Wash Post: Michael Eric Dyson reports 6 yo grandson called a racial slur at Mann

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this post story is confusing. the school appears to be saying that dyson is wrong and there was no slur.

The school will never say something like that directly, for he'll just run to the media with it (which he already did on the same day the incident took place). But the school has been clear from the outset about what took place. There were multiple witnesses, including an adult standing right there at the start of the lunch line. The claim of the "N-word" originated with the grandfather despite the school being quite clear that "The incident did not include any language about race or ethnicity." (emphasis in original)

No doubt the mayor's office and DCPS will pressure the principal to revise her statement to say something like "it is possible that [the grandson] believed that he heard the word and felt victimized by what he perceived as racial bias."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter why Dyson was there. Maybe the son was in surgery at the time. Regardless, he was welcome to be there and, I presumed, welcomed.

But, if he manufactured the notion that the N-word was used, that's totally inexcusable. He knows the content of that word. He knows what it means and how it hurts. He cannot go around willy-nilly attributing it to others (children).

And if it was all just a miscommunication, he needs to keep walking back his earlier comments much further than he already has. (And he has walked them back a bit already, but that ain't nearly enough if he is the one making this part up.)

Walk back? He’s doubling down with his comments today about white privileges and institutional racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a school where a student was shot - and afterward everyone said 'oh I wish I'd paid more attention to the warning signs' etc... It's easy to dismiss 6 year olds as playing, but it can often be worse b/c they don't have a sense of consequences.

With threats, the parents should be called and the kid who was threatened be protected and be in an environment where they can be and feel safe - and the kid who was the one talking about using a gun understand the gravity of the statement.

As a parent of kids in a WOTP school - this is highlighting again it's 2019 - that the area needs to deal with race in schools in more direct and enlightened ways.

“The incident did not include any language about race or ethnicity." Which part of this is unclear to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter why Dyson was there. Maybe the son was in surgery at the time. Regardless, he was welcome to be there and, I presumed, welcomed.

But, if he manufactured the notion that the N-word was used, that's totally inexcusable. He knows the content of that word. He knows what it means and how it hurts. He cannot go around willy-nilly attributing it to others (children).

And if it was all just a miscommunication, he needs to keep walking back his earlier comments much further than he already has. (And he has walked them back a bit already, but that ain't nearly enough if he is the one making this part up.)

Walk back? He’s doubling down with his comments today about white privileges and institutional racism.

No, he's positioning himself to say we need to move beyond this particular incident and talk more broadly about systemic problems throughout the system. After all, we can't expect every aggrieved child to have ready access to such an engaged and sophisticated grandparent for advocacy. We need to think about protecting all of those other children instead of focusing on just poor Maxem.

He just wants to move on from this incident and engage with the bigger issue now. It doesn't matter so much what happened to his grandson specifically; it's about what's happening to grandsons everywhere else.

If you think I'm kidding, just watch.

[Anonymous]

I will be interested in learning more about how the school handled it. I hope that they use it as a teaching moment for the students.

[Anonymous]

Reporter: So, professor, was your grandson called the "N word"?

Dyson: Listen, this is all a distraction from the larger point. Threatening and violent language was deployed by a white student against a black student. The black student rightly felt threatened and scared. Now, what exactly was said is not particularly germane to the discussion. And it doesn't matter anyway, since words like this are being used all across Amerikkka each and every day. We must not lose sight of the broader societal problems afflicting every aspect of the black life.

Reporter: Uh huh. Interesting. ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reporter: So, professor, was your grandson called the "N word"?

Dyson: Listen, this is all a distraction from the larger point. Threatening and violent language was deployed by a white student against a black student. The black student rightly felt threatened and scared. Now, what exactly was said is not particularly germane to the discussion. And it doesn't matter anyway, since words like this are being used all across Amerikkka each and every day. We must not lose sight of the broader societal problems afflicting every aspect of the black life.

Reporter: Uh huh. Interesting. ...

I can go on.

Dyson: The outcome appears to be a good one for my terrified and vulnerable grandson. But what about all those parents of color who don’t have the resources or platform to advocate for their children who are similarly treated? Or for other parents who simply lack the outlets to articulate their grievances or concerns?

We need to talk less about my experience and more about their stories, hurts, traumas and concerns.


Can you tell which words are mine and which are Dyson's?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reporter: So, professor, was your grandson called the "N word"?

Dyson: Listen, this is all a distraction from the larger point. Threatening and violent language was deployed by a white student against a black student. The black student rightly felt threatened and scared. Now, what exactly was said is not particularly germane to the discussion. And it doesn't matter anyway, since words like this are being used all across Amerikkka each and every day. We must not lose sight of the broader societal problems afflicting every aspect of the black life.

