#did the southern ladies of the early 20th century write it down? maybe?

[elainemorisi]

perhaps, for my thirties, it is time to harness my powers of not giving a solitary shit what people think of me and Learn Conversation by brute force and repetition, because hoo boy, my generation, the skill, she is lost

[allbeendonebefore]

Hapo Reads Calgary History pt 1. 1875-1895

get ready for some biased edmontonian whinging from me. I may make comics out of some of this info later, probably. 

This is going to be some highlights and out of context cackling but I figured I owe you a preface to see where I’m approaching this info from.

So let me set the stage for you, its the early 1800s and the rockies are lorge the buffalo are runnin and up north in the beaver hills and aspen forests my own lil Fort Edmonton is about 30 years old give or take. Fort Ed has been a fur trading post since it was founded and now is completely monopolized by the HBC- it’s the second oldest fort in what is now Alberta (though it was separate from Alberta until the 20th century) and they trade primarily with the local Cree and have a real tense relationship with the Blackfoot Confederacy who tend to be more based in the south, the part of Alberta that would actually be known as Alberta by Calgary’s foundation. 

The Blackfoot however do trade at times with the HBC but are frustrated because the only HBC posts are either Edmonton (which is Way up north) and Rocky Mountain House (which of course is in the Rockies and also difficult and far). So here’s an idea, why don’t you make a fort on the Bow? The HBC comes down in the 1820s, looks around, ‘there’s no beaver here and also its dangerous??’ and ditched immediately, but finally gave in when the Blackfoot threatened to take their business south of the border to the states. The HBC caved, built a post on the Bow, and then abandoned it in the winter because for whatever reason the proprietor “feared for his life”. It was a disaster and the HBC ditched the whole operation. The only forts that moved into the area were whiskey trading forts like Fort Whoop Up (Lethbridge) that wreaked absolute havoc amongst the native peoples. A massacre near Cypress Hills in 1873 prompted the creation of the North West Mounted Police (the Mounties) to stop the whiskey trade, and this is the reason The Fort on the Bow- what would become Calgary- was established in ‘75.

SO LET’s GET TO THE CAL FacTS yahoo

- A lot of young men joined the mounties because you get a horse, you get a sweet uniform, and maybe you get to punch a few bad guys. They left from Manitoba and showed up in Alberta thirsty, with dysentery, covered in mosquito bites, and hopelessly lost. 

- The whiskey traders they were supposed to be fighting had such a huge base of operations they managed to evacuate whenever the police came after them to the point that they arrived at Fort Whoop Up, one of the most notorious whiskey forts in western Canada, and there were only two people there who offered to give them a tour of the abandoned fort. Fighting bad guys quickly turned into just finding and keeping up with bad guys. 

- The thing is, they did a great job cleaning up the whiskey trade in Alberta, but they ended up hiring ex-whiskey runners from Montana anyway to build the fort itself. An ex-whiskey runner hauled up a billiard table from Montana, built a dance hall, and hosted the first Christmas dance for the fort. He also made his own beer and candies which he sold.

- The first people to settle down in Calgary were a handful of Metis families from Edmonton who made their living freighting goods back and forth between the two forts. Reverend John McDougall also came down to set up a mission and his family was generally credited with bringing the first herd of cattle and starting the first ranch in what would be Cowtown.

- Calgary wasn’t an HBC fort, but the HBC shop came to them on the river. When the shop turned up they came with goods totally archaic and the mounties were like ?!?!? ‘this knife and capote should be in a museum lol’ ‘flintlock muskets are you srs’. Items “as rare as the dodo”, as Captain Denny put it. 

- I’ve been over the Brisebois thing a few times but this book is killing me: “Brisebois, Alberta? The Brisebois Stampede? Hmmm...”

- To set up Calgary as viable ranch land, the buffalo had to be killed off and First Nations people “subdued”. Treaty 7 was signed and the local First Nations were given reservations. The Sarcee led by Chief Bull Head had been reduced to less than 300 people and were not given their own reserve but a corner of the Blackfoot’s- for this, they rode into Calgary and held the fort hostage, threatening to burn it down if their demands were not met. They were given a reserve southwest of Calgary and two wagon loads of food were sent from Fort Macleod. 

