Jackie Summers has identified the most troubling thing about racism these days: no one ever admits to being racist.
I’m 17 years old. I’m visiting the home of my friend Chris in Staten Island. We read comics, and his mom makes us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cut diagonally. The next day, someone paints on his garage–in big red letters–”nigger lover.”
This is not the most racist thing that has ever happened to me.
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I’m 28. I’m working on Wall St., in the energy sector. It’s 10 A.M. and I’m just settling into the stack of reports requiring my attention. The news sweeps through the office like a tsunami: OJ Simpson, not guilty. The Senior Analyst of the Oil and Gas group comes up to my desk and asks, “Is it okay for white people to start looting now?”
This is not the most racist thing that has ever happened to me.
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I’m 30 years old. My date looks like she put on her dress with a spray-can. We’ve finished playing pool, and now we’re having a drink at a pub. Her mouth is writing sweet, filthy promises that I believe her body has every intention on cashing. The large burly gent next to us seems to be having a good time as well; so good in fact that he–quite accidentally–bumps into my date. Her gin and tonic splashes all over her new dress, ruining it, and the mood.
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“You goddamned, stupid, fucking nigger” he spews. “Do you have any idea where you are!?” He’s drunk and angry and looking for trouble. It’s clear I’m about to get some action, just not the kind I had in mind.
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I tap “Burly” on the shoulder. “I see you’re having a good time with your friends,” I say, “and I don’t want to interrupt. But you–accidentally–bumped into my date, and spilled her drink all over her new dress. I’d appreciate it if you apologized.”
“You goddamned, stupid, fucking nigger” he spews. “Do you have any idea where you are!?” He’s drunk and angry and looking for trouble. It’s clear I’m about to get some action, just not the kind I had in mind.
A minute later and the five of us are outside: myself, my date–who just wants to go home and is cowering behind me–Burly, and two of his friends. “Okay you stupid fucking nigger” he shouts, “what are you going to do now? There are three of us, and one of you.”
“This is easy” I say, pointing at his friends. “I can either beat all three of you up, or I can just beat HIM up. You two are free to go.”
His friends–who’ve clearly been pressed into “take-care-of-our-drunk-loudmouth-friend” service before–apply the better part of valor, and leave. While I’m taking off my coat, Burly throws a haymaker in my direction. My martial arts training kicks in; thirty seconds later and I’m sitting on his back, his wrist–agonizingly twisted the wrong way–in one hand, and a fistful of ginger hair in the other. He’s spitting venomous epithets at me when it occurs to me that, should a police officer wander upon the scene, I’m likely going to jail, despite not being the aggressor. I end the fight and leave.
This is not the most racist thing that’s ever happened to me.
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I’m 32 years old. I’ve just left my car–a canary yellow 1972 Buick Skylark convertible–at my mechanic in the Bronx. I’m walking to the subway when three police cars screech to a stop around me. Six officers jump out of their cars–guns drawn–and suddenly I’m trying to think clearly enough to answer the questions that are being yelled at me as my legs are kicked apart and my face is shoved into a wall.
I’m calm. I’m polite. I think of the (then) recently deceased Amadou Diallo, and curb my genetic tendency towards sarcasm. The officers check my identification and make sure there are no warrants for my arrest. After it’s been determined that my story checks out, I ask the officer closest to me why I was stopped. He tells me that I “matched the description of a suspect,” and as he answers, he notices me taking note of his badge number.
Without explanation, I’m handcuffed, unceremoniously stuffed into the back of a police car, and taken to Central Booking, otherwise known as “the Tombs.” I descend a staircase deeper than the pits of Avernus and am placed into a holding cell. It’s unclear if I am being arrested; in fact I’m never told what’s going on. There’s a phone but it’s out of order. Four hours go by. I’m surrounded by genuinely dangerous people, who for reasons beyond my comprehension, are leaving me completely alone.
Eight hours pass. By now I’ve missed work. Twelve hours after I drop my car off at my mechanic, an officer comes down with a stack of papers and begins to call off names. I’m being released; apparently no charges were filed against me. My property and my freedom are returned. I receive no explanation and no apology.
This is not the most racist thing that’s ever happened to me.
