August 29, 2010
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Are You Afraid to Be Called a Racist?
I was looking at an article about a rally that was being held in Washington today. The leader of the rally was Glenn Beck. He called President Obama a racist.
He was holding a rally at the same time and in the same place as the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech.”
What was interesting to me was that yahoo.com linked an article from their front page that said in the first paragraph, “Conservative commentator Glenn Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed Saturday to a vast, predominantly white crowd on the National Mall to help restore traditional American values and honor Martin Luther King’s message.” Here is the link: Link
Notice the article pointed out specifically that the crowd was “predominantly white.”
Now take a look at this photo of Al Sharpton’s rally:
Notice all the black people.
Here is a video of Al Sharpton’s rally: Link
Notice in the video you can see a token white guy plus a reporter who is white but almost everyone is black.
Why can we mention that a group is all white but we can’t mention that another group is all black?
Comments (108)
Because Glenn Beck is awful.
Because everyone seems to think the only way it isn’t racist is if they’re chattering about the crackers. Obviously. Bah.
because that’s what you get when you enslave people for hundreds of years. so unfair.
Hey I see Tom Joyner! He almost looks white!
shouldn’t be afraid of what you are
It is just a fact. I don’t know why people are worried over that.
Your title is misleading… And I’m not afraid of being called a racist because I’m not one… and I don’t like people who are.
It’s pathetic, really, how certain people get special treatment. I don’t favor any race, but I don’t think it fair that if there was any sort of white rally for remembrance of whatnot, we’d all be racists. It’s not fair.
Because nobody cared about Sharpton’s march – hence the fact that it was not mentioned? Duh.
So accuracy in reporting is now racist?
because in the first example the information about the predominatingly white crowd added unpredicatble information to the report.
mmm, who’s “we”?
You see mostly white people in gay pride parades too, but that doesn’t make it racist. It might be racist if it’s led by a piece of shit like Glenn Beck. Mostly since his followers usually consist of uneducated cousin-bangers. (note: I’m not saying all white people, or southern people screw their cousins, but most of his followers ARE red necks.)
Yuck.
If only I had a profile picture of me in my “I <3 Niggers” t-shirt. Damn the luck.
Because…whos race bites back when you make any sort of racist remake, and which race holds back all comments and feels like the systems bitch?
I love any sort of racism debate, because no matter what happens from this point on in the US…racism is gonna stick. Never cared for Al Sharpton’s ways, he may be promoting for a non-racist US, but with every victory comes to him, is how much more power black people, another line in history to be brought up when a black man or women preaches, another story to tell that eventually everybody gets annoyed as hell with.
MLK jr made progress and ever since, we’ve been in a standstill, stalemate even, just unmoving.
@Heather_Also - Agreed
Al Sharpton is out of his mind crazy. He looks for racist things just so he can point them out, and will twist it so that even if it’s not even remotely racist, it’s OBVIOUSLY racist because he said so.
@deflat - yeah, because I chose to be white before I was born and I obviously enslaved people back before then too. That’s totally cool and all.
Because nobody cared about Sharpton’s march.
@TheBigShowAtUD - Well spotted… >.<
I’m kinda tired of race debates… nobody ever seems to get anywhere… It shouldn’t be, oh, everyone’s the same… that’s bs. People are different, we should be embracing those differences… if everyone was the same as me, life would be HELLA boring!
I just had a thought.Is there really any difference between racism and competition. Think about it! Competion, when used in love is healthy,but the way it is today,I would hardly call it healthy. Today it causes division and yes racism because eveyone thinks they are better than the next person,instead of compassion for one another there’s bitterness if you disagree with someone else.
I would ask this though,when someone points something out that someone is doing wrong,why is it called racism or judging? Wrong is wrong and right is right and should be called that
u cant mention a group is all black because some black people still hold onto slavery…but i just dont give a fuck
I couldn’t care less if people think I’m racist. My wife and daughter know the real me, so I don’t concern myself with anyone else’s thoughts. And I’m a firm believer than Glen Beck and Anne Coulter should team up and make a run at the White House. Not that I agree with anything they say, but at least they’d keep it entertaining.
