshield of a car.

IMAGE(https://d3dqvga78raec5.cloudfront.net/post_photos/1a/1d/1a1d495f21ac201dba4999a92147d4e4.jpg.max800.jpg)

And people wonder why I carry. I've lived this sh*t before. I won't be a victim again.

Am I a terrible person that I found some humor in there? Like, f*cking Seattle, jeez. Can't even do hatred without being passive-aggressive.

Jonman wrote:
Edwin wrote:

f*ck me. Not even an hour later and there's another one on a different street on the windshield of a car.

IMAGE(https://d3dqvga78raec5.cloudfront.net/post_photos/1a/1d/1a1d495f21ac201dba4999a92147d4e4.jpg.max800.jpg)

And people wonder why I carry. I've lived this sh*t before. I won't be a victim again.

Am I a terrible person that I found some humor in there? Like, f*cking Seattle, jeez. Can't even do hatred without being passive-aggressive.

Not to go off-tangent, but as a transplant I've never felt that Seattle was all that "nice" or even passive aggressive vs strait up aggressive. I've experienced several times where people went full aggro over really minor stuff or because I violated weird Northwest social norms.

On the plus side, I'd recommend getting the authorities involved or taking this to the media if it keeps up. While the Seattle police may not be able to act immediately, they will probably take it more seriously than say police in Alabama. There are also plenty of alt media outlets that would be willing to run with a story about emerging hate groups. (More directed at the posters advertising the Columbia reanactment society.)

jdzappa wrote:

Not to go off-tangent, but as a transplant I've never felt that Seattle was all that "nice" or even passive aggressive vs strait up aggressive. I've experienced several times where people went full aggro over really minor stuff or because I violated weird Northwest social norms.

I hear you. Seattle's passive-aggressivity is laughable when compared to the British.

On the plus side, I'd recommend getting the authorities involved or taking this to the media if it keeps up.

Edwin, send it to the Stranger.

Do you mind me asking roughly what part of Seattle this is? I have family there.

And please do send that to the media and the police. A**holes.

Rahmen wrote:

Do you mind me asking roughly what part of Seattle this is? I have family there.

And please do send that to the media and the police. A**holes.

Edwin lives around Lake City. North-east side of Seattle.

Thanks Jonman.

Be safe everyone and help your neighbors stay safe too.

Poster was on 8th and 86th near the Maple Leaf Reservoir. Note was on Lake City Way.

Unprovoked attack of Indian man in restaurant by white dude who yells "I don't have to sit next to a Muslim. Things are different now".

The criminal complaint says Burgess beat Mehta in the head and face with his elbow and fist, “launched an unprovoked attack on the victim as he was seated at the bar, beat him physically,” Bethel Park police Chief Timothy O’Connor said.

Mehta was oblivious to the comments until Burgess allegedly struck him in the face with his elbow multiple times. Witnesses told police Burgess grabbed Mehta by the head and punched him. Witnesses also said Mehta was defenseless and unaware of Burgess’s impending attack.

Pretty sure if I was there, I would be sitting in a jail cell waiting for someone to bail me out after I beat the everloving snail snot out of that racist piece of feces.

I'd just shoot him. Only way to stop a bad guy is a good guy with a gun, right?

Can you list every prospective blow to the racist person, and include an explanation of the physiological damage each one does, as well as a rough estimate of the length, pain, and cost of the rehab required to recover from each.

NormanTheIntern wrote:

Can you list every prospective blow to the racist person, and include an explanation of the physiological damage each one does, as well as a rough estimate of the length, pain, and cost of the rehab required to recover from each.

Elementary dear Watson.

Maybe one possible benefit from a Trump presidency is that stupid racists are outing themselves and being incarcerated. It comes at a terrible cost though.

NormantheIntern wrote:

Can you list every prospective blow to the racist person, and include an explanation of the physiological damage each one does, as well as a rough estimate of the length, pain, and cost of the rehab required to recover from each.

? Clarify, please. You lost me here.

NormanTheIntern wrote:

Can you list every prospective blow to the racist person, and include an explanation of the physiological damage each one does, as well as a rough estimate of the length, pain, and cost of the rehab required to recover from each.

I'm not a fan of hyperbolic talk of violence either, but if you're that concerned about Paleo and Farscry's posts, you must be utterly distraught over the hundreds of acts of violence by bigots who feel emboldened by Trump's election.

Nomad wrote:

Maybe one possible benefit from a Trump presidency is that stupid racists are outing themselves and being incarcerated. It comes at a terrible cost though.

I am not seeing that as much of a benefit.

The way attitudes like that die is when they are considered so aberrant that they cannot be spoken of in public. That the holders of such feel rightly ashamed to hold them and afraid to express them.

Emboldening these ideas and giving them voice has thrown steroids on this cancer.

If someone can equate my visceral reaction to horrible and unwarranted acts of violence (i.e. harboring and sometimes expressing revenge fantasties of violence against such vile, deplorable people -- fantasies which I will never carry out) with the acts of violence themselves, well... I can do better about refraining from posting them, but it's something the offended party should think long and hard about.

Well, since we like citations and whatnot in these parts:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...

