General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLet's be clear about the effect of the racism directed against President Obama and his family
It's clear that a majority in the black community have taken a personal interest (and some pride) in the election of the nation's first black president. That pride in this president has undergone a natural evening-out as expectations are tempered by the reality of politics and other obstacles to the realization of what folks wanted out of this presidency.
However, the ultimate effect of the persistent racism directed against President Obama and his family by public officials and others visible public figures is going to be a reversion by supporters to that initial rallying and defensive mode that pushes critical judgements about his actual performance aside in favor of a united stand against an atmosphere of hatred that envelopes much more than just the target in its wake.
In effect, the racist attacks on President Obama and his family reflect on our own aspirations for achievement and advancement. On one hand, there is satisfaction in the realization that the barrier to the highest office in the land has been broken by Americans willing to elect this African-American president. The most important step that black Americans can take next is to begin to apply a more critical standard of support for this Democrat which isn't dominated by a necessarily reflexive need to stand-up this president against these attempts to define him outside of the American mainstream based on the color of his skin. Yet, to allow this president to be diminished on the basis of race diminishes us all.
American politics has reached a historic milestone which most of my family and peers have been impatiently anticipating all of our lives, yet, would not have predicted it to happen now. It's fair to say that many in the black community (and without) have been inspired to believe that a black man can be elected president, in this day and age, by the audacity and urgency of Barack Obama's bid for the highest office in the land. It's also fair to say that much of that inspiration and belief has come from the mere fact of Obama's success, so far, in convincing so many non-blacks to support and elevate his presidency.
Racism certainly isn't chic anymore; not like it was in the days where slurs, slights, and outright discrimination were allowed to flourish under the umbrella of segregation and Jim Crow. But, it has still been used by some, over the years since the dismantling of that institutionalized racism, to manipulate and control the level of access and acceptability of blacks in a white-dominated political system.
I still recall the mere handful of blacks I found in Congress when I first explored the Capitol. I remember seeing the tall head of Rep. Ron Dellums, ever present on the House floor, and imagining that there were many more like him in the wings. It wasn't until 1990, though, that we actually saw a significant influx of minorities elected to Congress, enabled by the 1990 census Democrats fought to reform and manage (along with their fight for an extension of the Voting Rights Act which Bush I vetoed five times before trading his signature for votes for Clarance Thomas) which allowed court-ordered redistricting to double the number of districts with black majorities.
Open racism hasn't been in fashion for decades, but the fear and insecurities which underlie discrimination and prejudice still compel some to draw lines of distinction between black and white aspirations and potential for success. What is often unspoken is the reluctance some Americans have in envisioning blacks in a position to make decisions for a white majority, resulting in attempt to set boundaries and define the roles blacks must assume to achieve success and approval.
The gains blacks have made in our political institutions have not kept pace with even the incremental gains which have occurred in the workplace, for example. We may well have an abundance of black CEOs, military officers, business owners, doctors, lawyers and other professionals. However, Americans have yet to support and establish blacks in our political institutions with a regularity we could celebrate as 'colorblindness.' And, to be fair, not even many blacks would likely agree that we've moved past a point where race should be highlighted (if not overtly emphasized), in our political deliberations and considerations.
The persistent racism directed against President Obama has not allowed folks to feel secure in this one advancement. In the immediate wake of Reconstruction and the election of a handful of black lawyers, ministers, teachers, college presidents to the national legislature, there was a concerted campaign by their white peers and other detractors to challenge their seats and to construct discriminatory barriers to the election of other blacks which persisted for generations and generations. The 'birther' movement is no stranger to those who recall that 'Jim Crow' past.
The attacks in this generation are not to be taken lightly, even though we may assume that the nation is past all of that. The attacks need to be openly and loudly defended against by Democrats and Republicans alike. They can't just be brushed aside as some sort of acceptable standard of discourse. For the most part, they've been responded to with dispatch and sincerity. For the other, there's a glaring silence -- and even a rhetorical encouragement by some in the political arena who are leveraging age-old stereotypes to serve their cynical campaigns for office.
Catherine Meeks, Ph.D., wrote in HuffPo today that, "The entire discussion is almost beyond comprehension for those of us who are not being blinded by bigotry and hatred."
