The acceptable hate

I’ve received an interesting commentary—indirectly mind you, the person did not post it on my blog—in response to my post about the Congressional Black Caucus’s involvement in the housing debacle that has helped topple our economy.

Here is the response:

“This kind of malarkey doesn’t even deserve a response. Next thing you
know, Blacks will be blamed for slavery and the Holocaust will be blamed on the
Jews…. What I am saying, if people want to place blame on Democrats then so be
it. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when you start spouting “Black
Democrats” “Jewish Democrats” or “Latino Democrats” etc… that’s when it’s a
problem. When you start placing racial ethnicity in from of the word
Democrat then that is where I have a problem. There’s no such thing
as a Black Democrat. There’s no such thing a Jewish Democrat.
There’re Democrats period. There’s no need to add racial undertones to
politics and government – there’s enough of that already and then some. No
need in adding more fuel to the fire.”

My first response was to re-examine my writing, and see if she was correct. Am I just “adding fuel to the fire”? Is it unfair, when discussing a Democrat’s policy and opinion, to point out their race?

Let me begin this analysis by stating up front my intentions in writing these blogs, especially those that deal with race.

First of all, I don’t consider myself to be a racist. I do not hate anyone for their race, nor do I hate any race of people, nor do I believe in any semblance of “White Supremacy” or any other similar bigotry.

That being said, I am quite sure that some of my beliefs and statements might offend some Blacks. They may very well feel that I am saying something that they think is wrong, a misrepresentation, a stereotype, whatever. I’m open to being corrected or instructed, which is why I have spent so much time reading books about Black History, race relations, etc.

So, why do I feel compelled to write about this issue? Because I am convinced, like Barack Obama and so many others, that the issue of Race is not a settled issue. It is not over, discrimination is still alive and “well”, and we as a country, regardless of our individual race, religion, or political perspective, have to work together to heal this festering wound.

However, I agree with Pastor Madding, the Black minister of ATLAH who points out that Whites have recognized the error of their ways, their policies, and laws that discriminated, and have begun a path toward reconciliation and redemption. I agree with the good Pastor who said that Whites living today know nothing of slavery, were not alive then, and played no part in it. Few Whites living today were involved in Jim Crowe, and a great deal has been done to rectify those laws. Affirmative Action, a policy that resulted from the Great Society, is the most recognized example of this attempt to help Blacks overcome the long legacy of discrimination. The “Ownership Society”—the plan promoted by the Bush administration to help minorities get loans so that they can enjoy home ownership—was another example. In my opinion, both projects failed miserably.

Alright, you may ask. If you really want to help with race relations, why in the world do your posts sound so angry and why do you attack Blacks?

First of all, I don’t attack Blacks. I attack some Black leaders. There’s a big difference.
Second of all, I’m attempting to point out that, as I stated before, bigotry is still alive and well today—but it’s not the kind of bigotry that was witnessed back in the days of public lynching, cross burnings and state-sanctioned discrimination. The form of discrimination today is much more subtle, much more insidious, and can be found on both sides.

What I’m seeing happening now is a new and dangerous movement. I’m not sure Blacks sense it, they may see it as business as usual. But in this period of our history, in which Barack Obama claims to be the first “post racial” candidate—and enjoys a very great likelihood of winning the Presidential election—and while he and his followers claim that Obama will bring America together, my sense is that the exact opposite is happening.

It’s as if Blacks, feeling poised so close to finally breaking through the last great barrier to the most powerful political position in the country (and arguably in the world), are now beginning to vent deeply held resentments and this is showing in a steady stream of subtle, race-based political propaganda punctuated by a periodic release of venomous invective.

I feel compelled to use my blog as a forum to state my opinion very clearly and forcefully about these race issues, because I sense that if the kind of wacky bullshit we see now—race based attacks and innuendo used to shut up white politicians and make whites feel guilty to blackmail them (us) accept policy that is unwise and destructive, then we’re likely headed toward racial conflicts.

Why point out the race of some of these politicians and Black leaders?

• When Black commentator Fatima Ali actually threatens that if Obama doesn’t win the election there will be race wars, they are using race and the fear of violence to sway public opinion. Does her race have nothing to do with it?
• When Black politicians like Cynthia McKinney say that the Department of Defense ordered soldiers to murder and then dump the bodies of 5,000 blacks during Katrina, you can’t say that race had nothing to do with that!
• When Black politicians perpetuate urban legends and distorted history based upon race in order to stoke the fires of resentment, that can’t be ignored.
• When Black congressmen (Alcee Hastings for example) attack White candidates—based solely on the candidate’s race—and try to imply that the White candidates “don’t care about Blacks and Jews”, you can’t ignore that.
• When Black congresswomen Maxine Waters actually defend riots and looting because “they” (the black participants) were “righteous” to take what they wanted and that it should not even be considered stealing—that can’t be ignored.
  

The amount of anti-White attacks, the level of the threats and insults, has increased. The hatred of Whites by Blacks has been excused, rationalized, and accepted, even promoted.

There can be no avoiding the discussion that many of these Blacks feel totally just in hating whites. They feel vindicated in looting and stealing. They have been convinced that they are soldiers fighting against the great White-Devil. And as they get closer to having their first Black president, the feeling that “we’re finally gonna take what’s ours” is apparently growing.
Will American Blacks, when they finally are in power, do to American Whites what Blacks in Zimbabwe and South Africa did to the Whites there? Are they going to wage war on their White countrymen?

Don’t tell me race has nothing to do with it. It has everything to do with it.