As we enter the Christmas holiday, I am writing to encourage you to approach the break with an open mind, and carry on the season’s values of love, joy and tolerance into the New Year.’
That said, this isn’t the first Obama article you’ve read of mine, and I can guarantee it won’t be the last time you’ll hear me speak on equality.’
No matter what laws are passed and how far we think we’ve come, our mindsets have yet to move as far as our legislation.’
Because we don’t discuss racial issues, they continue to exist in this nation.
The day after the election results were released, I logged onto my Facebook to find numerous racist, discriminatory and downright ignorant comments from my fellow young Americans. The first status I saw read: ‘[I] can’t speak about a black man but you can vote for a man solely because he’s black?’
Excuse me?’
So the only reason Barack Obama won the election is because he is black?’
He is only half black.
So, the only reason we have voted for the past forty three leaders of our country has been because they are white, right?
I don’t like to discuss my political views, but I cast my vote for Barack Obama because he is intelligent, forward-thinking, and, in a myriad of other ways, he has what I believe is the ability to turn this country around.’
(I also find him rather attractive, but I promise it didn’t sway my decision.)’
Clearly, and unfortunately, we are far from a point where skin color is no longer an issue for our generation.
I went on to read the status of an African-American friend of mine that stated: ‘If Obama was a real nigga he would free Mike Vick.’
Wow. So we have come far enough to elect an African-American into office and you still find it necessary to use one of the most notorious racial slurs.
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I have strong feelings regarding the ‘n-word.”
I don’t care who says it’mdash;it’s disgusting and degrading. ‘
The argument that African-Americans can take the word and make it something empowering is not something I agree with either.’
If a single slave, a single person from the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s, a single African-American who marched down the halls of Little Rock High School in Arkansas in 1957 or if Martin Luther King Jr. himself heard that word today, I guarantee empowerment would be far from what they would gain from that term.’
I guarantee hearing that word would taint the struggles, the humiliation, the beatings and even the deaths they endured for the cause of equality today.’
Furthermore, I guarantee if someone other than an African-American were to use the word in a threatening way, it would still hold just as much hatred as it always has.
I continued down my newsfeed to find, ‘[I] think its odd that we go from fighting terrorists to electing one at the same time,’ as well as, ‘Osamabeenhiden…finally found him…he’s our newly elected president.’
Because Barack Hussein Obama II happens to have the same middle name as the last name of the former Iraqi dictator who was linked to terrorism, we can assume he’s a terrorist?
‘ I’ve heard many comments on this connection (all equally ignorant mind you), and the day a single man or woman with the last name Smith commits a crime in this country, I’m guessing we’re going to have a lot of criminals running around.
While the statements I read severely disheartened me, I think there is an importance to such viewpoints coming to the surface.’
Too many of our judgments and prejudices are discussed solely between people of similar skin color, religion or race.’
Unfortunately, they are accepted, laughed off and fail to be confronted.’
I believe that when such views are made public, we are better able to educate and confront what is mostly naivety and ignorance.
However, while I’ll admit such statements bother me, please don’t let me lead you to believe that I am anything less than enthralled in light of our country’s recent achievements.’
With the help of our generation, we have helped to elect the first minority president and taken a major leap in the fight for equality in this country and we have made history.’
While we embrace this new and exciting time of change for America, let us not forget to ask ourselves to make some changes.’
I truly hope we can all make the effort this Christmas season to open up our minds and hearts, and to let our love and acceptance of others continue well into the year of 2009.
Anne Napatalung may be reached at anapatalung@ut.edu.
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