When Martin Luther King Jr's name rings out, we white people say what a great man he was. We admire his courage, his fortitude, his achievements. Then we go back to our lives and think of ourselves as good people. We can't, make that don't, want to think about what he struggled with or what he really was fighting for. Equality was see as a given, because we believe instinctively that we have it. We don't. We don't have equality until we're all equal. Our differences are what should make us shine, not be the things we are persecuted for, no matter what they may be and more importantly, no matter what we or others may think of them. There was a man who wanted everyone to be equal and the same and his name was Adolf Hitler. Sadly, we have a lot more than a few little Adolfs running around these days.
Marriage equality, Voting Rights Act and Abortion rights have been at the forefront of the news and our justice system and law makers are battling. That's right, battling. The GOP spent $3 million dollars of tax payers money to prevent marriage equality. Some of that money came from gays. The Supreme Court overturned an act, passed over forty years ago, that paved the way for minorities to vote. I won't get started on Roe v. Wade, because then I'd have to explain it to bigots like Sarah Palin.
I'm going to speak about racism and the most telling story to come out of the news in years. Surprisingly, I won't be speaking of the Trayvon Martin murder trial, although racism is prevalent in that case too. I'm going to speak about Southern sweetheart and butter loving celebrity cook Paula Deen. I won't bore anyone with what happened, because it's all over, but basically Paula used racial epitaphs towards blacks 30 years ago and doesn't seem much better today. I mean literally, TODAY! The show in which she stated she is who she is and doesn't need to change. This after blaming her use of the N-word on her upbringing.
Between posts on Facebook, Twitter and some comment sections of news articles, I've been attacked for my self righteousness and my reverse discrimination, although I happen to be white. An anonymous person told me only God can judge and I am not God. This is true, but who exactly is this person to assume Mrs. Deen's innocence. Isn't that a judgment? I had another person tell me that I didn't grow up around the word so I wouldn't understand, yet they never met me and don't know that I heard it every day. They don't know how angered i have been my entire life by whites and blacks who use the word. And then there are the apologists. She said she is sorry, so why can't i cut her some slack, they say. Hmm, shall we cut Hitler, Bin Laden, Papa Doc, Idi Amin and other tyrants some slack? If not, why not? If God is what you fear, confess and all is forgiven.
The one that bothered me the most and is most representative of today's racism, came from a friend. I posted something snarky about Deen and he countered with "why isn't Sharpton a racist?" Now I could pretty much end the blog here and anyone who isn't racist would understand the blatant racism in the question in context. This was followed up with some inside information into Paula Deen's loving heart and Sharpton's hatred of everything white. I then asked this person a series of questions, which he refused to answer, but then confronted my work schedule. Now anyone that has taken a debate class, this is white flag #1 and the most obvious and immature way to shield oneself from imminent defeat. It should be noted that this person soon after disappeared from commenting.
Now the above maneuver isn't what bothered me the most. It was the fact that this same person has done this before, accusing Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Eric Holder, Rev. Jeremiah Wright and president Obama, among others of being racist. Normally, I should add, the issue of race was not the topic of debate. Are there black racists? Yes, but their upbringing might have been a little more traumatic than Mrs. Deen's. Then in the middle of this debate, this person made an analogy. He compared Deen's actions and apology with the actions and apology of Michael Vick. This was when I insinuated he might himself be a racist. To which he implied I didn't know him. He seems unaware that I have read much worse comments on conservative Facebook threads. Much worse.
So here's my problem. Is it really possible that racists don't know that they are racist. Can upbringing really outshine intelligent thought? Are words laced with hate ever really a mistake? One which a simple apology is acceptable? Hate is a learned process and that is very important to understand. One doesn't wake one morning and hate broccoli, spinach or black people. It is either learned through experiences, learned through observation of one's surroundings or it is a manifestation of ignorance. My friend doesn't feel very fondly of Muslims, but swears he does. He finds gay marriage to be a sin, yet says he loves gay people. He is against a woman's right to control what is done to her body, yet says he loves all women. He says time and again how blacks are racist and uses things he's heard, seen and been taught to justify this, despite having very little contact with real black America. What would you call someone who loves everyone, but doesn't accept their rights, religious beliefs and thinks they hate him? I only know one word, but he laughed and mocked me. White flag #2 when someone has you on the ropes in a debate.
