What makes us hate?
There are obvious differences between the races. We each have an outer skin that is apparent to the world. Often times, a young child will see someone for the first time, who is not like his parents and be afraid. Most of us have grown up around, and are influenced by, a very diverse cultural mix. Maybe we have been taught in our home that certain kinds of people are inferior to us. As adults, we supposedly mature into free-thinking adults. There are children who are raised in unbiased families yet, when they grow up and enter the business world, they form different opinions about the races, based on how it affects their lives. For example, a more qualified white man may not get the job because a minority must be chosen to meet a quota, as per the Kennedy-Hawkins Act of 1990.
Let's say that you are now raising a family with your partner, you both work and you have a couple of kids. While waiting in line at the grocery store, there is a lady with a few kids ahead of you. They are all wearing expensive name brand clothes and shoes. The lady has her nails done and is wearing good jewelry. She is talking on a cell phone. Then you see her paying with a food stamp card. This would make me mad no matter what color they were. In fact, anyone would assume that they are stealing from the system, and if they were different than you, it might cause you to make a judgment about that race.
We read Government statistics about the percentage of minorities receiving Public Assistance, food stamps, Section 8 Housing...compared to the number of whites getting these benefits, and white America wonders if this is why our taxes are going up yet again. We want to know why we have to pay for all this when the black man legally has all the rights opportunities we do, when it comes to employment or education. We have a black family living next door where the husband holds a job and pays taxes, so we can't understand what's wrong with "the rest of them." Does this make us a racist?
Certain religions may teach that the Jews killed Jesus, so you naturally assume that all Jews are bad. Others have been raised to believe that their skin color is superior to all others. For the most part, we are influenced by what happens around us. Watch any television news show and you will probably see one group or another demanding justice for what they perceive has wronged them. If you are white and see the New Black Panther's claiming police brutality, and you have seen the footage of this incident, you may think, "How can they say that when half the police were black?"
The next day, you hear a story from Jena, Louisiana. A huge march is planned in defense of a young black man charged with a crime. It's not until months later that you find out the real truth leading up to the events in Jena: The young man in question, Mychal Bell, had been involved with six other youths, in the very violent and unprovoked attack and beating of a white teen-ager, 3 months prior to the "noose incident" at the high school. The students involved with that had done it as a prank, and were severely punished for their actions. These two occurrences were totally unrelated.
So, now you have Al Sharpton and other black leaders stirring everything up and calling for rallies. A white, brown or yellow American would wonder why there was no huge white march demanding justice for the boy who was beaten, and that is reasonable to ask. It seems as if no matter what happens, a black man will always use the "race card" as an excuse. If whites gather, they are called racist. That's just the way this country is. It's from incidents like this that hatred stirs it's ugly head.
Racism and the media
Americans get their local and National news from print, radio, television, Internet, etc. It is my habit to watch TV each evening at 5pm, as many of you have your own. As impartial as our media tries to be, I'm sure each station has their own political preference yet, some things cannot be altered to persuade the public to feel one way or another. The most recent headline that comes to mind is the trial of an accused cop killer. When video images are shown, the man is black.
The news goes on to another violent crime and again, the people involved are black. The next story pictures the accused as Hispanics, (illegal immigrants,) and then onto crimes involving yet more black Americans.
There are the occasional white men or women and, very rarely, are there any Asians, (causing Americans to "stereotype" in a positive direction.) Whether we consciously see a pattern or not, somewhere in the back of our mind, we cannot help but realize what we see right in front of our eyes! There is a story about prison overcrowding that tells us the vast majority of inmates are minorities, i.e. black or brown. How can we not keep from forming an opinion of a certain race based on these facts?
Our local news then goes on to a study about the local independent school district. It states that minority populated schools have the lowest test scores and graduation rates. Again, how can we not keep from forming an opinion of a certain race based on these facts? Should we just not talk about it any more? Ignorance won't help or change anything!
Can we overcome?
Why do certain minorities feel persecuted while others do not? Some of you reading this may be old enough to, or know someone who, can remember World War II. The Japanese were locked away in interment camps because they were believed to be a threat to America. That was only about 60+ years ago, but do you know of any Japanese-American protest marches? The Chinese were used in the late 1800's to build the railroad and as a source of cheap labor, (Coolies,) after slavery was abolished. Most were treated worse than slaves.
Yet today, the Asian-American community is admired because of their intelligence, work ethics and peaceful co-existence. This wasn't always the case, as the Chinese were looked upon as low-class and worse. There was even legislation in Congress* and State government to deny them certain rights and limit their immigration into America.
*The Chinese Bill
The Jewish people didn't come to the United States in large numbers until things began "heating up" in Europe. With the rise of Hitler, the need to escape brought them in search of freedom from persecution. There were strong feelings in America that, "Jews were different and should be restricted."* No immigration acts or reform was passed until 1948, due to bureaucratic obstacles which were deliberately created. It is estimate that as many as 200,000 lives could have been saved.**
*1939 Roper pole.