- Fort Macleod, another NWMP fort, kind of seems to have more of a big-brotherly role to Cal than Ed would have had at this point, but Cal, the spoiled baby of the forts, would take some delight in snubbing them both. 

- Americans? Americans! The first big herd was brought up in the mid 1870s from Montana by veterans of the big cattle drives from the southern states to the north. The Americans tended to be from Montana, Oregon, and Texas. Alberta was a fresh and perhaps final opportunity for this work. 

- The American cowboy culture swept in but was curiously balanced with the ranchers- many were retired NWMP officers, and many of them had connections in Great Britain. Calgary became a spot for sightseeing and sport for upperclass Brits, so the cowboy/court culture was incredibly bizarre to the point where these english lords would literally start writing themselves dictionaries of cowboy slang because the two Englishes were SO different

- As an added note on personal headcanons, I’ve always thought of Cal as on the rancher side of this divide and Bert as the kid who gets swept up in the schemes of his new American friends. Berdie would be a little older than Cal but also employed by him- so essentially while Cal would be sipping tea and playing polo, Ralph would be a stones throw away swilling coffee and planning to shoot up main street with his unsavory American pals. Cal of course being a kid would probably also find this culture fascinating so it’s likely he would have come home covered in mud on more than one occasion.

- That said I don’t know a lot of history from that side of the border really- @thisnameisquitegooey has filled me in on some context for Texas at this point of course, but idk what Montana or Oregon would have been like. Mostly (western) Canadian history is “Ahh. Scary. Guns. Scary. Factories and booze and stuff. Don’t go there.” when it comes to American history. (In comparison Eastern Canadian history is either “WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM FOR YORK” or “aww boston is awrite we share christmas trees every year britain can suck it”

- Calgary ladies were rough and tough too- Mrs Cochrane liked to go hunting with the boys (for coyote rather than fox), Bea Godden rode 96km for a dance, and Mrs Walter Skrene wrote “I like a flannel shirt and liberty” and if that isn’t the most western Canadian thing you’ve ever heard....

- Calgary was still a city of tents when the CPR was being built. Checking into the Far West Hotel meant the privilege of sleeping in your own blanket on the floor - as opposed to what, I wonder?

- “The greatest commercial centre west of Winnipeg” “A burgeoning Chicago”

- “The CPR line guaranteed Calgary a future life, but as to punish it for its good fortune, the CPR made a last-minute decision that threw the young town into chaos.” I CAN’t IMAGINE WHAT /THAT/ FEELS LIKE. “Before 1883, most construction in Calgary had been on the east side of the Elbow. A main street had formed there. The CPR was ready to build a station in that locale but thought the asking price for the land was too high. Suddenly, they crossed the Elbow and built a station and repair sheds west of Fort Calgary. “The result,” wrote Cecil Denny, “was that the whole town followed.” Oh BOO HOO. YOU MOVED TO THE LEFT SLIGHTLY, HOW HARD. 

- There was this prejudice in Eastern Canada that Western Canada was a wasteland and that crops wouldn’t grow so to prove them wrong Calgary decorated a CPR rail car with six foot wheat sheaves and giant vegetables and sent it over just to say “I TOLD YOU SO”. This Exhibition was the ancestor of the Stampede. 

- Of course everyone freaked out about the North West Rebellion but nothing really happened except the Canadian Militia (regiments from Winnipeg and Montreal) met up in Calgary with the NWMP and they went up North to go check on Ed (who was Totally Fine and may have accidentally shot a cannon ball at them one time)

- The Duchess of Sommerset reported that breakfast was “the toughest of beef steaks” and there was “no butter procurable”. She also noted the hotels were mostly just clubs for local ranchers to hang around in and smoke and didn’t like that much.

- Oblligatory EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE time where half the business section got destroyed, estimated loss of $100,000. The winter after was equally terrible and cost a lot of ranchers many cows- it was the wake up call that CHINOOKS AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH HA. 

- After the fire Calgary got paranoid about building everything out of wood and there was a sandstone fad in building instead (See: Old City Hall, the Lougheed Mansion). 

