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Some confessions first. I am white. My father was a racist. My mother was not, and luckily she was my major developmental influence until she died of cancer when I was 11.
I went to a pre-dominantly black elementary school, but I never noticed until I proudly showed an aunt on my father’s side a class picture and her first response was “look at all those black babies!”. Looking back, that is proof to me that racism is a learned trait.
I will say that having grown up in the 60’s and 70’s in the South that I have seen great progress in race relations. I can say first-hand that diversity programs work, as people I have seen that obviously came from racist backgrounds but who worked side-by-side with people of other races slowly came to respect them, and to understand that their concerns and priorities were the same: the same concerns over teenaged children, the same issues with In-Laws, etc., etc. I watched many people who felt that “those others” were so different really weren’t that different, after all!
But despite all the progress we have made, I still see examples of “under-lying” racism. It’s thte old excuse of “I ain’t got nothing’ agin those people, I just wouldn’ want one to marry my sister!”
Every day, I see people who don’t consider themselves “racist” and who will argue vehemently that they are NOT racist display racist attitudes. If I can see this and recognize it as a White Man, I can only imagine what AA’s, Latinos, etc must see.
With regards to the Presidential Election, I talk to people every day who won’t support Obama “just because”, without giving any real reason.
Based on previous elections, most of this is NOT based on racism but on political bias. I don’t have to remind anyone here how Liberals have been painted as “evil” and should be rounded up and executed as traitors, if RW Talk Radio had their way. A lot of people refuse to listen to Obama’s message because he’s “Muslim” or because he’s…. well, you know.
Back to my own experiences, I remember that my father did develop a great deal of love and respect for some of those “people” once he got to know them. They were one of the “good ones”.
I also remember that the neighbor’s house to my father’s house went HUD, and an unwed Black mother bought it. OH! You should have heard my father “go off!” about that! Still, he felt it was his “Christian Duty” to reach out to her (sometimes Fundies aren’t so bad). I remember when she was trying to mow her yard with an old, beat-up lawn mower that kept quitting on her. Well, my father was very proud of his lawn-mower maintenance skills and just HAD to help her out! They were just what each other needed - she needed help as a working mother, and he needed to help someone to break out of his retirement boredom. In the end, this woman that my father first saw as a “n****r welfare wh*re” became just like a daughter to him.
I am very proud about Obama that he has not made this race about Race (hey, I’m pretty proud of that pun!!). Some RW sites have even tried to claim that Obama has played the Race card, but they sink rapidly because Obama has been very careful.
Still, I hear comments all the time when I try to talk about the Issues and I get shut down because of some kind of prejudice. I’m not sure if it’s Republican prejudice, or racial prejudice. They look very much alike, frankly.
OK that’s a whole lot of lead up to a proposal that will probably get shot down immediately, but here goes: When dealing with known Racists, would it give us at least an opening to discuss Obama’s plans if we presented him as “one of the good ones”?
I know that will offend many here, with good reason. It offends me to feel that I have to offer it as an option. But we are dealing with irrational thinking that has been passed down from generation to generation, and we have to find a way to “break through”.
I’m hoping that this may be a “small” breakthrough that we can build upon, later.
However, I can also see where it could be so offensive that some may think it doesn’t even deserve any consideration.
Which is why I bring it to you, DU, the best open discussion forum I can think of. True Democracy in action.
So, am I a genius or an asshole? I await your input!
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