Post-Election Racism
The past two days of post-election reactions disturbed me. In a time when most of the country is celebrating the fulfillment of the civil rights movement, when even the opposing party recognizes the momentous achievement that has taken place, several people in my life have revealed inappropriate, and frankly, disgusting opinions.
I’ve received forwarded text messages containing colored jokes, chain-emails bashing the ascension of a black man to the head of our great country. Some have expressed their apprehension in personal conversation. I even heard a racist joke at a church group.
Is this really the way people think?
One of my good (white) friends and his wife have an adopted black son and are adopting two more children from Haiti. Another couple close to me recently adopted a black baby here in the States. When I get to see them, play with them, spend time with them, I can’t imagine the ignorance that causes someone to make hurtful and derogatory comments toward them for such a distinction. Why doesn’t this empathy carry over into the adult world?
I don’t understand the thought process that goes into bigotry. How can people so readily abandon their calls for love, equality, and justice… as soon as the people group in question doesn’t have the same ethnic background as them? I find this especially difficult to digest when someone quotes a Bible verse to me one day and makes a racial slur the next.
There is no justification for racial prejudice.
Completely agree, Will. Just saw this post and glad it’s here.
Caroline Fontenot — December 3, 2008 @ 10:55 pm
hey will. i clicked on your christmas pictures and started reading down. you have quite a way with words. i’m impressed. anyway, i thought i’d comment on this one, just because it brought up an experience of my own. i don’t think you know my dad’s family very well (neither do i, but i see them from time to time) and we’ve obviously never been close on my mom’s side. anyway, my dad’s family is all from new iberia, LA, whitetown USA. i remember racial slurs being thrown around as a child. imagine the shock and disgust they all displayed (in letters) when i was pregnant at 21 with a black man’s child. anyway, my uncle sid came over one day after jaron was born, and jaron’s dad was there for about 15 minutes. sid and courtenay spoke amicably about football, basketball, what have you. so after courtenay left, i vividly remember my uncle sid saying, “Wow, he’s just like me. he plays sports and everything.” at that moment is when i feel i understood true ignorance…anyway, just thought i’d share that.
rita — December 27, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
All over the world Africans are aggressively engaged in ethnic cleansing — driving out non-Africans from their midst through violence, murder, rape and theft. Despite this, “enlightened” whites show precious little concern (except as it affects their personal safety) for the global threat of violence, genocide and degradation that Africans pose to all non-African peoples. Nowhere do I hear “enlightened” whites demanding that Africans respect the cultural and ethnic self-determination of non-African races. Instead I hear a perpetual condemnation of whites by whites, scorning the desire of the presumeably less-enlightened to preserve their group & personal safety, heritage and identity through segreation — an unjust condemnation that no amount of black-on-white violence or deteriorating conditions seems to mitigate.
Maybe these judgemental “enlighted” whites should take up permanent residence in a majority African environment — like Harlem, south Chicago, South Central LA, Somalia, Haiti, etc. (the more exclusively African, the better). Perhaps in the process these people might become a little more enlightened and less ignorant themselves.
Meanwhile, I find it laughable that a white woman who barely graduated from high school, who has shown complete and utter contempt for her own family’s values while at the same time wanting them to affirm hers, should fancy that she understands what True Ignorance is. It wasn’t enough that your Uncle Sid was courteous and “spoke amicably” with Courtenay. No, you had to judge Sid for being ignorant! Gosh, Rita, if that’s how you treat a kindly uncle — what would you do to people like me? Respond with love, tolerance and understanding? I don’t think so.
Maternal Aunt — May 4, 2009 @ 10:06 am