- “At this point in history Edmonton’s prospects seemed almost pathetic.” DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME PAL Anyway poor Ed was population 700 while Cal was 2,500, large enough to be incorporated as a city in 1894. “Calgary seemed destined to conquer, and effortlessly so.” [sticks out tongue]

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

The Greatest Nonfiction Seaside Reads for Summer season 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y5rgowop Whether or not it’s hours spent ready in an airport terminal due to an sudden (however actually, anticipated) delay or hours underneath the solar (with sunscreen) on the seashore, a good book is a welcome companion. And a page-turner at that’s essential to maintain you entertained and cross the time enjoyably.Thus, right here’s an inventory of nonfiction works you need to think about packing away whereas touring for enterprise or pleasure this summer season, taking you from the White House to Hollywood, with billionaires, film stars, and one actually outrageous and now-infamous scammer. Robin by Dave Itzkoff There’ll by no means be anybody fairly like Robin Williams, and there could by no means be one other celeb profile or biography fairly like this once more both. It’s not hyperbole to say that New York Occasions correspondent Dave Itzkoff’s engrossing and all-encompassing biography of some of the beloved actors of the second half of the 20th century will change you. It should damage you. It should make you chuckle. It should make you cry. And after you’re executed, you’ll not ensure what to do with your self. And, very similar to how many people (Williams followers) felt after his loss of life in 2014, the world will really feel a bit emptier. However Robin is price it—each single web page. In stark distinction to Itzkoff’s strategy to overlaying Robin Williams, Self-importance Honest correspondent Lili Anolik is an lively (if not obsessive) participant in her reporting of onetime Los Angeles “It Woman” and revealed writer Eve Babitz. Usually, journalists aren’t the story—and shouldn’t let themselves turn into so. And but, on this case, it really works. That could possibly be for a couple of causes. For one, Anolik is clear in her fascination with Babitz, and studying about her reporting journey (or battle, at occasions) is simply as engrossing as components of Babitz’s personal wild historical past. Relatedly, given Babitz’s eventful life (placing it frivolously), Anolik’s unrelenting inquiry into her life is only one extra uncommon story following the remaining—very similar to Babitz’s lengthy string of lovers or lengthy string of jobs and careers. These not accustomed to Babitz herself is likely to be drawn in for the insane tales about a few of their favourite stars, writers, and icons in the course of the 1960s and 1970s, together with however not restricted to Jim Morrison, Joan Didion, Harrison Ford, and Steve Martin, amongst many—many—others. However Anolik, as a loyal fan however accountable biographer on this distinctive case research, stays true to her topic as Babitz is at all times the solar round which everybody else in L.A. revolves—not less than on this retelling. Is there something extra meta (in literature) than a guide a couple of constructing that homes books? A historical past of a library won’t seem to be the obvious alternative for a enjoyable learn—however that is no extraordinary library in no extraordinary metropolis. Throw in a suspected case of arson, and you’ve got each a thriller and a tragedy—on a number of fronts. Discovering a more healthy stability of inserting herself because the narrator in addition to a personality within the story, Susan Orlean affords a recent but in-depth recap of the historical past of the Los Angeles Central Library, which serves as a mirror for town itself because the Southern California metropolis grew from a Western outpost to the city sprawl we all know now. Gender politics, financial inequality, expertise’s takeover—it’s all there, and the Central Library has gone by means of all of it. (And among the patron assets the Central Library provided in pre-Web days are past wild.) Interwoven amongst all of it is the story of 1 younger man, hoping to strike it large and make a reputation for himself in Hollywood, and but his personal life was extra Shakespearean than something through which he may have been forged. Nobody does Hollywood historical past higher than Karina Longworth. Previously a Self-importance Honest movie critic and in addition the host of a long-running (and excellent) podcast, You Must Remember This, Longworth dived deep into one of many topics who ceaselessly popped up in her podcast seasons overlaying the early years—some would say “Golden Age”—of Hollywood: Howard Hughes. Possibly it appears “Golden” by means of a lens years later, though even pre-#MeToo, Hughes’s antics and people of different Hollywood (and all white male) executives would make your abdomen churn and your face cringe. And post-#MeToo, the guide serves as a reminder of simply how unhealthy it has been for ladies within the movie trade—and the way far all of us should go to rectify the sins of the previous. Talking of sins of the previous (and current, and most positively the long run), there may be nowhere in Hollywood extra synonymous with infamy and intrigue than the Chateau Marmont. It’s virtually unbelievable how a lot has occurred in a single lodge and cluster of bungalows on Sundown Boulevard—what number of A-listers have stayed there, what number