the rest of my racism thoughts
where do i start...
probably the most-heard argument from whites is the following: "i'm not racist...i don't own slaves, and it's not my fault white people owned slaves in early america..." this is true. BUT. racism is not just about owning slaves. racism isnt even just about hate crimes. instead, racism is a lack of compassion for minorities. it's an apathetic attitude, and an unwillingness to identify with the past. its a reluctance to admit that blacks are not given the same opportunities as whites...a reluctance to admit they do not live in the same America whites do.
really, it all comes down to compassion. it is a proven fact that blacks are still discriminated against today. because of all the crap thats happened in the past and attitudes that are still held, they cannot pull ahead...at least not easily. they are not given the same opportunities. and whites need to acknowledge this and sympathize with this. it's not pity...but rather putting yoruself in someone elses shoes and truly feeling for them and hurting with them. its admiting that we cant change the past but we are sorry for it even though we may not have had anything to do with it...its compassion.
by saying slavery isnt our fault, we are asking blacks to ignore a terrible heritage and mistreatment that occurs even today. we need to "fess up" and accept the fact that blacks WERE and ARE mistreated, and it was OUR race.
now. i will agree that sometimes blacks do take things to extremes...and also, some may unfortunately abuse racism like the situation jamin talked about in his comments. i have said in the past, perhaps ignorantly, perhaps not, that blacks think all whites are racist and women think all men are sexist. this may not be exactly true, but it does bring up the point that minorities need to do their part too. there is a meeting halfway that needs to take place. we, the majority, need to be compassionate and educated, while the minority needs to refrain from pointing fingers and feeling sorry for themselves. there definitely needs to be a meeting point...racism will not be eliminated until both sides do their parts. unfortunately there are ignorant african americans that will not let go of the grudge...and unfortunately there are ignorant whites that either proceed with hate crimes or are apathetic in general....both sides have their bad apples.
with all this said...i will agree with jamin on two more points....
racism is obviously not held to only black people. my comments are not meant to be targeted to them alone, but rather to all minorities. nothing makes me more sick than a floormate who says "we shouldve just bombed the crap out of afghanistan a long time ago. all of them suck...we should teach them a lesson...blah blah blah..." i dont know. you know what i mean. yeah bin laden's done a lot of crap...but you would think christians would take the time to get their heads out of their buttoxes and start praying for the guy rather than wanting to personally blow his head off. i digress...
also...and this a somewhat convicting point...education should not be saved for MLK day and black history month. it should be a constant thing...something we strive for. not just racism...but war...the oppression of the poor...etc. i'll be the first to admit i am incredibly pathetic on this side of things. i'll be the first to admit it's hard to care when you're a comfortable american at a rich christian school. but maybe thats all the more reason to care. furthermore, we need to DO something about it. im pretty convicted when i hear about my friends going on anti-war marches and stuff...granted, i dont know what i think about anti-war stuff, but, nonetheless...i am pretty pathetic when it comes to acting on anything i believe in....
anyway, i've said enough. hope this explains myself a little bit better than what i said the other day.
happy martin luther king jr. day...let me know if i'm right or wrong.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." -MLK

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people." -MLK

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." -MLK

"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true." -MLK

"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe you have sent me....that they may be one as we are one...May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." -Jesus' prayer from John 18:20-23

hold on. speaking of this last verse...for all the christian readers...as this verse shows...in the words of a friend, "racism is part of the FULL gospel...it is not extra credit"...it is part of God's will! so....take all this to heart...i guess...thats what im trying to say....

ive said more than enough...sorry.