Letters to the Editor: Is the backlash to Trump coverage too much?
Published Feb 16, 2017 at 11:16 am
If the current hysteria about race has any purpose, it is to educate.
As a black woman living in the South, I have a distinct advantage in making this reality: I have lived without the constant criticism and prejudice of any other minority group. If I am being honest with myself, I can understand why other groups experience this feeling.
I also have a distinct advantage in being very open with myself about my thoughts and views, and when others share the same beliefs, I find them to be insightful and fascinating. That is why I find it extremely disturbing when, in a few short paragraphs, someone makes it seem as if all blacks are one big, all-encompassing basket of hateful racists.
This is the definition of race-mongering.
It is also an example of how we as a country fail to learn from the mistakes of the past.
My parents’ generation, when first immigrating to America, faced the same kind of racial hatred that we now see in some of the comments and articles I see.
At the time, many of my family members saw this as an inevitable progression of the American social evolution.
Many of them came as refugees to an era when Blacks were not welcome in America, because they were deemed a threat to society.
But they did it anyway, and today it is our turn to follow their lead and be a light in the world.
Every time I see articles blaming all Blacks for the “bad things” in American society, I think of my parents, and I often wonder how they would feel knowing what America has become, knowing it is not as free and open as it used to be, knowing that their children will be the ones to make it better.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Taunton Daily Gazette.
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