By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | I want us all to be safe from brutality. So, when I see a black boat captain attacked by white thugs, I expect the thugs to be prosecuted.
In this recent case, several white guys felt that it was OK to harass and beat on an innocent black man (a city of Montgomery river boat captain) just trying to do his job. And a bunch of white guys joined the fray. Three of the assailants have been charged.
It is hard to face the truth, but our nation is still racist. Maybe not as bad as in the 50s but moving the wrong way once again. A black man asking white men to please move their boat was just not acceptable in Montgomery, Ala. Yes, this in 2023.
Meanwhile, our Supreme Court has decided that discrimination and racism have suddenly disappeared over the last 20 years or so. It’s a color-blind society where everyone is treated equally and has the same opportunities. So, no need for civil rights legislation, right?
Surveys have shown time and again that there are built-in racist tendencies in the U.S. public. Only a third of Black Americans believe that they are never treated with less respect than whites; they are never provided poorer service at restaurants and stores; and white people act as though blacks are as bright as others.
Black Americans were prevented in various ways from owning homes for many years. And even when they did get loans, the homes were not in the “up and coming” areas. They were segregated into the slums in the “colored” part of town. Therefore, inherited wealth is not something inherent in the minority community, simply because of historic racism.
In addition, there is the educational deficit. I went to segregated Georgia public schools. Separate but unequal. Not a soul that went to high school with me believed that the black kids were getting as good an education. Because they clearly were not.
You can’t have a fair race when one contestant has his feet tied together until the mid-point of the racecourse. And that is exactly what we have done to black Americans. We have told them that they are free, finally, after hundreds of years of oppression. So, now you are on your own. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Just work harder to catch up. Baloney! White privilege combined with white grievance is distorting the truth.
Repeatedly, it is shown that America has mistreated people of color. These same people then deny the facts before them.
Am I optimistic that things will change in the near future? No. Fox, OAN and Newsmax media outlets reinforce the “alternate facts” (i.e., lies) that are repeated by right-wing politicos. And at least one third of our population, the MAGA, is thoroughly brainwashed and appears to be unable to see matters in any other way.
As a society, we must acknowledge that in the last decade we have gone backward on race. We must vote for positive change…or stay uninformed (the opposite of woke).
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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