The Conversation America Needs To Have
Don Imus said some terrible things. Those racial remarks were aimed at a group of people who had worked really hard to get where they were. Its sad that their achievements were overshadowed by a dumb comment.
However, the situation was handled wrongly. There could have - and should have - been a conversation about race. A conversation america needs to have with itsself about how we really see people who are of races other than our own. People are so afraid of offending that this conversation is never had. Thus, the stereotypes, negative opinions, and prejudices continue.
Its impossible to solve whats not understood. Its impossible to solve something some people don't think still exists. There is still racism in this country. While its highly unlikely for a person to be hung or to find a burning cross in their yard, its not unlikely for members of any race to be more comfortiable around other members of that same race. This results in descriminatory employment processes. Instead of not hiring someone because they are a certain race, people do hire someone because they are the same race as themselves. The employer hires the applicant who he/she is the most comfortiable around.
There's a great divide between minorities who understand this problem and others who either don't understand or don't even know it exists. Everyone sees the world through their own looking glass. A glass made up of what they have been taught, their beliefs and experiences. They may be engaging in racial prefrences without even thinking about it.
It seems political correctness and the desire not to offend has put a muzzle on our true feelings toward one another. We are too afraid to say how we truely feel; afraid of the consequences. In this nation where people died to uphold our freedom of speech, we have been neutered and remain painfully silent.
However, the situation was handled wrongly. There could have - and should have - been a conversation about race. A conversation america needs to have with itsself about how we really see people who are of races other than our own. People are so afraid of offending that this conversation is never had. Thus, the stereotypes, negative opinions, and prejudices continue.
Its impossible to solve whats not understood. Its impossible to solve something some people don't think still exists. There is still racism in this country. While its highly unlikely for a person to be hung or to find a burning cross in their yard, its not unlikely for members of any race to be more comfortiable around other members of that same race. This results in descriminatory employment processes. Instead of not hiring someone because they are a certain race, people do hire someone because they are the same race as themselves. The employer hires the applicant who he/she is the most comfortiable around.
There's a great divide between minorities who understand this problem and others who either don't understand or don't even know it exists. Everyone sees the world through their own looking glass. A glass made up of what they have been taught, their beliefs and experiences. They may be engaging in racial prefrences without even thinking about it.
It seems political correctness and the desire not to offend has put a muzzle on our true feelings toward one another. We are too afraid to say how we truely feel; afraid of the consequences. In this nation where people died to uphold our freedom of speech, we have been neutered and remain painfully silent.
Labels: Don Imus, politics, race relations, social commentary
posted by Tom at 2:55 PM
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