White Americans Aren’t Racists
How’s that for a bold title?
I got to thinking about the perpetuation of racial tension in the US. Frankly, 98% of white Americans don’t think about racism or “black” vs “white” at ALL in their daily lives. I just don’t think about it. When I see a black person, I don’t think “ooh, a black person.” In fact, at least here in Johnson County, when I see a black person he or she is always in a nice suit and driving a nicer car than me. There’s nobody being “kept down” around here.
But whenever black Americans pull the race card, there’s always a backlash from white America that says “Hey man, there’s no racism anymore - you all are the only ones talking about race.”
And that’s really true. It gets back to my point about almost all white Americans NEVER thinking about race. But here’s what really struck me recently.
It makes me angry when black Americans blame white Americans for their problems, or for the state of the black community today. And guess what, it’s not because I think white Americans didn’t mistreat black Americans in the past, and perhaps in some cases still today.
I get mad, because it wasn’t me. It isn’t me. I am being blamed for something I had nothing to do with whatsoever. I wasn’t alive, nor were my parents or grandparents. None of us had anything to do with slavery, yet here we are, 150 years after the end of slavery, with black Americans still blaming us for their problems, even though we weren’t there or involved in any way. And let’s get real, the black Americans moaning about racism and slavery weren’t alive then, either. Black Americans born after the 1960’s haven’t even seen the same level of racism that their parents saw. So what in the Sam Hill are they talking about.
Let’s put this into some perspective. If someone with a Honda ran over your mom and maimed her, would you insist that the Honda Corporation apologize and pay reparations? Would you demand that all Honda owners pay up? Would you hate them for being Honda owners, since a Honda owner maimed your mom?
The majority of black Americans today did NOT descend from slave families. More than half of black Americans either immigrated here AFTER slavery was abolished, or didn’t even come from Africa in the first place.
So there you have it. I’m OFFENDED by allegations that I’ve somehow ruined an entire race’s life by being a white dude. It’s an outrageous thing to claim, and to the 60% of black Americans who didn’t descend from slaves - you REALLY need to shut the eff up and stop trying to benefit from the suffering of others long dead.
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
