Hate: Part 2

One of the most divisive things which still exists in our country became evident in this past Presidential election. Unfortunately race and racism still seem to be factors in the minds of Americans. We witnessed ignorance bleeding over into hate speech when people would talk about President-elect Obama. People looking at his race creating a palette for which they could create jokes about Kool-aid, fried chicken, and welfare. Have we not moved beyond the times of Jim Crow laws and lynch mobs which themselves looked at these stereotypes to be decisive qualities of one specific race?

"We've got a tragic history when it comes to race in this country. We've got a lot of pent-up anger and bitterness and misunderstanding. ... This country wants to move beyond these kinds of things."

When he said this during his now famous speech given on March 18, 2008 I could not agree more, but do we actually see this in America?

When we hear about a laborer losing his small business because of migrant workers providing cheap labor, what race comes to mind? A news story breaks that a government building has been bombed killing hundreds including women and children, what race comes to mind? A grocery store is robbed where the owner is shot by one of the robbers who then escaped, what race comes to mind?

My guess is that you thought of one particular race in each of those instances in your mind when you were picturing these events taking place. Are those views not a part of our society? Anyone of any race can fit into these scenarios depending on their situation which forces us to look at race internally first. We must look to ourselves to fight racism and blind hatred which still exists in today's society.

This now leads me to my final point. Sometimes racism boils over into a hatred so fierce we see the ugly side of our nation. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Brotherhood, and other neo-Nazi organizations show an unwavering hate I could never understand. But now I ask, when their discussion talks about "preservation of the white race through the elimination of inferior races and peoples" how can this be protected as free speech? Law is a balance between individual rights and public safety and where is the balance? A crazed skinhead goes into a Jewish community center and kills children in a daycare center, or chases down a group of white teenagers and beats them near death because one of their friends happens to be black, how can this ideology be protected under "free speech"? I ask these questions once again looking for a healthy dialogue to find common ground on where American really stands on this topic of racism.