@deflat - how many white people do you know who own slaves? Exactly
glen beck is retarded, never take him seriously. if there is one person in the country who deserves to have his freedom of speech taken away, it’s that hate mongering retard.
In the last few years I’ve been called a racist by so many people who know nothing about me, that I’ve come to expect it. It sometimes gets ugly, they usually DO NOT like my response.
I think they mentioned the crowd being predominantly white because of Glen Beck’s politics, to demonstrate to the reader what it looked like out there. And everyone already expected Sharpton’s crowd to be mostly black so it would’ve read as redundant.
On your subject though: people who are afraid to be called racist usually come off as racist moreso than if they just said what’s on their minds. I’m not sure if it’s because they think maybe they really are racist and don’t want anyone to know, or if they just sound suspicious in floundering for PC alternatives that they probably wouldn’t have used if they weren’t now talking to me, a Black woman. My stance has always been, just say what you mean and how you feel.
I don’t know what you mean… why can’t we mention a group of mostly black people? What’s wrong with that?
I find it funny that Glenn Beck calls someone else a racist.
Beck & Palin are moronic tools.
because equality will never happen as long as people are still focused on skin color!
Glenn Beck is a corporate shill, who was put out by a fraudulent news channel to fraudulently represent a small group of people, in order to perpetuate fraudulent stereotypes and fraudulent information about them and their beliefs, besides further segmenting them from “the rest of the population”. It seems to follow that most people think he’s crazy, and therefore all people who agree with any small part of what he is saying must also, accordingly, be crazy.
He is a beacon of disinformation. There should be a red siren light flashing above his head and an alarm bell that says “Warning: Disinformation in T minus 10 seconds…Warning: Disinformation in T minus 7 seconds…” and so on, every time he appears on TV, just for comic relief. In fact, that goes for probably everyone who appears on TV everywhere, anyway, these days..but especially someone who props up such a false image so badly as he does.
As for the crowd he draws to him, why does it matter what color they happen to be? Same goes for the other guy. It’s creating false divisions like these that propagates a blindly divided world – in fact, there probably isn’t much significant difference between the crowds listening to either, at all. (A crowd’s a crowd, whichever way you parse it.)
Glenn Beck often proclaims that his movement represents all people of America, and tries to have minority guests on his show to drive home that point. Thus, it is of interest to the public to learn how diverse his “movement” really is.
Don’t be a racist. Hate everyone equally.
They are all a bunch if media starved idiots.
@PervyPenguin - most liberals are cocksuckers
Double standards
well, we’re seeing a movement of an entire population due to ascent of another, so it’s destabilizing their world, and they’re all connected, but the two grous themselves aren’t connected to create a ‘fair’ net. You’re going to see a sharp fall in white status. Politicians hate the poor. He isn’t racist. He hates poor people. Meanwhile, familiar rises with familiar and likewise falls.
I’m not racist, I hate everyone equally!
Glenn Beck is known for his hate-mongering, fear-mongering, and yes, racist rhetoric. This demonstration was nothing but a wolf trying to present itself in sheep’s clothing and that’s why one crowd is considered racist while the other is not.
That’s the truth.
I’m sick to death of being penalized because I’m white.
Forgive me, o culture naturally nobler than me because some of you have a certain skin color, for crimes I did not commit in a land which I had never seen.
I have nothing wrong with black or white. But many people are so touchy about racism that we go overboard and gang up on people who happen to look just like me. Um, forgive me, but that’s racism.
Glen Beck and Sarah Palin would make a perfect couple. Even more perfect if they weren’t american!
Dayam..you ARE racist ..
@AceValentineRocks - how exactly is Glenn Beck retarded? Do you even watch his show or are you brainwashed into believing he’s a racist?
@jenigrins - I find it funny that you call Glenn Beck a racist.
Well in this case the media is trying to write something a certain way so as to cast a light on them as being “racist” themselves. The media of course is extremely biased and will do as much as possible, even lie, to get the majority of people to think a certain way, even if that way isn’t the truth. It doesn’t matter anymore what the truth is, but what the masses will believe and what they want to hear.