"Magic Mulatto, Mrs. YoMama, Touching A Tar Baby, Your Boy, Orbameo, Watermelons on the White House Lawn, cartoons with the President Obama's head and a chimpanzee's body, references to monkeys who escaped the zoo being related to the First Lady, and the list goes on with the racial slurs that have been hurled at this President and his family," recalls Meeks. "Along with these is the recent attack of racial slurs against 11-year-old Malia, his youngest daughter."
"Whatever policy issues that anyone finds themselves at odds with him about should be spoken about, debated and fought over in whatever civilized manner that discourse can occur," she wrote. "But I am talking about this low level of racist discourse that has been going on since day one. A discourse that has exhibited no respect for the office of President in the first place as well as no respect for this man, his wife and children. But even larger than this is the lack of respect that is being shown toward every African American in this country," she said.
Who are we; we the people of color? We the African Americans? We Minorities, we Negroes, we Blacks? Our history in this country is rooted in slavery and oppression, but in the search for the roots we sometimes find that the more we draw closer to our black identity, the more we seem to pull away from the broader America. An insistence that our community must necessarily be at odds with white America, because of our tragic beginnings, threatens to render our successes impotent. But, what becomes of a quest for a national identity when many of blacks' contributions in developing and reforming this nation have not been acknowledged or reciprocated? Can we really put aside our identification with our unique heritage and regard ourselves as 'homogenized,' even as our particular needs are seemingly ignored? Even as the advancement of a person of color to the highest office in the land is openly disparaged by racism?
We the Egyptians. We the Portuguese. We the Sudanese; the Nubian; the Ashanti; the Mossi. We the Arabs; we the Spanish; we Indians; we Europeans. We the Moslem; the Muslim; we Christian; we Buddhist; we agnostic and atheist. We are all driven to roil tradition and unite, to prevent us from isolating ourselves into obscurity. We desperately need to move on.
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)rec'd
quinnox
(20,600 posts)From a blog or something? I can't tell.
and some re-written . . . all my own thoughts
quinnox
(20,600 posts)You normally don't write long posts so that is why I asked.
bigtree
(86,005 posts). . . not as much room or need (or desire) for editorializing. Much more focus on how the candidates present and defend their ground.
Thanks for your compliment. This is an issue that I (thankfully) don't find the need to expound on as much as I did in the past.
here's a link to my other writing endeavors, if you're interested: http://www.opednews.com/author/author176.html
monmouth
(21,078 posts)yardwork
(61,712 posts)I think that white people of a certain socioeconomic class wanted to believe that "we are past all that." The news articles and the images have been shocking to those who complacently, perhaps wishfully, wanted to believe that "nobody is racist anymore."
It's shown a very great divide between groups of people in the U.S. We see the casual way in which some elected officials - people who normally make some effort to hide their uglier behavior, if only from pure self-interest - forward racist emails and post vile "jokes" on their Facebook pages. This behavior is incomprehensible to many other people. But it's something that black Americans remain aware of all the time, can never forget.
As ugly as it is, perhaps it is a good thing that this racism has been exposed to the light. No more can anybody in the U.S. claim that we are "past all that."
I think there are many folks who are unaware of the history and implications behind some of the rhetoric they've appropriated from the past. Others are well aware of their import and meaning, but employ the offensive and slanderous language anyway in their opportunistic political posturing.
It's both a new generation reviving this, as well as a determined older generation encouraged or enticed to continue what they were a part of in the past. This generation needs to be as vigilant as the previous ones to help maintain a civil and productive standard of discourse.
yardwork
(61,712 posts)Many white people didn't realize that this would be an issue. That's the divide I'm talking about. The hard core racists vs. the non-racists (or at least not-very-racists) who didn't want to know that there were still a whole bunch of racists in this country.
gateley
(62,683 posts)but I was heartened that so many people supported Obama and elected him so handily. I felt bad for under-estimating and misjudging my fellow Americans.
THEN, in horror, I watched the jokes, the comments, the disrespect, and the hatred/fear that had been hidden for many years seemed to become acceptable and flaunted.
It sickens and saddens me.
Rocky2007
(168 posts)I was so thankful when Obama was elected. President Obama and his wonderful family present a family unit than many whites can not equal. I was raised in a racist white family (raised in Ohio) and only came to accept blacks while serving in the Air Force during the late 1950's.
