Mais qu'est-ce que nous y regardons?

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/collections/oeuvres-commentees/recherche/commentaire_id/latelier-du-peintre-7091.html?no_cache=1

Charlie Hebdo Redux II and III and beyond

Threats against me and my personal safety have occurred during the past few years.   I take them seriously.  And as long as violence is tolerated, glorified, or even tacitly encouraged in our society, I feel that I must take care of myself first.

So...

Herein ends Lily's Blog 2.

Thank you.




* I encourage you to make a donation to local victims of implicit or explicit inter-racial violence, whatever the color of their skin and whatever the color of the skin of the aggressor.  As liberals would say, the choice of a "brown" victim is never coincidental, if only at a subliminal level.  I would assert, that the converse ("white") is true as well. We cannot directly take measures to prevent this violence as long as denial is part of the modus vivendi of so many people in our society but we can help the victims after the fact.



Advocate, in any way you can, for anti-violence workshops and the de-glorification of violence in communities at risk.

Beating up someone weaker than oneself is not a sign of one's being a real man.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Pretending things didn't happen (or don't happen), Stranger, doesn't change the fact that they did (and do) happen.

THESE ARE THE SAME VULNERABLE, LOW-INCOME WORKING CLASS PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING THEIR FACES SHOVED IN OR THEIR THROATS SLIT, STRANGER, THE SAME ONES YOU SUPPOSEDLY CARE SO MUCH ABOUT BUT SOME OF WHOM YOU IGNORE IN YOUR NEWS COVERAGE.

Or haven't they (or you) been noticing these things all along?

Take any week of the year, not just during the first two weeks of 2015.

Probably of little interest to the editorial staffs of The Stranger (of The Seattle Weekly, for that matter).  We can only wish they would move their offices from the uber-hip, spoiled-white-kids-playground of Capitol Hill southward to the Rainier Valley.

I wish that there would be mass protests outside the offices of The Stranger (or at least a boycott) until they 'cop' to their own intentional liberal-white brand of racism.   In a city where the largest racial minority are Asians, how often do you see Asian-Americans on the cover as compared to African-Americans.  Asian lives matter, too, as do white, black, gay, Hispanic, and other.

But that's not the message coming from that newspaper.  At least the small community-run Rainier Valley Post below is doing its part to get the 'facts out there' rather than dissimilate and cover them up.  

The Stranger doesn't have to be doing what it's been doing:  the people there know what they're doing (as in having 1/3 - 1/2 of the cover stories, photographs, or illustrations are about or of of African-Americans), or the censorship of race when an assault is reported in which the perpetrator is black.  Its proposals for "a frank discussion of race" in Seattle are disingenuous at best, as they would have already drawn up the limits and parameters for such a discussion.

It denounces Islamo-facism but itself promotes AfroAmerican-facism (and Afrophilia).





The two articles below were published by the Rainier Valley Post, the third in the P.I.  They received no coverage in The Stranger.


Mom & Kids Trapped, Robbed, Assaulted in Rainier Beach Alley; No Arrests

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Editor

SOUTHEAST SEATTLE — Last week, a woman driving through a Rainier Beach alley was surrounded by nearly a dozen people who blocked her vehicle, then assaulted and robbed her and her young children.

According to Seattle Police Department records, the victim said she was driving through the alley near Rainier Avenue South and Wabash Avenue South on the way to drop one of her kids off at a friend’s house around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. She told police she was taking a short cut when her car was stopped by a large group of 10 men and one woman.

She said she tried to drive through the crowd, but was afraid of hitting someone when they wouldn’t move out of the way. From the police report:

Victim stated she had her driver’s side window rolled down slightly. Victim  stated that a black female with a black shirt and blue jeans punched her several times with a closed fist. The suspect punched her through the driver’s side window. Victim stated the suspect struck her in the face several times. The victim was also scratched by the suspect. The victim attempted to block some of the blows and was scratched. Victim  stated that someone in the group of people snatched a back pack out of the lap of one of the children sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.

The woman said she drove out of the alley, across Wabash Avenue South and parked to call police. She also said that there were witnesses to the attack, but that “nobody wanted to help her.”

The victim said the group of 10 ran in various directions but she kept her eyes on the female suspect who gave the backpack to one of the men with her. She then followed the female suspect who flagged down a passing vehicle and got away. Police later tracked down the driver who said she didn’t know the suspect who had told her that someone was trying to kill her. She said she dropped the suspect off on Rainier Avenue South, two blocks north of Wabash, then drove away thinking that she had just helped someone.