If you are against anything someone will throw in the race card. We are an extended family of many races. I’m not racist BUT I am becoming more so when the race card is played so often against anyone who has an opinion and happens to be “white”. Don’t know that I qualify for that if you want to get technical. I’m enough American Indian to “count”. Also if you are Christian you really get hit from all sides and heaven forbid you believe the BIBLE is truth! This business of “can’t we all just get along” isn’t going to cut it either. If people don’t get over that and being afraid of offending someone there will no longer be a free America where people can speak their minds.
Black people are not the only ones who have ancestors that had shitty pasts. I’m Irish. Irish = white. Irish = shitty past. Therefore, I don’t care if you think I’m racist by pointing out all black groups, or being confused over the phrase “African-American.” Why am I white? Why not Irish-Italian-American?
I dont know who either of the guys who held rallies are. But I like the question at the end.
PLUS. To expand on my last comment: Right now I’m studying in Switzerland, and now that I’m out of America, I’m American. Period. I just thought I should specify that I don’t ACTUALLY want you to call me Irish-Italian-American, I just think that PC phrase doesn’t make much sense.. unless you have dual citizenship in Africa and America.
Racist has become the most meaningless insult of them all. The word is used without any thought at all
The accusation of racism means almost nothing today. Usually someone is labeled a racist if they 1) Disagree with a liberal, or 2) listened to Glenn Beck on the radio. With these as the standards, I’m not sure anyone would recognize real racism if it came up.
Go Beck! The 8/28 project is about bringing religious leaders together to pray fro America to come back to God. It was said there was 500,000 people there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-28_Restoring_Honor_Rally
Nawww, I’m an Indian, which makes me a minority. Therefore, people don’t play the racism card as much.
glen beck is a terrible person in general… recently he called out jennifer anniston’s movie “the switch” and said single women having babies is disructive to this country. it dosent change anything.
Just what are a bunch of white conservatives “reclaiming” the civil rights movement from?
If not for white conservatives, there never would have had to be a civil rights movement in the first place.
because white people have power. no one stereotypes a white person.
@seeker_nyc - which is worse: (slavery, systematic segregation, and continued poverty) OR (being wrongly accused of racism every so often)?
gosh, us white folk have had it so rough.
I have a really unpleasant black coworker who nobody can get along with, and I’m the first person to stand up to her. She thinks I hate her because she’s black, and says I’m racist. I don’t hate her because she’s black, I hate her because she’s mean to me and picks on me. There are white and Hispanic coworkers I hate because they’re mean and pick on me. The Hispanic coworkers don’t play “the race card” when I say I hate them.
On the other hand, there are black, white and Hispanic coworkers I like, so it equals out.
because america is fucking backwards.
Double standards provide loads of entertainment for those of us who just dont care what other people think. haha.
@davidian - you just stereotyped. lol. just wanted to point that out, i understand your point though.
Because it’s not PC to point things like that out, Dan
Stupid double standard.
I get called a racist just because I am white. As if my skin color affects how my brain works
People are so ignorant sometimes it isn’t even funny.
Because people like to make it about race. Pointing out that it’s “predominantly white”makes us think about the reason why it’s predominantly white. In this instance it shouldn’t have anything to do with anything. Just like Sharpton’s rally didn’t need an disclaimer about being predominantly black. It’s the issues they are rallying behind that matter, not the race of those in attendance. That remains whether you agree or disagree with the issues at hand.
Since when do people not mention that a crowd is mostly black? Wasn’t that the main focus when Obama was elected and the news was delivered?
It all depends on the situation. Beck’s crowd was mentioned because he was claiming they were taking back the civil rights movement…you know the movement that was made up mostly of minorities of the time? He was claiming to take back the movement knowing that he’s not a part of a group that needed the civil rights movement and that most of his followers are just like him. That’s why people mentioned that. If he hadn’t said that phrase and chosen the place and date he chose people wouldn’t have cared. Now Al Sharpton’s rally was in counter to Beck’s rally. I never heard him claiming to take back anything. His rally really wasn’t focused on or reported on because he was just slightly smarter with going about it. A lot of the people who cared were minorities (there seem to be a lot of people in that picture that look like other minorities as well as blacks so focusing on them only isn’t right either) that seemed offended by Beck’s comments and actions. Others just didn’t care because it’s Al Sharpton and he seems to be just as attention seeking as Beck.
