Understanding Racism and Social Inequality in America … The Rot Runs Down

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e have a president who has taken the term ‘Low Base’ to a new level. When he did a ‘pass’ on the Charlottesville white supremacy, Neo Nazi march and street battles that ensued the next day, he gave indirect legitimacy to such a mindset. The ‘rot’ from such passive reaction (whether or not deliberate) continually trickles down throughout our citizenry. A few cases in point:

The other day this writer had lunch with two 70 something acquaintances. These are both polite at all times white guys. One is a semi retired pilot, who before that, many years ago, owned a small auto body repair shop. The other acquaintance is a retired top level management guy with an MBA in accounting. Over lunch the subject, reluctantly on my part, having known that both guys are way to the right of me politically, got to just that, politics. They both felt that there is no real ‘white supremacy movement’ now in our country. They thought that the shooting of unarmed black people by cops was terrible, but… it is an ‘overreaction’ by the ‘liberal’ press (where is that, in Scandinavia?) They also felt that, to some extent, the poor, especially blacks, have to learn to ‘work harder to improve their lot economically’. Institutional Racism simply did not exist to the extent that the ‘Left’ played it up. “People , white or black, who work in Wal-Mart are there because they never got the education afforded them by the system… due to their own choices” said the pilot.

(Please note: Thus, it is always the fault of the victim that is the cause of their demise. Remember the age old comment given about a woman who was gang raped and beaten: ” She shouldn’t have dressed so provocatively! “)

Then we somehow found ourselves discussing the South and  slavery vs. segregation. When I made a comment that the Civil War was mostly about slavery, my other acquaintance, who  reminded us that he had ‘studied in depth’ the Civil War, bore in with “No, it was not really about slavery. It was about ‘states rights'” I was able to land a ‘Yeah, the state’s rights to have slaves’. The two fellows finished our discourse (thankfully as the checks arrived) with the usual ‘Blacks nowadays complain too much about being abused’. They then coupled that with a knockdown of many Black leaders (politicians and preachers) who mostly are full of ****. Well, my only retort was that the same can be said for most white leaders as well.

I took a TUMS when I got home.

That was the other day. Now this was what occurred today, at the health club. I was on the treadmill next to two fellow gym mates, both super nice guys. One guy, a white 81 year old former steel worker from Ohio, and the other one a white 65 year old former factory worker from Florida. The two of them dislike Trump immensely and think he should be impeached. The subject got to some of Trump’s misgivings, and I immediately brought up the Charlottesville incident. When I made the point of what the marchers said, in reference to the 1930s Nazi marches and what they shouted: ‘Blood and Soil’ and ‘Jews will not replace us’, my two gym mates agreed it was not right. Yet, I did not visibly see or hear or sense a level of outrage like my own about those marchers. The former factory worker then made the comment that it was not right for the government to take down the memorials to Confederate leaders and war heroes.” They should have the right to honor their people, the ones who fought hard for their cause” he said. I then reminded him that the ’cause’ they were fighting for was slavery, a terrible and immoral act. The other gym mate joined in by saying that “That was long ago, when this was an acceptable part of their Southern culture. Besides, companies have been using fruit pickers like slaves forever.” When I told him that

1. A) The slaves were captured like animals, chained, sold and made to work with no recourse or rights;
2. B) The terrible treatment of working stiffs is reprehensible, yet at least the fruit picker still could get up and leave in protest (or maybe join in UNION with others to stop this ****).

His retort, and here is the subtle way racism drips onto our faucet of character: “Well, it was their own people in Africa that sold them into bondage, and as far as mistreatment of both the slave and the fruit picker, at least the slaves got fed and housed.”

Now, where is that TUMS?