According to the police report, the victim suffered bruises on her right and left eye from the attack. Her children weren’t hurt, but “very upset and crying.”

An area search proved unsuccessful and there were no reported arrests.

Police are investigating the incident and encourage anyone with information on the attack to call 911.

Elderly King Donut Owners Assaulted, Robbed (UPDATE X3)

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Editor

SOUTHEAST SEATTLE — Two elderly Rainier Beach business owners are in the hospital tonight after a brutal attack at the beloved neighborhood restaurant they’ve run for nearly 30 years.

Heng Hey and Chea Pol (above) started King Donut in 1987 after fleeing the Khmer Rouge genocide in war-torn Cambodia. Shortly after 7 pm this evening, as they were getting in the car to leave the restaurant, a man approached the car and attacked Chea, punching her repeatedly in the face before stealing her purse, some cash, an ipad and a blue iphone before taking off on foot eastbound through the Safeway parking lot.

There were no arrests. Medics responded and treated Chea for her injuries before taking her to the hospital for further care.

Their daughter Davie Hay, who helps run the popular restaurant with her brother and sister and recently started writing an advice column for the RVP, says nothing like this has ever happened before. She’s desperate for information.

“I know someone out there knows about my parents being beat up and robbed at the shop,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Please let us know.”

The suspect is described as a slender black male between 20 and 30 years old wearing black pants, black jacket and a black hat. Anyone with information is asked to call the robbery unit at (206) 684-5540. Anonymous tips are welcome.

King Donut was voted Best Thing in Southeast Seattle in the 2013 RVP Readers Choice Awards and 2014 Business of the Year by the Rainier Chamber of Commerce.

The incident comes on the heels of a particularly violent week in southeast Seattle. On Monday, two teenagers were arrested for brazenly attacking and robbing or attempting to rob people of their cell phones.

Then, two days later on New Year’s Eve, one man was shot and killed in the Othello-area just a couple of hours before three officers investigating a domestic violence call exchanged gunfire with a suspect in a moving vehiclein the Brighton neighborhood.

UPDATE: (Sat., 1/3 @ 9 am) Outrage is quickly spreading throughout the south-end community as neighbors wake up to the news that the two well-loved owners of King Donuts were robbed and assaulted last night. Some of the following comments stemmed from our Facebook post:

• “Shameful”
• “They are the nicest family”
• “This business has been apart of our community for decades and these partners have been great! I’ve been going there since I was a little girl with my grandpa. When he died, the owners kept his table reserved for months!”
• “How tf you Rob an old lady Who ever you are. Mom’s is more from the hood then a lot of mfs today”
• “Elderly woman really? I can’t believe some young men these days… They will really do anything for some chump change. Praying for the family…”
• “Oh NO! For those of you living in our hood this is like attacking our mother!”
• “it has never been cool to rob an old lady or old dude. that could be your grandparents getting socked up”
• “If anyone has any information. We need to protect our RB businesses!”
• “This makes my heart hurt. How can we help?”
• “They are open today if you want to show the business some love.”
• “Turn him in if you know who he is.”

Both Heng and Chea have been released from the hospital and are recovering at home. The family is now focusing their attention on finding the man who assaulted them.

One extra detail that may help: In addition to taking Chea’s purse, some cash, an ipad and a blue iphone, the thief also got away with the unique diamond brooch pictured here:

The suspect is described as a slender black male between 20 and 30 years old wearing black pants and a black hat. Anyone with information is asked to call the robbery unit at (206) 684-5540. Anonymous tips are welcome.

UPDATE: (Sat., 1/3 @ 9:55 am) “My mother’s teeth were in the back of her throat and she is back in the hospital with a possible concussion,” reportsDavie Hay. “If anyone knows anything about this assault/robbery please let me know. Please help us out. My parents survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and came to America and have this happen?”

UPDATE: (Sat., 1/3 @ 2:45 pm) Davie has set up a gofundme account to raise money for her parents’ medical treatment. So far, 14 donations have yielded $800.

(Top) Heng Hey and Chea Pol were both hospitalized after being attacked and robbed at the popular Rainier Beach restaurant they’ve owned for nearly 30 years. Photo/Davie Hay

from the P.I.

Renton game store robber slit clerk’s throat

Posted on January 14, 2015 | By Lynsi Burton

• 14

Renton police believe this man slit a Game Stop employee’s throat before making off with cash Wednesday morning.

Police arrested a man they believe slit the throat of a game store employee in Renton before making off with money Wednesday morning.

The robbery occurred about 10:58 a.m. The suspect entered the Game Stop in the 200 block of South Second Street in Renton and forced an employee to open the cash register at knifepoint, reports say.