I don’t think anyone’s afraid of being called a racist. It’s just what the media thinks people will care more about.
@LWOWW - i thought that was bill o’reilly?
Exaclty. Why can there be a movie called “White Men Can’t Jump,but not a movie called “Black Men Can’t Swim”? Can you imagine the upheaval?
The crowd isn’t all black. I spot at least two milatoes in there.
No matter how long I’m gone, when I return you are always here with interesting dialog. In my opinion, in answer to your question, I would have to ask? Who’s job was it to mention who was in attendance for this march? Why was any race of people excluded? See “this is how we look at it.” So, you ask “why wasn’t Al Sharpton’s group’s color emphasized?” As an African American, I ask; Why weren’t they mentioned too? But I ask for different reasons than you ask.. You see, the media control’s this and it was intentional that Black people who were marching, were not mentioned? The reason they were not mentioned was because, they were being ignored! This is nothing new! It had nothing to do with anybody, making a point of the Tea Party folks being predominatly white. Considering the history of this country, as far as slavery and racism is concerned, what other color would the Tea Party be? Racism is alive and kicking all over the world, just as it has always been. It is a significant problem here in America and unfortunately today, it encompasses more than just Black and White people. During Martin Luther King’s marching days, African American’s were beat down, marching for equal rights, on those same steps where the infamous Tea Party and Sarah Palin were marching. So whether one likes Al Sharpton or not, is not important. This issue for people of color is much bigger than Al Sharpton. There is a lot of hate in this world and it will destroy this world, all of the racism and evil which is of a sinful nature in itself, will be our demise one day. You can feel it right here on this sight and it’s suppose to be a Christian site? So I think at the end of the day, we must be realistic about the state of racism, a lot of people are racists…some don’t even know it. There I said it! I’ve only been back a week or so and my, my, my…
I’ve been called a racist many times just because I didn’t support Obama. I don’t really care if people call me one because I know I’m not.
It doesn’t bother me to be called racist, because I sort of am.
ZIP ZOOP ZOOBIDDY BOOP
I’m so sick of people, and races in general. Honestly, i can’t stand hispanics. And i’m not going to explain myself, so bitch at me if you’d like, i’ll probably never see it. I’m not ‘racist’ towards blacks, (although i won’t call them “african americans” because it’s not like they call whites “european americans”) but they make such a big fucking deal about everything anyone says and they shout out, “WHAT, BECAUSE I’M BLACK?!” and it’s like, what the fuck? did i say anything about you being black? NO. ugh. i’m just so sick of people.
@deflat - Why don’t you ask that question to the white Duke Lacrosse players who were wrongly accused or rape by a black woman. Or to the police officers in the Tawana Brawley case.
I think most people try to explain that they are not racist but then the next day their behavior says otherwise.
@deflat - lol.
@seeker_nyc - they weren’t wrongly accused of racism…
@deflat - they were wrongly accused of rape and racial prejudices were implied as motives. Either way, the accusers, Reverends Jackson and Sharpton, to this day, have not made any apologies to the men, whose lives they helped to hurt or destroy.
@deflat - Blacks have voted solidly Democratic/liberal for decades, and look at them statistically and see how well they’re doing in life. Yeah, it’s all the fault of Glenn Beck and the conservatives, right?
@seeker_nyc - well, it was really the prosecutor who owes the duke lacrosse players an apology. he was disbarred for gross misconduct by withholding crucial evidence.
@seeker_nyc - i never said that.
@deflat - “I never said that.”
No, deflat, you’re a self hating liberal white guy whose first comment on this post stated, “because that’s what you get when you enslave people for hundreds of years. so unfair.”
@seeker_nyc - i’m not a liberal.
@deflat - bullshit.
@deflat - okay so you say you’re not a liberal. your first comment was something that liberals say all the time.
@seeker_nyc - it was really more of a joke, honestly.
@xnotxbeautifulx - As the leaders in the book 1984 say “The truth is what we say it is. Not what is real.”