of A-listers have died there, and the way the place has stayed open for greater than 90 years regardless of all of it. (Are you able to think about the insurance coverage payments?) And that is all based mostly on public information. New York Occasions bestselling writer Shawn Levy guarantees readers much more behind-closed-doors particulars, all of that are so wild that even Hollywood’s finest screenwriters couldn’t make these things up. And in the event that they did, it was in all probability impressed by one thing that transpired on the Chateau Marmont. Maybe now all however forgotten after the presidential election swallowed 2016, there was one other whale of a narrative that rocked the finance and leisure worlds concurrently. That was 1MDB, a fraudulent internet spun by a social-climbing con artist that might make Jay Gatsby blush. This isn’t simply crisscrossing the globe on non-public jets and yachts (though, naturally, there are these, too), however this younger Wharton graduate is now credited with swindling $5 billion from Goldman Sachs, a money-laundering hyperlink to the financing of Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Avenue, and even taking down the Prime Minister of Malaysia with him within the fallout. Given how briskly the information cycle runs as of late, this title was virtually outdated by the point of its launch late final 12 months—and it’s virtually historic narrative in a submit–Mueller Report world. However by no means thoughts all that given Washington Submit reporter Greg Miller’s deft and sharp storytelling in fleshing out secret again channels, cyber-espionage, and corrupt officers on each side—and that’s simply within the opening pages. Overlaying the interval from the hacking of the DNC to Trump’s disastrous look alongside Putin in Helsinki, the quantity of fabric unearthed and laid out clearly for the reader right here would make somebody from the long run assume this all occurred over the course of a decade (or two) moderately than a couple of years. Nowadays, studying a guide from the Obama period may seem to be one thing out of historical historical past (if not one other planet), however former White Home stenographer Beck Dorey Stein’s memoir of her tenure on the White Home is a enjoyable throwback. It is likely to be a bit odd for somebody underneath the age of 35 to already be writing a memoir, however Stein’s guide is sort of compelling, because of the thorough rationalization of day-to-day exercise on the White Home and among the many President’s core crew. That is as near a sequel to The West Wing as you’re going to get. (There isn’t any reboot; recover from it.) And for these of you who prefer to examine touring whereas touring, there are many home and worldwide journeys that you just may recall as a headline way back, and that you would be able to study from behind-the-scenes now, from Vietnam to Martha’s Winery. There’s romance, too, though for Stein’s sake, you virtually want there wasn’t. Extra intriguingly, for the political readership, as a White Home stenographer, Stein was not employed as a part of the Obama administration however moderately as a everlasting member of the White Home employees. Thus, she was one of many few workers left behind to proceed working by means of the transition to the Trump administration. Whereas that in of itself is one thing price studying (and also will make you cringe), Stein’s guide is as mild a political learn as you’re going to get as of late. To characterize it as “breezy” is likely to be too easy, as it’s uncommon to listen to concerning the interior workings of the Oval Workplace from a youthful and feminine voice—and based mostly on the present administration’s demographics, we received’t hear something comparable for a while. Image an organized gang of burglars, dashing away in getaway vehicles alongside tree-lined roads at midnight because the native police scramble to catch the culprits. However these thieves haven’t stolen jewels, paintings, and even medicine. They’ve poached truffles. This isn’t the truffle salt or truffle oil you discover on brunch menus, aiming to make your mac and cheese sound extra posh. These are the actual deal, straight from the bottom, recent tubers solely present in components of southeastern France and northwestern Italy—some species of which may promote for hundreds of euros per kilo. Who knew mushrooms may trigger a lot drama? However as investigative reporter Ryan Jacobs reveals, the truffle provide chain is a harmful—if not deadly—enterprise involving fraud, sabotage, and downright cruelty. What began out as a protracted learn for The Atlantic is a full-fledged thriller and exposé a couple of luxurious delicacy that comes at a far greater value than you ever imagined. A good warning (with out spoilers): There are some grotesque scenes of animal remedy revealed on this guide, which will likely be significantly disturbing to canine house owners and canine lovers. Extra must-read tales from Fortune: —7 books in business and journalism you need to learn this summer season —Bill Gates thinks you need to learn these 5 books this summer season —The place you possibly can learn the books behind ‘Game of Thrones’ free of charge —Scribd’s ‘Netflix for books’ subscription mannequin is proving to be fruitful —Take heed to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily Follow Fortune on Flipboard to remain updated on the newest information and evaluation Source link

[yasbxxgie]

Disclaimer: This essay includes spoilers from the film ‘Get Out’.