He then slit her throat and took off on foot with an unknown amount of cash.

The employee was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Her condition was not available, but the woman was still alive at the time of her transport.

The attacker was described as a black male between 20 and 30 years old at 6 feet tall with a heavy build.

He wore a black cap, tan Carhartt jacket and a black scarf around the lower part of his face.

The robber appeared to change clothes since the attack and repurpose his scarf, as depicted by surveillance footage taken still in downtown Renton.

After police spend the day searching for the man, King County 911 calltakers fielded a report about 5 p.m. indicating the man was in the 13000 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Skyway.

Renton police and King County sheriff’s deputies responded to the area, found the suspect and arrested him.

Unacknowledged intentions and unconscious driving forces

Or,
Wanting to feel good by feeling bad

The cumulative effect of a string of yearly Hollywood successes that assail white people for the history of slavery and then of discrimination in this country--Hairspray, Precious, The Help, The Butler, 12 Years a Slave, Selma...is to convince white people that not only were they bad but they are still are bad.  And, ergo, that black people are right.

Which would explain why when speaking to so many African-Americans, it's as if I'm speaking to an iron wall.  They are always right, you can't change their mind, their mind is made up, and you are, by definition--even though I'm not even white myself--wrong.

(Try, for instance, to offer a slightly different point of view or interpretation of the events in Ferguson, MO to one of the demonstrators).

This had lead to a situation perhaps unparalleled in the history of the modern world where the majority--87% of the population have willingly given up power to a minority (13%).

You have the president of the United States, the highest law enforcement officer in the land (Attorney General), the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the chief editor of the New York Times and so on down the line all African-Americans.  (The most prominent professional athletes and a battery of the biggest Hollywood movie stars are also as well).

Not only this, but white people in this country giving up power to blacks--someone would say to less qualified people--in the name of rectifying past injustices seems to me an abdication of responsibility by (liberal) white people.

"We've messed things badly the past 250 years, particularly for African-Americans, so we ought to let them take the turn at running things in this country."

"Let them call the shots in this country, they've been so badly treated and powerless for so long.  We deserve to take second-banana status. if not actually be mistreated, and 'reverse the roles' (slave/master)."

"Let the sins of the fathers be meted on the sons."

"We can share things 50/50 with them from now on (even if we're four times as many).  We can even thrown in a Hispanic or Asian for good measure, too."

"I'm only a stupid white boy.  What would I know, anyway?"

There is something masochistic, in my opinion, about all this.

Do we need all the important posts in our government and civil society to be headed by African-Americans?   Is there room for another minority (particularly, Hispanic or Asian)?

How representative of democracy would such an arrangement be?

Alas, this seems to be the overwhelming present current of American life.  Those who question such a largely unacknowledged unconscious tendency tend to get excoriated and labelled as "racists."  So they keep a discreet silence, almost always.*



* I recall how Geraldine Ferraro was roundly and shrilly condemned in many if not most quarters of the Democratic Party in 2007 when she asserted that "Obama would not have gotten the nomination if he had not been black."

** It also led to a situation, rather humorous in retrospect, in the summer of 2011 when on the one day the temperature reached 104 degrees F., I was on a public bus without the air conditioning turned on, but no one was willing to ask the driver to turn it on.  The bus was packed (all Caucasians), the windows were open, but it was still unbearably hot.  The driver was a young African-American man.  I looked around and decided, too, that if no one else dared to ask, well, then, I, too, should just shut up and put up.










  

On the eve of the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A call to respect his message of non-violence

On the eve of the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
as a person of color who lived through the Civil Rights movement of the Sixties, I think it very important to ask:

Has America lived up to the dreams, hopes, and expectations of Dr. King?

Have African-Americans lived up to the dreams, hopes, and expectations of Dr. King?

Has Dr. King's message of non violence been respected and that lesson taught in families, community centers, churches...?

Or that of equality (the belief that all races are equal and should be treated with equal respect; not that one race is morally and physically superior to another because of its past and its physical characteristics and that another race is morally deficient because of its history and still another race because of its physical characteristics)?




Heng Hey and Chea Pol (see story below) did not turn to robbery or assault to make ends meet for themselves or their family.

From the Rainier Valley News:

Elderly King Donut Owners Assaulted, Robbed (UPDATE X3)

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Editor

SOUTHEAST SEATTLE — Two elderly Rainier Beach business owners are in the hospital tonight after a brutal attack at the beloved neighborhood restaurant they’ve run for nearly 30 years.

