Is Racism Black or White?
The answer to the title should be clear to most folks with some gray matter between their ears: Racism knows no color. It's everywhere -- that's why it has such power in the political arena. Notice the following story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_black_racism
You're racist. I'm racist. We all "jump to conclusions" based on all kinds of superficial nonsense such as hair length, body odor (perfume or funky stank), clothing, accents, vocabulary strength, physical fitness, and yes, skin color or cultural heritage. The best we can do is suppress these ridiculous primitive prejudices and not let them seep into our pre-frontal cortex. These prejudices exist simply as a defense against different or strange folks outside of our own tribe; their ways and speech make us suspicious and frightened.... Well, at least it did when we were living in caves and slaughtering animals with rocks and sticks.
Now, there's little place for that kind of primitive thinking. People come in all shapes and colors, each with their own story and baggage. Most are nice folks who, like me, just want to get through the day and still be employed and living indoors most of the time. The reason we fear the racism in the above link, the type found in the KKK and Black Panthers is because it speaks to a lack of control -- of civility -- of reason. People who hate based on superficialities are the people whom society should avoid.
The news organizations have been making some chattering noises about "black racism." I really wish a color or shade wouldn't be assigned to this. Racism is racism. There is no "reverse discrimination." Discrimination doesn't know a color or a creed. The Irish were discriminated against, as were the black Africans who were forced to come to this country, as were the Chinese on the West Coast, as were the Hispanics, as were the Jews, as were the Japanese and Germans in WWII. Every ethnicity has experienced discrimination at one time or another in history, so let's not call something "black racism" or "white racism" or whatever other skin color is out there.
The media fears to call out black racists because, well, that's the message the White Supremacists have had... and it's a view that has spilled over into the Republican party in the past twenty years (Affirmative Action always ruffles the red feathers). So, it became a politically charged topic. The Republicans took one tentative step into the arena of questioning racial bias and the Democrats reflexively took the opposite stance -- or perhaps it happened the other way around. It's doesn't really matter. The Dems and Repubs have to disagree on just about anything or they feel they've lost their identity. It's a psychological game played by children in the playground and, unfortunately, it's a game many of us never outgrow.
No one "deserves" to be racist. That's just pure nonsense. This is something we have to break down and put aside -- get rid of that primitive bundle of neurons in our brains that makes us so distrustful of different people. In fact, it's pretty clear when one learns more about Shirley Sherrod's case (linked above), it's clear she came to that kind of self-realization. Her tale was one of putting down the primitive side of her brain. She learned something horrible about herself and overcame it.
I'm sure the prejudices still lurk inside her, as it does in all of us. But she did what we should all do: Call it out. Recognize it when it surfaces and tie it down. The world would be a better place with a little more thinking, a little less of listening to that fearful animal whispering in our minds. We've come too far for this. The world is closer than ever; new cultures are literally at our fingertips, microseconds away through the Internet. The world is now a smaller place than it was ten years ago and absolutely tiny when compared to when our animal brains were just beginning to use that pre-frontal cortex. It's time we moved on and put down the rocks and spears of the past.
You're racist. I'm racist. We all "jump to conclusions" based on all kinds of superficial nonsense such as hair length, body odor (perfume or funky stank), clothing, accents, vocabulary strength, physical fitness, and yes, skin color or cultural heritage. The best we can do is suppress these ridiculous primitive prejudices and not let them seep into our pre-frontal cortex. These prejudices exist simply as a defense against different or strange folks outside of our own tribe; their ways and speech make us suspicious and frightened.... Well, at least it did when we were living in caves and slaughtering animals with rocks and sticks.
Now, there's little place for that kind of primitive thinking. People come in all shapes and colors, each with their own story and baggage. Most are nice folks who, like me, just want to get through the day and still be employed and living indoors most of the time. The reason we fear the racism in the above link, the type found in the KKK and Black Panthers is because it speaks to a lack of control -- of civility -- of reason. People who hate based on superficialities are the people whom society should avoid.
The news organizations have been making some chattering noises about "black racism." I really wish a color or shade wouldn't be assigned to this. Racism is racism. There is no "reverse discrimination." Discrimination doesn't know a color or a creed. The Irish were discriminated against, as were the black Africans who were forced to come to this country, as were the Chinese on the West Coast, as were the Hispanics, as were the Jews, as were the Japanese and Germans in WWII. Every ethnicity has experienced discrimination at one time or another in history, so let's not call something "black racism" or "white racism" or whatever other skin color is out there.
The media fears to call out black racists because, well, that's the message the White Supremacists have had... and it's a view that has spilled over into the Republican party in the past twenty years (Affirmative Action always ruffles the red feathers). So, it became a politically charged topic. The Republicans took one tentative step into the arena of questioning racial bias and the Democrats reflexively took the opposite stance -- or perhaps it happened the other way around. It's doesn't really matter. The Dems and Repubs have to disagree on just about anything or they feel they've lost their identity. It's a psychological game played by children in the playground and, unfortunately, it's a game many of us never outgrow.
No one "deserves" to be racist. That's just pure nonsense. This is something we have to break down and put aside -- get rid of that primitive bundle of neurons in our brains that makes us so distrustful of different people. In fact, it's pretty clear when one learns more about Shirley Sherrod's case (linked above), it's clear she came to that kind of self-realization. Her tale was one of putting down the primitive side of her brain. She learned something horrible about herself and overcame it.
I'm sure the prejudices still lurk inside her, as it does in all of us. But she did what we should all do: Call it out. Recognize it when it surfaces and tie it down. The world would be a better place with a little more thinking, a little less of listening to that fearful animal whispering in our minds. We've come too far for this. The world is closer than ever; new cultures are literally at our fingertips, microseconds away through the Internet. The world is now a smaller place than it was ten years ago and absolutely tiny when compared to when our animal brains were just beginning to use that pre-frontal cortex. It's time we moved on and put down the rocks and spears of the past.
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