Racism matters.
It looks like everyone in the blogosphere is talking about Obama’s speech from yesterday. I’ve already done the same elsewhere (link includes full transcript), so I really don’t want to repeat myself here except to say language is power, and by that measure Obama is far more powerful than people credit him.
I do want to talk about race. See, I’m white. I’m not just “Caucasian”, I’m WHITE. The vast majority of my heritage is dutch, and it shows in my pale-as-a-baby’s-bottom skin, the blond hair and blue eyes, the “wholesome beauty” of my features which will never be described as striking. I’m the daughter of a Pastor and a woman whose parents started out as Amish, so I also come from white middle-America Evangelical conservative stock. We didn’t watch the evening news. We listened to Rush Limbaugh.
I also have black cousins. Their mother married a black man in a time when that sort of thing was still rare and rather taboo. I can’t describe the oddness of going to family reunions where a good half of the people were Amish, most of the rest were conservative Mennonite, and here’s me in my punk rock jeans sitting off to the side with my black cousins. People who think that race doesn’t matter or is no longer important are people who were raised in a part of the country where race doesn’t matter. People out in the boondocks see that it does, and how do they see it? Because out here you NOTICE when someone is black. If a black man in a wifebeater with jeans around his ass walks by me, I’m shocked.
I’m shocked, and I’m always worried that my momentary startlement will be interpreted as racism.
I’ve heard lines like, “black people aren’t willing to work,” and “black people are still too full of self-pity to move forward”, and “black people are all full up with anger” from the mouths of men I wouldn’t have thought capable of racism. I’ve heard gentle, loving women say things like, “when I see a black man I cross the street, I don’t know why, I just get afraid”. So there is still this lingering issue of race. That, and there’s fear. As we lose more and more jobs and we see more and more black people and Mexicans walking around our little town, people start to wonder if they’ve got the jobs and the rest of us don’t.
I get angry when people say, “racism is outmoded” or “racism doesn’t matter anymore.” How can you say that? As long as it exists, it matters, and it STILL EXISTS. There are still parts of this country where people see black men standing on a corner and they tell their kids to lock the car doors as they drive by. It matters; it matters and it is still very real.
I have heard more than one man say that if Barack Obama becomes the President, he won’t live to run for a second term.
Oh, yes, it matters.
Lyn replied:
I appreciate this post’s sincerity. But it leaves out the fault of blacks.
Racism exists in large part because of blacks. Blacks hate Whites. No matter how much they sugar coat it, it’s true. Obama’s excuses for the rantings of Rev. Wright shouldn’t fool anybody. What that black preacher said was nonsense, but don’t dismiss it. It shows the sentiment and the contempt blacks have for America in general and Whites in particular.
I am an open racist. My experiences have taught me that blacks will never look upon Whites as people. Blacks will always try to victimize Whites. I’m not an isolated, ignorant person. I have lived in several different countries in Europe and Asia. I know how civilized some people can be. And I’ve seen parasites in America and Europe - they were black. They claim to be victims, they claim that somebody owes them something, and they victimize Whites.
I never spent one day of my life caring about blacks’ opinions of me. I encourage all Whites to do the same.
March 20, 2008 at 3:41 pm. Permalink.
shush replied:
“the fault of blacks”.
Are you speaking of ALL black people? My cousins have done nothing to show they hate white people, in fact, they do NOT hate white people. Of all of the black people I’ve known, only a few demonstrated such “hatred”- and that hatred was passed down to them from parents and grandparents who experienced segregation, hate crimes, and State-run discrimination.
While there is NEVER any excuse for ANYONE to hate ANY race due to the actions of the past or the actions of the few, resentment on both sides is totally understandable.
We need to move beyond the past, and unfortunately people like you tie the hands of people like me. I hope you grow beyond your shortcomings.
March 20, 2008 at 4:14 pm. Permalink.