**Information obtained from various sources.
How is it then, that the Asian community has assimilated so well into American Society? In fact, they are often held up as an example of what a formerly "persecuted minority" is capable of in this Land of Opportunity. Asians also represent a very small percentage of the prison population in this country while they are the largest minority when it comes to high school graduation and college attendance.*
*Information obtained from various sources.
Reverse discrimination
I've lived for many years, having met all manner of people, and black and brown Americans can be just as racist as whites. Since we are all supposed to be equal under the law, we wonder why certain ethnic groups are afforded special treatment. The best example I can think of in recent times, is the case of those firefighters in Connecticut who were taking tests to gain a promotion. The result was that only whites scored high enough to pass. (...and yet again, Americans will form an opinion.....this time, about the intelligence of minorities.) Because of this testing, no one was granted a promotion. This decision was appealed and went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled against them.
There are many other incidents like this that makes white America feel that they are being treated as the "less significant race." We wonder why organizations like the NAACP is so freely accepted and promoted, yet America has no group to promote the Caucasian race or it's history. We wonder why there is a Miss "Black" America, (which excludes whites entrants,) when women of all races, (blacks are not excluded,) are welcome to enter the Miss America contest and have won. We wonder why there is a Black Firemen's Union or a Black Policemen's Association; Doesn't this just further divide the races? White America thinks these things but there is no widespread publicity about it because we would be labeled as racist! I'm just as proud of who I am as you are of being who you are.
At the rate of our current population growth, there will come a time in the not-too-distant future, when "people of color" will be more predominant in America, than the so-called "pure white" race. This will make the Caucasian man a minority. Will he be able to claim racial persecution and prejudice if he feels slighted and will Affirmative Action mean that there must be a quota of white men hired? Will this mean that a less qualified white student is accepted into college before a more qualified black one? Will this mean that there will be a Miss White America contest?
"Stop all your pissing and moaning.....!"
We all know about Affirmative Action and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. If a black or brown American is not hired for a particular position, he may scream prejudice. Could it be that their skill and/or education is not up to the employer's standards? In an ideal America, the best person for the job would be selected, no matter what color they were. The same conditions should apply when an employee needs to be let go for valid reasons and, the most qualified high school graduate would be selected for a scholarship to go on to college, without regard for their color.
My father had a cousin who married a black man. This was in a time in our history that inter-racial marriage was definitely not accepted. Uncle Jake and Aunt Marge had 4 children. They educated themselves when no preference was given to a student because of his color. Uncle Jake always maintained a good job, well before there was Affirmative Action. They managed to buy a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood without help from an "special interest" groups. All of my cousins grew up to be professionals like doctors, teachers, etc. and achieved "The American Dream." When Uncle Jake died, there must have been over a hundred people from all walks of life, to say good-bye.
We lost contact, and it wasn't until decades later that we began communicating again, via the Internet. At first, it was just catching up on each other's lives and reminiscing about old times; But then I began to receive daily e-mails describing "racial incidents" and links to stories of how the black man was "mistreated" in some way or another. It really began to bother me. Why were they passing around these stories? I could understand it if these were significant issues, but that was not the case. I didn't care what Al Sharpton had to say because I feel that men like him too often stir things up and perpetuate (the very) racism they claim to want to stop. Wouldn't it be more beneficial if my long-lost cousins, at least some of the time, sent out uplifting stories? Isn't it more important to give hope and inspiration than to incite people to hate? Why not talk about how a poor black family from rural Georgia, struggled and managed to give their son a good education, and how he went on to become a Supreme Court Justice.
Write about the proud black girl from a single-parent home, who held a job after school, graduated with honors, went on to college and became a surgeon. Let young black America know what they can accomplish if they really want to and that they are not doomed by the poverty of their parents or the color of their skin! If children are raised with the mindset that they will never amount to anything, for whatever reason, then they probably won't. No American is entitled to favoritism for any reason. No healthy American is entitled to anything other than what the Constitution grants them.
If more time were spent developing strong family bonds, instilling good work ethics and the importance of education, our next generation would see far less racism. I believe that most people don't simply hate because of one's skin color, but rather for one's words, deeds and actions. I also dislike the term "African-American." People with dark skin from Jamaica, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, etc. are also American Citizens and I feel that they should be called "Black Americans!" Uncle Jake was a fine Black American!
If you are black or brown or red, you can't demand to be respected in this country, simply because you are black or brown or red! The same, of course, is true if you are white. You also have no right to be "proud," just because you are white or black or brown: You were born that way! Do something to better yourself.....your family, your community, your race.....that you deserve to be proud of!
"...judge me by the content of my character..." Dr. Martin Luther King
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