Black and White

Brian, a friend of mine from high school, recently posted a blog about Southern Rednecks being racist. Not that he agreed, but just as a rebuttle to the idea. I will expand on that. It's not just a Southern problem, or trait, but a characterization born of ignorance, or the lack of perspective. As if we believe we are superior based on the color of our skin. What bullshit!

Racism is the most important problem in America today.

It's not just a Southern problem. It's been 30+ years since the last vestages of segregation were remanded under the law, and there's a growing feeling that Blacks have done little to take advantage of that. That they've been given special breaks and blown it every time. That they don't want an even playing field, but their turn on top. That America looks at the Vietnamese, the Irish, the Italians or the Jews, and asks "What's up with the Blacks?" Ideas you hear now are based on that, not old ideas of superiority.

But, it's not much different than it was with the American Indians.

Think about it, American Indians are the only minority that have had as much trouble as Blacks. Why? Both races had their cultures shattered by the White man. All the other groups, Irish, Italians, whatever, they came here destitute, but they maintained their cultural identities until they were secure enough to assymilate.

Blacks had no chance to do that. They were stolen from their country, brought here in chains, sold as property, their families were split, had their religion beaten out of them, their names changed, nothing was left, no identity and they've never recovered.

Native Americans had the same experience, only in reverse. the Indians weren't stolen from their land, their land was stolen from them. And, their culture was systematically destroyed. They've never recovered either, despite a host of government programs to help them.

If you don't know who you are, you can't find your way. There are exceptions of course, but Whites don't look at Blacks with the right perspective. We look at them like they are an imigrant group that can't get their shit together.

Should we sweep this under the rug?

Carl Jung said, "Evil resides in every heart." He called it the "shadow". He believed that trying to repress the "shadow" is dangerous, because it can't be done. He believed that you have to recognize your shadow, come to grips with it, accept it and integrate it. Basically, make friends with the evil in yourself, and the old South has never done that. They haven't acknowledged the crime of slavery. Modern generations feel no guilt from over it. Slave owners were a tiny minority, and most Southerners see no further complicity.

But, I think Northerners are just as guilty as the Southerners, when it comes to Blacks. Prejudice in the North isn't as open, but just as destructive. Most "Yankees" have no concept of living in a town that is 50%+ Black. No idea of the want that can exist between Black and White on a daily basis, and therefore, pass it off as a Southern problem.

Just something to think about. You didn't have anything to do anyway, or you wouldn't be wasting your time reading my blog.

Jim