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The wonderful part about the experiences I just described is their overtness. Once, racism was men in hoods burning a cross on your lawn. It was separate entrances and separate water fountains and the back of the bus, and if people didn’t know their place, it was okay to remind them who’s in charge. The great thing about those folks was: at least you knew where you stood. A man with a noose has clear intentions, about as easy to spot as a harvest moon on a clear autumn night. In a best case scenario, with a bit of discretion, you could avoid these people entirely. In a worst case scenario, you could at least defend yourself.
The problem with today’s racism is: nobody ever actually admits to being a racist. Refusal to acknowledge a problem is in fact, tacit compliance.
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Modern racism is the insidious undercurrent that keeps classism aloft. It’s city planning that isolates certain neighborhoods, depriving them of civil services. It’s public schools in “low income neighborhoods” with overcrowded classrooms and dangerously outdated facilities. It’s the bank loan for the new business that you don’t get even though your credit is good, because you’re “high risk.” It’s using Jay-Z, Oprah, and Michael Jordan as examples to prove race-based income disparity no longer exists.
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Modern racism is the insidious undercurrent that keeps classism aloft. It’s city planning that isolates certain neighborhoods, depriving them of civil services. It’s public schools in “low income neighborhoods” with overcrowded classrooms and dangerously outdated facilities. It’s the bank loan for the new business that you don’t get even though your credit is good, because you’re “high risk.” It’s using Jay-Z, Oprah, and Michael Jordan as examples to prove race-based income disparity no longer exists.
If overt racism is a noose, institutionalized racism is carbon monoxide: just as lethal but more pervasive and far harder to detect.
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My best friend in the world happens to be an insanely wealthy, drop dead gorgeous blonde. Not long ago, I was conversing with her husband about a recent case in Auburn, Washington, where a (black) man was arrested for attempting to deposit a bank check made out to him. “Your wife,” I said, “has walked into a bank, kindly explained to a teller that she’d forgotten her identification, and walked out with pockets full of cash.”
“That’s true” he said, “but you can ride the subways at 3 A.M. and not have to worry about being attacked.”
“That’s probably true,” I conceded. “Want to trade?”
♦◊♦
Touré, a novelist, journalist, MSNBC personality, and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, currently has an essay on The Atlantic entitled “The Most Racist Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” Unsurprisingly–at least to me–when 105 interviewees were posed this question, the most common response was, “the answer is unknowable.”
I’m wont to agree.
A brief perusal of the comments sees the vitriol this topic provokes rise to caustic levels. The (perceived) anonymity of the Internet emboldens cowards; opinions are frequently expressed online that would otherwise never see the light of day. Personally, I try to avoid engaging such individuals in pointless argument. As my Mom would say, “Never wrestle with the pig. You both get filthy, but the pig enjoys it.”
Instead, I’ll simply ask: what’s the most racist thing that’s ever happened to you?
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—Photo Daviniodus/deviantart.com
About Jackie Summers
I am a fan of this site because of this kind of high quality articles.
It touches subjects that most not many other places would touch.
In my opinion, I think incarceration is a business. Since jails are mostly private,
those jail owners make a lot of profit the more persons get in jail. They don’t
really care if people are innocent or not, they just want more people jailed.
If the jails were state owned, there wouldn’t be 2.5 million persons in jail.
It makes no sense, unless you see the greed of the system. Who is paying
for those in jail? All the taxpayers. If the cops started jailing white
persons for no reason, you would certainly see lots of media attention, manifestations,
and many forms of legal action against these practices. That is why only black
or Latino guys go to jail to feed the greedy jail owners.
Racism concerns everybody, even the most favored class, since it can become a big
deal for everyone the least you expect it.
Lets remember the words of Martin Niemöller when the Nazi party came in power:
“”"
First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
“”"
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came%E2%80%A6]
Every time you see racism, and you remain silent, you are just being part of the problem. And someday,
when something unfair is being done to you by someone or by the system, you’ll get the same silent
treatment from those around you.
Instead of trying to teach kids creationism, schools should make an effort to address evolution, and explain
that every single human, no matter what their race is, is 99.999% genetically equal.
White’s racism against blacks, and black’s racism towards are two sides of the same coin, called racism.
I remember a trip to Austin, Houston, and Dallas, where I was going to visit some researchers, and a friend studying his PhD. I remember going at bus station in Austin, and carrying around a very heavy bag. I went to
a hotel behind the bus station, and when entering the reception, the white woman told me there were no rooms. I don’t
think the hotel was cheap, but it was a very tall one, and had a big parking with all the parking places empty.
