Post by bewildered on Aug 18, 2013 5:53:29 GMT -6
I'm not surprised, lorelei. Think of the wasted human potential represented by people who behave like that. Take those examples and multiply it over and over and over again, and we'll see the real tragedy begin to emerge. An atrophied intellect and stunted emotional capacity spread senseless vitriol like a virulent plague to whomever is unfortunate enough to suffer their wrath. This scourge has been the bane of American culture all along, and you'll find it wherever you go. The fact that it is so widespread doesn't mean that it's "inevitable" or something that should be tolerated. Slavery was widespread not so very long ago, but that didn't stop a small, dedicated group of people from opposing it vocally and very publicly.
Pointing out the truth isn't an exercise in assigning all of the "blame" to white people...it's called pointing out the obvious. Are whites discriminated against? Of course, but that has nothing to do with learning from the lessons of our own history and admitting that which most of us refuse to accept. White privilege and discrimination against non-whites was (and still is) institutionalized. This extends to people who are non-Christian, of different nationalities, or who don't conform to a consensual "norm." Discrimination is a many-tiered beast, and females find themselves treated as second-class citizens as well.
Racism and discrimination dwell in the heart of American culture, something you may see in both federal statutes and state laws. Seven states prohibit atheists from holding public office (Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas). The federal government discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual preference. Both are clear violations of the Constitution (Amendment XIV to be precise), but does something like the law or what is fair stop the small-minded and self-absorbed? Did it stop Africans from being sold in markets across the United States? Does it stop police officers from harassing people who "look" as if they are from the Middle East? There is no defense nor justification that can possibly deny or defend the reality of white privilege in this country. The numbers don't lie: whites make more money working the same jobs than their ethnic minority counterparts do, and among whites, males make more than females do working the same job.
It doesn't matter if phenotypically caucasian people are suffering injustices (they are virtually guaranteed to if they aren't Christian, heterosexual, or male), because that doesn't change the reality of institutional apartheid that favors white people. That, my friend, is what we must seek to abolish. Let's get rid of the elephant in the room before we focus on the fox in the chicken house.
Pointing out the truth isn't an exercise in assigning all of the "blame" to white people...it's called pointing out the obvious. Are whites discriminated against? Of course, but that has nothing to do with learning from the lessons of our own history and admitting that which most of us refuse to accept. White privilege and discrimination against non-whites was (and still is) institutionalized. This extends to people who are non-Christian, of different nationalities, or who don't conform to a consensual "norm." Discrimination is a many-tiered beast, and females find themselves treated as second-class citizens as well.
Racism and discrimination dwell in the heart of American culture, something you may see in both federal statutes and state laws. Seven states prohibit atheists from holding public office (Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas). The federal government discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual preference. Both are clear violations of the Constitution (Amendment XIV to be precise), but does something like the law or what is fair stop the small-minded and self-absorbed? Did it stop Africans from being sold in markets across the United States? Does it stop police officers from harassing people who "look" as if they are from the Middle East? There is no defense nor justification that can possibly deny or defend the reality of white privilege in this country. The numbers don't lie: whites make more money working the same jobs than their ethnic minority counterparts do, and among whites, males make more than females do working the same job.
It doesn't matter if phenotypically caucasian people are suffering injustices (they are virtually guaranteed to if they aren't Christian, heterosexual, or male), because that doesn't change the reality of institutional apartheid that favors white people. That, my friend, is what we must seek to abolish. Let's get rid of the elephant in the room before we focus on the fox in the chicken house.