Pobble Thoughts message for today, I wonder if we'll do it questioned if "we" would open up and discuss racism. Admittedly, I've been thinking a lot about the subject these last few weeks. It started when I took out Ken Burn's Civil War series from my library while Slick was away for her conference. I struggle bringing up the subject of prejudice because I'm a straight, white, middle-class male. I regularly question my right to speak on the subject. No, this isn't guilt. I'm just mindful of how it looks and feels for me to speak about someone else's story.
I am grateful that I have had great role models and experiences. I know that my choice in president will not be based on race or gender. I am not naive enough to believe that race and gender are not major issues in this election and for this country.
Let's face it prejudice and bigotry exist in this country no matter how much we might want to ignore it or legislated it away. I know that I have benefited from institutionalized racism & sexism in ways that I can not even begin to imagine.
At my last job, everyone was very politically correct. Diversity was beat down our throats. Just about everyone hated the training and wondered why we should have it. I would always remind them about my Jewish friend in Tenn who told me a story about co-workers telling blatant anti-semitic jokes at the lunch table next to her.
Just in case I want to dismiss my friend's experience as isolated, I remind myself of the last football season. When I read the reports about Eagles fans on the upper deck wanting "that n****r" off the team, I wonder if I ever want to return to the city of brotherly love. Even in the "progressive" birthplace of this great nation a well-educated, charismatic leader like Donovan McNabb is just another n****r. (I will not dignify that word by writing it out in my blog!)
But the drunks in the upper deck of the Link aren't likely voters or policy-makers! I mean, our elected officials know better right? Then I remember my post about Sally Kern from last week.
Then I begin to wonder if part of the problem we face today are the generations ahead of me. Yes, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, but those who lived history often become lost in it. There is wisdom in understanding why the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert. They could not see the Promised Land until they could look forward. Unfortunately, then I remember the racial tension from this summer. What was the name of that small town? The one with the noose? Yeah, the youth of America will save is! *Sigh*
It's easy to spiral down this lost road. It's easy to feel hopeless. Our so-called "fixes" have created a new era of backlash and angry white males. And the cycle continues.
It's easy to wonder who, if anyone, might know the way. When Obama spoke on Tuesday, I begin to hope that perhaps someone has found a map. No, I'm not naive enough to think him some sort of prophet. He's just a person. The point is that he's given us the chance to openly discuss the elephant in the room again. He's encouraged us to end the cycle of blame and continue down the road.
Was he Presidential? Hell yeah! But even if he doesn't become President, I hope that we continue to discuss his speech and use it to keep the discussion alive.
Anyway, there you go Pobble. Just a few of my thoughts. I had a lot more. Most were about rampant sexism in television and the social impact of Joss Whedon...but that's a post for a different day.
3 comments:
I'm sad to admit that I believe this is likely the end of Obama's presidential ambitions. Personally, I was not even remotely offended by Rev. Wright's comments and I found myself inspired by Obama's response thereof, but I also recognized that in both of them there was an honesty that this nation is not yet mature enough to handle.
We are a nation of bigots. It is institutionalized, systemic. Most folks don't even know how they participate in it, nor do they have any clue about the experiences of people different from themselves. That ignorance is disheartening, all the more so because so few care to do anything about it.
I really wanted to be optimistic about this presidential race. I dislike Hillary as a power-hungry opprotunist and McCain is a hypocrit and a warmonger. Now we all discover that Obama is, in fact, a black man, with all that goes with it. While that doesn't bother me, there are a lot of others who will no longer be able to get past it.
there isn't one thing i disagreed with that you wrote... and it was written very well.
Beautifully written. I especially appreciate the looking back/moving forward conundrum. If you were raised in this country, you are bigoted. We can't help it. It is systemic. The best we can do is acknowledge it and work against it. When we try to pretend it isn't there, we end up with the divides Obama finally brought to the forefront. This is part of the reason I get upset for straight white men when they are told they shouldn't or have no right to speak on the issue. It affects ALL of us, even those of us with privilege. Oh dear...this comment could get very long (as if it's not getting there now.) So I'll stop. With the final note that I would love to read the post on sexism and a thank you for the response!
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