I just really didn’t believed her that there was not a single room available. I had to go back to the bus station
and ask a friendly hispanic woman working there where could I get a hotel, and she told me that I had to cross a highway [walking]
to get to a Quality Inn. That highway had traffic, and there was no other way rather than running across it. It was a very frightening
experience, but I did managed to run with my heavy bag and get to the Quality Inn. Fortunately, the girl on the front desk was Hispanic,
and I had no issues to get a room. On Dallas, I remember going to a pizza buffet restaurant, and those who were attending were white kids.
I paid for my buffet and also for my beverage. I paid what was required, they gave me my change, but they didn’t gave me a ticket nor a cup.
After eating a couple of pizza slices, I got thirsty, but couldn’t find a cup for drinking form the soda fountain. I then I went with
the kids, and asked them how could I get a cup for drinking soda, and the guy told me “DUH! Pay For it!”. At that moment, I felt really bad,
and I had no way to prove them that I did paid for my beverages, so, I had to pay for my beverage, twice. I had more small experiences
with discrimination on this trip, but I don’t want to extend more.
The only persons with which I was able to have a conversation, was a black woman working at a Subway [very friendly], a black woman
working as a bus driver on Houston [very kind as well], and Hispanic woman working at the bus station. I also had a conversation
with a white gay man at the UTD, and a guy from Zimbawe.
I did had a good gesture from a white man. The day I arrived at Dallas, at 3 AM [I'm from Mexico, and was my first time alone on a trip], I was outside the dorm of my
PhD-studiying friend, I was knocking at his door very hard, but my friend was still sleeping. I went through all the campus seeking}
for a telephone to call him, but I couldn’t find any. I asked guys that were awake at that moment, but no one knew where a public telephone was.
I was getting worried about my friend not being at home [where I was going to stay]. And then after walking around the campus, and not finding
anything, I walked to a private building, where there was a guard, and I asked him where was a telephone, and he offered to lend me
his cell phone, and I was very thankful with him, and explained him my story. I offered him money as a way for thanking him , but he
refused totally. When I left, he even told me “Buenas Noches”. I found this a very kind gesture, and he really helped me fix my problem.
Nevertheless, I really don’t think I’m ever going to Texas again. It is not very tourist friendly, and not even Hispanic tourist friendly.
This was the first time in my life I experienced discrimination, on a small level compared to the rest of the guys on this article and comments. But,
when you are all alone by yourself, carrying a big heavy bag around, and not knowing anyone, those small events can make a big difference.
Sensitivity, I really don’t think that racism is an issue of creationism vs evolution. Evolution can be manipulated to state that the most fit people created the most wealthy and powerful societies, and that’s why the world is how it is. I’ve heard this argument made. Creationism can be used to argue that all people are made by God and are, therefore, equal. Neither of these ideas is incapable of being manipulated by racists for their own sake.
Hello Rick,
¿What color is God? ¿What gender is God? I can tell you, at least for the west world, he is white, and male.
Why is god a He and not a She? Why is it only white, and nor brown, or black? Does this sounds politically correct?
My point about evolution vs creationism, is that, if you teach children to believe blindly in something, such as creation,
they will be vulnerable to believe blindly in racism. They won’t exercise their critical thinking, and instead, they use their magical thinking.
Those kids will buy the white supremacists ideas, or the white-hating ideas, and never make the mental effort to answer the question “Why?”.
The creationist schools teach your kids “God made the world in 10000 years ago” and “God created mankind”,
and they tell them that they should trust this ‘fact’ blindly.
If kids do question this statement, they get the answer “because God did it that way”. Kids are genuinely inquisitive,
and that inquisitiveness should be encouraged in order for them to be able to judge ideas, such as, getting drugs or not,
being covertly racist or not, and so on.
On the other hand, those going to schools where evolution is taught, get the idea that the world was made 4.5 billion years ago.
That mankind is the product of millions of years of evolution, from the formation of the first cell in history, to more complex and
advanced organisms. There is geological evidence about the earth’s age. There is fossil evidence that men evolved from other previous
forms of life. We are 98% genetically identical to chimps. Each human being is genetically 99.9% identical to each other.
