Racism Thriving, Scott Walker Is Counting on It

Former Madison, Wisconsin Police Chief David Couper has a new piece out in which he writes, "my family is bi-racial. My wife and I adopted two Asian daughters. They are now adult women. As they grew up, I could have written an article similar to (Prof. Christopher E Smith's), 'What I learned about racism by watching my two minority daughters grow up in a liberal Midwest city.'"

Couper refers to what should be Smith's literary sensation shocking the conscience of America, What I Learned About Stop-and-Frisk from Watching My Black Son - The 'special tax' on men of color is more than an inconvenience. A father shares his firsthand observations and fears.

Smith writes:

When I heard that my 21-year-old son, a student at Harvard, had been stopped by New York City police on more than one occasion during the brief summer he spent as a Wall Street intern, I was angry. On one occasion, while wearing his best business suit, he was forced to lie face-down on a filthy sidewalk because—well, let’s be honest about it, because of the color of his skin. As an attorney and a college professor who teaches criminal justice classes, I knew that his constitutional rights had been violated. As a parent, I feared for his safety at the hands of the police—a fear that I feel every single day, whether he is in New York or elsewhere.

While the Republicans Party and many racist, vicious police continue their organized campaign against younger people of color, the stories appear to be getting worse every day.

I often walk to the Meadowood shopping center on Madison's far-west side on Raymond Road.

On almost every occasion, I see a white person nervously grab a look or cast a look of askance at a young black man walking by. It seems young black men know better than to walk as a group, or god forbid: Run.

I could have written a similar piece of Smith's about growing up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and the entire Fox Valley for that matter.

Anecdotal, but one gets the distinct impression American white people are becoming increasingly moronic.

Here in Wisconsin without Paul Ryan, the Koch brothers and the Republican Party constantly sounding their racist dog whistles, not to mention obstructing the votes of people of color and that "urban vote," vermin such as Scott Walker would not stand a chance.

Lots of good folks around. I recommend The Advancement Project, the Grio,  and the Rev. Al Sharpton.