Yesterday I was getting my politics fix and getting it from the Ed Show on MSNBC. They were covering the latest debacle from former Govenor Sununu of New Hampshire where he openly insinuated that the only reason that former Secretary of State Colin Powell is supporting President Obama once again is because they are of the same race. Today on Yahoo news the AP (Associated Press) came out with another poll on racism where the majority of Americans still have extremely harsh feelings towards African Americans and Hispanics. As is customary when I read articles like these I also like to read the comments and frankly all I read was deflection, ignorance, blame and simple animosity. For the most part a lot of these commentators did not even know what racism was. For those of you who are unsure here is Webster's online definition, the long form:
Any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races,” that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some “races” are innately superior to others. Racism was at the heart of North American slavery and the overseas colonization and empire-building activities of some western Europeans, especially in the 18th century. The idea of race was invented to magnify the differences between people of European origin in the U.S. and those of African descent whose ancestors had been brought against their will to function as slaves in the American South. By viewing Africans and their descendants as lesser human beings, the proponents of slavery attempted to justify and maintain this system of exploitation while at the same time portraying the U.S. as a bastion and champion of human freedom, with human rights, democratic institutions, unlimited opportunities, and equality.
Unfortunately, this does not solve the problem because the majority of any nation is the one responsible for the racisim of any sort, so to blame a minority of racisim is simply incorrect. the minority of a nation is simply reacting to the racism inflicted upon them. Again this does not solve anything and for us to blame and deflect racism on each other only prolongs the infliction. We simply must as a nation have a honest and frank dialogue on the matter of race. Otherwise my children and grandchildren will still have to deal with this most petty of emotion called racism.
Getting back to the Ed Show and summing up Ed had a guest on the show by the name of Colonel Wilkerson who was the Chief of Staff for Secretary Powell and Colonel Wilkerson with all of the courage he had simply stated that unfortunately most but not all Republicans were racist. He was saddened and dismayed when he made this courageous claim. Once again of course people will deflect and blame but not take responsibility for the affliction of racism. I with Colonel Wilkerson simply want to get this out in the open and talk about racism for clarity and possibly resolution.
Tell me what you think and keep the dialogue going in a meanigful and constructive way until next time Christopher & Scott out!
Any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races,” that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some “races” are innately superior to others. Racism was at the heart of North American slavery and the overseas colonization and empire-building activities of some western Europeans, especially in the 18th century. The idea of race was invented to magnify the differences between people of European origin in the U.S. and those of African descent whose ancestors had been brought against their will to function as slaves in the American South. By viewing Africans and their descendants as lesser human beings, the proponents of slavery attempted to justify and maintain this system of exploitation while at the same time portraying the U.S. as a bastion and champion of human freedom, with human rights, democratic institutions, unlimited opportunities, and equality.
Unfortunately, this does not solve the problem because the majority of any nation is the one responsible for the racisim of any sort, so to blame a minority of racisim is simply incorrect. the minority of a nation is simply reacting to the racism inflicted upon them. Again this does not solve anything and for us to blame and deflect racism on each other only prolongs the infliction. We simply must as a nation have a honest and frank dialogue on the matter of race. Otherwise my children and grandchildren will still have to deal with this most petty of emotion called racism.
Getting back to the Ed Show and summing up Ed had a guest on the show by the name of Colonel Wilkerson who was the Chief of Staff for Secretary Powell and Colonel Wilkerson with all of the courage he had simply stated that unfortunately most but not all Republicans were racist. He was saddened and dismayed when he made this courageous claim. Once again of course people will deflect and blame but not take responsibility for the affliction of racism. I with Colonel Wilkerson simply want to get this out in the open and talk about racism for clarity and possibly resolution.
Tell me what you think and keep the dialogue going in a meanigful and constructive way until next time Christopher & Scott out!
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