I received a vivid awakening on my only trip to San Antonio while going through boot camp. A half dozen of us (including one of our black recruits) were off base for the day. We went into a restaurant and headed for a table followed by a livid management person bent on doing our black friend harm.
That was my awakening, stunning and up front and In my face, personal experience -- we all walked out. That was just total 'bullshit' and I didn't like it one bit!
That was the total end of my inbred racism!
MACARD
(105 posts)all the B-17 pilots in WWII were racist till the Tuskegee Airmen started flying with them, their exceptional skills changed white racist minds.
gateley
(62,683 posts)a chance to get to KNOW someone of a different race.
bigtree
(86,005 posts)It was his first time out of Reading, Pennsylvania and he was shipped to New Guinea and placed in an all-black unit. Their job was to clean up after the other troops had come through; bodies, equipment, etc.. They interacted with white soldiers, but didn't work alongside of them.
He was placed in charge of his unit because he was well-spoken because of his youth in a 'Quaker' school and he thought his lighter skin also gave him an edge. As a matter of fact, that same combination of lighter skin and good diction helped propel him into the newly-created positions in civil service supervising other blacks and providing that 'token' pretense in the workforce that the government was striving to accommodate in that era. He later rose up through EEOC, EOC, and to become Deputy Director of Civil Rights.
Despite the service in New Guinea, though, he still had to switch cars from the integrated train of soldiers at the beginning of his journey to the 'Negro' train on his way back home as he passed through the segregated regions and localities. I always though that was a poignant reminder of how slowly the nation came out from under the blanket of segregation and discrimination.
He also rose to be a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserves, but it was his brief service in New Guinea which allowed him to be buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Kinda off of your point, but I always recall a segregated military when I think of the past.
gateley
(62,683 posts)growing up in the whitest city in the country as one of my friends put it (Seattle). It wasn't a way of life up here, and the subject never really came up, but I was aware of it from society just because of the times (that was the 50's, too). I feel very fortunate that I didn't have to excise that poison from my soul.
You are to be commended. I lived in NC for a few years and people there were GOOD people. I was astonished at the lack of racism (so I thought). I found out that they watched what they said in front of me On a person-to-person level they didn't appear racist at all (a lot of people at work were Black) but that had been instilled in them and they were generally racist. I thought that never speaking dispargingly about Blacks in front of me indicated they KNEW in their hearts it was wrong.
I often think it would be ideal if all the races mixed to the point where we all looked exactly the same, but I'm sure we'd find some tribal ways to divide us. Plus, I wouldn't want to mush together all our proud heritages.
But we're making progress as evidenced by Obama's win, and the light shining on those closet bigots is a good thing, I think.
barbtries
(28,811 posts)are in denial about it.
SantorumAnalFrothyMX
(6 posts)Well said.
riverwalker
(8,694 posts)the GOP have difficulty simply saying "President Obama".
Bachmann shorthanded it to: "Presdenbama".
Gingrich uses : "Prezdinbama". Most others use "Obama" with no title. It's a small thing, but irritates me.
. . . they can't manage to elevate their own candidacies without trying to declare this one illegitimate.
gateley
(62,683 posts)Picked it up from my dad who was a physician and they always referred to each other by their last names -- "I referred her to Smith for reconstructive surgery". I've always done that, and it drove my mother nuts.
whathehell
(29,094 posts)that she even called Mr. Softee "Softee", something I found hillarious.
gateley
(62,683 posts)whathehell
(29,094 posts)She was a funny person, my mother...She had an ironic,
deadpan sense of humor, too...A nineteen fifties
housewife, not of the June Cleaver mold!
I'm happy you had such a wonderful mom!
whathehell
(29,094 posts)She had her faults, of course, but I do miss her very much.
Do you still have your parents?....I hope you do.
gateley
(62,683 posts)great memories that make me smile and laugh. They're here in my heart all the time, as I know your mom is with you, too.
Even though I'm constantly going "I'll ask my dad this" or "my mom will like this" and of course I can't, I somehow always feel they're near.
whathehell
(29,094 posts)and I, too, take lots of comfort in those memories...But sometimes,
they just make me want them back more....I found Christmas this year
to be very tough, especially since my only sibling, a sister,
recently told me that "It not in my best
interests to have a relationship with you".