@deflat - lmao
Once you’re labeled a racist (whether it’s true or not) you can’t ever get rid of that. No one will do business with you, no one will listen to you, you will forever be labeled as “Dan, the racist blogger with all the questions”.
It’s annoying, really. We are extremely racist in this country. And not just white to black people. It’s sad.
Because when black people gather together it can’t be a Klan rally – when white people gather together it must be a Klan rally.
@badtimin - mm which of course I strongly disagree with. I do understand your point though. They controlled the masses and the parallel between 1984 and today’s media is very strong.
You’re right. The coverage wasn’t accurate. It should have mentioned that the crowd with Beck and Palin were ignorant whites while the crowd with Sharpton was middle-class black. To just say “white” and “black” wasn’t adequate.
I have come to hate racism. I have been the victim of it many times. The hypocrites like Sharpton who set out not as MLK jr. did (who nobly sought equal rights) but as a crusader for the preferential treatment of black people with him at the head. In a system that Sharpton invisions, there would be those like MLK jr who would come forward to oppose him. MLK jr himself would have taken a stand against Sharpton.
You know, it’s funny (or it would be were it not so sad) that so many people even in this post are so quick to put Beck and Palin forward as racist with absolutely no evidence. From what I have heard from them and seen of them, I see no basis for this claim and unless theey have evidence to put forward with genuine substance, then they are merely showing off their own ignorance and repitition of rhetoric that has (to the best of my knowlege) no basis in fact. Is that to say I am a fan of either Beck or Palin? No. Certainly there are some things I have heard them say that I like and agree with. There are also things I’ve heard them say that I disagree with. Were Sharpton to shut up about his obsession with race and discuss other issues, I am sure there are things I would find I would agree with him on too. I don’t hate the man, only what he stands for in his abuse of the race issue. It is just sad to me that so many people are just so blind to the reality of the issue and spew their venom at those who don’t deserve it. I mean seriously, if you’re going to criticize someone, bring up an actual point on something they have done wrong. don’t malign people for things you can’t support.
@seeker_nyc - I was raised to think for myself, so really anybody telling me what to think has missed there mark. I don’t give a damn if you like him or not, but disagreeing with me does not invalidate my opinion. yeah I do watch him, he’s good for a laugh or two.
@AceValentineRocks - funny you should mention that since the entire 2007-2008 Presidential race featured Obama wooing large crowds with pretty speeches. I really don’t watch Glenn Beck but he’s always entertaining when I do.
@seeker_nyc - I have a short attention span, and your time is up.
@sojealoussrvs - “I’m not ‘racist” “Honestly, i can’t stand hispanics. And i’m not going to explain myself,”
WUT?
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - o rly?
Also, troll harder.
The civil rights movement was taken down the tubes long ago by racist poverty pimp, frauds like Al Sharpton.
The Obama Administration refuses to prosecute case of voter intimidation committed by blacks. That makes Obama a racist in the strictest sense. He has the power and now he’s letting his minions go after white people.
I watched both rally’s… one was a bit inspirational, uplifting, spiritual and focused on their rally.. the other was mad, bitter, and very political of the OTHER rally… I found the “angry” rally a bit sad…. when i look at the MLK rally back in the 60′s.. it wasn’t mad, it wasn’t bitter, it wasn’t political… it was INSPIRING, it ‘DREAMT’ of what was possible…
As for Glenn Beck, no matter what you may say about him and i don’t know if i agree with much of what he says.. but he was inspiring.
As for the whole President Obama being a racist comment, Glenn Beck withdrew that statement and he regrets making that statement. He stated that he realized at the time he made that comment, he misunderstood Pres. Obama; what he took as Pres. Obama’s angry view of whites/white’s culture wasn’t racism, it was ‘liberation theology’ based on a Rev. Jeremiah take on religion, salvation, etc… it’s a deeply theological concept, something that blows over most people’s head unless you understand the true meaning behind the judeo-christian concept of salvation and that it’s an individual salvation, not a collective salvation which is heretical according to most catholic/protestant views on salvation. Funny thing about Glenn Beck is that he may have read up on history a lot, but he’s such an everyday average joe. I think that’s why his show garners millions of viewers; the most of any cable network social/political commentators (Maddow, Olberman, Hannity, O’Reilly, Ed, etc…). I’m still not sure what to make of him yet; he may be all an act, all bogus, but I watch his show from time to time b/c i hear such terrible things about him from everyone, yet so much people watch him, and when I watch him… a few things he says i find difficulty in listening, a few things he says I laugh a lot at, but most of the time I find myself nodding and thinking and asking questions…this rally, showed Glenn’s better side; whether you believe it or not, is up to you…i’d recommend watching his rally and try to watch it unbiased.
