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Nation of Cowards
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says that the U.S. is a nation of cowards when it comes to discussing racial issues. Do you agree?
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What Holder is talking about is a general reluctance among the populace to discuss racial issues with frankness and openness. People are afraid of being labeled as racist if they express non-racist opinions that might be contrary to the opinions of groups like the NAACP and others. People are also limiting their speech to avoid non-racist speech that may be perceived as racist by certain people. Whenever someone says something that is perceived as racist, even if only by a few people, they apologize and recant rather than defend the fact that there was no racist intent.
Look at something like Resident Evil 5. I think it's pretty obvious that Capcom isn't racist. They were simply making a zombie game that takes place in Africa, and thus there are lots of African zombies. Because of outcry of racism, they changed their game. Capcom was in the right, but didn't try to defend themselves on the issue because they were cowards when it comes to racism. The same sort of thing happened with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and others.
Now, sometimes it's difficult to get clients to come in and sign forms, and I needed the records as soon as I could get them. So, while I was on the phone, I muttered (more to myself than the person I was speaking to), "You people really try to make it difficult, don't you?"
As I said, I wasn't really even talking to the person on the phone. The statement was more of an existential expression of disgust, and if it was directed at anyone, it was more directed at the promulgators of the new HIPAA rules. However, the person on the phone started bitching me out for being racist. I asked her what was racist, and she told me the phrase "you people" was racist. I told her that I had no intention of being racist when I said it and that "you people" referred to the set of people who were making it difficult for me to obtain medical records, regardless of their race. She was still mad.
Then when I was working as a teacher soon after we moved to the DC area, I was frustrated with how loud my class was talking. I forgot myself and said, "Would you people please be quiet?" From the reaction I received, you would've thought that I had invited David Duke to talk as a guest speaker. I even had to have a meeting with the principal, at which I once again had to explain my understanding that "you people" refers to a group of people, regardless of race.
I mean, how easily offended do you have to be to have a problem with that phrase when used properly? Don't try to explain the racial overtones of the phrase to me. The principal did a good enough job of that. My point is that it's wrong to tack on that meaning to such an innocent phrase when used innocently. Sheesh.
My point is that there are people who are such cowards when it comes to discussing race on any level, that they think that ignoring the problem and not discussing race at all makes the whole problem go away, when in reality, this will achieve nothing.
If Americans want to make any steps in regards to race issues that are present in modern day America, they must become more tolerant, and the first step towards this is to be comfortable enough to be able to discuss race and racial issues without fear of offense nor being labeled racist.
For example, if I someone were to say that hispanics do worse in school because they are hispanic, that is racist. It falsely suggests that race is a causational factor. Meanwhile, if someone were to say that urban culture results in worse performance in school, and that culture just so happens to correlate very strongly with minority populations, that is not racist. In fact, people like Bill Cosby and myself think it is true. Making either of these statements will get you called a racist, but only the former of the two actually is racist.
To have a society where race is such a taboo subject that the frank, open, and honest discussion of it could cause severe offense or cause one to be labeled a racist is fucking stupid - yet this is the situation many Americans find themselves in.
(Edited for grammar)
Just look what happened to Bill Cosby after he spoke before the NAACP a few years back arguing that black people in America are their own worst enemy. He was trying to make the case that it is up to black people to fix their problems (broken homes, unwed moms, crime, gangster rap culture, etc...) and not white people.
You want to move race relations forward in America? Get rid of people like Al Sharpton who cry racism over the smallest things and then never apologize when they are wrong (Duke LaCrosse players/Tawana Brawley). You can't have an open and honest discussion if one side holds a big fat club in their hand.
Read the entire speech.
I'm still interested in how you want to "get rid of people like Al Sharpton." What, exactly, do you mean by that and how, exactly, do you propose to do it?
This is a type of psychology that can be seen in many places. People who are unhappy with their lot will believe that "the man is keeping them down." That belief helps their self esteem, as it allows removal of personal responsibility. It also is a self-fulfilling prophecy. By believing that some man is keeping you down, you are also likely to feel that no matter what you do, you can't move up. Thus, you won't do anything, you won't feel bad about not doing anything, and you won't move forward. To put it more simply, believing that the man is keeping you down keeps you down.
Racial differences exist. Knowing this has enabled us to create numerous targeted therapies that are more beneficial.
Differences, however, do not (and should not) equate to social inequities.
There is most certainly a biological significance to race; it just doesn't necessarily carry the social implications we attach to it.