For the sake of, well, hearing myself talk, allow me to share a story that hit rather close to home. The college I graduated from- twice- got a donation of several million dollars from a couple. This couple was extremely well known locally and had run a number of highly prosperous businesses in town. Not only did the college get renamed after these two, but there were a great many awards and comments about how wonderful and magnanimous they were.
Well, one evening my parents went to a party. I can't recall just what it was for; just some big tuxedo-required event. While they were there, they ran into this upstanding, magnanimous couple. And as part of a conversation, the wife offered up her opinion on the potential first black president of the US.
"It won't matter whether or not that nigger gets elected. If he does he'll be shot within a week."
I don't think her opinion, or the opinion of various other people who were on camera prior to the election, spontaneously changed because their candidate lost.
Beyond that though? I think Tales of MU is a fairly persistent advocate against racism. An unusual but consistent one that brings it up now and again.
And I think that there's a core problem with a lot of these things, something that's difficult to deal with. There's a lack of identity, not only for any given race, but for genders as well. I make a point of reading stories aimed at and by women- a lot of them are involved with trying to figure out just what feminism is. Similarly I read things from and by blacks, and I see a wide range of opinions about what it is to be black- what it means, what it should be, what the label should imply and what's not 'acceptable behavior' if you happen to be black, and according to other blacks (e.g., Bill Cosby's commentary about proper speech, Michael Steele's 'hip hop' GOP leadership), and ultimately I come down to the idea that I can't quite understand it, because I'm not in there, but it certainly seems like there's a struggle with the question of identity- something that all the stereotypes, bias, and prejudice aren't making any easier.
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Well, one evening my parents went to a party. I can't recall just what it was for; just some big tuxedo-required event. While they were there, they ran into this upstanding, magnanimous couple. And as part of a conversation, the wife offered up her opinion on the potential first black president of the US.
"It won't matter whether or not that nigger gets elected. If he does he'll be shot within a week."
I don't think her opinion, or the opinion of various other people who were on camera prior to the election, spontaneously changed because their candidate lost.
Beyond that though? I think Tales of MU is a fairly persistent advocate against racism. An unusual but consistent one that brings it up now and again.
And I think that there's a core problem with a lot of these things, something that's difficult to deal with. There's a lack of identity, not only for any given race, but for genders as well. I make a point of reading stories aimed at and by women- a lot of them are involved with trying to figure out just what feminism is. Similarly I read things from and by blacks, and I see a wide range of opinions about what it is to be black- what it means, what it should be, what the label should imply and what's not 'acceptable behavior' if you happen to be black, and according to other blacks (e.g., Bill Cosby's commentary about proper speech, Michael Steele's 'hip hop' GOP leadership), and ultimately I come down to the idea that I can't quite understand it, because I'm not in there, but it certainly seems like there's a struggle with the question of identity- something that all the stereotypes, bias, and prejudice aren't making any easier.