I have been having trouble getting back to my writing after the death of my son and the pains of my physical injuries resulting from my bicycle accident compounded by the SS tactics of some local deputies while my other son was having medical problems. I promise to get the article about SS tactics here in America done soon, as well as an article about Daniel (the son who passed away. )
I have been able to do some commenting on-line about news stuff, and one of the topics I commented on just demands some blog comment. There has been much coverage on the topic of police treatment of African Americans (and other Americans with dark skin). I was just commenting about the Lt. Governor of Missouri and his comments about the President and the Attorney General. I was brought up in the South. I started off by commenting on how Missouri is an embarrassment.to the South. While thinking about the issue, I recalled how I had been brought up to associate certain racial attitudes with "white trash". In the more "genteel" parts of the South white slave-holders were raised with the concept of the "white man's burden" and were taught that slave-holders were responsible for the welfare of their charges. They were obligated to protect their slaves, and to help "civilize" them. Generally, they continued to protect the freed slaves and advocate for their education. Confederate General Bedford Forrest was a leading advocate for black voter's rights and employment (the original KKK he founded was racially integrated and protected southern Black women who were being raped by Northern troops. He also disbanded the Klan when it became racist).
In the 1960s I was taught that the dreaded "N word" was used by white trash, not white people of good breeding.Yes, the concepts I have been describing are associated with a Patriarchal set of concepts that have their own racist slant. I do not apologize, however, for being appalled by the way that the Ferguson police reacted to the protests in Ferguson. I do not know the exact details of the incident that gave rise to the initial protests, but it does not take a genius to know that a city with a 67% black population and less than 10% black representation on the police force has a racist police department. I am a white man from the South and have had a lifetime witnessing police mistreatment of "colored" citizens. I have no trouble understanding that some communities have problems resulting from long standing poverty and economic exploitation. I also understand that the origins of slavery in America may well have resulted in a disproportionate number of "black" people with violent tendencies. But the fact is that any individual person must be treated with a certain minimum level of respect. When a person is taken to the ground with a death-hold because he was selling loose cigarettes and dies as a result, something is wrong. The rear choke-hold take down is barred in New York for a reason. When a 12 year old boy is shot and killed for playing with a toy gun in what is clearly a play-ground, something is wrong. It is time to call a spade a spade. And it is time to call white-trash politics white-trash politics.
I doubt that racial prejudice will end anytime soon. The problem is not so much that prejudice exists. The problem is how we handle it.Of course, we need to respect the fact that there are always differences of opinion. I am sure that not everyone who disagrees with the president or the Attorney General does so because of racial prejudice. But there can be no doubt that frequently that is the basis . And not all white people who have racist views are white trash. But that is frequently the case.
I have been able to do some commenting on-line about news stuff, and one of the topics I commented on just demands some blog comment. There has been much coverage on the topic of police treatment of African Americans (and other Americans with dark skin). I was just commenting about the Lt. Governor of Missouri and his comments about the President and the Attorney General. I was brought up in the South. I started off by commenting on how Missouri is an embarrassment.to the South. While thinking about the issue, I recalled how I had been brought up to associate certain racial attitudes with "white trash". In the more "genteel" parts of the South white slave-holders were raised with the concept of the "white man's burden" and were taught that slave-holders were responsible for the welfare of their charges. They were obligated to protect their slaves, and to help "civilize" them. Generally, they continued to protect the freed slaves and advocate for their education. Confederate General Bedford Forrest was a leading advocate for black voter's rights and employment (the original KKK he founded was racially integrated and protected southern Black women who were being raped by Northern troops. He also disbanded the Klan when it became racist).
In the 1960s I was taught that the dreaded "N word" was used by white trash, not white people of good breeding.Yes, the concepts I have been describing are associated with a Patriarchal set of concepts that have their own racist slant. I do not apologize, however, for being appalled by the way that the Ferguson police reacted to the protests in Ferguson. I do not know the exact details of the incident that gave rise to the initial protests, but it does not take a genius to know that a city with a 67% black population and less than 10% black representation on the police force has a racist police department. I am a white man from the South and have had a lifetime witnessing police mistreatment of "colored" citizens. I have no trouble understanding that some communities have problems resulting from long standing poverty and economic exploitation. I also understand that the origins of slavery in America may well have resulted in a disproportionate number of "black" people with violent tendencies. But the fact is that any individual person must be treated with a certain minimum level of respect. When a person is taken to the ground with a death-hold because he was selling loose cigarettes and dies as a result, something is wrong. The rear choke-hold take down is barred in New York for a reason. When a 12 year old boy is shot and killed for playing with a toy gun in what is clearly a play-ground, something is wrong. It is time to call a spade a spade. And it is time to call white-trash politics white-trash politics.
I doubt that racial prejudice will end anytime soon. The problem is not so much that prejudice exists. The problem is how we handle it.Of course, we need to respect the fact that there are always differences of opinion. I am sure that not everyone who disagrees with the president or the Attorney General does so because of racial prejudice. But there can be no doubt that frequently that is the basis . And not all white people who have racist views are white trash. But that is frequently the case.
