I got edited off of someone’s blog the other day.
It was a post by a white guy, who was complaining, about a black guy complaining.
The black guy, America’s Attorney General, was calling American’s cowards when it comes to talking about matters of race.
The blogger said the speech was too negative and that white people don’t like to talk because they always come out being the racist.
The string of comments were applause for the blogger’s calling the govt. out on their anti-white stance. One inferred that politicians just use race as a smoke screen and another pointed out half black relatives as proof they weren’t racist.
How could I pass this up? I don’t know this blogger and I assume most everyone else who frequents it are personal friends. I guess I was crashing the party.
I commented that Holder’s words were a condemnation of ALL Americans, not just white ones. I offered that in my experience it is true that people don’t like to talk about race and would rather hide from or ignore issues that are in fact very real to a lot of people. I hit “publish comment”, double checked to make sure it posted (it did), and went on about my business.
Later that day I doubled back to see what the blogger’s response was. My comment was nowhere to be found.
I think this proved Mr. Holder’s point and I’m sure this object lesson was completely lost on the blogger.
It was a post by a white guy, who was complaining, about a black guy complaining.
The black guy, America’s Attorney General, was calling American’s cowards when it comes to talking about matters of race.
The blogger said the speech was too negative and that white people don’t like to talk because they always come out being the racist.
The string of comments were applause for the blogger’s calling the govt. out on their anti-white stance. One inferred that politicians just use race as a smoke screen and another pointed out half black relatives as proof they weren’t racist.
How could I pass this up? I don’t know this blogger and I assume most everyone else who frequents it are personal friends. I guess I was crashing the party.
I commented that Holder’s words were a condemnation of ALL Americans, not just white ones. I offered that in my experience it is true that people don’t like to talk about race and would rather hide from or ignore issues that are in fact very real to a lot of people. I hit “publish comment”, double checked to make sure it posted (it did), and went on about my business.
Later that day I doubled back to see what the blogger’s response was. My comment was nowhere to be found.
I think this proved Mr. Holder’s point and I’m sure this object lesson was completely lost on the blogger.
11 comments:
I promise never to delete your comments; no matter how wrong you are :-).
I think it is fair to say that we, as a nation, are uncomfortable talking about race. However, I did not appreciate the word "coward" because it has a negative connotation. That negative label is counterproductive and only causes what you witnessed; a defensive and divisive reaction.
Calling either side or both sides cowards doesn't help bring anyone or any issue closer to resolution. It is a negative term and, therefore, can only be taken negatively. Whether it was a poor choice of words or deliberate I don't know, but I do think it was the wrong thing to say.
That's not that bad.
I was attacked for stating my views on the site "Resist (Something)" when I said that the site really means Resist WHITE (Something).
And in stating that only whites can be rasists was givig too much power to one's (perceived) oppressor.
I think people are cowards to say what they feel because they are afraid of the consequences. It seems to be frowned upon to disagree with popular, yet minority voice. Not just race, but sexual preference, religious views, you name it. The one thing that gets me the most angry, is these same groups preach of tolerance. Yet when I voice my opinion, there is absolutely no tolerance for my views. 'You either agree with us, or you are wrong' seems to be the mantra today.
I didn't realize how a lot of white people out there feel about the subject of race, I guess I was under the cloud that racism has been blown out of proportion and the harsh feelings of racism only exist among a few who are too stubborn to let go of their "grand daddy's ideas". I got an email from a friend I grew up with about "Kramer" and his rant about black people being able to call white people racist, but never the other way around. It was entitled white pride and went on and on about there not being any "white" colleges or "white" chamber of commerce, etc but there are those things for "black". There is still a lot of anxt and racism out there, that just sits and festers and people never learn any better or overcome those feelings, because everyone is too afraid to talk about it. I will be honest, I think over the last few years I have had to confront and talk about the issue of race more than I ever have before, and it has definitely helped me. I believe that I have moved more to the middle on the subject and am now more willing to talk about it.
Are we cowards because we have all lost the art of civil dissagreement? Do we not value the views of others who doffer from us?
I find more and more that most people quite enjoy "going off" but do not know how to express potentially incindiary ideas without them being bombs.
One could say "I don't believe affirmative action is fair" but more likely it comes out "I'm sick of black people getting spots they arent qualified for..why should someone less qualified than me get a spot becuase his grandpa had it hard?"
Will reaction differ between these two?
Political ideas are gleened and parroted from TV or radio personalities who lob one sided half truths and then we turn around and try to pass them off as informed opinions.
Is it any wonder we get negative reactions to discussions on anything let alone race?
So, interestingly enough the blogger who it turns out did not edit me, but simply lost comments when switching servers, emailed me asking me to teturn to the blog.
Object lesson:
how often do we see racism, or any "ism" for that matter when it is in fact something else?
moral:
continued attenpts at communication are the only way to suss out what is real and what is assumed.
Glad the confusion got cleared up! I do greatly appreciate the lesson in all of this - mainly that our communication is imperfect. Email is sporadic, voicemail is garbled, and somehow even face-to-face communication between people who claim to have similar backgrounds and speak the same language can be misinterpreted and misunderstood.
Thank you for arguing brohammas. As a lawyer, perhaps I appreciate this more than most. However, I have always thought that people avoid certain topics because they are "uncomfortable" or "difficult" to talk about. Race is one topic, there are many others. Avoiding discussion gets us nowhere.
However, as I said in my comment, if the comments reach the base level of name-calling or invectives then the argument is pointless. We need to keep it civil or people stop listening. I think both sides tend to let an emotional response substitute for a rational response.
William Penn stated it best when he said "Nothing does reason more right, than the coolness of those that offer it: For Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders, than from the arguments of its opposers."
Sure people show cowardice because they are afraid of the consequences, or rather that someone will dissagree with them.
I say "so what?" If someone talks ill of my religion, thinks me intolerant for my views on sexual pref, or thinks I am off on my views on race, I say "bring it on!"
I have the responsability to be clear on what I believe, willing to listen to the other side, and be able to express my belief without anger or insult. If others do not follow the same, than they prove my point for me.
Our govt. and society is founded on and depends on, the individuals ability to have and express their/my views of what is right.
I love the discussions that you generate Dalyn. I highly agree that our society has forgotten how to agreeably disagree. Dan Carlin has an excellent podcast on this very subject at
http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/csarchive
episode 135
Gives a little behind the scenes look at the divisive nature of the "infotainment" political talk-show industry.
I had wondered if your comment being lost might have been a technical glitch. I'm glad it was.
I love the comment on the 'bee movie' when the bee screams, "We are not going to be slaves to these white men", as he point to the lawyers, and the black lawyer slides away from the three white one.
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