The writer makes the point that the people in his neighborhood, black and white, shared many of the same experiences--Jim Crow wasn't as pronounced in the small neighborhood in which he lived, and he felt its impact later. But on to the point, my point: Do I think that white people, poor or not, can understand what it felt like to be bla…
The writer makes the point that the people in his neighborhood, black and white, shared many of the same experiences--Jim Crow wasn't as pronounced in the small neighborhood in which he lived, and he felt its impact later. But on to the point, my point: Do I think that white people, poor or not, can understand what it felt like to be black in an extremely racist environment? Mark Twain seems to have done so, for starters. I think it is possible to try hard to understand what other people feel even or especially if their ethnicities are different. And hey, Thomas Mann wrote very convincingly about what it felt like to be a woman past menopause jealous of her daughter (See a novella--The Black Swan).
I’m incredulous. I am pretty confident that the black poor folk from his little town were hyper aware of the perils of being black and all the lynchings that occurred throughout the South. The fact that the author had the privilege of being oblivious to that reality is indicative of the intractable nature of racism.
Who is the “them” that you think I am speaking for? As far as I know, I only speak for myself.
Dismissive remarks like that don’t advance the conversation. I joined FAIR because I believed they would be a positive voice that would help to bridge the divide. I found this article very lacking in that regard.
Jeremy, I believe the point Mr. Olmos is making is that the author’s childhood lack of awareness is not an indication of intractable racism. It is an indication of ignorance. Right now I am ignorant of crimes taking part in my smallish German city, crimes which may or may not be reported in the local newspapers. These usually report crimes involving racism but not, for example, suicides. My ignorance is not a sign that I am part of a system of oppression. It is just ignorance.
Melissa, he doesn’t have to engage in the system in order for the system to exist. I think his ignorance is a sign of white privilege. If you were black in the South during Jim Crow, you didn’t have the luxury of being ignorant. The threat of racial violence was thrust upon you.
In those days there really was American apartheid. There really isn’t now. There’s still racism and unfairness but not a system of white supremacy anymore
The writer makes the point that the people in his neighborhood, black and white, shared many of the same experiences--Jim Crow wasn't as pronounced in the small neighborhood in which he lived, and he felt its impact later. But on to the point, my point: Do I think that white people, poor or not, can understand what it felt like to be black in an extremely racist environment? Mark Twain seems to have done so, for starters. I think it is possible to try hard to understand what other people feel even or especially if their ethnicities are different. And hey, Thomas Mann wrote very convincingly about what it felt like to be a woman past menopause jealous of her daughter (See a novella--The Black Swan).
I’m incredulous. I am pretty confident that the black poor folk from his little town were hyper aware of the perils of being black and all the lynchings that occurred throughout the South. The fact that the author had the privilege of being oblivious to that reality is indicative of the intractable nature of racism.
Good thing they have you to speak for them. How virtuous!
Who is the “them” that you think I am speaking for? As far as I know, I only speak for myself.
Dismissive remarks like that don’t advance the conversation. I joined FAIR because I believed they would be a positive voice that would help to bridge the divide. I found this article very lacking in that regard.
Jeremy, I believe the point Mr. Olmos is making is that the author’s childhood lack of awareness is not an indication of intractable racism. It is an indication of ignorance. Right now I am ignorant of crimes taking part in my smallish German city, crimes which may or may not be reported in the local newspapers. These usually report crimes involving racism but not, for example, suicides. My ignorance is not a sign that I am part of a system of oppression. It is just ignorance.
Melissa, he doesn’t have to engage in the system in order for the system to exist. I think his ignorance is a sign of white privilege. If you were black in the South during Jim Crow, you didn’t have the luxury of being ignorant. The threat of racial violence was thrust upon you.
In those days there really was American apartheid. There really isn’t now. There’s still racism and unfairness but not a system of white supremacy anymore