Quote:
Originally posted by irishpipes
I am sorry to have offended you so much. I actually think Nagin should be commended for staying in N.O. I think that is why he got so upset the other day on the radio - he was experiencing all of this first hand and the stranded people needed a spokesperson who knew exactly what was going on.
I don't know how to ask this without making everyone's head explode, but I am going to try. I am a white person. I can't help that I am a white person. What is it that I can do that would make blacks know that I am not a racist? Do you think that the history is so bad between blacks and whites that this could never happen? I am not asking this to cause trouble. I am asking because I seriously don't even know where to start, and I think that racism is something that needs to be dealt with in every individual in order for it to be combatted. However, I know that I feel frustrated that maybe no matter what I do as an individual, blacks will see me as white and therefore a racist. I realize that is nothing compared to the frustrations that blacks have endured over the many years, but I would seriously like to know. My question comes from a position of reconciliation, not hostility.
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I think the first step as cliche as it sounds is to stop seeing people as black or white - to look past the colour and see the person. That is the biggest and most important step that a person can take themselves... and its a hard one because so many in the US seem to have/give an inordinate amount of weight to race and "race relations". Ideally colour should really only be used as a discriptive device, not as an identifier... but then again this is all just me spitballing really.
When it comes to NO it find it incredibly frustrating that people are politicizing or racializing the rescue and relief effort - all the talk of "our people" or accusations of favouritism really only cloud and dilute the many message: People need help! Not blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, native americans, or creoles,; but PEOPLE period.