She's basically "disowned" one of her only two kids, too.
It's all very strange.
Oh well...I'm not hear to sing the blues, as it were...I do have friends,
a great husband, and people like you here at DU.
Back at ya, girlfriend!
Tumbulu
(6,292 posts)I, too cringe at all these blatant racists attitudes and am outraged that the press amplifies their words of hate and impotence.
The racist statements should not be allowed on public airwaves.
Thanks for bringing this us. I am a middle aged white woman and it infuriates me, this hate speech somehow deemed acceptable.
edited to correct spelling
Number23
(24,544 posts)Lovely post. Happy to rec.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)was seeing and elderly African-American man posing for a photo of himself standing in front of the door to the building where he had voted holding in front of him the ballot that he had filled out at home showing his vote for Obama. The pride on that gentleman's face was beautiful.
ellisonz
(27,711 posts)Bigotry is alive and well in America.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)It hasn't gone away yet...
ellisonz
(27,711 posts)...don't think it ever will. Prejudice is human nature, but that doesn't mean we can't fight it whenever it rears its ugly head. I remember around 2000 when there was talk that somehow racism was dead in America and I remember how it reemerged after 2008 with the idea that we had reached a "post-racial" society. Intellectual rubbish.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/us-hate-groups-top-1000
Hate Group Map by State: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map
Aloha.
T S Justly
(884 posts)Criticism from the left. There's been efforts to merge the two into one convenient device to slur Obama's critics
on the left. Bad idea, imo.
pocoloco
(3,180 posts)Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)deacon
(5,967 posts)FrenchieCat
(68,867 posts)WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)It can be said, that in many cases, an attack on one is an an attack on all.
How many of us upon hearing a disparaging remark first hand, corrects the person with a thoughtful, measured response?
Just doing that would help set a more civil tone in this country.
Nothing wrong with a little political correctness for the good of all.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)We are the Blah.
Thanks
DeathToTheOil
(1,124 posts)my2sense
(2,645 posts)DinahMoeHum
(21,809 posts)"Rosa walked so Martin could walk. . .
Martin walked so Barack could run. . .
Barack ran so all our children could fly."
http://syracuseculturalworkers.com/sites/scw/imagefull.php?image=
http://syracuseculturalworkers.com/poster-rosa-sat
Many of you have probably seen the Rosa Sat
quote circulating the web. We hunted down the originator of the quote, Kiari Day a single mom living near Pittsburgh, and are paying her a royalty. I call it closing the circle of justice." - Dik Cool (Syracuse Cultural Workers)
ProSense
(116,464 posts)Wait Wut
(8,492 posts)Beautiful.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)And I agree completely with it. I did want to mention, though, that I have found many times when I have a legitimate complaint about our Presidents decisions, I've inevitably been called a racist. Here, on DU. It's like some people have found that they can shut down a conversation by playing the racist card.
sellitman
(11,607 posts)I love your writing style. When I have a little more time I'll read more of your stuff. I agree with everything you wrote. Thanks for sharing.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)you cant see me but i am standing by my keyboard and applauding this
Prism
(5,815 posts)Thank you for posting it. Best post of DU3 to date.
malaise
(269,182 posts)Rec
JTFrog
(14,274 posts)Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)I certainly cannot and do not speak for the entire black American community, as we are as diverse as any other community. However, I tire of the accepted notion that we have not been critical of the president. Tune into ANY black talk radio station or visit your local hair salon or barber shop, and you'll see black Americans engaged in very intelligent and insightful dialogue about this president's performance. Opinions are varied--from declarations of not supporting him in 2012, to enthusiastic supporters who are dreaming up new ways to combat GOP attempts to suppress voters.
For me, in particular, the most subtle form of racism directed at this president that has haunted him since the day he announed is the recurrent notion that this president has not been and cannot achieve success based on his OWN MERIT. That he needs Hillary to be the VP in order for him to win. Or, that it was some other white person or event that led to success rather than his own effort. That, for me, is the most unfortunate and offensive aspect of this racism. The passage below from your OP alludes to this subtle, yet victious form of racism:
"Open racism hasn't been in fashion for decades, but the fear and insecurities which underlie discrimination and prejudice still compel some to draw lines of distinction between black and white aspirations and potential for success. What is often unspoken is the reluctance some Americans have in envisioning blacks in a position to make decisions for a white majority, resulting in attempt to set boundaries and define the roles blacks must assume to achieve success and approval. "
Again, thank you for this wonderful post.
