Racism in America November 7, 2006
Posted by Al in : politics , trackbackThese stories are fascinating to read, and help explain a lot, I believe. I’m not agreeing with, or condoning, any of these stories, or their authors’ views – instead what I find scary is that racism in the USA is growing in both directions, and growing fast. When you consider how much hate there is for other races and cultures, then it is not hard to see why invading foreign cultures and countries is so readily accepted by the general populace.
Being in a mixed race relationship myself, and having been in another previously, I know that it takes a great deal of effort and understanding to come to terms with the cultural differences that can exist. If this effort is not made then tension starts to grow, often due to a failure of understanding of small things, such as the meaning of a word, or the difference in comprehension of history. These small misunderstandings then grow into a resentment, which can become hatred in time. Unfortunately that hatred has managed to fester in the US for too long, and has now become embedded as part of the culture. You only have to watch American news reports, or even just watch films to begin to see it; when you listen to the lyrics of Rap and R&B then the belief that the country, the state, the law, the system and all the other people are against the blacks (or Hispanics) is prevalent and part of the culture. I’m afraid that the non-white races are as racist, if not more so, than the whites in the US and this hatred on the part of both sides has lead to a rift that may never be repaired.
Both blacks and whites frequently quote Martin Luther King, but hardly any of them truly believe in one nation under god, about the only thing they do agree on is god. And here’s the truly ironic thing: black, white and Hispanic all believe in a Christian god, a god who created man, not 3 (or more) different types of men; a god who set down 10 commandments but not one of those commandments say to persecute others who are different from yourself, but instead command you not to kill another man or covet your neighbours’ property; a god whose son was supposed to have preached forgiveness and understanding. Yet all sides in the race conflict seem to forget these Christian virtues and carry on hating the others. I can’t see an end to this in the near future, or even in the not-so-near future, and whilst this racist tension exists in the USA then tension between America and the “others” in the rest of the world will not be far behind.
I think I will probably have upset a lot of liberals in America if they were to read this post, but what they always refuse to admit is that they are different from the rest of the populace; they are in the minority. The majority are not liberal and hatred is rife.
Comments»
And then you get something like this “Planet of the Arabs”. Which I would like to think is a humorous critique of racism in Hollywood, but it is a bit close to the bone in places.
I hear you on this one Al. It is a real assault on the senses but I think your gut feeling is correct. The film was made by an Arab-American multimedia artist and filmaker called Jackie Salloum. It’s publicised as a critique of Hollywood’s representation of Arabs and Muslims. I imagine that she intends to shock the viewer and I certainly was (especially by the massacre near the end) although I didn’t feel particularly enlightened. However, being a supporter of freedom of expression and an opponent of censorship I will have to condone any piece of art that is willing to challenge Hollywood’s representation of the world.