Gina replied:
I’ve been reading your blog for a few weeks now, and I really enjoy your posts. I found this one to be especially interesting. The neighborhood in which I live is hugely diverse, with neighbors of different skin colors, and more than half of them with accents. It would be strange for me to go a day WITHOUT seeing a black person. So many of us who live in or near large cities forget (or don’t even know) there are places in America in which cultural diversity is rare. I really appreciate that alternate view.
Sorry for going off on a little tangent. Yes, I do agree that race does matter. Although I might not be happy with the reasons why it matters, I will acknowledge that it does. I think it’s unfortunate that a minority president will be scrutinized more closely and have a greater chance of being assassinated based on his skin color alone. Out of ALL of the differences between races, I hate that skin color is the one that people put so much importance on.
People often use the term ‘different, but equal’ when referring to genders, but I think it also applies to race, as well. There are differences between blacks and whites, but I do not feel that those differences are bad. The obvious differences, such as skin color, are only superficial. There are also differences that are not apparent to the casual observer, but I fail to see how having different risk factors for various diseases (to use one example) would be a factor for racism. Nobody is genetically inferior, we are just biologically different. Many similar differences are seen among people of the same race, as well (some white people are very tan, some black people are very light. There are so many shades… Some white people are more prone to some disease, while others are not… There are even differences among the various “white cultures” in America). We are all children of the same God, so why do so many people let the little things matter?
March 20, 2008 at 9:03 pm. Permalink.
Vanessa replied:
I am white, and I grew up in South Africa under the apartheid regime. I count myself extremely fortunate that my family brought me up in a tolerant environment, and taught me to look at the content of character, not the color of skin.
I watched the white leaders of South Africa discriminate against blacks. They were denied jobs, education, but most importantly they were denied dignity. If it were not for great men like Nelson Mandela the country would have been thrown into civil war. He brought tolerance where people wanted hate, reconciliation where revenge was demanded.
It makes me angry when someone points to the fault of the blacks, as if hate began with them.
The people who blame blacks are usually God fearing conservative Christians. Yet somehow they forgot what Jesus said - to love your neighbor. Not just to love them after they love you, but while they are still your enemies.
Racism is important, but only while there are people who still cling to hate. Lyn, my prayer for you is that a black person shows you love, helps you when noone else will, and loves you while you are still their enemy. Perhaps then you’ll realize that God doesn’t discriminate based on race or gender.
March 22, 2008 at 8:04 pm. Permalink.
Sarah Riggle replied:
“the fault of racism”
By whose definitions are we to define “fault” or racism. I grew up mostly if the mid-west in the ’60’s and only knew of a few African Americans in a few of the schools that I attended. My parents example of respecting everyone equally has passed down to me and hopefully to my children. It wasn’t until I went into the Army and was sent to Viet Nam that most of my friend were black, because we lived together.
Where is the definition of fault when we recoil from a ‘black’ man we meet as we walk down the street. Even for me I was concerned for my safety because of the micro-environment of the street corner.
Since I have transition to female, I have been surprised by the acceptance of ‘black’ men of me and their willingness to open a door for me with a word of kindness and courtesy. I will get a kind remark from a brother or sister more than I will be shown any kindness from someone of a different skin color.
The ‘fault’ is in our not looking for someone’s propensity to give us as much kindness as we give to them.
March 23, 2008 at 1:44 pm. Permalink.
shush replied:
Gina: Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree, we are “different, but equal”- there are huge cultural differences between many of the races, even between people of the same skin- but those cultural differences don’t equal racial inequality.
Vanessa: It’s easy for Americans to forget the discrimination that happens elsewhere. Thank you, sincerely.
Sarah: Thank you for your comment. Yesterday I was fishing for change to get my daughter something out of a machine in a lobby, and a black man in scrubs stopped and gave me a dollar in quarters. My husband said, “hey, man, I have a dollar” and the man shook his head and said, “It’s for the kid. Enjoy your daughter.” It stood out to me doubly because there were white men who went in and out, but that man was the one to notice us and be courteous.
March 24, 2008 at 1:52 pm. Permalink.