Racism endures here, and campaign reminds us to stop it
February 2, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
A few years ago, just a day or two after President Obama was elected, I walked into a northern Minnesota deer camp on assignment for the News Tribune. Within moments after welcoming me to the camp, one of the hunters looked at me and said, “Well, I guess they’ll be planting watermelons on the White House lawn now.”
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Do I get to whine every time that I hear Irish jokes, Polish jokes, fat jokes, buck teeth jokes, Catholic jokes, etc?
I remember walking behind three of the founding mothers of the Minnesota DFL Feminist Caucus one day, m;any years ago, unbeknownst to them, as they discussed some of the most scurrilous anti-Catholic remarks that I have ever heard.
I don’t know if a tasteless “watermelon joke” is worth a column in a newspaper in the light of all the real racist activities and anti-religion atrocities, world-wide.
Racism is what it means to be human, Mr. Cook. Unless you want to form an army of thought police to begin arresting the perps.
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The Swen and Ole jokes were common from my old pastor. Try driving a motorcycle-you will be pulled over. If you are a young man driving a shinny car you will be pulled over. When I was teaching my daughter how to drive I told her: you are a good looking girl driving a nice car you will be pulled over. Racsism is all over GET OVER IT and prove people wrong
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Most of us in northern Minnesota might think racism rarely occurs here.
Come on Sam- get your head out of the sand- there is plenty of racism in Norhern Minnesota- maybe not the black and white racism- but with all the ethnic groups vrounth into the area for mining and logging an shippingand whatever else- there was plenty of racism and it has rickled down through the ages- The recent war in former Yugoslavis brought it to a head again with the ethnic lines drawn here on the Range- you’ve got Finns , Italians, the Jewish population-all the former Yugoslavian countries- and within the countires there are negative thoughts about each other depending on what section of that country you came from- Then you have both sides of the Native American racism. Then you have the religious “racism”- people who ask what church you go to as a basis of frinedship and have anti feelings for those of certain religions different from you- The older people still identify with what ethnic background you come from and lines of friendship are drawn- Open your eyes Sam- we are well aware of the racism that exists in NE Minnesota-
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You got me on that one…I had to look it up on wikipedia…I thought for a moment that I was learning a new word.
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Great. Sam is going to stop being a racist. Let the angels sing,.
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Joe Gomer, thank you for your service to our country.
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Very good point Mike, you have a hero in your mist. What’s ironic is the DNT has 3 separate articles on anti racism this week (during black history month) but nothing positive about my people. Sad, very sad. By the way I thought I read about a memorial they were planning to build for Joe. I lost the article and would like to donate if anyone from the area could help. I tried online but couldn’t find anything about the memorial itself. I challege the area to help with this cause (racist and nonracist alike).
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Thank you Sam Cook, i just wasted a few minutes of my life that I will never get back.
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This whole ‘Racism” thing will end up a waste of money with billboards, etc.
and all it is doing NOW is pissing alot of people off!!!
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You “reeled in disbelief?” Really? I know that was supposed to convey a deep sense of drama, but I couldn’t help chuckling at the picture of it in my mind. I’ve never seen someone reel in disbelief before. Did you swoon, too? Did you recoil in horror? Were you overcome with the vapors?
This kind of stuff is why few people (none that I know of) are taking any of this seriously.
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rac·ism/ˈrāˌsizəm/
Noun:
1.The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as…
2.Prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief.
Jokes about blacks eating watermelon aren’t racist, unless that person then denies someone a job, for example.
The majority of the ‘racism’ argument is in the context of somebody saying something someone else doesn’t like.
Unless there is evidence of widespread job or housing discrimination in Duluth against non-whites (which I don’t believe there is), then what is this campaign really about?
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What is it really about is the correct question.
I’m guessing that 9 out of 10 of their soliutions have to do with new programs, new spending, new laws, new regulations.
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I really agree here. People are confusing stereotypes and racism. Everyone has stereotypes of certain groups of people. Dumb polish jokes. Dumb blonde jokes. Jewish people are rich or accountants. Irish have red hair and a short temper, etc. Racism is JUSTIFIED discrimination against someone because of race, religion, creed, etc. The example of all the white people boarding the ship home first before black people are allowed to start boarding the ship is a prime example To imply that Pres Obama will plant watermelons in the front yard of the white house simply because he is black is the same as implying that the country will be richer if our next president happens to be jewish. If the later were said in deer camp, would it have been as shocking?
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As a percentage of their population, Indians and blacks are far more racist than whites.