As for Al Sharpton, I truly believe he believes what he is doing is right. The only time i lost complete respect for him was his concept that black people can’t be racist b/c they lack power. It was a rationalization of racist behavior by blacks, I think. But that’s just my opinion. I sat there listening to his concept of that, and the first thing that popped in my head was ‘BS’… does he seriously believe this crap he’s saying? Other than that, I truly believe he’s tried to carried on MLK’s dream for all americans and all people… but sometimes, many times, the most i get out of him is that he’s angry and bitter and can’t forgive… i don’t expect him to forgive, it is an individual choice… he’s gone thru things i’ve never had to, thanks to MLK and people like him who went thru so much; i just expect more from such an intelligent individual, i guess. But like he says, if people are angry at him, then he’s doing his job.. as a civil rights activist. How can you NOT respect him for that?
here’s some fun trivial… DC no longer officially estimate rally count. Why? apparently in 1995 (i’m hazy with dates) there was something called the “million man march’… but apparently DC estimated it was only a few hundred thousand (400k? ish) attended…. DC got sued. yup. DC got sued, so they stopped doing estimates. sometimes, i cry in the simple ridiculousness of the whole thing
anyways… watch both rallies and decide for yourself what you think of it. don’t read conservative websites or liberal ones first, watch both rallies first… then decide for YOURSELF.
I find this distortion in reporting quite alarming although I’ve known for awhile that it was happening in the US News Media. This (imho) has nothing to do with being a racist, per se, but more with a larger picture: ’Objective Journalism vs Propaganda Reporting.’ This country has wandered so far ofrom the path we were traveling upon in so many areas. The politicians and the media have trashed (and continue to trash) the very values that America stands for and they have no shame by the blatant methods they use. They honestly think we are stupid. Thanks for publishing this ‘blatant’ example of media distortion. Just one more reason to shun American media. Land of the free, my ass!
It’s becoming ridiculous. Afifah_Moon, you got it right!
We’ve become so PC that we gotta *ask* what the terms are these days for fear of offending SOMEONE!
Unfortunately it is the Media’s responsibility. Reporting truthfully has fallen to the wayside of politics. Actually the Glen Beck rally was a mixture of several races, not predominately white as stated. Using the term Racist has become an excuse for bad behavior.
I am not afraid to be called what I am not, so I don’t care if someone were to think I’m a racist. Obviously I’m going to avoid even the appearance of that evil, like any evil. But if they’re wrong about me, in the long run that’s not scary to me.
I’d bet money that Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama will all “be racist” whenever it benefits them to do so. None of them have flinched at the idea of hurting their own ideological group at the prospect of personal gain or ambition.
@the__undergrounds - Agreed. So is Al Sharpton. Logic fail.
BECAUSE IT’S RACIST. (Please…note the sarcasm.)
Pfft. Stupidity…it hurts.
Racist is such a dangerous word. The big problem I have with it is that it is assumed b so many that racist means “against anyone not white” when it REALLY means something more like ”stereotyping and hating any ethnic group”. Society cant seem to admit that people who used to be the biggest targets of racism can themselves be racist as well
Isn’t Glenn Beck going blind? Maybe that’s why…
let’s see, alveda King, spoke at beck’s rally, MLK III said it was an incredible tribute to his father, sharpton felt the need to hold a “competing” rally with people marching around calling Beck and the people at his rally racist. two guesses as to who is pissing on MLK jr’s legacy and calling it rain.
