Skip to main content

A Reason to Fear

I've been sitting on this piece because it felt too difficult, but when I read this post yesterday from a former colleague, I knew it was time for me to speak.

She writes:

 I don't know it all, but I feel disgusted about those using the awful rape of a high school girl in Montgomery County as a platform against immigrants and Latinos. I understand that it's an absolutely horrific crime. This does not mean that all immigrants are rapists. It does not mean they're all violent. From 1990 to 2013, the number of undocumented immigrants tripled from 3.5 to 11.2 million, according to an American Immigration Council study. However, violent crime in America dropped 48% during that period, indicating that higher immigration doesn’t mean higher violent crime, which includes murder and rape. The U.S. Government Accountability Office study found that of the three million immigrants — legal or not — arrested during that period, only two percent were for sex offenses. The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey shows that whites commit 71% of all documented sexual assaults, while Latinos accounted for 9%. All sexual assault is wrong. But claiming it happened because these men were undocumented is a lie. Using it to spread fear and build support against immigrants is unconscionable.

 Since the report last week of the brutal rape of a Montgomery County High School student,  I have read a number of comments which begin, "I am the mother of a girl and I fear for my daughter..."

 I'm the mother of a girl, too. And do you know why I fear for my daughter?

 White boys. Yes, white boys, right here in Howard County.

 White boys like the one who taunts a lesbian student in class that she'd "be straight if she just got good d***."

 White boys like the ones who got drunk and posted a racist video online.

 White boys like the one who drugged a girl and raped her, then bullied her until she no longer believed her life was worth living.

 White boys.

 When are we going to stop with all this coded language about "thugs" and Section 8 freeloaders," or "illegals and that criminal element" and really face the ugly truth of the toxic version of white masculinity? When are we going to discuss the price everyone pays when these boys are raised to believe that they are the norm, the Center of the Universe, and that everyone else is defined in relationship to them, their rights and their privilege?

 White boys who believe that the rules don't apply to them do things without caring how others could be affected. Those same white boys will get a slap on the wrist or a warning while young men of color would face suspension or criminal charges for identical acts. Who do we protect in perpetuating a culture of entitled white boys who grow into white men who feel justified rather than responsible?

 Yes, sometimes I fear for my daughter.

 But it isn't skin color or nationality that makes me afraid. It's what is carried in the heart, values, humility, strength of character--or the lack of it--that's on my mind today.

 Comments are welcome here:

 https://www.facebook.com/VillageGreenTownSquared/?ref=bookmarks






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more