Reporter: Uh huh. Interesting. ...

I can go on.

Dyson: The outcome appears to be a good one for my terrified and vulnerable grandson. But what about all those parents of color who don’t have the resources or platform to advocate for their children who are similarly treated? Or for other parents who simply lack the outlets to articulate their grievances or concerns?

We need to talk less about my experience and more about their stories, hurts, traumas and concerns.


Can you tell which words are mine and which are Dyson's?

Now I'm just amusing myself...

Dyson: We need to lay out in no uncertain terms the stakes of the situation — the physical and racial aggression, the individual and institutional culpability, the personal and existential consequences of such a threat to our beloved (grand)sons, the responsibility of the school (system) to address such incidents, mechanisms that need to be in place to grapple with such incidents, a culture of white privilege and indifference to the harm of our children of color.


[In case you can't tell, pretty much all of these words and certainly all of the sentiment are Dyson's, taken directly from his tweets today.]

[Anonymous]

It’s amazing how if you tweak someone’s words you can make them imply something completely different. Again, go back to Fox News. You add nothing of value here, except reinforcing that some WOTP parents think like you and will reflect that in how their kids act.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Putting aside the "n" word, what about threatening to go get Dad's gun and shoot someone?

I don't care if the kid is 6, that's outrageous.

I agree. The gun reference is concerning. Also the problem is that usage of the n-word is so common now thanks to vile rap songs that contain the word - and the people who embrace that “music.”

So you're excusing the use of the word by the 6yo white kid, with the rationale that he probably heard it in a rap song? How realistic is that scenario? We're not talking about teens here.

Either the word is accepted part of public discourse or its not. I happen to believe that it should not be acceptable, but unfortunately the rap culture blew a hole in that big enough to sail an aircraft carrier through it.

Please stop with this. Rap and hip-hop has been around for decades. Over the last last 5 years or so there is a growing interest in using the word in a negative and demeaning context. That is not how it is used in rap music and you know it.

What is unacceptable when it is thrown around to demean and hurt people and when white people say it the context changes. I don't understand why this is confusing for white people.

[Anonymous]

Dyson seems like a dissembling agitator. Georgetown should fire him. Now that would be reparations for giving this quack a platform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Putting aside the "n" word, what about threatening to go get Dad's gun and shoot someone?

I don't care if the kid is 6, that's outrageous.

I agree. The gun reference is concerning. Also the problem is that usage of the n-word is so common now thanks to vile rap songs that contain the word - and the people who embrace that “music.”

So you're excusing the use of the word by the 6yo white kid, with the rationale that he probably heard it in a rap song? How realistic is that scenario? We're not talking about teens here.

Either the word is accepted part of public discourse or its not. I happen to believe that it should not be acceptable, but unfortunately the rap culture blew a hole in that big enough to sail an aircraft carrier through it.

Please stop with this. Rap and hip-hop has been around for decades. Over the last last 5 years or so there is a growing interest in using the word in a negative and demeaning context. That is not how it is used in rap music and you know it.

What is unacceptable when it is thrown around to demean and hurt people and when white people say it the context changes. I don't understand why this is confusing for white people.

What about when a mixed-race individual says it? Is it ok only part of the time then?

Either the word is unacceptable or its not. I happen to think it should be unacceptable in all contexts.

[Anonymous]

There was no slur.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s amazing how if you tweak someone’s words you can make them imply something completely different. Again, go back to Fox News. You add nothing of value here, except reinforcing that some WOTP parents think like you and will reflect that in how their kids act.

Please give me an example. I simply copied and pasted his tweets, in their same order. That's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Putting aside the "n" word, what about threatening to go get Dad's gun and shoot someone?

I don't care if the kid is 6, that's outrageous.

I agree. The gun reference is concerning. Also the problem is that usage of the n-word is so common now thanks to vile rap songs that contain the word - and the people who embrace that “music.”

So you're excusing the use of the word by the 6yo white kid, with the rationale that he probably heard it in a rap song? How realistic is that scenario? We're not talking about teens here.

Either the word is accepted part of public discourse or its not. I happen to believe that it should not be acceptable, but unfortunately the rap culture blew a hole in that big enough to sail an aircraft carrier through it.

Please stop with this. Rap and hip-hop has been around for decades. Over the last last 5 years or so there is a growing interest in using the word in a negative and demeaning context. That is not how it is used in rap music and you know it.

What is unacceptable when it is thrown around to demean and hurt people and when white people say it the context changes. I don't understand why this is confusing for white people.

What about when a mixed-race individual says it? Is it ok only part of the time then?

Either the word is unacceptable or its not. I happen to think it should be unacceptable in all contexts.

Thank you for your opinion. Do you care at all about the feelings of others? Maybe befriend some black people and try really listening to them.