http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5372266
My kids all know that I believe racism is NOT a color, but an aberrant thought process. And, although many minorities have lived through difficult times, traumatic experiences are NOT intrinsically a racist phenomenon. Our family has lived through many, many difficult times that I would say rival some of the stories told by those who feel they have been discriminated against. And, yet, no one rushed to our aid because we are “white”.
Or, are we? My mother was 1/8 Menominee and yet, to look at us, you would undoubtedly call me and my brothers white, not native Americans. Obama claims to be black, yet he had a white mother. So, where is the line that determines what COLOR you are? Judging people based on color is impossible because most of us are a delightful mixture of this ethnic group or that. And, this is why racism cannot be considered a function of color alone. While some racism IS dependent upon color, most racist thought is predicated upon a hostile attitude toward someone else and usually with the hope of gaining an advantage for yourself.
I believe that many of the problems attributed to racism in today’s world are a result of the welfare state imposing a burden on one group for the advantage of another. If one ethnic group is seen as taking advantage of another, of course hard feelings will occur. It’s hard to like someone if you believe they are taking your hard-earned money. Legislators have a vested interest in positing one ethnic group against another, though, and that is because class warfare can help their return to Congress. If you ask a hard-working American if he wants to buy his neighbor’s health care, almost everyone will say, “NO! Hell no!” But, because it suits a purpose, people like Obama and Pelosi and Reid continue to promote this idea that whites are to blame for the troubles of every minority. All too soon, this creates a “them” and “us” group who eventually will act on this them/us feeling. Then, you do have a form of racism.
Unfortunately, racism pays big dividends and has become a political football. Illegal aliens are now actually courted with promises of amnesty (despite a huge majority of Americans opposed to this) in order to gain their vote. Democrats support amnesty for Hispanics and, generally, conservatives feel the law against illegal aliens must be upheld. However, Hispanics are seen as a certain vote for Democrats, and thus, amnesty will probably happen — AGAIN!!! My best bet, though, is that amnesty will not promote the general good because it sets one group against another. It will create yet another, separate ethnic class and cause more problems for these people.
Racism has become a club to use whenever you feel you deserve something from someone else. And, some in the black community, like Rev Jesse Jackson, have perfected the process. He interjects racism into any cause that involves a black person. He has used racism and racially charged words to attack other blacks, too, but it is almost always in the cause of promoting the concept that blacks deserve more from everyone else. It would be refreshing if he ever launched one of his broadsides against a black person who hurt a white person, or even an Asian or Hmong. But, he reserves his venom for helping blacks only.
I am not saying there is no discrimination.
I AM saying that not everything that happens is racist nor are all racist events the result of white against black people.
It’s time for Congress and Obama to stop playing the race card because it suits their purposes. It is hurting America and Americans. We need to be a united people who HAPPEN to be black, white, Asian, or whatever, in ethnicity. But, we are ALL Americans.
