The many faces of racism

I love this photo! It tells a simple truth that racism can look obviously scary or just like a bad joke.

Most people know what the man on the right is representing. The Ku Klux Klan has been around for a while and they openly espouse hatred. The KKK claims to be an organization supporting "white rights, not hatred" but the organizations history is contradictory to that statement.

The man with the monkey with the Obama name is more subtle and, unfortunately, more popular. He is as much a racist at the man in white but he has a slicker way of showing this. People of color in America today need to beware of this man much more than the man in the white sheets.

Growing up in California I experienced racism but not as much as one may think. I experienced it enough to recognize the signs...kind of like recognizing a gas leak or sewer gas. When I experienced racism, I was always surprised but it never failed to stick with me. What I find insulting today is if I were to confront both men in the photo, the one in the hood would admit to his beliefs while the one with the monkey would simply say it was just a joke and I "misunderstood" his point.

Growing up, I have also noticed one group in particular that has a tendency towards subtle racism...and no, it's not white men but white women. This group tends to automatically presume a sense of superiority and their tactic for expressing is more in line with monkey man than Mr. Hoodie. It is a path of condescending speech and the presumption that the person being spoken to is powerless. These women (note, not all white women do this, only the racist ones) cover their racism with fake smiles and dictates that they are "taking the higher ground" in various arguments. It was white women who erroneously believe they are NOT a minority group helped by affirmative action who helped pass Prop 209 in California. This initiative demolished Affirmative Action in that state. White women stupidly reveled in this accomplishment under the claim that no one needs a "hand out."

I say cheering for the devestation of Affirmative Action is stupid because it makes no sense to knock yourself down then cheer for the opportunity to struggle back up. Our country was built on racism and it still exists in many subtle ways...especially in the media. Americans have issues with a black man romancing a white woman, and vice-versa. Americans thinks it's an improvement for a black child to be raised by whites but it's a horrible tragedy for a white child to be in the custody of a non-white family. This is all racism...subtle though it may be. I could go on but I will stop here.

Clark Kent...unemployed?

Reading Yahoo news yesterday I got a confirmation of what I suspected years ago...the career path chosen by superhero Clark Kent and myself is disappearing. Just in case people don't know what Mr. Kent did for a living (besides saving Lois Lane), he was a newspaper reporter...and a very good one. But being good at news reporting is moot. Good or bad those jobs are going the way of the do-do...extinct.

People will always need and want the news but consolidation/mergers of news agencies is killing competition and jobs are going with them. The days of cities with two or more major newspapers are pretty much gone. Most cities have one paper, if that, these days. There are the smaller alternative papers but even those have consolidated while continuing to give the public the impression that they are small, local and fighting "the man." "The Pitch" fits this description. When I visited The Pitch website I got KC news, events and everything local. When I clicked "work for The Pitch," I got the true deal that The Pitch exists nationwide via Village Voice Media.

While I love writing and always will, I was never naive enough to believe the downturn in newspapers would suddenly change. One problem with papers is the fact that many editors absolutely refuse and reject the notion of change...even though they write and read about it daily. Maybe it's a case of "that's them, not us..." syndrome but it is "us" and it has been "us" for decades. Editors also turned a blind eye to the impact of online media, a major factor reducing the need for full-time reporters on staff.

So what is a reporter to do? Freelance work still exists but as one freelancer once told me, "You really have to hustle your butt to make a living as a freelancer." Essentially, you are an independent contractor, self-employed and subject to all the annoyances that come with that state of being. The real terror is the fact that the number of people wanting to write doesn't seem to be decreasing but the jobs available are.

The advice is to get a writing degree but also a speciality ...politics, technical, etc. Meanwhile, they neglect to mention the efforts a new writer must make to convince established writers that he/she can write. This is no small task and doesn't even account for the natural prejudices anyone entering a career path faces.

I love writing and always have. I left this career path because of reasons listed above and because caring for my son is much more important than continuing to write for a news agency. I found myself working more than 50 hours per week, duties increasing (in addition to writing, I also had to lay out a section of the paper, take my own photos and provide customer service to readers), low pay (about $23k per year), and demands for more work steadily increasing. I can't believe I was the only reporter in the country experiencing these changes. I quit and found a position with set hours, set work, better pay and more room for advancement. I don't write in my new position but it does allow me time to blog.

Blogging can be a way for a young writer to get something out even though he/she isn't being paid. The situation could be worse. As a seasoned reporter, I would not advise a new writer to depend on landing a job and earning enough to pay personal expenses. Better to be realistic, acknowledge the changes in the industry and do what is needed to survive even if it means not taking the news reporter career path.