Stop Denying Racism Already $%&*
I grew up in a small town in North Carolina where it wasn’t uncommon to hear the ’N’ word.
It was mostly from older white men, either neighbors or in-laws from rural Georgia. In the most extreme case, it wasn’t spoken like a normal word, like you would say if you were referring to the mailman or someone you had met that day.
It was said with a certain disgust, that was palpable and revealed seriousness and hate. It was disturbing and unsettling for a young child like myself to experience.
From other seemingly good people the “N” word was uttered with less malice. They wouldn’t own the full hatefulness, but said it
none-the-less.
As I got older, it found its way into friend’s lexicons, who thought they were cool or edgy. I don’t think they really hated black people. It was a way of inclusion, a manner of feeling powerful in a world when it’s easy to feel small. It can be easier to give into feelings of hate, when one is surrounded by hate, than empathy, where empathy is lacking.
In an interview with David Letterman, Obama said it was human nature to look for an evolutionary advantage over others. Could it be as simple as trying to prop oneself up. Is there an insecurity there rectified by deferring to hate and putting someone else down that is being recycled generation over generation? Do these people still want to go back to the way things were pre-Civil War. Ron Brownstein said it’s a coalition of “transformation” versus “restoration.” Perhaps it will never get any better as long as restoration of a prior era is always the goal. We will continue to grow more distant as the civil world becomes more progressive.
It doesn’t matter when or where the “N” word was said, or why. Whether it was normalized, said with reservation, said passionately, or spoken from a place of insecurity, it was obviously wrong.
Based on these accounts, it would be ridiculous to deny racism exists in America.
Fortunately I only heard the “N” word. I didn’t see any overt acts of racism or violence towards black people. In my neighborhood it was under the radar, not spoken in public, perhaps mostly limited to an unconscious bias.
But now instead of it being shameful to be racist, those in power are inciting it. I hear the “N” word more frequently now.
And it’s moving from inside homes out into the streets with terrible acts of violence by police officers and right wing extremists.
We need to call it for what it is instead of ignoring the subject, otherwise no one will ever question. It really comes down to education, reflection of self, willingness to let things go and be vulnerable.
