Read this. It's Flora's lastest blog entry. There is a link to her Wordpress Blog on the side there. Of interest to me was this lunatic's rantings. I don't like to talk about race and racism, because, really, I don't believe in the concept of race (yes, race is a concept). I believe that race, and what follows and is known as racism are subjective things, and not a part of objective reality. You really have to convince yourself and buy into the idea of "race." Let me "explain" my standpoint somewhat.
Dogs are a great example. Two different kinds of dog are just two different kinds of dog-not two different races. Now are two "different kinds" (insert whatever way you continue to divide yourself from other people) of humans really that different? We're really talking about the differences in culture, people. Culture. Let's just go ahead and take "black" and "white" people, let's go there. Are we really talking about skin color? Because I say we're talking about culture. Let make some assumptions for the sake for discussion:
Racism in the U.S. originated from the culture of slavery about 400 years ago
All of those slaves were "black" (or "not-white"-whatever)
Let's assume that all of the problems that we call racism stem from the whole slavery thing. Now, riddle me this: what if all of the slaves and slave owners were of the same ethnicity/skin color/whatever? I really believe that if that were the case, we would have the exact same problems we have today, but they would be addressed as problems concerning culture and not "race".
I have to do some more thinking on this. There is more to follow, for sure. I want all of your feedback - do not hold back. Thank you Flora,
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Autrelle, you are saving the World.
I love you!
LOL - I'm trying man, I'm trying.
I've been thinking about this too. I think the slaves and slave owners being of different "races" (i.e., different continents of origin & different skin colors)was a necessity, because it allowed a simple, immediate way to separate one group from the other. You could make many assumptions about a person's place in society (and further assumptions, perhaps, about their education, work and financial situation) simply by looking at the color of their skin.
In an age when this kind of determination is no longer possible in the U.S., people still cling to it. Prejudices, and even most stereotypes, are a mental shortcut that allow people to place others in a hierarchy of worth. People instinctly place others either above or below themselves -- and many people do this based solely on skin color. To them, I say this: "In the dark, we're all the same color -- and you're still the stupidest f*cker in the room."
Post a Comment