Wait Wut
(8,492 posts)I was thinking yesterday about how the right consistently claims they aren't racist, but they're equally consistent in their racist/bigoted comments and proposals.
Thank you.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)Hey hey, ho ho,
bigotry has got to go!.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)But first, great OP. Happy to K&R
I describe myself as "generic white guy" for a couple of reasons. The first is that my appearance is "generic white guy". I'm 6 foot tall, brown hair, and I', a little thicker in the middle than I was when I was younger. I'm in my later 40s, but I pass for younger, mid-30s is a common guess. At the mall in white America, you will pass a guy who looks just like me about every 30 feet or so. I'm everywhere.
One of the funny results of this is that on a very regular basis (consistently over the last 30 years), people come up to me because they are "sure" that they know me. So then we talk. They try to figure out how they know me. They never know me. They also come up to me because I look just like some one else they know, and so they think I'm probably related to that other person. Which is never the case.
An interesting part of being "generic white guy" is that if you change my cloths, I can go anywhere in white America and I am immediately accepted as "one of us". Put me in a suit, I'm an executive, or certainly middle or upper management. Put me in an Eagles jersey, and I'm a blue collar guy from Philly. Causal pants and shirt, simple blazer, I might be a college professor. Jeans and a flannel shirt, and I fit right into any rural setting, or even tea party event (THAT was fun).
I've talked about this with some of my African American friends because it was they who made me aware of it. That notion of being able to enter ANY group of whites and immediately be accepted, often with an assumption that some of the people there already know me, is something that they told me rarely happens for them.
Years ago one of these friends said to me, as a "generic white guy, no one ever reminds you that you are white. As a black guy, I am constantly reminded that I am black." I think most white people aren't aware of this.
The other thing that happens when you are "generic white guy" is that the people you meet, see you as "one of them" and they usually assume that you think exactly like they do. For me personally, that has allowed me to learn a lot about how whites behave in a variety of settings in which there are no African Americans present.
In most of these groups, race doesn't come up at all. No one in the group is thinking about race because they rarely encounter a situation in which it comes up. Its not happening to them. Its off the radar.
However, in some groups it does come up. Regularly. Many of today's white racists think that they are not racists. They've actually bought into the nonsense that "minorities get all the breaks". Usually, these discussion occur with whites who think that they should be more successful than they are. They need some one to blame. And they can't / won't blame themselves. So they have bought into the GOP's Southern Strategy, and they blame minorities for their own failings.
These folks are very angry about this. They want to scream at the minorities who "caused" their problems. But they can't. They used to be able to scream N****R at a black person who ruined everything ... and now they can't. That word gave them POWER. But now that open racism is not acceptable, they had to go underground ... only discussing race within specific circles.
I think that for many ordinary whites, they lost track of the racists in their midst. The situations in which the racists could rant became fewer and fewer. The circles tighter and tighter. The racists learned to not bring this topic up in certain situations. So lots of ordinary whites were no longer hearing the racial hate speech as frequently. So it may have seemed like it had almost gone away.
But of course it had not. The racists learned how to hide their true feelings. And the racists HATE having to do this. They hate having to hold their tongue. They are PISSED that they can't say what they want to say. And their frustration has been building up for probably 20+ years.
And Obama's election was the last straw. I know some white guys who are furious. The election of Obama is proof that minorities get all they breaks. Meanwhile, they'll say ... "I have to work my ass off". And then the real discussion starts. One is on unemployment, one is on disability, one has a DUI which cost him his job. A discussion of their situations reveals that they are actually the ones who put themselves where they are. And there's not a minority in sight. Its a slow process, but you can see the wheels turning.
I tend to think that the racists blowing their cork will ultimately be a good thing. They had been in hiding, now they can't hide anymore. The people around them can see them for who and what they are. Maybe their family and friends can turn them around ... or if not, write them off.
bigtree
(86,005 posts)You laid it out very well. I grew up in a white suburb outside of D.C.. We had fled the city in '69, about a year after the riots and looting turned our proud, black middle-class neighborhood into nightmare of broken glass and smoldering brick.