In the end, let's hope the people who see color, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation as what defines us, find intelligence and acceptance. Let's hope they stop hiding behind this false sense of being a victim, hiding behind their god, waving a flag for all the wrong reasons and thinking that who we love is a choice. Let's hope that we end this downward spiral into an abyss of ignorance and hate and come together. Let's stop accepting everyone's apologies for atrocity and let them suffer like they made others suffer, whether it be through actions or "mere" words.
Marriage equality, Voting Rights Act and Abortion rights have been at the forefront of the news and our justice system and law makers are battling. That's right, battling. The GOP spent $3 million dollars of tax payers money to prevent marriage equality. Some of that money came from gays. The Supreme Court overturned an act, passed over forty years ago, that paved the way for minorities to vote. I won't get started on Roe v. Wade, because then I'd have to explain it to bigots like Sarah Palin.
I'm going to speak about racism and the most telling story to come out of the news in years. Surprisingly, I won't be speaking of the Trayvon Martin murder trial, although racism is prevalent in that case too. I'm going to speak about Southern sweetheart and butter loving celebrity cook Paula Deen. I won't bore anyone with what happened, because it's all over, but basically Paula used racial epitaphs towards blacks 30 years ago and doesn't seem much better today. I mean literally, TODAY! The show in which she stated she is who she is and doesn't need to change. This after blaming her use of the N-word on her upbringing.
Between posts on Facebook, Twitter and some comment sections of news articles, I've been attacked for my self righteousness and my reverse discrimination, although I happen to be white. An anonymous person told me only God can judge and I am not God. This is true, but who exactly is this person to assume Mrs. Deen's innocence. Isn't that a judgment? I had another person tell me that I didn't grow up around the word so I wouldn't understand, yet they never met me and don't know that I heard it every day. They don't know how angered i have been my entire life by whites and blacks who use the word. And then there are the apologists. She said she is sorry, so why can't i cut her some slack, they say. Hmm, shall we cut Hitler, Bin Laden, Papa Doc, Idi Amin and other tyrants some slack? If not, why not? If God is what you fear, confess and all is forgiven.
The one that bothered me the most and is most representative of today's racism, came from a friend. I posted something snarky about Deen and he countered with "why isn't Sharpton a racist?" Now I could pretty much end the blog here and anyone who isn't racist would understand the blatant racism in the question in context. This was followed up with some inside information into Paula Deen's loving heart and Sharpton's hatred of everything white. I then asked this person a series of questions, which he refused to answer, but then confronted my work schedule. Now anyone that has taken a debate class, this is white flag #1 and the most obvious and immature way to shield oneself from imminent defeat. It should be noted that this person soon after disappeared from commenting.
Now the above maneuver isn't what bothered me the most. It was the fact that this same person has done this before, accusing Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Eric Holder, Rev. Jeremiah Wright and president Obama, among others of being racist. Normally, I should add, the issue of race was not the topic of debate. Are there black racists? Yes, but their upbringing might have been a little more traumatic than Mrs. Deen's. Then in the middle of this debate, this person made an analogy. He compared Deen's actions and apology with the actions and apology of Michael Vick. This was when I insinuated he might himself be a racist. To which he implied I didn't know him. He seems unaware that I have read much worse comments on conservative Facebook threads. Much worse.
So here's my problem. Is it really possible that racists don't know that they are racist. Can upbringing really outshine intelligent thought? Are words laced with hate ever really a mistake? One which a simple apology is acceptable? Hate is a learned process and that is very important to understand. One doesn't wake one morning and hate broccoli, spinach or black people. It is either learned through experiences, learned through observation of one's surroundings or it is a manifestation of ignorance. My friend doesn't feel very fondly of Muslims, but swears he does. He finds gay marriage to be a sin, yet says he loves gay people. He is against a woman's right to control what is done to her body, yet says he loves all women. He says time and again how blacks are racist and uses things he's heard, seen and been taught to justify this, despite having very little contact with real black America. What would you call someone who loves everyone, but doesn't accept their rights, religious beliefs and thinks they hate him? I only know one word, but he laughed and mocked me. White flag #2 when someone has you on the ropes in a debate.
In the end, let's hope the people who see color, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation as what defines us, find intelligence and acceptance. Let's hope they stop hiding behind this false sense of being a victim, hiding behind their god, waving a flag for all the wrong reasons and thinking that who we love is a choice. Let's hope that we end this downward spiral into an abyss of ignorance and hate and come together. Let's stop accepting everyone's apologies for atrocity and let them suffer like they made others suffer, whether it be through actions or "mere" words.
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