A kind word turneth away wrath and saying just the right thing can create confidence. President Elect Barak Obama said all the right things and looked as presidential as anyone ever has in his first press conference this afternoon. Chris Matthews even had to admit that there was no sign of a "redistributive" mood in his tax plan although in fact there never was, and who could resist a smile when Obama compared himself to a mutt from the animal shelter?
This is a man confident in himself and who appears to be confident in his ability and confident in our country. It's in sharp contrast to the anonymous e-mail I got last night showing the Obama campaign logo as African tribesmen danced almost naked around a fire. So while I've come to feel that for once I voted for someone I believe in rather than the lesser of two evils; while I am at this moment as proud of the USA as I have been and more proud than I have been in many years, I'm beginning to daydream about blowing the heads off racists.
A christian friend of mine once said that such people were ignorant and should be pitied. I know he's right, but it doesn't help. It only encourages them. So whoever you are "floridajoker," be aware that pity only makes my aim better.
The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois ( Gustave Flaubert).
ReplyDeleteOcto, what's that they say? Those communists are going to take away my bourgeois stupidity? "From my cold, dead hands!" Wilde, by the way, also had a good zinger on the topic: "Democracy is the bludgeoning of the people, for the people, by the people."
ReplyDeleteFogg, haven't yet caught the press conference--it sounds like Obama did an impressive job. An irony of the racist email you mention is that one of the most moving things about the aftermath of the election has been the images of genuine relief and delight on the faces of people all around the globe: an electrifying realization that somebody rather like many of them--dark skin, non-Anglo name, international background--actually made it to the top of the USA power structure.
In a way I enjoy their hurt and pain - of course I'd like to inflict more on them. Much more.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that we have only just begun to encounter the racism in our midst - and not just the blatant racism of the email you received, Fogg. But a worse kind of racism, I think. Latent racism. The kind that masquerades as "non-racism." Latent racism is much harder to "fight." So much harder.
ReplyDeleteI have to relate my experience living in the Heart of Dixie. The best thing to do with racism in it's minor forms (jokes, cartoons, etc) it to ignore it. The more attention it gets, the more relevant the conversation.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most ridiculous things I have seen lately here in Alabama is an enormous confederate battle flag placed beside the interstate. If you are familiar with the term, it is the size of a garrison flag that flies atop military bases.
It was placed there by the "Sons of Confederate Veterans" which is an orgnaization like "Daughters of the American Revolution" or whatnot. In and of itself it is a historical group and you must prove a lineage to be accepted. So some individuals belonging to the group placed this flag about 100 feet off the interstate.
I think the cries against the battle flag are a little silly, but at the same time this flag was placed there just to make a point. It has just been ignored around here not from apathy but from the notion that the less atention to it the better. NOw I don't even notice it when I drive by.
I will tell you that I was impressed with Obama at the press conference. I don't think he said much, but the "net tax cut" thing is obviously framing a tax increase for a substantial number of people. However, his appearance with the people who are his advisors, plus the impression that he is on top of the economic situation and already working on plans was a positive.
The economy is psychological as much as it is financial. People who are confident and feel secure will spend money, those who fear will not. I think he made the statement that we can be secure because he is acting aggressively.
(sigh) If only I could agree with his economic plans.....
Robert, as one who also lives in the South, I agree with your assessment - ignoring the minor racist nonsense is a way to diminish it. Ignorance and hate will always be with us. It is a world wide problem.
ReplyDeleteIn Eastern Europe it is Gypsies, in the Middle East it is Jews, in Japan it is the Chinese and the list goes on.
Long ago I realized that the biggest stumbling block in this country was the word RACE. Race is a four letter word and should not be used among intelligent, honorable people. Race conjures an image of people who come from "someplace else" as if we come from different planets. We are all members of one race - the human race (I actually was threatened with possible prosecution by a census worker for answering this way). We all come from richly varying ethnic backgrounds but there is a common thread through us all as citizens of the world.
A very enlightening project sponsored by Nat'l Geo. can be found here that further bolsters my belief:
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/?fs=www5.nationalgeographic.com
It is an astounding bit of research and I am so excited to be living in a time of such monumental discoveries!
A final ancedote about racism; when my children were very small (and one or two not yet here) I decided that, in my home, there would be no ethnic slurs, of any kind. My children were raised never hearing those hateful terms. Visitors were also expected to honor my wishes. My two youngest had two brothers as their best friends. They lived on the same street and all were around the same age. The two brothers also happened to be black. Around the second grade my youngest came home and said some kid told him his friend was a n-----. I was able to explain to him that it was a nasty word which was why we did not use it at home. I also explained the his friend would be very hurt if he ever called him that. I then told him only stupid people use that word. I would later find out that when the other kid said that word again, my son told him he was stupid.
My sons are grown men and to this day, they do not use those kind of terms.
Even though all this happened before I had heard the Ghandi quote I'm so fond of, it has struck me that what I had done was "be the change."
So what difference did it make? Maybe not much on a global scale, but I know four men who take the measure of a person by their character, not by their color and, for now, that is good enough for me.
Rocky, I raised my 8pus offspring the same way. No ethnic or racial slurs of any kind were allowed on my reef, and I am pleased to report the same results as yours. You say: "what difference did it make? Maybe not much on a global scale ..."
ReplyDeleteOn this point I disagree. It makes a great deal of difference within this context: "Think global, act local." Rocky, in our own small way, we have contributed to a better world.
These days, I am less tolerant when I witness racism. Sometimes it happens faster than I can respond, like a comment in a restaurant from a passing sheet-head who slips quickly out the door ... escaping coward! ... before I can say something.
I confront sheet-heads. When I witness racism, I feel more than just offended but personally assaulted, and I let them know in the strongest of terms. I have the luxury of being a highly eccentric cephalopod with an aggressive streak.
I'm so glad to hear that you were also a part of that kind of parenting - gives me hope that it has happened in more households than I thought.
ReplyDeletePerhaps like the stone thrown in the water, we caused a ripple that will eventually turn into a wave!
The other reason why I choose to confront bigotry is that saying nothing or ignoring the problem sends the wrong message.
ReplyDeleteAllow me this analogy: Suppose you have an alcoholic or substance abuser in your house. To say nothing is to enable the addiction. Silence is almost a tacit form of approval. That is why I choose to be confrontational.
At least those who do this will know not to do it around me; perhaps next time they might think twice and not express bigotry it all.
Ah, racism. Such a fitting topic in the US. I've been all over that land and have found it in abundance everywhere. Some places more subtle than others, I grant you that, but evident in every corner. It's a hideous, evil quality but one that the US can't seem to or doesn't want to rid itself of.
ReplyDeleteMcCain's speech of defeat was about as racist as I've ever heard. He was so PROUD of his country, that a black man could become president....and said so over and over again. God, what a bigoted thing to say.
Anyway, good luck with this problem. I hope that Obama can somehow help. I frankly fear for his life as I have said before.
Multi-cultural life without racism is possible. I'm living it now. And it is sweet.