Posts
Oh my goodness!
I just got back from out of state.
Did you know that there is some MAJOR paranoia going on in the hinterland?
I heard not one, but several people comment on how they're afraid of Obama.
Whaaaaa????????????????????????????
Oh my goodness, I really couldn't believe it. Some people are listening to way too many right wing whack job radio hosts.
Obama isn't going to overturn the Constitution. Even if he is a Democrat.
He isn't going to start a race war. Even if he is African-American. (Or bi-racial if you prefer.)
He isn't going to take your guns away. Even if he is a liberal.
Why?
Folks, do I really, really have to explain it?
Obama BELIEVES in civil rights and has worked as a lawyer. He wasn't always a politician. He has a real law degree and has used his education, training and knowledge to help those less fortunate than himself.
He's probably the best thing for our country right now, despite what the tin foil hats are blathering right and left.
He's not against the Constitution of the United States. He TAUGHT constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for 12 years!
He's not a neo-Marxist. Shoot, he served on the Senate Committee for Veteran's Affairs and sponsored legislation favorable to our Veterans.
He's not anti-white. People, his MOTHER was white!
He's not a Muslim. He's been a member of a Christian church for what, twenty or so years. He's going to swear his oath on the Lincoln Bible, for God's sake!
My people, my people, he's an American citizen, just like you and I. Born in Hawaii of a US citizen, all the blatherings about his birthplace are just that, blatherings.
I really have trouble believing the paranoia in the hinterlands of our country. People will believe anything bad about anybody, won't they? Because they saw it on TV, because someone on the Internet said it, so it must be true.
I just shake my head. Then I sigh. People will believe anything except the plain, unvarnished truth...
Check this out:
http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Obama-Barack.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/
Showing posts with label white. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Musings On Racism - Part I
The argument of the day was about racism.
My Brother Pots believes that People of Color can't be racists. My Brother Neo believes anyone can be a racist and exhibit racist behavior.
My belief is that, unfortunately, we won't be able to agree on a definition of the term, nor find that precise dividing line between prejudice and racism. Why? Because we all have one unique view. Neo has one. Pots has another experience and perception. I have a third. Ku-ku has a fourth. SR has a fifth. Birdlady has a sixth. And so on.
We can all probably agree on the worst of racists, they pretty much define themselves. But then let's take a different angle. There was a time when many white people really believed that our Brothers and Sisters of Color were inferior beings. That the KKK was an acceptable organization. That all Blacks should go back to Africa, there was no place in our society. Etc, etc, etc. There is a whole history built upon those beliefs and behaviors.
On the flip side of the coin, most of the Black people I have known do not think that whites are inferior beings, nor do they support organizations dedicated to keeping whites "in their place" or a race war. They don't [generally] tell whites to go back to Europe. Some may not LIKE white people at all, but don't have the extreme viewpoint that tips into racism.
When we look at the underlying, historical basis, yes, I can completely understand Pots' and others' belief that POC can't be racist. Racism is a depth of hate that many of us really don't comprehend. BUT, since we've grown up in this white dominated society, we wear blinders that keep us from seeing the issues from the point of view of POC. We can't and probably won't ever agree on this point.
To be continued...
My Brother Pots believes that People of Color can't be racists. My Brother Neo believes anyone can be a racist and exhibit racist behavior.
My belief is that, unfortunately, we won't be able to agree on a definition of the term, nor find that precise dividing line between prejudice and racism. Why? Because we all have one unique view. Neo has one. Pots has another experience and perception. I have a third. Ku-ku has a fourth. SR has a fifth. Birdlady has a sixth. And so on.
We can all probably agree on the worst of racists, they pretty much define themselves. But then let's take a different angle. There was a time when many white people really believed that our Brothers and Sisters of Color were inferior beings. That the KKK was an acceptable organization. That all Blacks should go back to Africa, there was no place in our society. Etc, etc, etc. There is a whole history built upon those beliefs and behaviors.