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So true…if you want to experience racism or at least be treated like crap…go to an Indian casino. I recommend the Spirit Lake Casino in the middle of the heavily flooded Devils Lake for this experience.
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Another beauty from Mike
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So what would be wrong with Hussein or Michelle planting watermellons where they live? I’ve been planting watermellons in my garden for years. I love them. I would hardly call watermellon an exclusively black ethnic food and subject to ridicule. Nothing better than fresh food right from the garden. Prejudices are instilled in us by our environment but I believe actual racisim is practiced only by truly ignorant people (OF ALL COLORS), people who don’t have the mental capacity to know how wrong or how ignorant they are.
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Oh come on ulysses, according to liberals all my people have is their love of watermelon. Next thing you are going to tell me you like fried chickenn too(end sarcasm)!
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Actually, shanko, yes. So much so I fianlly talked my wife into buying a real deep fryer for home. Mmmmm cheese curds too. I really balk at buying Colonel Chicken pieces at about a dollar a piece, especially when the workers there can’t tell the difference between a wing and a thigh when you order meals or buckets. Maybe Colonel Chicken should hire more blacks…they really know chicken. (no racism, just more sarcasim, all in fun).
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From that last comment, uly, it’s obvious you’r just too far gone.
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bac: I like talking to shanko. What’s wrong, if in the course of our communications, I do a little ribbin”? Lighten up bac.
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You won’t find kfc in my neighborhood. Popeye’s or church’s but if you want some of the best the mom and pop fish/chicken shacks are the best. Might not look good on the outside but damn is it good! Monday or Tuesday’s are the best days because they change the grease, weekends if you like it greasy.
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shanko: In the course of my travels I ALWAYS get off he main roads into the neighborhoods to seek out little local restaurants that are representative of the neighborhood. Great opportunity to experience authentic local/ethnic foods. I’ve had many great meals this way, a few surprises ad a few that were a little disapointing, like when I ate at a little Burmese restaurant in San Francisco (everything looked like and tasted like grass and alfalfa). Any chicken joints you would recommed in MN or WI (I don’t travel far in the winter).
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Ulysess- when you refer to the POTUS w/ his middle name of Hussein, it already gives me an idea on where you stand. I have a simple question for you, if John McCain would have been elected POTUS would that guy have made the watermelon comment? My answer is NO and if you cannot figure out why, please educate yourself.
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So all the people that refered to bush as dubya are racist too then?
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AJ: I refer to Hussein by his middle name out of disrespect for the wanna-be man. He is the product of the most corrupt political machine in the Country and that is the type of politics he has brought to Washington. McCain was never really a contender so I don’t even want to waste my time talking about him. He was the ultimate expendible candidate. If anyone else had run and won and turned out to be as incompetent, ignorant and corrupt as Hussein has, I would show the same disrespect for that person. I am an “equal opportunity” disrespector.
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My thoughts for whatever they are worth. If the World and all humans therein were of the same color, same ideas, same values, same religion, same house, same car, same financial status – there would STILL be those who would cry racism. The planet is filled with every color of the rainbow in skin, ideas, lifestyles, choices, values, and religions. It is the jealous mind that possesses the “thoughts” of “I’m better than you, or I deserve more than you because…” Racism exists even amongst the same ethnic groups, same groups categorized by the color of their skin – “miners in the early 1900’s on the Iron Range were racist, segregated and downright mean to their fellow Irish, Italians, Finns, and all the others from Northern European countries as they came to this region to make a “better” life. Heck, the white guys on Ellis Island treated many of these families (women and children) like they were cattle; tagging and separating them in processing units. As the sun rises and sets – there will be people who feel they need the “one-up-manship” on their fellow man, in fact, much of this starts when we are very young and impressionable – listening to our parents, as they talk or in anger cry of injustices by someone or of something that grates their values, idea, rule or regulation made by someone other than their preferred color. Eating watermelons is a personal choice and not a reflection of anything racist, unless in your mind you make it that way.
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You can’t spell a simple one-syllable, three-letter word (“too”) but everybody else is stupid? Really?
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Listen you little nincompoop…it isn’t nice to call people names.
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OMG…I didn’t see you bac…honest to god…cross my heart…I meant magnumpi. I can’t believe this just happened. I shouldn’t leave town.
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Don’t give it a second thought, tj. Done it myself, thanks to the way this thing works.
While I don’t agree with everything you post, I find that you’ve got more class than most of the lunatics here.
