Miss America: Why Racism Thrives Online

[marmar]

from truthdig:


Miss America: Why Racism Thrives Online

Posted on Sep 16, 2013
By Marcia Alesan Dawkins


Some things evolve and some things don’t. Such is the case with this weekend’s wins of Nina Davuluri and Floyd Mayweather and the tsunami of racism that overtook Twitter in response.

Ladies first. Nina Davuluri is the second consecutive New Yorker to be crowned Miss America and the first Indian-American to win the title. Though Davuluri’s platform was “Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Competency,” like all of us she is more than the sum of her racial and ethnic identities.

According to CNN, “the 24-year-old Fayetteville, New York, native was on the dean’s list and earned the Michigan Merit Award and National Honor Society nods while studying at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a degree in brain behavior and cognitive science.” Her goal is to become a physician. Davuluri plans to invest her time as Miss America working with the U.S. Department of Education as an advocate for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are fields where women, regardless of racial or ethnic background, are sorely underrepresented.

Davuluri’s feel-good story took a racist turn in the Twitterverse, where some were outraged by the fact that 2014’s Miss America isn’t white. As in 2010, when the Lebanese-American beauty queen Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA, racism was expressed not just explicitly in the form of tweets, but also in the level of ignorance those tweets exposed. For example, Jezebel reports that some tweeps seemed confused over whether the new Miss America was Indian-American, Arab, Muslim or Latina. They could all agree, however, that she didn’t deserve the title based on whom they thought she was. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/miss_america_why_racism_thrives_online_20130916/?ln

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[xchrom]

2. du rec.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

3. Because it's impossible to bust someone in the mouth when

they're hiding behind their keyboard........ OK seriously though anonymity gives people a sense of security with which they can say anything. As a "brown person" I do have to say I appreciate their honesty in letting us know they're still out there.

[Supersedeas]

16. are you sure about that?

that all of those anonymous "they's" behind their keyboards are secure and honest, and that you are appreciative of that?

most likely, you will still have a lot a lashing out to do if a bust in the mouth is your reaction to everyone anonymous someone who is merely trying to get a rise out of you.

honesty...I don't know.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

17. Are you sure you read what I wrote?

''behind their keyboards are secure and honest, and that you are appreciative of that?''

Yes, people feel they can act out online because they can say vile things that they'd probably never say to that person's face. How is this news to anyone?

The words honesty and appreciate were obviously used loosely. Yes I prefer racists and bigots to be open about their racism and bigotry. Why wouldn't I. I don't need people pretending they're all nice and sweet when they're not.

"OK seriously" followed the busting people in the mouth comment for a reason.

[Supersedeas]

19. just don't let those fools get that you...that's all

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. K&r

She is an American, smart and beautiful!

[brer cat]

5. I'm glad that you put smart before beautiful.

"Davuluri plans to invest her time as Miss America working with the U.S. Department of Education as an advocate for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are fields where women, regardless of racial or ethnic background, are sorely underrepresented."

[Mr Dixon]

6. SMH

Key Board Gangsters, are a new breed not seeing a solution to this one.

[canuckledragger]

10. You can do what I try to do...

Provoke 'em till they get pissed enough to smash their keyboard/monitor!

Takes them out of circulation for a bit, anyway...

[DinahMoeHum]

12. You mean, like this?

[whttevrr]

7. Smart women are awesome...

I wish America was #1 in median intelligence.

[Sand Wind]

8. Because we can be un censured online. So it act as a revelator. Brown = terrorist.

Assad like to play on this too.

[Romulox]

9. How about this: Re-posting tweets isn't "reporting"? Nor do tweets have any polling validity.

[ismnotwasm]

13. K&R

I'm no fan of beauty pageants, but this woman has my admiration. She was treated disgracefully.

[leftstreet]

14. BREAKING! Racist element in sexist competition n/t

[Precisely]

15. ^^^^^^^^

[JRLeft]

18. If you read twitter after Floyd Mayweather won his fight, you would have read a plethora of racists

diatribes for hours.

[Skittles]

20. all races should be able to compete in sexist, demeaning contests

I...........er..........yes indeed