Kids don’t need to believe this: then can find it out by themselves. They can examine the fossil remains of homo rodesiensis,
homo mauritanicus, and homo ergaster, and see for themselves how similar are to the human skeleton. They can go an see for themselves
how the earth is constantly changing in Hawaii, which little by little changes it’s shape. They can go to a genetic sequencing lab,
and see for themselves how DNA sequencing is done, and analyze for themselves how their DNA is 99.9% identical as the DNA of their
classmates, regardless of their gender or ethnicity. We need to teach kids to think for themselves [critical thinking],
and to trust only things that they are given enough provable evidence. If they are critical thinkers, they will be able to refuse
lousy ideas like “white is better than black/brown” or “man is better than woman”, because, they will know that their genes are 99.9% identical
than any other human being.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolutionary_genetics]
Teaching evolution instead of creationism is a good start for teaching critical thinking .
Analyzing mitochondrial DNA, scientist have found that , there was a time in the human history, that due to a severe global
cataclysm [either an Ice age, or a volcano ashes covering the skies], human kind were almost going to face extinction. Only
a few thousand families on Africa were able to survive those harsh times, thanks to the mitochondrial mutation that these families had,
they were able to survive. When the climate got better, humans migrated to Africa and Asia, and eventually, to the rest of the world. So
technically, our ancestors were black/brown. If kids they get told that “White is better than black/brown”, they can tell them, “well, yeah, I’m black/brown,
buy you know, your ancestors were also black/brown”.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_Eve]
You say: “Evolution can be manipulated to state that the most fit people created the most wealthy and powerful societies,
and that’s why the world is how it is.”
You can state that a knife can be used to kill a person, and that will be true. I can also state that a knife can be used to cook,
, cut a person open in order to make a surgery, or create a work of art on a wood piece. A knife is a tool,
just in the same way that evolution is, it is a tool to help us describe where we come from.
Also, evolution is used to describe Biological processes, not Economical processes. Wealth and powerful
societies are not biological processes, are human created processes. If humans didn’t existed, there would be nothing like “power”
or “wealth”. Economy is a very complex subject, and evolution can’t be used to describe it or justify it.
Yes, “evolution” is a word that many areas of knowledge have used it to describe how processes change, but when I mention evolution
in this comment, I refer to the Biological Evolution Theory [and in natural sciences, a Theory it is the most
advanced state that a science can achieve. Yes, in Physics there are laws, but we are not that fortunate to have laws in many other areas].
When you say: “Creationism can be used to argue that all people are made by God and are, therefore, equal.”
Then I say: good for them! The sad thing is that, not teaching kids to use critical thinking, will let them vulnerable
to magical or illogical thinking. Just as an example, George W. Bush said “God told me to invade Iraq”, if kids don’t get critical
thinking, they can be easily manipulated into doing something when they grow up. Bush told that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction,
then Saddam got killed, and Iraq invaded, and such weapons of mass destruction “magically” disappeared.
“Neither of these ideas is incapable of being manipulated by racists for their own sake.”
And I’m not saying the contrary. I’m just saying that creationist schools don’t emphasize critical thinking as much as an evolution teaching school. Teaching them evolution is a good start for critical thinking
Sensitivity, are you sure you’re not the racist in your stories from Texas? You didn’t prove that the hotel had vacancies. You used the circumstantial evidence of a not-full parking lot & a white employee as the basis of your conclusion that you were discriminated against because of your race. What if they really didn’t have any empty rooms? Your accusation of the employee based on her race make you a… ?
The pizza restaurant story is more ridiculous. In case you haven’t noticed, teenagers don’t have the best attention spans. If I purchased something & wasn’t given the item or a proof of purchase to retrieve the item later, then it’s my fault for not pointing it out. I can’t burden their employees with remembering the purchases of my not-necessarily memorable self. In fact, the point that they didn’t remember you or your purchase makes it less likely that you were singled-out by your race in a grand conspiracy to make you pay for a soda twice.
I grew up in the Bay Area. My high school was probably about equal parts various kinds of white and various kinds of Asian. There was a sizable Hispanic minority as well, though almost no black students. To us, race was just a joke. It was a way for friends to poke fun at each other. They called me “egg” (white on the outside, yellow on the inside) for having Asian friends and studying Chinese; I told them not to eat my dog. Etc. I joined the military and for the first several years experienced more of the same (though it was odd being around so many white people, and I did have to learn that not all people grew up with the same give-and-take that I did and that, therefore, race could be a no-go issue even among friends talking trash).