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The road to hell is paved with good intensions !When you couple that with liberalsm , nothing good will come of it !!This campaign by people with “good intensions ” has demonized and divided us further even with those of us who want only good things for people of all races! Who are the rascists here?Let’s face it, rascism will always exist to some level! This kind of thing makes it worse! This kind of crying by any race will only cause a backlash! We all need to just be good citizens,do our jobs, pay our taxes and be good neighbors !! This is just another example of democrats creating a mountain out of something that could be a mole hill
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You still didn’t use the word right.
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Enron, since you are such a genius, you might have written, “You still didn’t use the word CORRECTLY”.
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You are incorrect bac. Magnumpi didn’t use the word “right” in his comments.
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Mike Hockerts said: “As a percentage of their population, Indians and blacks are far more racist than whites.” I’d be interested Mike, where did you get your figures?
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Without any official studies I would say that Mike is right. Come to my neighborhood back home Bryan and see how you will be treated. Cops pull over the white people because for the most part they are looking for drugs and I could go on and on. Now I’ve never been to Duluth but I cover all of ND and half of MN(similar racial populace) and I can say I’ve had more problems with the other minorities of the areas then with the white people, not saying I haven’t had problems with whites.
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Jeepers! Most of you don’t get it, do you? Yeah, everyone is a racist of some kind… always have been… it is everywhere… one finger points at a racist and the other three fingers point back at the accuser, and so on.
The idea is, try to be a better person. Think about what you are saying and doing. A joke, a thought, a word, a deed – if it is at the expense of someone else just because they are different from you in some way – don’t do that, hey? You don’t want someone doing that to you, do you? Just try to be a little better, a little more considerate than you were yesterday.
It ain’t about fault or assigning blame or accepting guilt, it is about trying to rise above the level you were yesterday. Each of us. I’m including myself, here.
tom koehler
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Does anyone remember last Fall the rash of beatings by black groups on whites? Their only reasoning for it was that they hated white people. Racism is not only a “white” problem. Racism is a world problem.
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To support his argument that racism still endures in the Northland, Mr Cook gives one example of his witnessing it by an OUT OF TOWNER *several* years ago. He then attempts to build his case by citing the discrimination that Joe Gomer experienced after his tour – which indeed *is* a shameful and terrible – but which happened almost 60 YEARS AGO.
And now, in 2011, we have an African American president.
Times are so much different.
And apparantly Mr Cook doesn’t appreciate the irony of his mentioning President Obama’s election. Being a DFL majority here, we in the Northland elected Obama, a black man, to the highest office in the land. If I recall it was around a 70pct majority?!!
I do usually enjoy your column as you are a good writer. Please stick to what you are good at.
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Here’s the thing: I used to be a liberal student who wanted to fight for everyone’s rights and equal opportunity for all. Problem being, it’s now MLK’s era anymore….people all have the opportunity. The diversity we get up north comes from people leaving the cities, Detroit, Chicago…..and from my experience, 90% of it is to get our welfare. Then come the family members who sell drugs and cause violent crime. That’s not racism,,,,, that’s fact. how many of the murders in the twin ports in the last 10 years were black vs white? I bet you already know that it’s NOT in proportion to the overall population.
Sometime, stereotypes exist because they’re true.
If it were a larger area, we’d see a better representation of the population of other races, unfortunatley, up north, we get the garbage from southern MN, MI,IL and IN.
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There is a huge difference between being a bigot and being a racist. Someone who works in journalism should know the difference. Cook’s example is not racism, but is bigotry.
This whole “un-fair” campaign is a bunch of hogwash, and is actually making more of an issue out of it than there really is. I was recently subjected to some verbal abuse (right here in Duluth) by someone because I am white. Yet the whole un-fair campaign only wants to look at it from the other side. That is racism.
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I cannot be responsible for what other people say and think, I can only be responsible for myself. In many cases things are said by people not realizing how they might be offensive to someone else. But that can be applied to many things not only race or creed. People. are human and sometimes make mistakes willingly or unwillingly. We do not live in a perfect society and for others to tell me its not perfect is something I accept because I treat people like I would like to be treated and not responsible for others behavior.
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Please, Wisconsin, please.
Annex Duluth. We don’t want ‘em, you can have ‘em.
If you can get the mercury out of what’s left of their brains, they might be good for something.
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I agree 100% with Sam Cook that the Obama watermelon wisecrack was stupid, offensive and racist. But I also believe that the slogan “It’s hard to see racism when you’re white” is equally offensive.