My freshman year of college my 5’1 blonde roommate Elizabeth busted into our suite and called me a “fucking bitch” over something I said on twitter. She was drunk and aggressive. I was sober and half-sleep. I told her to go away and she advanced into my personal space, yelling and knocking over my perfume bottles. I looked at her in disbelief. Just last week we had shared a heart to heart over Russian vodka on the floor of our closet, discussing her old heroin addiction and my traumatic early high school years. She gritted her teeth and told me she’d kick my ass, then left. In the next hour I got into a screaming match with some white guys from down the hall who came out of the room to protect her when I came looking for her; and I ended up sleeping in the basement. The next week I was served a restraining order and told I was facing expulsion from school- plus I was forced to move out immediately. To sweeten the shit stew, little Elizabeth told the school that I was a drug addict and I was subsequently forced to take drug tests and $100 drug counseling sessions for two semesters. Though Elizabeth had threatened me first, she had no issue convincing the school that the 5’7 black girl was a danger to her personal safety. It wasn’t the first or last time a white woman would use her privilege to slight me, but I thought about this particular incident recently when watching the wildly popular Jordan Peele creation “Get Out”.

While the male members of the Armitage family were aggressive and at times openly hostile before the films big climax, Rose and her mother Missy were sickeningly sweet. As I watched the plot unfold on screen, I, like Cosmo writer Kendra James, wondered if Rose was in on her parents’ nefarious plot to hypnotize Chris. As soon as Rose said “nobody messes with my man” (forgive me if this isn’t verbatim, I saw the film on a very hazy weekend in New Orleans and I consider myself fortunate to remember the basics of the plot) in the car on the way to her parents, I knew the bitch wasn’t to be trusted. The way she said my man inexplicably annoyed me and I instantly disliked her. But then my guilt kicked in. Not all white women suck, I reasoned with myself. Maybe it was my silly prejudices. Maybe she’s not a villain. Maybe she’s just some white girl who might get caught up in some shit. With those considerations in mind, I plunged my hand into my bucket of buttered popcorn and waited to find out. After Missy pulled her little teacup trick on Chris to help him kick his nicotine addiction, I tried to not let my mind go into bitter black woman mode. Not all white women suck. I decided that Rose had been hypnotized by her mother into participating in the dark Armitage family secret. My theory felt more plausible after Rose and Chris had a teary heart to heart while white people bidded for the privilege of owning him. But later, as Chris flipped through the damning photos from the closet, I knew what my gut instinct had told me to be true. Rose, like a lot of white women, sucked.

Rose and Missy showed concern, had manners, and kept their tempers in check while their male counterparts reeked of irrationality, violence, and oddity. But by the end of the film their masks of delicate white femininity were peeled back to reveal hateful monsters. As a historian this spoke to me on a spiritual level. America’s past is rife with kind faced white women who exploited, abused, or accused black people for their own benefit. Because white supremacy is rooted in patriarchy, its often too easy to overlook white women under the notion that they too are oppressed. But it is prudent to remember that though oppressed, the status of white women has been and continues to be higher than both black men and women. Even if considered the white man’s inferior, they are still the white man’s counterpart. Afterall, 20th century racism was heavily fueled by the white man’s destructive desire to keep their women safe from black rapists. This has led to an odd status for white women in American society.

Because they have traditionally been symbols of femininity, they lack not only hostile reputations of hatred and violence given to white and black men, but also the angry trope bestowed upon black women. This privilege has allowed white women and their special brand of racism to exist, virtually unchecked, in a variety of forms over the centuries.