I did a job switch within the service and began encountering far more people from regions of the country which would not surprise anyone when I tell you that they were shockingly racist. The assumption seemed to be that because I was white, I was in their stupid racist club, and so I was exposed to bitching about the “goddamn cotton pickers” liking rap (because singing about your F350 is better than singing about your Escalade, of course) or white girls who have sex with black guys or whatever. I’m sure the conversations still happen but not usually around me anymore. Because I have gotten pretty heated and confrontational and, interestingly, most people didn’t fight back when I called them “dumb fucking rednecks” or anything else….they just tried to defend themselves as “not racist,” and then eventually shut up when it became clear that I wasn’t about to be conciliatory about their bigotry. (Not that I’ve never remained silent when I should’ve spoken up…)
So I disagree that racism going behind closed doors is a bad thing. Brutally shaming anti-social behavior and beliefs (like racism or sexism or homophobia or whatever) might not change hearts in the current generation, but most people experience enough different races that the issue isn’t ignorance anyway. It’s simple, naked bigotry. And forcing people to hide that fact about themselves will hopefully make it harder to be passed on to the next generation. And maybe, if people have to “act as if” long enough, their behavior will change their hearts in spite of themselves. There are, of course, the occasional amiable dunces who just don’t realize their behavior is offensive or contrary to reason and human decency. They can be taught. But I think that defeating prejudice generally requires a very confrontational approach.
I also don’t believe systems themselves can be prejudiced about color. The people in them can be prejudiced and it’s important to confront those people and start shaming/ostracizing/belittling the racism right out of them. And it’s important for otherwise well-intentioned people to honestly examine their own motivations (good luck getting that to happen). But I think that making the “system” the enemy is counterproductive. The enemies are prejudice and the attitude that race should be anything more than an irrelevant difference.
Anyway, Jackie, I really enjoy your writing and I’m also really sorry for the novel. Look forward to reading more of your thoughts.
I lived in China for a few years and traveled to a lot of the less cosmopolitan parts of the country where it was still very rare to see a Westerner. Many people stared at me, called others outside to look at me (“hey mom, come look at the foreigner!”), and even dragged their children over so their kids could see me up close. People followed me around in the grocery store, not to make sure I didn’t steal, but just to see what kind of strange stuff I might buy. Some places charged me higher prices than they charged Chinese people who made more money than I did. When I spoke Chinese, admittedly with a horrible American accent, for many of them it was like they discovered a talking ape. (Okay, I admit I was relatively hairy). For the most part I didn’t let it get to me, and I found that many of the nicest, friendliest, most generous people were the same ones who couldn’t help staring. But, for a white American from a very white part of the country it was a tiny glimpse of life as an ethnic minority in a very race-conscious place. If I were blonde or dark-skinned (or both) I would have gotten even more attention.
THe most racist thing that is constantly said to me: “well luckily you look white” or “at least you don’t look Black, why do you even knowledge it?” ….yep ever since I was a child. I’m half Italian half West Indian/African. I do “look” Italian admittedly but I’m West African born so this has always bothered me especially since I get it from whites and Blacks.
I also get “I thought you were Black because of your name, maybe you should change it or use middle name”. It’s amazing what people will say to you. The name thing I even get from HR people. It’s sad.
Whoooaaaaaa. Excellent essay.
An inspiring and thought-provoking piece, both because of its content and because of the quality of the writing.
A number of the comments, also, are equally poignant.
Thanks to all for some truly powerful stories.
Probably not the most racist (that is, anti-semitic) thing that’s ever happened to me, but this one happens all the damn time, and good crap is it annoying.
We all know what Jewish men look like, because we’ve seen them on TV: mousy, shorty, scrawny, stringy-armed, frightened rabbits. Skin, bone, chest hair and thick glasses. Woody Allen, right?
I’d be happy to meet someone, anyone, who admitted to believing this stereotype even a little. Instead what I run into is a whole world that refuses to believe a muscle-bound 6’3″ dude like myself is Jewish. He simply can’t be because, well, that’s not what Jews look like. Everyone knows that!
So the first question I invariably get upon my religion coming up in conversation is either “really?” or my personal favorite “are you Jewish on both sides?”
Translation: “Well, you call yourself Jewish, so maybe one parent is, and you were raised that way, but I’m just going to invent a non-Jewish half that can genetically account for the height and the strength. Yeah, that sounds right.”