The suburb was quiet and green, in comparison and the folks were unfailingly polite; at least the ones who would talk to me. See, I didn't really catch on to the social dynamics which directed many of the relationships and experiences I had, and the ones I wanted but couldn't attain. There were homes of friends who had parents who wouldn't allow me to visit, or whose children were afraid to have me over because of how they thought their parents might react. But it was just about a decade or so that it was allowed to flourish behind those closed doors. It was coded and undercover.
To a great degree, it still is, but we are generations-removed from the stigmas and prejudices that were taught and bred into us. We had our own defensiveness which made us lifelong allies of civil rights. In fact, in my parent's generation, many of the opportunities were in civil service as the influx of more blacks into the workforce required supervisors and managers who were seen as the most effective or most convenient stewards of the still segregated workforce.
We really didn't begin to have open debates about race and discrimination in wake of the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr.. The government was moving along though. My father, in fact, helped interpret and implement many of the new anti-discriminatory laws for the federal workforce during that period. But, there was definitely a hesitance to speak of the continuing discrimination and many institutions were still allowed to erect barriers to employment and advancement until the federal government got up to speed and the politics brought visibility to the issues of race. That's where Jackson came in; highlighted by his very visible run for the Democratic nomination. He actually got that role by default. There wasn't anyone willing or able to promote their own activism like Jesse Jackson was, and he had a lot of success in jump-starting the debate about race.
That debate, the efforts to renew the Voting Rights Act, redistricting, and the progression of the new anti-discriminatory laws and the increase in enforcement; affirmative action and the debate surrounding that, Clarence Thomas . . . all of these things made their way into the broadening media and caught fire and wind.
Then came this new generation. My kids' generation. They just ignored all of the fighting between adults, and, for the most part, united. It was as fast as the period between 1980, where I had trouble getting folks to look at my job application (much less give me one), to 1985, where an expanding economy was more than willing to take as many of the new generation of minorities who had the benefits of wider educational opportunities and were ready to fit into management positions which were, for the first time, in many businesses, supervising what was still a majority white workforce in many parts of the country.
All of that put the racism out of fashion and drove it underground. Why is it resurfacing? I think it's a basic ignorance of the past. History has been obscured by a need to put all of it behind us. Folks are now forming some of the very same notions that we spent generations putting to rest. I think it's going to be a matter of vigilance. We have to teach and set our own examples. We need to have zero tolerance for those little and large instances of racism, racist talk, scapegoating, stereotyping. And it's a multi-ethnic task these days; even reaching to instances of gender and sexual orientation issues which are also targets of folks who haven't yet gotten a clue, or folks who have yet to be confronted by individuals or by short-sighted laws that don't recognize those rights.
Vigilance. That's something we need to make a generational effort. This presidency offers us an opportunity to teach and learn. So refreshing to read perspectives like your own here and to know that folks are considering these issues out in the open.
WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)and call you and all of us, brothers and sisters, because that's what we are.
Ecumenist
(6,086 posts)He's white, (bohemian Czech) to be exact and was born and raised Deepindaharta. Yes, he has a texan accent and he was telling me that once again, one of his workmates walked up to him last week and told him with a smirk how his 90 year old uncle regailed him with stories about how he would approach a black man in train station and with then epithet of "boy" would tell him to get his bags. According to this man, the black man would hop up with a Stepin Fetchit comeback of "Yassuh, I get dat fo ya right away suh".
This man has NO IDEA that my husband's wife is black but assumes that because he is a) white and b) southern, he automatically a bigot. Yes, your post makes perfect sense.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)(kidding ... kidding !!!!!!!! ... please don't kill me) ... hope I made you laugh. That was my intent.
Here's another example of the failed "You are just like me" assumption ... this one on gender lines.
I was working for a company about 20 years ago when this happened ... but I never forgot this ... and it also shaped me going forward.
The company was/is still a fortune 500, and at the time, I'm working in a 8 story building just outside DC. Every one is a "professional". Men in nice suits, women in "serious" business suits, usually tailored skirts, rarely bright colors, no simple dresses, rarely slacks, but sometimes slacks. The roles, and the business uniform, are tightly defined.
I'm fresh out of graduate school. I was a lower middle class kid who had "made it" ... I'm in the "professional world" now, very excited. The building is very new. The bathrooms are amazing. And my office ... if you've seen the movie "Working Girl", at the end, the office that Melanie Griffith gets ... big office, up high in the building, big window with a great view ... that's kind of office I had.