“Astonishingly, we don't just see reduced prejudice among people who have direct contact with ethnic minorities. It isn't even confined to those whose friends have contact with minorities. Simply living in a neighbourhood where other people are mixing with minorities is enough to reduce racial prejudice,” Professor Hewstone said.

And more recently:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...

Matthew decided his best chance to affect Derek’s thinking was not to ignore him or confront him, but simply to include him. “Maybe he’d never spent time with a Jewish person before,” Matthew remembered thinking.

“I guess I only value the opinions of people I know,” Derek wrote back, and now he was beginning to count his Shabbat friends among those he knew and respected. “You’re naturally right that I deemphasize my own role,” he wrote to them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/op...

Several years ago, I began attending a liberal college where my presence prompted huge controversy. Through many talks with devoted and diverse people there — people who chose to invite me into their dorms and conversations rather than ostracize me — I began to realize the damage I had done. Ever since, I have been trying to make up for it.

So the assumption here is inclusion and exposure - not violence - has a greater chance to soften prejudices.

But it would feel so good to punch a racist - surely no citation is required here.

NormanTheIntern wrote:

But it would feel so good to punch a racist - surely no citation is required here.

Sure, catharsis is nice and all, but that's more about making one feel good about themselves, and not so much about making society a safer place for everyone. That and the whole violence begets thing. I've seen Nietzsche brought up on more than one occasion in these parts when talk of eye for an eye comes up.

NormanTheIntern wrote:

But it would feel so good to punch a racist - surely no citation is required here.

What's your point here Norm?

Are you arguing that it shouldn't feel good to imagine punching a racist? 'Cos I have a friend called Human Nature, and he wants a chat with you.

I would hope that we can at least agree that if someone engages in an unprovoked attack against an innocent stranger, the beatdown he receives in response is one that he purchased.

I'd be more interested in seeing a complete list of blows that actually landed on the unsuspecting innocent bystander, the physiological damage done and the emotional damage that he may not ever recover from than to hear the list of fantasy blows by people inspired to stop a violent assault and let the asshole racist know that, no, that's not an ok thing to go around doing. It tends to make people angry. They might hit you back! I'd also like to know the charges and jail time the attacker will receive for each of these itemized blows.

While I wouldn't enjoy beating anyone up or seeing anyone beat up, I think that someone coming to the defense of the innocent bystander who got several unwanted elbows to the face and went to the hospital with a loose tooth and cut on his lip would require an act of violence to stop the already begun violence. Or what, we all just stand there, watching someone get beaten until the police arrive? I'd be happy if a few strong people were able to hold the attacker down and just stop the violence, but I wouldn't be surprised if additional punches were thrown by the attacker and I would imagine punches back would likely happen. I mean, if I get punched, I'm probably gonna punch back. As a safety pin wearer, I've already promised not to look the other way.

Now, if you attack someone like that and Paleo happens to be in the room? Well, you done messed up, son. I'd have a hard time pitying the fool.

It's not like anyone here is saying, "I'm gonna walk up a person who's just minding his own business, look at him to see if he's racist and if he looks like he is, punch him in the face."

What are we even debating?

It's a question of tactics vs. strategy. In the moment, responding to violence with violence in the defense of another/yourself is a valid and justified tactic. But as a strategy, taking the initiative to include bigots/racists in activities with minorities will be more effective over the long term. There's no either/or here, IMO.

Malor wrote:

Goddamn, that could come out of Bioshock Infinite.

I can't believe that's real.

So, I clicked on this thread, got distracted, came back and saw the picture. I was convinced I had clicked on some new game thread and had forgotten which.
Great when reality beats parody.

I know I shouldn't be surprised but there was a pretty vicious attack on the campus of my alma mater U Washington. When I graduated 14 years ago I couldn't imagine this kind of stuff happening, and that was right after 9/11.

As far as revenge fantasies go, I've been struggling with them. Not only is my a hole neighbor a huge Trump fan, but I just found out from a friend that the kid who tormented me in jr high to the point where I almost committed suicide helped organize Trump's campaign in Kentucky. I've long fantasized about getting back at these guys and now it feels like I have a righteous reason beyond personal revenge. It's taking a lot of self discipline to not maintain an Arya Stark list in my head.

From a half-Japanese, 100% American friend of mine living in Oregon:

A Fine young Trump supporter on the trail just told [my husband] and I to "run, you f*cking liberals" because "you got no safe space now" and told [my husband] "I'm gonna deport your wife". Stay silent if you approve, patriots

They were fortunate that the police showed up within minutes and got the guy, so they were able to press charges. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone confronts me and my wife in a similar manner.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone confronts me and my wife in a similar manner.

Guess how much sh*t I've gotten for being a immigrant? A pasty white, native-English-speaker of an immigrant?

Did you guess "none, whatsoever, at any point in the last decade"? Congratulations!

Yeah, it ain't about immigration.

What concerns me is that even with hundreds of hate crimes occurring around and since election day, nobody from Trump's leadership camp has stood up and asked for them to stop. Seems like everyone is too busy trying to get a choice position in PEOTUS government. Which of course emboldens such bullies. Talk about Romney for Secretary of State as betrayal of Trump's voter base is the latest rag trade outrage. I would have thought letting the racists go about unadmonished the greater betrayal to your fellow citizens.