This year, to raise money for Northwest Harvest, current and former Stranger staffers are telling stories about times people have called us up to shout at us.
My Feb. 22 feature on Seattle author Pat Thomas’ book Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 didn’t provoke irate phone calls, but it did ignite an explosive response by the area’s white-supremacist cabal.
What was essentially a straightforward profile of a Caucasian man recounting in vivid prose, photos, and album artwork a historically, artistically, and politically vital (and thwarted) movement by black people over three decades ago triggered an outpouring of vitriol in the comments section of the article’s online version from readers of a blog called Unamusement Park. The piece inadvertently served as a forum for these poor, oppressed white folks to repeatedly assert the inferiority of African Americans and to cite books like Thomas’ as ammunition in the great conspiracy to diminish the power of the Caucasian race. They also accused The Stranger as being complicit in this war against YT. (Okay, guys, you caught us red-handed. We’re so embarrassed.) You can smell the paranoia and fear in their words here. A small example should suffice:
The president of your white Western country is now a half-Kenyan from Indonesia. The immigration system is now dedicated to supporting non-white invaders, and reducing US Americans to a minority in their own country. And every educational, media, corporate or government institution has uplifting black people and suppressing white people as their primary goal.
Comedy gold tin. Dear white people of Slog: Please let us know ASAP if you feel the government is suppressing you.
It’s the holidays, and people are hungry. Right now, Northwest Harvest is providing 1.7 million meals a month to hungry families across Washington. The Evergreen State is the 14th hungriest state in the country—and more than half of the people who are hungry here are children and the elderly.
It costs only 67 cents to feed a family of three a meal through Northwest Harvest.
Our quest to raise money for the very, very great Northwest Harvest, helping feed hungry people in our state right now and all year around, continues...
It costs only 67 cents to feed a family of three a meal through Northwest Harvest. As of this morning, Slog has raised $6,227! Which is so great. Let's give more, more, MORE! GIVE TO NORTHWEST HARVEST NOW and send us your commenter handle along with your receipt, and we'll set you up with a SWASHBUCKING HERO badge.