Posted on 02/09/2021 1:44:37 PM PST by econjack
I don't know about you, but i feel like I've had a boatload of blaming whites for everything's that's wrong with the world. A fraternity brother mine wrote the following paragraphs to a bunch of us. It was prompted by one of those nostalgic slide shows from the 1950's. My response follows:
At the risk of seeming like Debby Downer, I feel a need to write something in response to the video. So here goes…
I guess it’s OK to look back with nostalgia at images from the 50s; the video certainly reminded me of my childhood and youth. In 2021 I feel it’s also necessary and crucial to become more aware of a parallel universe that existed then and much of which still exists today. Did you notice that there was not a single person of color in any of that video?—just us privileged white folks. Yes, I am deeply grateful for my safe and happy childhood, my access to a quality education—and so much more. We had it good in lots of ways, but throughout the history of our beloved country, our privilege has been at the expense of people of color. It is time that we white people go deeper and learn more about what Jim Wallis (of Sojourners) calls America’s original sin—racism. It is not comfortable to examine that history, but we can’t change what we don’t look at, acknowledge, and repent of. For a start I can recommend Ibrim Kendi’s books (enter that name in Amazon) and Robin DiAngelos’s White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism.
Stay well, all, and get vaccinated!
========== My response =========================
Sorry, but blanket statements like this just don't cut it. I was raised in a small farm community that, at the time, had about 5000 people. We had very few blacks in town, but Charlie was one and probably my best friend. At age 11, he and I studied together to learn Morse code and electronics to get our amateur radio licenses. We both got our licenses and spend many hours together building stuff and then studying for our advanced licenses. At age 12, we took the bus to the FCC offices in Cleveland and sat for the General Class exam and passed. In high school, Charlie played offensive tackle and I was an offensive end. We used Morse code to call on/off cross blocks at the line during games. (We had one guy who played for another school who just killed us during the game. He was a little smaller than my garage. After the game, he introduced himself and told us he, too, was a ham radio operator.)
I know Charlie experienced racism during his time in school, and we talked about it. He pointed out that he never felt that way in school, but did so elsewhere, like when he went to Cleveland or Akron. I think it's worse today than it was when I was growing up, but one asks why. After all, racism is a learned behavior and there are other non-white people in the US that experience significantly less racism. Why is that?
The 800lb gorilla in the room is that racism is a two-way street, but no one every wants to talk about both sides of it, yet we need to. In my mind, the crime statistics we see for different demographic groups all seem to have a common source: the deterioration of the family unit in the US. To me, it is programs like the War on Poverty where benefits are greater if the home is a single-parent unit. I think this makes it financially easier to become divorced or otherwise split the family unit. It's been well-demonstrated that the absence of one parent causes all kinds of problems for the kids. We need programs that encourage both parents to raise their children, not push them away. The WoP is not a solution. It's a hand out rather than a hand up designed to help solve the problem...the current system perpetuates the problem and keep the poor dependent on the gov't. Even accounting for definitional and population changes, poverty is worse now than it was back in 1967. The solution to this and related problems is finding programs that repair the family unit in the US, not tear it apart. It also points out that the ultimate solution starts within the groups affected, not from outside forces. That's been tried and it simply doesn't work.
Saying that racism is a white problem is a deflection of the necessary discussion because it detracts from the fact that all parties involved engaged in racism. Rather than push the entire problem on white shoulders, the discussion needs to incorporate racism on both sides. Once that honesty sees the light of day, then perhaps we can work together to bring meaningful solutions to problem that work to end it, rather than program designed to perpetuate it.
Sorry, Bill, but it's bullshit to shove the entire burden of racism on whites. Doing so simply postpones the honest discussion necessary to find solutions to the problem.
Let’s not discuss this then.
The Ostrich Solution solves nothing.
Let’s split the US into White and non White.
Wok people talk one way, behave another.
I’m tired of discussions.
When people like your friend write things like this, it is as if they are completely unaware of the self-correcting (as VDH would describe it) nature of our society, and the many, many, MANY actions we have taken to try to correct wrongs and injustices.
Annnd how long before the non white side held out it’s hand and said gimme....
3 weeks.
I recommend either the Moon or Mars. You will need a lot of resources in either case. If that’s too much you could try either the South Pole or the North Pole but I can’t guarantee that either of those two locations would solve your problem.
I’d prefer a woke and non-woke split.
I’m sure blacks were tired of seeing crosses burned in their yards even occasionally today. They certainly were tired of having to find a place to eat since they were banned. I’m sure they are tired of not being able to live anywhere they want. Get the point????
The current racism campaign is all about keeping the black community dependent on voting for Democrats.
Didn’t the entire “white supremacists” and “systemic racism” campaign begin when so many blacks noticed how Trump was increasing black employment and income much more than the Democrats ever did? Did you hear either term before blacks started going to Trump rallies?
Going back a few more years, didn’t Obama make virtually everything about race?
We don’t need a dialogue on race so much as we need to silence the Democrat’s exploitation of the black community.
There’s a streaming TV channel on Roku called BUZZR that plays games shows from the 70’s and 80’s. It’s not uncommon to see a black contestant or celebrity from time to time, and this is all done without drawing any attention to it. Everyone just seems normal, or at least as normal as people can be that go on game shows.
Systemic racism and white supremacy are terms used by the propogandists on the Left to divide. Plain and simple. The political agitators use one of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. [paraphase] Rub raw the divisions of the people.
Racism in America is next to nothing. But the lie is repeated so often, it seems like truth.
Lets face it — we all know what “talking about racism” entails. It entails you (white guy) shutting up, and someone else talking. YOU aren’t allowed to talk. THAT is called “talking about racism.”
It is social justice evangelism, spreading their “moral” worldview that they think is necessary to SAVE the world.
Not me.
Get all the Whites on one side, then ship the woke Whites to Liberia.
They can then live their remaining days as cucks.
“they are tired of not being able to live anywhere they want”. They can’t?
Meaningful discussions are rare in the Woke New World.
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