The past few weeks have provided some vivid evidence that the enduring stain of racism continues to plague us. There is the incident in Jena, LA, including the arrival and quick departure of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, leaving the situation much more volatile in their wake. Then there was the "surprise" voiced by Bill O'Reilly that patrons of a restaurant in Harlem acted human.
One often reads comments from conservatives that racism is a thing of the past. As someone who spent five years in the unreconstructed, still Old South, I can speak candidly on this issue, apart from the incidents in the recent news. Racism is not only alive and well, it warps the ability of communities to live together, to work together, to deal with issues together. Denying the reality, whether on a local, regional, state, or national level, only complicates the problem because we have to waste so much precious time and energy trying to convince those who wish to deny the obvious that we lose time trying to fix things.
The incident in Jena is complicated. It is not made easier by the fact that real violence against another human being was meted out as a kind of rough justice for the on-going racial harassment of African-Americans. With the arrival of marchers and outsiders, the entire community became embroiled in a national spectacle - and the racial divide within Jena becomes even wider, and the job of reconciliation that much more difficult with the flames fanned by the stunt. This is one instance where I believe the intervention of outsiders was counter-productive.
O'Reilly's comments are despicable, and the entire incident is not helped when the obvious intent and content are hidden behind enablers like Juan Williams.
Every time a racial incident occurs in America, we might have the opportunity to have a serious discussion. Then, we get sidetracked into trying to convince people that racism still exists, that it is part and parcel of the American character, and will not be excised in a generation, by any law, or through either the good will of earnest people, or denying the very existence of the evil among us.
So, once again, we are left with people hurting, literally, physically, and emotionally, people befuddled by a series of events that defy our view of ourselves as having overcome our historic stain. What is lost is an opportunity to deal as adults with the ongoing problem of race. Until we do, we shall continue to have Jenas and comments like O'Reilly's.
Virtual Tin Cup