The Slave Holder’s Counterpart

Take 19th century slaveholder wife Mary Epps. As detailed by Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave, Mary Epps became jealous of her husband Edwin’s frequent rapes of a slave girl named Patsey. Mary began beating Patsey, taking no womanly sympathy for her brutal sexual assaults, instead reducing her to a black jezebel interested in sleeping with her husband. Mary encouraged her husband to discipline Patsey after she had left the plantation without permission, leading him to crack his whip at her over 50 times. Slavery is checkered with untold numbers of Patsey’s, who were dual victims of both their male and female masters. “One white lady that lived near us at McBean slipped in a colored gals room and cut her baby’s head clean off cause it belonged to her husband.” recalled a former slave being interviewed in the WPA Slave Narrative Project.

White Feminists AKA Frenemies

Historically, when white feminists have cried out about the injustices of sexism, they often ignored racism- or perpetuated it. As famed suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton said, “What will we and our daughters suffer if these degraded black men are allowed to have rights that would make them even worse than our saxon fathers?” Susan B. Anthony was in on it too. “I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the negro and not the woman.” Notice how this statement effectively erased black women from the conversation. When black men were granted the right to vote in 1870, white suffragists were pissed because they believed they were better than black men. Frances E Willard said “It is not fair that a plantation Negro who can neither read or write should be entrusted with the ballot,” before going on to say black men were dangerous threats to white womanhood. By tapping into white men’s fear of nigger rape, Willard hoped to leverage white womanhood for a few male privileges. White women were women, but more importantly (as they implied), they were white.

Ida B. Wells saw through the fake ass Frances and her hateful and inciteful speech against black men, realizing that she and other white suffragists wanted to gain support from white men who were “hanging, shooting, and burning negroes alive.” Frances and other white feminists weren’t out hanging, shooting, and burning…. But they were okay with aligning themselves with the men who were. Their reputations of purity allowed them to wreak racial havoc from a dignified pedestal. To Great Britain, Frances Willard was the “uncrowned queen of American democracy”, a moral and righteous woman who would never ignore a lynching epidemic. They were quite surprised when Ida B Wells showed up for a British women’s rights convention and read some of Willard’s inflammatory speech aloud.

On the same day Donald Trump was elected with 53% of the white woman’s vote, feminists gathered at Susan B Anthony’s grave with “I Voted” stickers. A few think-pieces popped up from self identified feminists who explained why they voted for a man who emboldened white racists. It all echoed the reality of white feminism: “We are women, but we’re white first.” When forced to choose between retaining racial privilege or fighting sexist oppression, the majority of white women will choose their privilege every time. But even still, they’ll always call on black women for numbers if they need them.

Faux-Politically Empowered Girlfriends and Wives

These are the women who gained the right to vote in the 1920s and went buckwild. “White supremacy will be strengthened, not weakened, by women’s suffrage.” said Carrie Chapman Catt. As the recent election demonstrated, she was right. While the KKK became more popular in the years leading up to The Great Depression, white protestant women joined the WKKK in droves. Many of them joined when or after their husbands did. Like their male counterparts, they believed their rights were being trampled on by black people and immigrants. They were also terrified of the black rapist, a villain perpetuated by the popular 1916 film, Birth of a Nation. It shouldn’t be shocking that many of these women were former suffragettes. Even though in the present day the KKK’s once mighty power has been whittled down to hundreds of smaller hate groups, the women who aligned themselves with these male dominated arenas are still around. A contemporary version of this white woman is likely to be decked out in confederate flag belts, uses the complete term “the white race” frequently, and has a drug or alcohol problem. She votes however her father/boyfriend/brothers tell her (if she votes in those “rigged zionist abortions” at all, that is), believes white genocide is imminent, and thinks feminism is a cancer.

Polite But Still Racist Southern Belles

Ah, a true classic. As a North Carolina native, Ive come into contact with a dizzying amount of women like this here in the 21st Century. Well-off white women in costly sundresses with withered french manicured hands encrusted in diamonds; who often clutch at their pearls and say “Bless your heart.” They’re always polite, but usually haughty. Some of the ones I’ve come into contact with have praised me for being articulate or pretty, as if smart or pretty black girls are a rarity. I pity the black people who had to deal with these phony bitches during the Jim Crow era, when their negative opinion could get your house set on fire or your husband strung up from a tree. Hiding behind dainty dresses, southern manners, and the assertion that she treated her negro servants like members of the family, the racist southern belle was a fixture on the 20th century American landscape. With a sugary sweet accent, Christian rhetoric, leisurely afternoons spent gossiping and being nosy, and the power of being married to a man that mattered in the eyes of the law, the average southern white woman was an entitled monster. She was fine with negroes as long as they stayed in their place- aka staying subservient to white people. She was also fine with violence against negroes. In Coming of Age in Mississippi, Anne Moody recalled her employer, Mrs Burke, saying that Emmett Till never would have been murdered had he not ‘forgot his place’. Mrs Burke, and thousands of other women like her, blamed the violent behavior of their husbands, brothers, sons, cousins, and neighbors on black people getting out of place. What a convenient way to excuse depravity from the safehaven of white womanhood.