I'm on my BEST behavior because I'm a little scared. Sure, I've got an MA, and a PhD ... but I still worry that these people are WAY better than me. I've never been in an environment with "professionals" like these, people who wear suits everyday. And I'm worried that at some point, they will figure out that I'm really just a poor kid from Philly, and they'll send me home!
So one day ... I get on the elevator. There are 2 people on that elevator. A man and a woman. Both dressed perfectly for this environment. I get on. No one is speaking. From my perspective, we are three strangers. We work for the same company, but we do not know each other. And so we stand there, quiet, well dressed, and professional.
The elevator stops ... and the woman (who was attractive) gets off the elevator. The doors close. And that's when they other guy stop being professional. He turns to me and says ... "Did you see the ass on that!!??!!" And he goes on, and on.
I was blown away. Here I was working hard in this environment, trying to be "professional" at all times ... I mean ... sure even if I thought that woman was attractive (I was single at the time) ... but I was never going to scream that out loud to anyone, especially some one I did not know.
He assumed I was thinking like him. He was lucky, I could have been from HR working in an EO role ... he'd have been in trouble then.
The elevator stopped again, and he got off. It took me a while to figure out that I should have said something to him.
But that event taught me that "professionals" are just as likely to be bigots, racists, and sexists as any other group.
It helped me see that those who "look like me" may think very differently, and some times in a bad way.
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)And I completely agree with what you're saying.
SmittynMo
(3,544 posts)The original article here was excellent. Some of the comments, were very good. I especially liked the one by Joe Philly. The sad part is the most of the right are racists. Will they never learn?
DesertFlower
(11,649 posts)queens, ny. fortunately i came from a family who were not racist at all. never heard a racial or antisemetic slur. my first job was in an office in the garment center. it was 1958. the blacks and hispanics worked in the shipping room, but then our office manager hired a black woman as an assistant bookkeeper. we immediately became friends. she was much older than me -- probably in her 30s. i was 17. even after i left that job we stayed in touch for a long time.
thank you mr. shaeffer for giving that woman a chance.
i'm appalled by the blatant racism i've seen and heard since our beloved president was elected.
NOLALady
(4,003 posts)rtassi
(629 posts)If it were an Italian or Jewish American President (which by the way we haven't had yet) ... they'd be called equally demeaning names I'm certain ... The fact the a black man won the Oval office in advance of those particular ethnic groups, considering the amount of influence and power they have been capable of exerting, is extraordinary in my view ... Perhaps one of the defining traits of the President and First lady, is not devoting their thinking to the "what is" but rather to the "what could be" or what they "intend" things to be ... Most of us spend our time thinking about, and accepting what we have been taught to think, and then complacently accepting only what we see now .. as reality ... not much evolution in that!
I believe President Obama and his family have elevated to a great extent the ability of any person in this country regardless of accepted, acknowledged, or even self imposed limiting factors, to become who they want to be ... It's a matter of knowing, choice, and then focus ... On that alone, they have been enormously successful, and all have benefited one way or another!
The issues of racism, as with all other things, are multi faceted ... victims, oppressors, active or passive participants ... are all required for it to thrive!
That your writing was even questioned as to its originality, though back peddled artfully, was not so subtly telling ...
Iwillnevergiveup
(9,298 posts)And this is such a timely subject for me since I just finished reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" this weekend. Found it on my bookshelf, yellowed pages and all and realized I had never read it. It is not an easy read - many characters suffer such torment and abuse.
Ms. Stowe intones much religion, specifically Christianity, in her writing which tended to put me off a bit, but here's something she wrote in her concluding remarks which certainly resonates today:
"But, what can any individual do? Of that, every individual can judge. There is one thing that every individual can do, - they can see to it that they feel right. An atmosphere of sympathetic influence encircles every human being; and the man or woman who feels strongly, healthily, and justly on the great interests of humanity, is a constant benefactor to the human race. See, then, to your sympathies in this matter! Are they in harmony with with the sympathies of Christ? Or are they swayed and perverted by the sophistries of worldly policy?"
rtassi
(629 posts)maybe better to have stated "cycles of creation" instead ... Just my opinion ..