On Racism.

I was at a friend's family get together last night. Somehow the brutal beating of a student of Belleville West High School came up and a woman in an angry voice stated, "If that would have been white kids beating a black kid then Johnny Scott and Jesse Jackson would have been crying racism." The next comment was, "You didn't hear the president commenting on that case!" Immediately following this comment was, "And he shouldn't have gone to Denmark!" My immediate response was for the woman to "mellow out" and since I was a guest I went no further. My friend warned that we were in conservative country. I am becoming increasingly alarmed at the lack of analytical ability of people considered "conservative." The arguments that I hear are essentially regurgitations of the right wing media voices like Limbaugh and Beck. However, they have internalized these viewpoints because quite frankly it is too difficult to think through an issue within one's own mind. Let's think through these issues right now. First, is the general white outrage at the scene of two black kids beating up a white kid. If a black kid would have been the recipient of the beating perhaps Johnny Scott and Jesse Jackson would be shouting racism. However, if this would have been the case, would white people be outraged? If you look back at the history of the United States and the well documented cases of whites beating or many times killing blacks was there outrage by whites at these horrible events? No there was not. The facts are that the majority of white people sat mute in these cases. Of course, any ethnicity can be racist but history is still clear on this matter in the United States. WHITE people have committed the sheer majority of violence toward other ethnicities. However, now that other ethnicities have gained the civil rights that were granted to white males for centuries whites are now suddenly feeling like victims of a system that has simply become more equal and less favorable to white dominance. Yes, the comfort of being DOMINANT is no longer quite as obvious to white people. This is why whites feel so outraged if a white is the victim of minority induced violence. It is really the realization that whites do not have racial superiority over other groups. If you are horrified by a black beating up a white ask yourself if you are equally as horrified when a black gets beaten up by a white. If you are not then, I think you harbor a sense of racial superiority. Second, the president of the United States does not need to comment on every event that takes place within the United States plain and simple. Third, why can't the president advocate for a city in the United States? The argument is made that there are other issues going on. Come on people it is one day. How many days did George W. spend in the last Olympics simply watching the games while there was a war in Iraq. It is OK. It is great that a president wants to watch the Olympics and it is great that a president wants to make a gesture in the support of acquiring the Olympics. The fact that the latter comments followed talk of black on white violence lends some supporting evidence to the statement that Jimmy Carter made in regard to all of the outrage about whatever President Obama does. The outrage has racial roots. You can disagree and not even like presidents but ask yourself why? It is very difficult to confront our own prejudices but confronting them is better than harboring bitterness.