Maybe This Is Who We Are

     Every time some event happens in town where someone is unbelievably cruel toward their fellow human, there are always cries of “This is not who we are” or “We are better than this.”  Given the Pittsburgh area's history of intolerance, I don't think it's too far of a stretch to say maybe this is who we are and maybe we're not better then this.  When enough isolated incidents pile up in increasingly shorter amounts of time, that starts to turn into a pattern.

     For an area that is north of the Mason/Dixon line, there sure are a lot of Confederate flag stickers on trucks.  That bullshit line about it being part of someone's heritage really falls flat on its face around here due to the basic facts of geography.

     In the days following the tragedy at the Tree Of Life synagogue, white power groups were plastering the neighborhoods of Brookline and Squirrel Hill with fliers promoting their idiocy while everyone else was tweeting out quotes from Mr. Rogers.  This dirty, hateful underbelly has always been present in Pittsburgh and it's always been showing.  Most people just choose to look the other way.

     The prevailing theory around town seems to be that going to church for an hour a week absolves people from being an asshole the other 167 hours of the week.  The little things pile up until they're a mountain of hate.  A comment here, a catcall there.  They all contribute to the generally shitty attitudes and misconceptions that the misogynistic, white majority in Pittsburgh walks around with.

     Tune in to a sports call in show after a Steelers loss and start taking bets over how far into the program you get until one of the slack jawed yokels lets rip the n-word on local television or radio. There have been publicly elected officials in the area that have been forced to resign over comments they've made on social media about black players and coaches all because of a sporting event.  And this goes along with the increase of domestic violence that happens when a football team loses.

     The amount of victim blaming and denials from the public that occurred when Ben Rapistberger seemingly couldn't walk through a parking lot without sexually assaulting a woman was downright nauseating.  There was more of an uproar when the team signed Michael Vick for a season.  That gives me the impression that dogs are more important than the women in this town.

     After the murder of Antwon Rose, the local news media aided in pushing the narrative that he was armed and approaching the officer even after video had surfaced showing that that was not the case. I'm guessing they were trying to preserve their contacts within law enforcement by putting the misinformation out into the world.  During the protests that followed, drivers were attempting to jam their cars through the groups of people in the streets in order to get home to watch Dr. Phil or whatever “normals” do in their spare time.

     In the past month or so, a fourteen year old Syrian refugee was beaten up in the bathroom of her high school for wearing a hijab and having the audacity to be different.  This happened after she transferred from another school because of harassment.  This girl and her family survived the horrors of war only to have to put up with this shit because they landed in the Pittsburgh area.  After video of the assault went viral, the local news stepped in again to spread misinformation saying that the altercation was over vaping instead of being the very clear hate crime that it was.

     Most recently, Louis CK came through town on his “I'm Not Sorry I Whipped My Dick Out” tour. I was not surprised when the shows sold out almost as soon as they were announced.  In a town that seems to have forgotten that the starting quarterback on their football team is a rapist, it's not shocking that people would be climbing over each other to see this walking embarrassment try to be funny again.

     When local comedians spoke out about CK's booking in order to protect the scene they are trying to build and nurture, they were met with derision and threats.  It's strange how people are so easily willing to forget.  Either that or they really wanted to witness the potential creep show that was going to be on stage.

     The Pittsburgh area has many traditions and among them is this old guard way of thinking that has been passed down from generation to generation.  The white male power structure doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon.  Those who have the power will not easily relent that power even though it is propped up solely by an unearned sense of entitlement that things shouldn't change.

     There are folks out there doing the good work of trying to make things better but it certainly is an uphill battle.  Changing minds and perceptions has never been an easy task but hopefully the work will pay off in the long run.