by Scruples McGee
If you were to ask 100 strangers how they defined racism, you would likely receive a different response from each person. There are those of us who became convinced fallen”Food Network” icon Paula Deen was a racist, once she openly acknowledged “Of course” when asked if she had ever used the N word. I personally do not see Deen as a racist, but more as a southern woman reared within a generation of like-minded folks, who saw nothing wrong in using the hateful term. Deen’s parents, grandparents and great grandparents may not have sported white sheets emblazoned with the letters KKK, but simply held the belief that they as whites were superior to those of a darker hue. Were such views if held ignorant? Absolutely. Were they racist? Many would say yes.
Racism is not always recognizable to some when it is in its more subtle form. This kind of racism can be found in those serving on juries. Jurors who seem incapable of convicting a white perpetrator when a non-white is the victim. They may not only be unwilling to see that their decisions are being based on color, but they may be unable to see it. The question is does this make them even more dangerous to society? As a society we can be quick to condemn certain celebrities particularly when they are caught in racist rants. Yet we can just as quickly dismiss the behavior of others for similar behavior.
Michael Richards of Seinfeld fame was ostracized and shut out of the industry for years, after his racist tirade was captured on video in a nightclub where he was performing. Mel Gibson suffered the same fate. Oddly enough young good looking Shia Lebeouf was promptly forgiven for his racist faux pas. Racism is often a very selective process, for those who express it as well as those who receive it.
The GOP has been accused of being racist in nature for some time now and in many ways I believe they are. Not overtly racist, but more conditioned in their belief that any programs that might help minorities would have to be bad. The GOP would never admit that their disdain for this President was related to his race, but their actions speak otherwise. Blatant showings of disrespect and the GOP’s consistent refusal to compromise, are clear examples of their inability to take orders from a black man, even when he is the leader of the free world.
I believe most of us have expressed some form of bias to a particular group at some point in our lives. We may have viewed our passing thought or vocal expression as harmless. We may have felt remorse afterwards. Racism is much more than a passing thought or a single word uttered in anger. It is a cancer . A cancer that when allowed to flourish and go unchecked, spreads and becomes more dangerous.
