August 18, 2015
White people have to look at blacks and wonder what is wrong with them, why do they act the way that they do—always in the streets protesting and raising hell about something. If you are not black, it’s difficult to understand the plight of black people, and why they are in the streets protesting and raising hell. The United States Constitution asserts that we are all equal, we all have the same rights, and we are all governed by the same laws. The Constitution is the supreme law of this country, but it is not administered by the same declaration with which it is written. It is a document that sounds beautiful when reading it, but it is too often made ugly by some that dispense justice based on the words therein.
Black people have had more promises made to them based on the U.S. Constitution than they can remember—promises that date back to the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War era. That famous document existed almost one hundred years before the Civil War ended, but when it was written, it did not include blacks. The freedoms that black people have today were granted with amendments, because they were considered inferior to whites, and therefore, they were purposefully omitted.
It is true, black people are in the streets too often protesting and raising hell about something. It is because black people are tired of being treated as second class citizens. Only after someone is killed, and the town lay in ruins, will anyone step up and say, “Something needs to be done; we need to create more dialogue within the community; our police officers need better on the job training.” Then when the dust settles, any promises of change are short lived, and everything goes right back to where it was in the beginning.
It is difficult to understand why one race of people discriminate against another simply because of the color of their skin. Most black people will say that they hate whites, because they held their ancestors as slaves. No one in their right mind can deny that slavery was wrong, but hating ever successive generation of white people from then until now is a long time to hate. Slavery cannot be dismissed as a reason for the hate that still exists between the two races, but a more recent event still festering and being fostered in the minds of both white and black people may be the cause—the civil rights movement and the subsequent Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Passage of the Civil Rights Act was hailed a landmark. It was actually a piece of legislation to fix existing legislation that those in Congress and their predecessors had intentionally enacted to restrict the influence of blacks, and thereby, maintain segregation and control. It was shoddy legislation, created by shoddy politicians, and upheld by shoddy U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
There are many black people living today that remember and were part of the struggle for civil rights in the 1960’s. They still remember the indecencies imposed on them by whites for simply exercising their inalienable rights as citizens of this country—rights that were too long in coming, rights that required too much bloodshed, and rights that took too many lives after enactment to be recognized—and for that matter, rights that are still abused or denied. White people also still remember. They remember being defeated by their own government that sided with blacks against the will of the white majority. It was a coup de grâce that would put an end to white rule.
Both black and white people that remember and took part in the civil rights movement, and even those that stood on the sidelines and watched will soon become dust. Yet, amongst our ranks are some that have preached so long and so hard about racial hatred that it cannot die. Instead, they keep it alive and well in the minds of those that will listen. Those that practice racial hatred should wear a prophylactic at all times, because they breed racism—they are the fathers of an unwanted yet too often begotten offspring that the world can do without. They have sought to preserve and nurture an infectious disease that should have been eradicated long ago. Should it be true that today’s racial tensions were born from the race riots of the 1960’s, will tomorrow’s racial tensions be the unwanted progeny of today’s unrest.
Of late, it seems that white people are on the rampage with hate, and more so than blacks. Not implying that the number of white racists are on the increase, but meaning that white people seem to have kicked things up a notch by getting out into the open more than in the past. Instead of keeping it a closed conversation and within their own circles, they have now taken it to the airways with an in the face attitude so that the world can see. Wayne LaPierre Jr. is an advocate of the right to bear arms. In a speech at the National Rifle Association’s meeting, he said, “Eight years of one demographically symbolic president is enough.” What he said is nothing more than a jacked up in the face of black people way of saying, “Having to put up with a black president for eight years is all that I can stand.”
Overt racial hatred seems to have increased when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, not just in the streets, but in Congress as well. Republicans and Democrats have always butted heads, but not to the extent that they have with a black president in the White House. They can hardly agree on anything, and compromise has gone the way of dust in the wind.
Bill Miller’s new book, End of the Rainbow, discusses some controversial topics such as race, religion, and sexuality.
The former mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, said that President Obama does not love America. Mr. Giuliani would have been right on target had he expanded his remarks and said, “Black people do not love America as much as white people.” White people in this country have had a long courtship with America, one that has been quite fruitful. Blacks on the other hand have had something more akin to a one night stand. Blacks are still licking the wounds that have not yet healed—wounds caused not by the lash, but by a government of the people that has never cared much about people of color. Blacks may not love America as much as whites, but blacks love America more than America loves blacks.
Many, if not most black people, do not think of themselves as being racists or prejudiced toward white people. Instead, they think of themselves as being the victims of white discrimination. When it comes to racism, blacks are no different from whites; they just fail to recognize that they are not different. Some blacks may even think that prejudice, discrimination, and racist are terms reserved specifically for them to refer to whites. If the Creator of mankind made an error, maybe it was giving us eyes so that we can see. Should the Creator decide to do it one more time, those that receive the breath of life will not be able to distinguish night from day.
Being a racist has no benefits other than perhaps self-satisfaction, and to be so inclined is by choice. It may well be a social disease of the mind that is contagious and transmitted by being in close contact with others that are weak minded. Certainly, it is a plague; it should be eradicated, or at least, quarantine the carriers. Racism has cursed mankind since the Middle Ages, and it may be a curse until the end of time. If it is to end, it will no doubt be from the efforts of a younger generation—a generation that is more progressive than today’s foggy minded stalwarts that still live in the past.
The social problems that we have today are the results of our on faults and our own unwillingness to let go of the past. None of us can undo what has already happened, but we can do some repair work and make amends for the wrongs that we have done. Racism, and hatred based thereon are major problems, perhaps as major as any problem that the world has ever had. Putting an end to it could be one of the easiest things that mankind has ever done.
Ending racism, hatred, and the inequities that come with it would not require an assembly of world leaders, no monetary investment, and no words of wisdom from the wise. It would only require that we flush away the filth from our minds, to open our hearts, and recognize the fact that we are all alike except for the color of our skin. No venture could possibly yield so much for so little. A handshake and a smile would get it done. Yet, even that is more than we care to invest.
It’s impossible to understand the human mind, what makes us tick and what sets us off. We are all so different, not referencing our appearance or genetic design, but our thought processes, behavioral patterns, what we believe in, and why. Most of us don’t even pay attention to ourselves, and most of the things that we do are second nature—born of habit and then done instinctively, because we have been a certain way for so long. Should we be the civilized beings that we should be, then earth would be close kin to Heaven. However, we are not like that, and it seems to indicate that we are satisfied, because we do very little to change things.
Yet, things do change. Sometimes they evolve without attracting a lot of attention. Not so long ago, white people would not sit in the same restaurant with black people. If any blacks were in the restaurant, then they had to be part of the staff—cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, etc. Today, it is not uncommon to see white grandparents or great grandparents walking around in public holding the hand of their racially mixed grandchild or great grandchild. When seeing them, one has to wonder if they have always been blind to black and white relationships, or did they too at one time see blacks as an inferior race of people. How do they feel now that their blood line has been forever tarnished? Are they proud of the new addition to their family that is part white and part black, or do they just tolerate them because they have no reasonable alternative?
When seeing a mixed race family, or even black and white friends enjoying life together, they do pose a beautiful sight—like things are really getting closer to where they should be. Everyone that sees them should hope that what they are looking at is real and not just make believe. We should all hope that they’re part of that group—a new generation of thinkers that have resigned themselves from what used to be, and can now accept the multicultural diversity of the human race, knowing that every individual is different, yet all are equal.