Makes me want to snap someone’s wrist with the steely, thick arms that Hashem gave me.
Z, my best friend in 8th grade, David Schlossman, was captain of the basketball team and had arms like tree trunks. Clearly what I thought of the “typical” Jewish male varies significantly from your experience.
If I’m ever in another bar fight, I hope you’re on my side.
Jackie
Its not racism if I talk shit about everyone.
I counter some of your arguments with logic.
1. Races stay together. Older generations of races don’t want mixing of other races. The second part is a whole different conversation. The first part, is where they live, shop, and go to school.
I got my ass beat because I was the only not black kid in my neighborhood. I was 7 years old. It happened on a regular basis. We didn’t speak english and were new to the country. You should go preach this stuff to the right crowd
2. Technically I shouldn’t even be a college graduate because of the statistics that Census has. This taught me 2 things. No one cares if I succeed or not besides me. And if I really wanted it, I will get it.
3. MY parents started with nothing. Less than nothing. Less than black people in poor neighborhoods. They at least spoke english. They worked hard. Really hard making minimum wage with 2 kids. They saved and we moved out of the shitty places.
4. If people who come here with nothing can make a life for their families, why can’t the people that have lived here? Living in low income schools is a shitty excuse. My parents taught me to read at write at 5. Where are these parents of these kids? Working? Or not?
5. The truth is that I may be an exception and I may be lucky. But really, its because my family has worked hard.
7. Someone tell me why even my black friends say that there’s a difference between black people and niggers. Is that racism? Can you be racist towards your own race? Is agreeing with them racist? Is saying all asians are terrible at driving racist? Or that jews have big noses? Really? because stereo types have come from truths. And there’s a difference between stereotypes and racism. Racism is when you use the stereotype to discriminate.
8. Maybe we should be telling people not to perpetuate stereotypes instead.
9. I agree with Morgan Freeman. Get rid of Black history month. You aren’t special. White history month would be racist. We should get rid of Gay pride. Straight pride is prejudiced right? People would feel more connected to each other if others didn’t try to separate themselves from the collective group.
10. How do we get rid of racism? – Stop talking about it- Morgan Freeman
Bob, some points:
1. Scarcity of resources made families form tribes. Tribes formed cities, who banded together to form city-states, based, once again, on competition for resources. The concept of race–distinguishing one from another based on skin color–is a social construct, designed to justify things like slavery, for the purpose of maintaining economic disparity.
2. Not knowing what state you live in, the census reference is moot, but I’m glad you fought beyond your obstacles to receive an education.
3. My dad was a jazz musician during the depression. He raised and supported a family of five on a jazz musician’s salary, during one of the worst economic crisis in this country’s history. He still couldn’t drink out of the same water fountain of the people he entertained, or even enter through the same door.
4. My parents taught me to read before entering elementary school as well. This gave me a tactical advantage educationally. Clearly, good parenting makes a difference.
5. Hard work counts. Luck counts too. Funny thing though; hard work can’t make you lucky.
6. You forgot 6.
7. Of course inter-racial racism exists. Yes stereotypes have some basis in truth. Yes racism is using stereotypes to discriminate.
8. I’m curious as to how “Jews with big noses” could avoid perpetrating the stereotype. Maybe Z (see comment above) could assist you with this one.
9. Every month is white history month. Black history month won’t be necessary when people of all races are equally represented in the history books. That is, unless you already know who the first person to die in the American revolution, the inventor of first clock invented in America, or the first person to successfully perform heart surgery.
An ostrich sticks it’s head in the sand when it detects danger. Choosing to be blind doesn’t eliminate the problem. Morgan Freeman is wrong.
JFB
I grew up in a large city, but moved to a small mostly white town through high school. One of my first days of my freshmen year I overheard twoguys having a conversation about how “all Mexicans were inbred because they all were named Gonzalez.”
I turned around “Yeah, just like all White people are named Smith right?”
It’s not much, but hopefully at least one of them started thinking.
The idea that we must all admit to racism or we’re racists is ludicrous. Self-serving.
As to schools, most of the big city inner city schools get a hell of a lot more money than the average. Various minority organizations in LA recently took out ads accusing the schools of failing their kids. Teachers, under their breath, are saying, “bring us kids who show up regularly, don’t assault us or their fellow students, don’t interrupt class, and do their homework, and we’ll talk”. Of course, they can’t say that out loud,but the underlying fact is correct.
