This morning, for the umpteenth time, I heard an apologist for racism (in this case, a man in a dog collar -- whose name and particulars I did not catch-- defending those leaders and speakers at Obama's church of choice for the past two decades) saying, "You just have to understand the history...."
I'm sorry, no.
I fully understand the history of segregation in this country. I also fully understand that this was the first country to go to war to free blacks from slavery, while many (if not most) other countries -- including and especially other African peoples -- were happily profiting from forcing free people into slavery. Thousands upon thousands of Americans died for the cause of freeing the black man (see verse 5). There has been balance, of a sort.
It's time for some folks to admit this.
Further, this man of cloth went on to say of the behavior of these other so-called men of the cloth, "I can understand why some white people might be afraid of them...."
Again, no. It makes us not afraid, but angry. We are not frightened of a man of little character. We are not frightened of insults. We are rightly insulted.
And more, this poor soul who fancies himself a shepherd of souls stated that, if you were to ask the members of that church if they believed the statements of its leaders to have been racist (or, rather, "reverse-racist", whatever that's supposed to mean), "they would say 'no'".
Well, sir, if you ask a Nazi if he thinks he's a racist or a bigot, he's gonna say "no," too. Racism is as racism does. When an individual or a group chooses to insult or attack another individual or group based upon skin color -- or religion, or sex, or any other blanket grouping -- it is bigotry, plain and simple.
This is not to say that I think some prejudice is not justified, but the kind occurring all too frequently at the Trinity United Church of Christ is "understandable," only in the context of self-aggrandizement on the part of its leaders.
Don't apologize for them. Don't cover for them. It only leaves your own hindquarters exposed to justifiable ridicule.
2 comments:
Actually, yes, I am frightened. I am afraid that all my pollyanna ideals held when I was young have turned out to be wrong. I am afraid that many of the values I respect, including hard work and individual responsibility, will be rewarded less and less in the future. And I am afraid that unless we stand up to the economic idiocies of both Obama AND McLean, my children and grandchildren will have a much less pleasant life than I have had and than they have been expecting.
Good point. I had been hearing the "you're just scared that the [choose your inappropriate racist term] will rise up" defense, which doesn't scare me at all. That, to me, was indicative of the most shallow thinking and a projection of it onto me and mine. For that, I slap the preacher.
Like you, though, I am a little worried, not by the potential for a "native uprising", but by the potential for a jackass, his acolytes, and his unwitting associates to destroy the liberties and opportunities this great free nation has, at least for as long as I have lived, offered to any and all.
As for the voracious insects running for office... I was always taught to choose the lesser of two weevils.
Post a Comment