As a kid in Louisiana, I knew that there were people who looked down on me and my family for our ethnicity. Racism that isnt overt is painful because its like a poisonous gas that corrodes your self worth. One thing weve learned from events in Missouri is that there are still many racists in this country. Im not talking about those who want to discuss the nuances of the incident. Im referring to white supremacists who have surfaced and are vocally raising funds and support for the police officer, those who are calling the protestors losers, and who use the n word. The scary monster racists. Did the country suddenly become more racist? No. Theyve been there, quietly telling racist jokes, lamenting the influx of immigrants into the US, excluding other races from their churches, clubs, and social circles. Some are polite and some arent. These racists were rattled with Trayvons death, but like bottomfeeders accustomed to the darkness of the sea floor, they remained largely quiet, donating to Zimmermans defense fund, anonymously filling the threads of articles with their hatred. Ferguson has finally brought many out in the open. Three KKK chapters planned to meet in Sullivan, Missouri to raise funds for Darren Wilson. Talking heads on some TV shows are shedding their code for more explicit messages that denigrate races. Prominent figures are putting names and faces on the monsters that lurked in threads, dark bars, and other places where people meet to talk. Even with the ugliness out there, Im hopeful because I see it as part of a process. Were moving forward, not backward. Let the racists rant, showing their faces on television and elsewhere. Returning to the words of the great Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr: Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. Let the healing begin.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 03:56:43 +0000
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