On the flip side of the coin, most of the Black people I have known do not think that whites are inferior beings, nor do they support organizations dedicated to keeping whites "in their place" or a race war. They don't [generally] tell whites to go back to Europe. Some may not LIKE white people at all, but don't have the extreme viewpoint that tips into racism.
When we look at the underlying, historical basis, yes, I can completely understand Pots' and others' belief that POC can't be racist. Racism is a depth of hate that many of us really don't comprehend. BUT, since we've grown up in this white dominated society, we wear blinders that keep us from seeing the issues from the point of view of POC. We can't and probably won't ever agree on this point.
To be continued...
Musings On Racism - Part II
Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying it's acceptable to be hateful to others, in general we can agree to be civil if we choose. Or not if we choose not. (I'm not above calling a pig a pig, my base nature does get away from me at times...)
I think the problem is that we're truly not capable of walking in the other guy's shoes. I recently reread "Black Like Me" and it had a profound effect on my thought processes. John Griffin had NO clue of what he was getting into. If you followed in his footsteps today, you might find that some things that you think have changed -- haven't.
Then my daughter was watching some stupid race switching show (which in general I thought was idiotic) and the white guy who became "Black" still had a gadzillion misconceptions and blindness about what was and was not racist (or bigoted or prejudiced) behavior. It was as if he really, really didn't see it. Yet he kept waiting for someone to call him "n". Of course it didn't happen, respectful adults don't use that term, esp in racially mixed settings.
I can only assume it was because his whole world viewpoint of growing up white made him incapable of seeing that viewpoint from a different perspective -- that of a man who'd grown up Black and had a vastly different world experience.
We really CAN'T walk in each other's shoes.
And if Neo says anyone can be racist and (for example) Pots says POC can't be racist, I really don't see a true conflict here. Because each one is speaking from his own world experience, from literally birth to the present. Each has a valid truth, from his own unique perspective.
It's as if each one is holding up a sheet of paper, pierced with many little round holes. But when he tries to look through the holes, some of them line up, and some don't. Some are the mutual experiences of being Americans, growing up middle class, perhaps in a suburb, etc. And the ones that don't line up, well some have to do with specifics of their respective races and how the world treats them, and some has to do with the dissimilar experiences, like siblings, intact or separated families, country, suburb, city, projects, Nob Hill, whatever.
Our experiences shape who we are.
(And so does our genetic history, but that's another topic -- I think.)
I think the problem is that we're truly not capable of walking in the other guy's shoes. I recently reread "Black Like Me" and it had a profound effect on my thought processes. John Griffin had NO clue of what he was getting into. If you followed in his footsteps today, you might find that some things that you think have changed -- haven't.
Then my daughter was watching some stupid race switching show (which in general I thought was idiotic) and the white guy who became "Black" still had a gadzillion misconceptions and blindness about what was and was not racist (or bigoted or prejudiced) behavior. It was as if he really, really didn't see it. Yet he kept waiting for someone to call him "n". Of course it didn't happen, respectful adults don't use that term, esp in racially mixed settings.
I can only assume it was because his whole world viewpoint of growing up white made him incapable of seeing that viewpoint from a different perspective -- that of a man who'd grown up Black and had a vastly different world experience.
We really CAN'T walk in each other's shoes.
And if Neo says anyone can be racist and (for example) Pots says POC can't be racist, I really don't see a true conflict here. Because each one is speaking from his own world experience, from literally birth to the present. Each has a valid truth, from his own unique perspective.
It's as if each one is holding up a sheet of paper, pierced with many little round holes. But when he tries to look through the holes, some of them line up, and some don't. Some are the mutual experiences of being Americans, growing up middle class, perhaps in a suburb, etc. And the ones that don't line up, well some have to do with specifics of their respective races and how the world treats them, and some has to do with the dissimilar experiences, like siblings, intact or separated families, country, suburb, city, projects, Nob Hill, whatever.
Our experiences shape who we are.
(And so does our genetic history, but that's another topic -- I think.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