Why, oh why, does this misguided group of rebels without a clue think it’s OK to disparage a specific racial group, in this case, whites? What on earth can they be thinking, and are my Federal tax dollars paying for this crap to be plastered on billboards?
Here’s a news flash for the good folks behind this ad campaign: There’s a WHOLE LOT of white folks who clearly understand what racism is, and we try hard to end it. Your slogan is insulting and demeaning. You’d be well advised to run, not walk, back to the drawing board.
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Judging from my days of living in Duluth and from reading the comment sections of the Duluth News Tribune, I’d say anti-Christian bigotry is a much bigger problem for Duluth than racism. Want some of evidence of that? Wait until the next story about Catholics comes up.
Its hard to see anti-Christian bigotry when you are an Atheist.
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Hey Sam Cook, I am a pro-life Christian Republican. Now, if you have any negative thoughts about me with just that info, then you are a bigot.
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The Un-Fair campaign is trying to make the point that if you grew up Whitey “you don’t know what you don’t know.” The problem is that they are targeting “white” people because the majority of this country are “white.” This comes off as racism against “whites.” I imagine that they feel the biggest problem–because of sheer numbers–is the “white” race being unaware of the problems faced by other races (again assuming that “whites” don’t know what they don’t know). The problem is that that their message is easily taken as (ALL) “whites” are ignorant to the fact that sometimes minority races face issues because they are different than the majority. They are trying to say “Here’s something you don’t even know you don’t know,” and that can easily be taken negatively. The issue may indeed be a valid one, but their ad campaign appears to single out “whites”, which feels kind of like racism, doesn’t it? Hence, many “white” people are naturally offended. When it comes down to it, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a white person–a lot of tan or very light brown ones–none that I could call “white.” I also haven’t seen many who are black, red, yellow, or olive.
Personally, I think using color to describe a race promotes the very thing campaigns like this are trying to address.
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Good point, Oogah.
White? Actually, being mostly Dane and a bit of German, I guess you could almost call me blue, this time of year. Hard, with this almost translucent fishbelly white hide to cover up the underlying stuff. Sure glad that others don’t point that out.
Of course, most of the folks around MN are pretty much the same as me. Just can’t figure out why they seem to think anyone with a darker complexion would be less of a person?
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Why are you posting the same on different blogs?
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Maggy does so as his goal is only to stir discord on blogs…
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Duluth conservatives: Willfully choosing to miss the point for over 30 years.
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I totally disagree with this campaign.
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Wrong depiction and statement on a public billboard.
Waste of money.
Changing slogans to correct something that is WAY out of line.
But still those racist billboards remain up.
Stupid idea, without proper direction= Backlash from public.
Time for the public to remove those boards themselves, and the police look the other way while it`s being done.
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Whoa, ‘Barry’!
Trying to incite some kind of illegal activity? Sure sounds like it from that last post! “Time for the public to remove those boards themselves, and the police to look the other way while it’s being done.”?
Advocating a little vandalism, ‘Barry’? And maybe calling on the police to shirk their duty?
Tell us…do you have some ‘like-minded’ pals in the DPD? Sure would love to know just who they are, and I’m sure the feds would, as well!
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The eerie similarity of what advocate is chilling and telling….the reason history repeats itself is because we don’t learn from it..
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Once again why post the same thing on different blogs? Are you into cut and paste? I am just asking?
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Nice to see Doug N. is adding something intelligent to the conversation. Oh wait…he didn’t say anything intelligent…
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Doug, your wasting time with that one, he just wants to stir night and day…
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Who are you to believe you know the ‘truth’, wouldn’t the truth just simply be your own personal opinion. To log on and comment to many people, saying their view is wrong, is simply implying that you are indeed the one too stubborn to realize that all people will in some way have different opinions. Also…when you say someone who has a problem with the campaign has had childhood issues or something in the past to make them feel this way; are you suggesting that you know the absolute answer to the reasons why people disagree with this campaign? Your comments have no value or truth to them. So let me state my opinion. If this campaign had a real goal in mind, one that was indeed a tangible goal, I would agree with it. Yet no matter what a billboard says, people will have their opinions. To try to change the mindset of Duluth Minnesota, regarding how people view racism with billboards is a complete waste of time and money. It’s clear many citizens are upset about the message. We all understand racism yet I believe it’s a personal choice regarding how we choose to act upon our beliefs.
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Opinion: a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Truth: conformity with fact or reality; verity. Maggy, as others have stated, you have no “beef”.
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