January 12, 2010
Racism isn’t the problem; the double standard is
As the media, pundits, and the rest of America (and, by the rest of America I mean those who even know what is going on and actually care, which probably isn’t too many people) debate whether or not Harry Reid’s statements were racist, I think we’ve all missed the point.
Whether or not Harry Reid’s statements have exposed some deep hidden racism he has inside or whether it is more of a reflection of his age and what was acceptable, culturally, as he grew up, is up for discussion. I don’t know if Harry Reid is a racist. I had this discussion with my friend last night, who just happens to be black (or whatever the preferred politically correct term is these days). The whole light-skinned thing is a problem in the black community, as well as the larger American community.
As a whole, my friend argued, people prefer and feel more comfortable around lighter skin…or so the story goes. So, perhaps Reid wasn’t being racist but just highlighting the reality of the situation. Would Barack Obama had made it as far as he did had he been darker? I tend to think so, but there are plenty of people who could argue this, either way. I’m not here to debate that.
The use of the term “negro” was what I found to be more offensive than the whole light-skinned comment, but, again, this may just be a reflection of his age more than racist intent. Who can keep up with the politically correct terms of the day? Using the term “colored” would probably get a person into some trouble, too, yet the ‘c’ in the NAACP stands for colored and that’s not racist. But, perhaps that’s a case of members of the in-group being able to use words forbidden to members of the out-group…kind of like the N-word? Once again, I don’t know and I don’t care. All three of those words are terms I would never use.
What bothers me about the whole thing is that he gets a pass when we all know that if it were a conservative or a Republican who uttered those same statements he would have been disgraced, forced to step down, and everyone around him labeled a racist through guilt-by-association. And, that is wherein lies the problem with what is going on.
If it came out that John McCain or, better yet, Sarah Palin had made those comments I can only imagine what the public reaction would have been. I can guarantee you that Barack Obama wouldn’t be forgiving either of them so quickly. What if the Cambridge police would have had those statements tied to them? I don’t think their apology for acting that stupidly would have been so easily and readily accepted.
One thing is for sure, I am no racist. People can say what they want about me. You don’t know me or my circumstances. And you know what they say happens when you assume. The color of your skin means absolutely nothing to me. It’s just another physical characteristic, like the color of your eyes or hair. Makes no difference in my judgment of you as a person.
I’m fine with believing that Harry Reid wasn’t trying to be racist when he made those comments or that him making those comments reveals some deeply hidden racism that he’s been trying to hide. And, I’m a little shocked some on the right are so quick to jump on him.
Yes, the double-standard bothers me, too. I know that if these words had come out of any Republican or conservatives mouth that person would be crucified. That is wrong, but two wrongs don’t make a right. It is not right when Republicans and/or conservatives are crucified for innocent comments that are misinterpreted and spun to paint them in a racist light, and it is not right for those same people to do that to the other side.
We all need to grow up and start discussing the real issues, instead of being distracted by this name-calling garbage. We can discuss affirmative action and welfare policies, the health care bill might be a place to start, but let’s take the racism accusations out of the equation. Let’s not be so quick to jump on someone just because we know they would do the same to us if given the opportunity. We used to be a society that tried to raise people up to our level; it seems now all we do is lower ourselves down to theirs.
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post.