If you can get a bank to deny you a loan because you’re black, you have the CRA to fall back on and they’ll make sure you get a loan if you demonstrate you’ll never be able to pay it back.
Your gin-and-tonic encounter would have happened if you were white, except for the “nigger” epithet. The guy’s a butthead.
The idea that NO ONE is racist anymore is ludicrous. As for the gin-and-tonic encounter, the second he invoked the N word, it became a racist encounter, butthead or not.
JFB
I’ve had racism aimed at me before, but it was mostly minor annoyances and not anything too serious. As far as I know I haven’t been passed over for jobs yet due to being white for affirmative action/equal opportunity reasons (I do know at least one person who was flat-out told in an interview they weren’t getting a job because the employer needed “a white woman”…racism and sexism at the same time). I usually don’t tell my race unless it’s for descriptive purposes. My mother works at a place where most employees are black and has had things said and done to her that would have gotten her fired years ago if she did them in reverse, and probably gotten her beat down too, but fortunately there are enough people there who don’t judge by race that she’s been able to make it fine.
(One other interesting note from my mom: she’s noticed many of the people who gripe and complain about how white people treat them will often turn right around and bash Hispanics and Asians mercilessly. Irony defined…or maybe hypocrisy fits better).
The biggest issue I have to deal with involving racism is that I’m a white Southerner and therefore automatically racist according to many people. Interestingly, most of the people who accuse me of that happen to be white Northerners, not blacks or other people who would qualify as minorities living around here, although that does happen once in a while. I guess they’re trying to feel better about themselves. You do have to wonder about the legitimacy of people who fight one form of bigotry with another. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never met white racists, as there are a few in my own family, but most people aren’t that way.
On that note, the reason no one admits to being racist, besides the fact it’s not exactly a popular opinion to hold anymore, is because in this day and age, if you wait around long enough (about 10 minutes is usually enough time–obviously an exaggeration but you get the idea) somebody else will come along and tell you you’re racist for you, whether you are or aren’t actually racist. There really isn’t a reason to claim to be racist when other people will undoubtedly do the work for you.
Funny, I just was talking to someone about this today. First and foremost, the way President Obama is being treated is totally racist. And the victims of this racism are the American people. Nothing good can come from bad feelings. I love your writing style and what you wrote. People need to see people for who they really are, not just the outward skins in which we’re temporarily clothed. I retired and moved to Texas 13 years ago and applied for a job teaching art at a Baptist school. I was asked if I was a Christian and said that I had no problem with people of any religion and that mine was just to get as close as I could to the path that would help the most. She looked at me and repeated her question. I told her I’m Jewish ethnically but follow my own spiritual proclivities. Basically, I was told I couldn’t take the job. But it was to teach art, not religion! I was qualified to do that! A few months later, I went to a church to audition for the pastor to play piano for the choir. Again, qualified. I played for about 15 minutes and he asked the same question as the Baptist lady. I was stunned. I’d only be playing piano, not advising people in a religious capacity. He said that my name sounded Jewish and I told him it was. He told me that I played beautifully, but he couldn’t hire a non-Christian. Why are these people so afraid of us? Do they think that I have the right answer and will infect his parishioners with the truth? There is no truth, just perception.
Not to be a jerk here, but shouldn’t common sense tell you that religious/faith based organizations expect their members to be believers of (insert faith here, in this case Christian)? That’s especially the case in a church. As a Christin myself I wouldn’t expect to find employment in an Islamic organization, for instance. Since this was an article about race, I find it a little bit analogous to how minority organizations expect their members to be someone of that minority ancestry (for instance, the Black Caucus political group wouldn’t let in a white politician near here despite the fact he represents a black-majority voting district).
Nice piece.
But the line: “you can ride the subways at 3 A.M. and not have to worry about being attacked” is false. Black men are far more likely to be victims of crime than white men, or women. Even on the subway at 3 a.m.
I am 5 years old 1957 … my teacher is African American and day 3 in school my mom notices who MIss Hyde is inside the school…. we go home and mom tells dad …. He says ANOTHER NIGGER ! Mom says NOW DAD… THEY’RE colored… she turns to me and says YOU BE SURE AND CALL HER COLORED I answered I CALL HER MY TEACHER …. this is not the most racist thing happening to me 843-926-1750 @AtheistVet