Heng Hey and Chea Pol (above) started King Donut in 1987 after fleeing the Khmer Rouge genocide in war-torn Cambodia. Shortly after 7 pm this evening, as they were getting in the car to leave the restaurant, a man approached the car and attacked Chea, punching her repeatedly in the face before stealing her purse, some cash, an ipad and a blue iphone before taking off on foot eastbound through the Safeway parking lot.

There were no arrests. Medics responded and treated Chea for her injuries before taking her to the hospital for further care.

Their daughter Davie Hay, who helps run the popular restaurant with her brother and sister and recently started writing an advice column for the RVP, says nothing like this has ever happened before. She’s desperate for information.

“I know someone out there knows about my parents being beat up and robbed at the shop,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Please let us know.”

The suspect is described as a slender black male between 20 and 30 years old wearing black pants, black jacket and a black hat. Anyone with information is asked to call the robbery unit at (206) 684-5540. Anonymous tips are welcome.

King Donut was voted Best Thing in Southeast Seattle in the 2013 RVP Readers Choice Awards and 2014 Business of the Year by the Rainier Chamber of Commerce.

The incident comes on the heels of a particularly violent week in southeast Seattle. On Monday, two teenagers were arrested for brazenly attacking and robbing or attempting to rob people of their cell phones.

Then, two days later on New Year’s Eve, one man was shot and killed in the Othello-area just a couple of hours before three officers investigating a domestic violence call exchanged gunfire with a suspect in a moving vehiclein the Brighton neighborhood.

UPDATE: (Sat., 1/3 @ 9 am) Outrage is quickly spreading throughout the south-end community as neighbors wake up to the news that the two well-loved owners of King Donuts were robbed and assaulted last night. Some of the following comments stemmed from our Facebook post:

• “Shameful”
• “They are the nicest family”
• “This business has been apart of our community for decades and these partners have been great! I’ve been going there since I was a little girl with my grandpa. When he died, the owners kept his table reserved for months!”
• “How tf you Rob an old lady Who ever you are. Mom’s is more from the hood then a lot of mfs today”
• “Elderly woman really? I can’t believe some young men these days… They will really do anything for some chump change. Praying for the family…”
• “Oh NO! For those of you living in our hood this is like attacking our mother!”
• “it has never been cool to rob an old lady or old dude. that could be your grandparents getting socked up”
• “If anyone has any information. We need to protect our RB businesses!”
• “This makes my heart hurt. How can we help?”
• “They are open today if you want to show the business some love.”
• “Turn him in if you know who he is.”

Both Heng and Chea have been released from the hospital and are recovering at home. The family is now focusing their attention on finding the man who assaulted them.

One extra detail that may help: In addition to taking Chea’s purse, some cash, an ipad and a blue iphone, the thief also got away with the unique diamond brooch pictured here:

The suspect is described as a slender black male between 20 and 30 years old wearing black pants and a black hat. Anyone with information is asked to call the robbery unit at (206) 684-5540. Anonymous tips are welcome.

UPDATE: (Sat., 1/3 @ 9:55 am) “My mother’s teeth were in the back of her throat and she is back in the hospital with a possible concussion,” reports Davie Hay. “If anyone knows anything about this assault/robbery please let me know. Please help us out. My parents survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and came to America and have this happen?”

UPDATE: (Sat., 1/3 @ 2:45 pm) Davie has set up a gofundme account to raise money for her parents’ medical treatment. So far, 14 donations have yielded $800.

(Top) Heng Hey and Chea Pol were both hospitalized after being attacked and robbed at the popular Rainier Beach restaurant they’ve owned for nearly 30 years. Photo/Davie Hay

Related:

• King Donut-Teriyaki-Laundromat: It’s a Real Place and Business of the Year(5/29/14)

Two Teens Arrested in Rainier Valley Assaults, Cell Phone Robbery

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Editor

SOUTHEAST SEATTLE — Seattle Police say they arrested two teenagers Monday for attacking people in the Rainier Beach and stealing or attempting to steal their cell phones.

The first victim told police he was walking along South Rose Street near Rainier Avenue South about 7 pm when two male teenagers started hitting him in the face in an attempt to get his cell phone.

The man said he was able to fend off his attackers and called police as the boys ran away.

When police arrived, a second victim walked up and told officers she’d been attacked by the same people a couple of blocks away, and that they got away with her cell phone.

Then, after officers took their statements and left to interview other witnesses, the first victim called 911 again to say the teens had returned to the scene and attacked him a second time.

The 17-year-old suspects were still there when the officers returned. They were both arrested and booked into the Youth Services Center on robbery charges. The woman’s cell phone was recovered and returned.