Hmmm… well I agree with you for sure. While I’m not racist towards race it’s interesting that yes we can point out it was a predominantly white group but we can’t say it was mostly black people. The problem is that this race game works on everyone, I mean white people get called all kinds of things and jokes made about them just like any other group. Problem is maybe this….the white people did mistreat the black people and let’s be honest it was horrible. Thing is I’m truly sorry from the depths of my soul but I didn’t do it!! I really didn’t do it, as a matter of a fact I wasn’t even alive and I wouldn’t have treated anyone like that anyway. I do see your point though.
You know it just stinks and we should all just find a way to get along for heaven sake think of the good we could do if only. Think of the evil we could fight if we could only get passed the color of our skin! Oh there are still a bunch of racist people out there and I come in contact with them often! Here’s a little reminder for everyone just in case we forget it does still exist. I was shopping with a friend of mine for shoes for our children which were with us at the time. We were in a Well Known shoe store and in came a black lady with her friend and their kids shoe shopping as well. All of our kids were kind of wandering up and down the isle we were in and they weren’t hurting a thing. I had to walk to the counter to ask a question when I walked up on a very disturbing conversation. These two young ladies..white of course were talking terrible about the black ladies and their kids, not myself and my friend and our children but the black people! It was so bad that my heart began to pound so hard and I began to shake all over because it made me so angry. I didn’t know what to do except to tell them how rude they were and grab my daughter and friend and exit the store! I thought about telling the black ladies what was going on but then I didn’t want to hurt their feelings so I left with out a word, what should I have done in that case?
You raise a good point for sure……I know for sure the racist crap still goes on and it urks me to be honest.
Because every opinion or thought that any white person has about a black person automatically makes the white person a racist.
I’m concerned if people call me a racist. What does it say about me and about them? I think the larger issues is why racism is still alive? MLK’s I have a dream speech was about everyone being able to live up to their full potential. There seems to be plenty of contention on almost any issue with little desire to understand other people’s perspectives. We slice and dice ourselves over any number of issues including racism.
Quite frankly, i don’t think anybody cared about either rally.
However, I do like to look on both sides of the coin. The Caucasian and African American sides. Just to get some perspective on the whole thing…Not that I can totally identify with the cause…but hey, at least I’m trying, right?
I have a boyfriend, and he gets really angry about hearing how black people complain about slavery and racism and prejudice and all that, and he asks how many white people own slaves today and why are people still mad about it? I say…well no one should be mad at people who do not own slaves. I mean, come on, that’s really rude and pitiful to yell and scream about a crime that no one is currently committing. It is unfair to blame a person for the sins of the father (it’s a saying people, don’t get all huffy) However…I do also point out the facts about the emotion. I ask him “If you found out that years ago, someone had beaten and tortured your little brother, would be happy about that?” He responds “Hell no I’d kill them!” So I ask further, “What about if the son of the person who tortured your little brother kept telling you ‘Get over it, I didn’t do it so don’t be mad at me, don’t be mad at all, I’m so sick of hearing you complain about something that didn’t even happen to you! I didn’t do it so why are you mad? stop complaining!” And He goes..”I’d ****** Kill them. You hurt my family and then have the nerve to tell me to get over it? Who the *** do you think you are?….” and then a dawned look of comprehension comes over his face. He just goes , “Oh.” I’m just saying, when I took the time to explore and explain the emotion BEHIND the fact, he understood. It’d be pretty annoying if some random person you didn’t even know thought it was fine for them to butt into your life and tell you how to feel about something that happened to YOUR ancestors, just because THEY themselves were selfish enough to not want to DEAL with your suffering. I tihnk anyone, of any race or age or gender would be fed up with that, don’t you think? Perhaps it isn’t so much what happened in the past, so much as that in the present, there are still those don’t care and don’t want to care. Regardless of the situation, be it slavery, or the Holocaust, death of family members in the Civil War because of traitors (yep…poor great grandpa) , and regardless of race…to go out of your way to be SO uncaring and so callous about basic human emotions and experience is not only wrong, it’s depraved. I don’t walk on eggshells around people, because we should all respect each others right to live as we please…but I don’t go out of my way to be a douchebag about things that seriously affect people either, whether I think it should affect them or not.
Whatever…Both Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton are RAVING LUNATICS…..They should just make out on National television. At least there’d be interesting tv.