Monday, January 11, 2016

“Get Past Race and Fix Current Problems:” A Reply

 south-carolina-college-1820

South Carolina State Senator Katrina Frye Shealy recently declared that the state should “get past race and fix current problems.”   Dr. W. Kirk Wood, Professor History Emeritus at Alabama State University, wrote this in reply.

Dear Sen. Shealy,

Your recent letter to the editor of the State newspaper of 12-7-2015 (“Let’s Get Past Race and Fix Current Problems”) was welcomed and reflected the views of many of your constituents mine included.   Writing as a retired Prof. of History from Alabama State University (1986-2011), which school is a historically black university by the way, I can tell you that African-Americans and “Politically Correct” white liberals (and Democrats) do not want to get beyond race.   It benefits both to keep an exaggerated legacy of racism from slavery days alive for the sake of the politics of “victimization” and blaming the larger society of color prejudice for their individual ills and shortcomings rather than looking at their own personal agency caused by poor life decisions.  In turn, this fits the liberal, Democratic Party agenda of ever more government to solve all the ills of America. Nowadays, however, instead of entitlements, government has become the agent of reverse discrimination and, ironically, intolerance  of any one or entity judged to be insensitive toward minorities.

4 comments:

  1. This man is brilliant. I have often said, “There isn’t one-tenth the racism democrats wished there was.”

    Badger

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    Replies
    1. I loved that article!

      I had an older step-brother who was born and raised about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh, Pa., ( my mother's side ). We would go up and see them every few years, whenever finances would allow it. One year during the 80's , while they were taking a family trip down to SC to attend a wedding of one of his wife's sibling's child, they decided to sneak down and surprise us. They spent a few days sight-seeing on the way, then a couple of days at a motel a couple of towns away from us, before showing up at my parent's home, where the following conversation took place.

      He: You-in's really don't hate black people in the South. We found white people sitting and enjoying being around black people everywhere we've been.

      Me: ( laughing ) No, we don't hate black people down here. In fact, the black people next door on that side of the place are better neighbors then the white people are that are on the other side of the place. Why do you say that? ( He's been down here before he was married, and I knew he liked black people---he had been around just us most of the times he'd been down here )

      He: Because up where we live, a lot of them hate black people, and can't stand to be around them. In fact, there's a trial going on where some young white guys caught a young black man in their neighborhood ( in Pittsburgh ), and killed him. Another trial is coming up, where some black teenagers severely beat up a young white man because he was in their neighborhood. A lot of them don't want to have anything to do with each other.

      Me: We know how a lot of people up there feel about black people, just from watching the news. Now, there are some places down here that a person might be in trouble, depending on their color. But, for the most part, there's not that many places you'd get bothered in going, whether you are black or white. We enjoy each others company, mostly. There are always some idiots around, black and white. But no, we don't hate black people down here ( laughing ).

      He: That's why I like it down here.


      Never could get him to move down here. He had too many family commitments up there to do so.

      Most of what racism there is this country now is what's been stirred up by those who want white and black ( and brown ) at each others throats, and not at the throats of the ones stirring it up. But, the people are waking up, and Donald Trump is leading us out of the Land of Stupid ( as a country ).

      United we stand, divided we fall!

      Central Alabamaian

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    2. Great story and thanks.

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      the people are waking up, and Donald Trump is leading us out of the Land of Stupid ( as a country ).

      & I shall follow!

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