A third man, who had been seen hanging out with the suspects during the second attack, was arrested for a Department of Corrections violation. He says he wasn’t involved in the attacks.

The incidents occurred near Rainier Avenue South and Wabash Avenue South where a woman and her young children were driving in September when they were surrounded by nearly a dozen people who blocked her vehicle, then assaulted and robbed them. At the time, there were no reported arrests.

Mom & Kids Trapped, Robbed, Assaulted in Rainier Beach Alley; No Arrests

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Editor

SOUTHEAST SEATTLE — Last week, a woman driving through a Rainier Beach alley was surrounded by nearly a dozen people who blocked her vehicle, then assaulted and robbed her and her young children.

According to Seattle Police Department records, the victim said she was driving through the alley near Rainier Avenue South and Wabash Avenue South on the way to drop one of her kids off at a friend’s house around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. She told police she was taking a short cut when her car was stopped by a large group of 10 men and one woman.

She said she tried to drive through the crowd, but was afraid of hitting someone when they wouldn’t move out of the way. From the police report:

Victim stated she had her driver’s side window rolled down slightly. Victim  stated that a black female with a black shirt and blue jeans punched her several times with a closed fist. The suspect punched her through the driver’s side window. Victim stated the suspect struck her in the face several times. The victim was also scratched by the suspect. The victim attempted to block some of the blows and was scratched. Victim  stated that someone in the group of people snatched a back pack out of the lap of one of the children sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.

The woman said she drove out of the alley, across Wabash Avenue South and parked to call police. She also said that there were witnesses to the attack, but that “nobody wanted to help her.”

The victim said the group of 10 ran in various directions but she kept her eyes on the female suspect who gave the backpack to one of the men with her. She then followed the female suspect who flagged down a passing vehicle and got away. Police later tracked down the driver who said she didn’t know the suspect who had told her that someone was trying to kill her. She said she dropped the suspect off on Rainier Avenue South, two blocks north of Wabash, then drove away thinking that she had just helped someone.

According to the police report, the victim suffered bruises on her right and left eye from the attack. Her children weren’t hurt, but “very upset and crying.”

An area search proved unsuccessful and there were no reported arrests.

Police are investigating the incident and encourage anyone with information on the attack to call 911.

WATCH: Cops Take Gunfire in New Year’s Eve Shooting

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Editor

SOUTHEAST SEATTLE — Patrol car cameras were rolling on New Year’s Eve when a gunman opened fire on several Seattle Police officers in the Brighton neighborhood.

The shooting came minutes after police responded, for the second time New Year’s Eve, to a report of domestic violence at a home in the 4200 block of South Eddy Street near 42nd Avenue South.

According to Seattle Police Department (SPD), officers were first called to the home shortly after 10 pm after receiving a report of a domestic dispute between a man and a woman. Officers investigated the incident and left the scene to complete their report.

A short time later, around 10:30 pm, police returned to the home after receiving a second 911 call from the victim, who said the suspect had kicked a door and was making threats.

By 10:35 pm, officers were interviewing the suspect as he sat on the hood of a patrol car parked on S. Eddy Street, which is where video of the incident begins. Shortly thereafter, shots rang out and everyone ducked for cover as the officers returned fire.

There were no reported injuries or arrests at the time, but last week Seattle Police said that they’ve arrested three suspects in connection with a recent spate of drive-by shootings in southeast Seattle. However they did say if this incident was included in the ones that the three teenagers, ages 16, 17 and 19 are suspected of.

Prosecutors have charged all three with investigation of drive-by shooting and issued warrants for their arrest.

How really to ensure that "black lives matter"?

By demanding that counter-violence and conflict resolution workshops be organized in African-American communities and acknowledging that a culture (of parenting...) that glorifies machismo, turns a blind eye to, and tolerates violence is destroying black lives as much, if not more, than racism, unemployment, or poverty.

An inconvenient truth:95% of homicides/murders of African-Americans are committed by other African-Americans.

Crying wolf ("Racism! Racist! Racist!") in 21st century America

What they are afraid to acknowledge, much less accept, is that each year more whites, many more whites, are killed by blacks than blacks by whites.  Because if the reverse were true, they would cite that is incontrovertible proof of racism in America.

In the end

In the end what matters most is that one have the respect of even just one person of courage, intelligence, and conscience than that of the thousands who blindly follow the herd.

They will eventually get trampled by that very same herd.

Individuals who tell the truth have a harder time in life.

Why?  Because most people would rather hear what only appears to be true but which on closer examination would be dubious at best.

But I will have lived, truly lived!