busyHolder: US a "Nation of Cowards" on Race Discussions
Terry Frieden, CNN: "In a blunt assessment of race relations in the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday called the American people 'essentially a nation of cowards' in failing to openly discuss the issue of race. In his first major speech since being confirmed, the nation's first black attorney general told an overflow crowd celebrating Black History Month at the Justice Department the nation remains 'voluntarily socially segregated.'"
I think that: 1) Americans do not discuss racial issues enough, 2) there are some serious racial problems that need discussion and solution, 3) SOME Americans are cowardly about discussions of race while others are not, 4) and calling people "cowards" unfairly denies credit to courageous debators and activists while merely offending people who don't generally discuss racism. Just because one has a point doesn't necessarily mean that one has expressed it in an efficient and effective manner. If you want people to do something, calling them names is unlikely to make them do it.
Furthermore, just because someone is not an activist on a given issue doesn't necessarily mean they're cowardly about it; they may have their hands full with some other worthy cause(s) and/or they may not have encountered a situation in which that particular issue brought itself to their attention vividly. "Coward" implies a decision to flee from a discussion due to moral failing; not everyone has necessarily confronted such a decision point or had the resources to devote to pursuing it vigorously.
So I found the article interesting, and it had some valid points, but they could have been presented in a more constructive and effective way. When it comes to discussing racism, I've been consistently impressed with Teaching Tolerance.
If you want to start a discussion, there are two pretty reliable ways: 1) Make it attractive to people, usually by attaching it to an interest or benefit of theirs; frex, illuminate how racism relates to other problems America is facing. 2) Put it somewhere they can't simply weasel around it easily, as the civil rights movement did.
Since I am interested in promoting the kind of harmonious heterogenous society that racism undermines, I'll just pick up the ball and see where it goes. Given that we've got a President of mixed ethnic background (commonly identified as "America's first black President") who is building a governing team that includes people of widely assorted ethnic backgrounds, for the purpose of leading a country many of whose citizens prefer to self-segregate ... what do you think is going to happen? Will that delightfully mixed leadership come up with great ideas only to be stonewalled by a citizenship that stubbornly behaves like oil and water? Or will the good example at high levels inspire people farther down to mix more? What are some things we could be doing to facilitate healthy and productive discussions of race issues? Does the current government expand our options in that regard, compared to previous governments, and if so how can we take advantage of new opportunities?
Deleted comment
Re: Activate America
February 21 2009, 11:54:14 UTC 12 years ago
On the subject of constructive criticism, perhaps the previous statement should be reevaluated.
Activate America
Anonymous
February 21 2009, 16:19:49 UTC 12 years ago
I've been posting this thread for a couple days
now. I didn't catch the math error myself at first,
and thought the document sounded good on face value
after writing it. Than I posted it, and I kept posting
it until someone caught the error and brought it to my
attention. I went red in the face. Ate a lot of crow that
day. And felt like a complete ass.
Than I got to thinking. That was only a one page document
that people accepted on face value because it looked and sounded good on the surface. I cant imagine how many pork
barrel errors are hidden and deeply entrenched in the seven hundred something pages of the actual Economic Stimulous bill.
And the vast majority of people are applauding and accept
it on face value like the "Greenway Economic Stimulous Proposal".