The Queen is dead. Long live the King!

Oh, and lots of tax money for bribing Quebec.

 

She promised to attend my MBA graduation at ICL.

 

I was walking down the street at sunrise one morning
In London, England.
And there was a very large Rolls Royce Limousine
Pulling slowly along the street.
And in that Rolls Royce was the Queen of England
Looking tired,
Just go back from a party,
And the Queen leaned out and
She said: Aren't you B.B. King? She said:
Oh B.B., sometimes it's so hard to pull things together.
Could you tell me what you think I ought to do?

And I said:
You better not look down
If you want to keep on flying
Put the hammer down
Keep it full speed ahead
You better not look back
Or you might just wind up crying
You can keep it moving
If you don't look down!

-- B.B. King, Better Not Look Down from the "Take It Home" album, 1979 (My all-time favorite from B.B.)

I miss them both.

 

I too love B.B. King. I went to a B.B. King concert back in about 1969 just before his big hit The Thrill is Gone that made his popularity soar. My friend and I got there early and were sitting in an almost empty auditorium. When the auditorium was about half full I realized that my friend and I were about the only white folks in the place. I remember thinking to myself, this is slightly uncomfortable. Now I know how minorities must sometimes feel when in a large crowd. When the lights went out, the concert started, and it was a great memorable evening.

 

I hear you, Bill. Always good to find other B.B. fans in the forum! I hear you, about "learning to be a minority." I've been a blues fan since my teens - about 1959 (age 16) so I had that learning experience happen - early on. Repeat as necessary. They were ALL good and formative experiences; it helped that this wasn't a huge town and also not in the US of those times. I already knew personally at least some people from all races - from school or the early coffee-houses etc. As I got to (around) club-age, once in a while, someone Black would even make introductions for me. Great memories. One kind girl I knew introduced me to her friend, who had a gig locally. Very nice, rather quiet guy offstage - a young comedian, about 23 or so. Richard Pryor. He went on to bigger things -fast.

 

It was an excellent learning experience for me at the age of 17. I was 16 when I realized that my parents were racists and had taught me to be racist. They didn't know that they were racist. They told me that blacks were better athletes but less intelligent than white folks. When I was 16 I met a young black man my age and asked him for his take on my parents' theory. I'm mortified just thinking back on that conversation from 54 years ago.

 

My folks - same. But they were lousy teachers. Poor grasp of methodology. No success in teaching me anything. Ever. I look back -- and I'm glad of that.
Glad you realized and were able to undo their damage. And that the young man helped you do so. Kudos to both of you.

 

Oh, you guys had it easy. You at least knew what was happening. I was raised to believe that we in the Pacific Northwest had not a single racist nerve in our bodies. Easy enough to claim when you never see anyone who isn't white. Only in my 20s when I joined the Navy did I start to realize just how all those nasty racist stereotypes had been implanted in my soul. I am still working on this. I don't think these attitudes can ever be eradicated. I do think I can be careful to be aware of their existence and try to guard against them influencing my words and acts.

 

In my case at least, I think you're right. I did have it easy. The only problem along racial lines I ever had was years and years ago - with people who disapproved - in loud voices - of my keeping company with Blacks - especially women. I had some of that from both sides - Black and White.

Like I said. Long time ago. Didn't change anything then. Under the bridge, now.

 

Social systems are made by--and made up of--people. This is what makes critical race theory so important. It helps explain and explore the built-in, passive racism and bias our systems contain. They contain this without any of the participants intending for them to be so. That's what makes racial bias so insidious.

A larger-perhaps the largest--concept in sociology is "structure vs. agency." Structures are those social systems in which we exist. Agency is our ability to act within them, to what extent they restrain our agency.

Another related concept is subject-object. That is, to what extent are we subject to those structures, and to what extent may we treat them as objects to be acted upon?

This leads us to structuration theory (Anthony Giddens). In structuration, the impact of the agents' actions on the structure--the ability to change it--are examined. Further, it can be used as strong structuration theory (Rob Stones) where structuration is examined in situ. This is one of the "feeder theories" I used to create my grounded theory of the chief learning officer (and executive development in general) at Leicester.

*****************

How does it all apply here? We can act apart from our programming if we know about and understand that programming. This is where so many people fail in their thinking about CRT. CRT doesn't program, it explains the programming.

 

Some people use their own concept of what CRT is about - to act as jerks. E.G. about 5 years ago, I was walking near the local College - around dusk. Young guy, Black, college-age and likely a student there, was walking towards me. Half the sidewalk was overhung by an unruly hedge - not enough room for two people. So, I stepped just off the sidewalk to give him room. He started his indignant, pseudo-woke "that was a racist thing to do," routine. It was a pleasure to ignore him.

Two sets of problem people, now we have CRT. Those who don't - or don't want to understand it, so they vilify it - and those who don't understand it, yet think they're espousing it, like the guy on the sidewalk. Then again, back in the pre-CRT days, each person had to figure things out for themselves. Unfortunately, a lot never did. Today, there are still young parents passing down horrendous things to their kids. Not so many as before (I hope) --- but each one does a lot of harm. It's still a mess. Pretty well everywhere.

 

Of course, ignoring him was the best response but we can still feel sorry for him. Poor fellow apparently always has the uncomfortable feeling whenever he goes out in public. Except maybe at the B.B. King concert type place where only a couple of white folks are in attendance.

 

I might have felt sorry, Bill. But his wise-ass demeanour and triumphant grin, as if he'd caught me doing something wrong, stopped me. No call for that.

He was probably mad at the world - maybe just the White world, over injustices he'd experienced - and he was 20 or so and I was 75 - an old White guy who was an easy target. I can understand it, but I'm not buying into it. Not a behaviour to reward.

 

His uncomfortable feeling that he has when out in public has become internalized. He may not even realize it! If he thought your thoughtful treatment of him was racist then the poor fellow probably thinks he has a racist interaction almost every time he goes out in public. This kind of reaction from him would make him to appear to be a jerk to many people. Not only that it places him squarely in the jerk category in general, if such an interaction was par for the course for him. I can definitely feel sorry for him. No way did I mean to imply by that he deserved any reward.

 

I can see your point, Bill. And the 'reward' business is all from my end. You did not suggest anything of the sort. Fact is, I'm color-blind when it comes to jerks. I treat 'em the same, regardless of colour - or reasons for jerkdom. It's not a racial thing - unless some jerk makes it such. If the jerk does, it has to come at some sort of price. In this case, being ignored.

Fact is, I am NOT a jerk-therapist. I simply can't do the job. I lack that particular kind of empathy. They need someone qualified and I'm not that guy, but I think you'd do fine, though.

 

Thank you for the kind words but trying to interact with someone under those circumstances could turn dangerous, for example if the jerk started to feel defensive. My empathy would be pretty useless in fending off swinging fists or tackles.

I especially thank you for the laughs your posts bring me. You always somehow make it fun!

 

I learned something new today.
Queen Elizabeth II despised Mick Jagger apparently.
He had a relationship with Princess Margaret and that was the reason for her disgust.

 

We don't need to "learn" this. Both Queen Elizabeth and her sister are deceased - Her Majesty, very recently so. I'm surprised - lamentably so - to read this kind of trash from anyone, especially at this time, from a person who knows Latin.

"De mortuis nil nisi bonum." Remember? Do not speak ill of the dead.

You have an education - use it.

 

Allegations of Jagger's interlude with Margaret are well known. The actual truth is not. Old hat; nothing new to see here.