Over the weekend I was watching an episode of an old televison series called The Waltons. In this episode, filmed around 1978 followed a character named Virdie Foster, an African American who, if you remember the show was a friend of the Walton family and thus a recurring character played by actress Lynn Hamilton. This particular episode delt with Virdie and her daughter.
The daughter who just recently came back home has had trouble finding work. Mostly the show centered around racism and just because this woman was black she couldn't find the type of job she was trained for. Like I said for anyone who remember's the Waltons knows it was set in the southern part of the United States in the late 1930's early 1940's and this 'Virde' had to deal with what was once known as 'Jim Crow' law.
Racism is a stain America cannot wash away and we only have ourselves as a country to blame. Early American settlers in the 1700' who had an abundance of land didn't want to hire people to do the work, ie picking and plowing the feilds so they thought kidnapping people from their native lands and forcing them to do the work was a bright idea.
It wasn't.
Ove 200 years later we still can non shake it. Granted there has a been alot of progress. One and this has to be the most obvious the first black president,Barack Obama.
Regardles of how much progress we have made we still take one step backward when we aren't as nice as we should be and start being a tad racist.
Everyone is guilty of this.
At one time or another we all have used the "N" word when refering to an African American. Perhaps we didn't mean to, but we did it anyway.
Years before I had my computer, I used to go into what is known as (at least in the state of Califoria) internet cafe's, where you could be able to either play popular computer games or you could surf the world wide web. So, I am in this cafe and some one is playing music. I think as a joke, (a very bad one in my opinion) starts playing this song that was so racist towards blacks, I had to leave.
I have friends that are African American, and I consider anyone who uses the 'N' word ( you know what word I am refering to) in front of me to be criticizing those friends of mine. They have never met my frends, but I feel that since they used the word, I have to to a degree defend them.
But racism works both ways. It's not just whites ( some of them) against blacks, its blacks as well.
I will give you an example.
In the late 1990's I was asked by two good friends of mine if I would be a usher for their wedding. They told me I would need a tuxedo and where to go to find it. I get to the place (a shopping mall in southern california) walk all around it both first and second floors, but I couldn't find the store. So, finally I start asking. I see this one gentleman with his family and I say maybe four to five times 'pardon me, sir', the guy doesn't answer. Finally after my last try one of his children says to him, " dad, this guy is trying to talk to you" The guy turns toward his kid and says and I quote " I ain't talkin' to whitey" and than walks from me
All I wanted to know is if he knew where this tuxedo shop was.
Personally I feel that it is in how you or we are raised. If you live or lived in a family where hatred runs or ran ramped you yourself might turn out the same way bcause you would think their is nothing wrong with how you feel.
Earlier in this blog I mentioned current United States President, Barack Obama. Possibly ever since he won the office or maybe even before that he (Obama) wasn't born in America, so to prove that he was showed his birth certificate to the world proving he is an American citizen.
There are two sides to this: One is the Republican side that thinks because Obama is a Democrat that he isn't doing that good of a job and want him out of the White House.
Second is racism. It has to be, unfortunately. There are people in this country that do not want a black person as president. It's sad, but it's the truth.
In the early 1990's an African American named Rodney King was pulled over by three or four police officer's for a traffic violation. These officer's were caught on camera beating King up in the middle of the street. about a year or so later, King took these officer's to court to which they were found innocent of their actions and thus started the Los Angeles riots. A few days into the riots, King made a televison apperence where he asked those who were rioting to quit and thus uttered the saying " Can't we all just get along?"
Can we?
