It blows my mind that there are still people out there who deny that the Holocaust happened, believe Jewish people are the root of all that is wrong in the United States, and generally feel what Whites are superior to other races of human beings. The sheer fact that there are Whites that hold those beliefs disproves their theories.
When I heard that one James Von Brunn, a whacko white supremacist from the South, walked into the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and murdered a security guard (and likely had the intent to inflict even more carnage) I was, of course, horrified, but also curious. While I know that ignorant racists still exist, particularly in some parts of the country, I was unaware of how pervasive the problem really is. I always thought of white supremacists/Aryan brotherhoods, etc. as totally fringe groups with few, but outspoken, members. Not true.
In fact, when I did a cursory search on the internet for this James Van Brunn character, I learned that he has his own hate site, which draws quite a bit of traffic. There are also many other white supremacy/white nationalism sites, complete with GIFT SHOPS, so as to provide the average racist with the perfect offensive t-shirt or tote bag for that special occasion. That there are places in this country where it is considered acceptable to wear a sweatshirt with the word "Jews" in a circle with a slash through it is mind boggling. I realize I am from the "left coast" - and people here are generally more tolerant than those living in less progressive parts of the USA, but COME ON!
While I have always been offended and appalled by racism, I don't think I have ever contemplated the percentage of the population that believes they are superior to my children, simply because my kids are not 100% White. There are people out there who would hate and harass my husband because he is dark-skinned. There are people who would be disgusted by me for marrying him. There are people in this country who don't think my children have a right to live in the United States. People who might feel righteous bringing harm to my darling babies. I like to think that people of that mentality are very few and mainly located in mental institutions or prisons, but my research tells me they're far more numerous than I imagined. And that, frankly, scares me.
How ignorant, damaged and self-loathing does a person have to be to hate others based solely on ethnicity? I am not sure I will ever really understand.
2 comments:
Any degenerate that would look at my grandchildren and judge them by the color of their skin are the scum of the earth. No humans could be more innocent and pure than your kids and it only takes spending a few minutes with them (or their dad) to know how truly special they are. People who judge by color or nationality are the ones missing the boat in life. They will have to deal with the consequences later. I am glad we live in an area where those people are far and few (or at least don't show their faces much). It is nauseating to read of their antics.
mom
The sad thing is that there is nothing that we can do to put an end to it. But what you can do as a mother is raise your beautiful children to be proud of their background and teach them to be proud of both cultures. Being a biracial child myself I often found it hard and confusing to answer what race I was! But as I grew older and learned both of my white heritage and my Mexican heritage I learn what pride was truly about. You can only change the future by making sure that your children know where they come from and teach them to tolerate all races. At the end of the day it's not what's on the outside that makes us a good or bad person, it's what is on the inside and the respect that we have for ourselves and others!
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