The “Im a Racist Because Im a Good Mother” Women

Somebody’s child is always being used to justify bullshit. When white parents found out black Ruby Bridges was going to be attending their school, they were pissed. One woman, obviously concerned about the 5 year old Bridges threatening the safety of her own child, threatened to poison Ruby on her daily walks to school. This attitude was repeated by every racist white woman during the integration years. Listen to the woman below use her kids to excuse her racism.

White women being foul racists for the alleged sake of their children was and is common, and made clear by the dozens of unnamed white women you see yelling angrily in historic integration photos. The sadder part? Many have never been identified and never will be.

The Lover of Black Men and Hater of Black Women

This is a relatively new category of white woman, as for the majority of American history miscegenation has been illegal and widely frowned upon. But in the 21st century, this woman thrives. She loves black men and black culture. She publicly applauds black rights. She doesn’t say nigga. She’s cool. She’s down. But at some point, she reveals her true colors and competitive nature. “I love black cock,” she says, signifying that her love for black men isn’t genuine or loyal but instead founded in fetishism. “Black women hate me because black men love me.” she says with total seriousness. Or, “Black girls just mad because they have to wear weave and white girls wear their real hair, THATS WHY WE STEALING YOUR MEN.” Statements like these blatantly reveal her superiority complex with the black woman; whom she hates for being the black man’s counterpart. Clearly, black men are safe from her hatred because they have something she wants- dick and/or validation. Black women though? The mothers, the sisters, the aunts, and the daughters? We’re her enemy.

The Pretty Conduit

Let us go back to Rose Armitage real quick. She seemed innocent and normal until you found out she was raised to kidnap and hypnotize black people for the wanton desires of white family members and friends. Even when Chris KNEW that she was a deranged mayonnaise demon escaped from the deepest pits of hell, he couldn’t bring himself to choke her to death. He looked down at her pretty face and decided that he couldn’t do it. This was one of the scariest parts of the movie to me because it represents America’s response to a type of woman who has grown in popularity thanks to the internet and social media. You already know I’m talking about women like Ann Coulter and Tomi Lahren. She says everything the typical white male racist says- but a sweet voice, a conventionally attractive face, and the privilege of femininity that whiteness grants her keeps the virulent racist bimbo from being labeled as one. Her appearance, gender, and feminine qualities appeal to people that white men can’t. Because of her appearance and status as a white woman, she is protected by white and black men alike. To them she is never angry or bitter, just sassy and passionate. To them she is not racist, just speaking “the truth” or her opinion. In fact, some black men shrug off her racism with a sickening resolve: “I’d still fuck.”

At the end of the film when Rose thought she saw a cop car, she knew she could snap back into victim mode. Had it been a cop instead of Chris’s friend Rod, they’d have seen a bloodied black man looking down on a broken white woman and shot him in a heartbeat. Rose knew she could weave a tale of rape and terror and go on about her life. Not every white woman sucks. But every white woman on this list, and every white woman in real life, has the fake victim card at her disposal. When my former college roommate Elizabeth experienced my reaction to her threat to do me bodily harm, she flipped a switch. She was no longer the vodka fueled instigator making threats and acting tough. She was suddenly crying in the hallway, inconsolable and weak. This is white womanhood. This is their ultimate privilege. At any moment they can go from agitator or abuser to a delicate and innocent white woman in need of protection from the big scary black. Even worse, not every black man or woman will be fortunate enough to have a friend like Rod to come save them when they’ve been accused of violence by a white woman, or when they were simply black in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many have been, and will continue to be caught in the web of faux innocence, lies, and evil spun by white women.

Perhaps this is why Get Out is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. [h/t]