Nasty Little Man

Race matters

Through my work in civil rights, which I'll keep anonymous for the purpose of staying relatively anonymous, and through graduate studies in Community Psychology and Social Change, I've had the opportunity to confront and deal with issues around race, in a variety of ways, in the last two years and especially in the last year. Because of these experiences, here a few thoughts on the issue I'd like to share.

White people can listen mindfully and express empathy but can never truly understand the plight of America's racial minorities. Last year in one of my classes, we watched the documentary The Color of Fear. In the film, a group of men gather at a retreat center in suburban California and discuss issues of race. There is a middle-aged white man in the film who reminds me of so many white people I know. This man fails to comprehend the experiences of the minorities in the group, and in one example, he does not understand why a black man is uncomfortable coming to the area of Cali where the retreat is being held. The area is nearly all-white.

I hear many white people say things like, "All racism is wrong." Certainly that is true, but it is way too simplistic. There are issues of power here that must be explored. When whites engage in racism, it is for the centuries-old purpose of pushing down minorities and for keeping power over minorities. When minorities engage in racism, it is an attempt to grab some power back. This explanation does not make either one right, but it certainly helps us to further understand. From a Buddhist perspective, I would want to find compassion for both because they are the result of their conditioning, but it is much easier to have compassion for the powerless than the powerful.

Central Pennsylvania is not a racist hell in the midst of a racial paradise. This region takes a pretty good beating from outsiders, and there can be no denying that we have issues here. But let's stop acting like in the rest of the country whites and minorities are walking arm-in-arm singing "Ebony and Ivory" while in central PA there is a cross-burning on every corner. Our issues here are not any different from the rest of the country.

As one example, I have only heard of one potential anti-immigrant ordinance proposed in central PA, but a flurry of them have been proposed in southeast PA. Yet it's central PA that gets tagged with the racist label while I have yet to hear anyone (other than myself) talk about how racist the Philly region is.

This issue can be carried to a state level, too. Another example: The PA House of Reps tried to suppress the minority vote with a voter photo ID bill earlier this year. That bill was watered down by the Senate and then vetoed by the governor.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, legislation like the original PA House bill passed and was signed by the governor. It's already been struck down at the district court level, but the state is appealing. (Background: 1 in 8 Pennsylvanians do not have photo identification, and they are disproportionately minorities, elderly, the poor, and the disabled.)

Let kids be kids. In the eyes of many, including both whites and other minorities, minority kids don't have the freedom to just be kids. A family member once told me that he has driven by a local elementary school with a significant minority population at dismissal and that it's out of control. Hmmm, an elementary school at dismissal time is going to be a bit wild, whether the kids are white, black, or otherwise.

A friend who is half Latina who grew up in an urban setting told me recently that if she sees Puerto Rican teens hanging out, she assumes they're up to trouble.

It's my contention that white kids and minority kids can exhibit the exact same behavior but will be viewed differently by adults, particularly whites.

These are a few thoughts on these issues. I'm probably going to randomly post thoughts about race as they come to me.

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 11:38 AM