The Politics of Race

Racial conflict, no end in sight?

America has its first African American President.  Have we arrived at the Promise Land?  I don’t think anyone believes we have no more “Race” hurdles to overcome, but just where are we?  Can we now objectively look at people for the “content of their character” and not the “color of their skin.”

The truth is racism has become a more complex, insidious problem since it was pushed underground by the Civil Right Movements throughout the world.   Here is a conversation I had with my late Uncle “J” (his family does not want him to be identified).    Please feel free to comment about what he is saying.

Isn’t  racism much less of a problem these days, Uncle J?

 “It never went away, it just up and changed its stripes.  There’s MORE racism out there than people want to recognize.”

When I ask him why he is so pessimistic his main reason is “people never change.”   

“Do you mean that there will always be racism?  I thought I would get a simple “yes,” but he fooled me.  “As long as there are “Races” there will be racism,” he said. 

(When they h___ did he get so glum and philosophical?)

 “The Races on this planet will NEVER look at each other as equal.  There is just too much difference [between] cultures and how they have developed.”

Before I could even ask a question he sailed into this explanation:  “Mankind will never recognize itself as one human race.  The tribes of Africa didn’t see themselves as ‘equal’ or as one people who shared the same continent.  The tribes played tricks against each other, stole from each other, traded their neighboring tribe to the White slave merchants because somehow people who were not of their kin were different and not worthy of their protection.  Before the White man showed up they didn’t consider themselves belonging to the same Negroid Race.”

What?  I thought about this for a few seconds.  All of the so called “Races” have histories of  “intra-racial” conflicts.