It was a fascinating thing to watch. Two things stood out to me:
First, I have always heard how racist the South was and still is. I grew up hearing how morally superior the Righteous North was, to the Evil South. That documentary showed there was plenty of racism and resistance to the Civil Rights Movement in the North, just as there was in the South. While that certainly was not news, seeing the documentary reminded me that history lessons often leave out inconvenient details.
Another thing that stood out to me, is how words like "bigotry", "freedom", "justice", and "equality" are framed. I think to this day, some protests result from broad interpretations of these terms. For example, in the documentary, there was a disruptive protest, inside a local bank, because the majority of its employees were white.
Here was the issue:
The NAACP organized the protest, because the president of the bank refused to meet their hiring demands. They wanted him to agree to hire 4 black people, by a certain calendar date. The president said they had a non-discrimination policy at the bank, were willing to hire qualified applicants, regardless of race, but could not agree to those terms.
The President of the Bank said, those demands failed to take into account the bank's future personnel needs, qualifications of applicants, etc. (Not to mention, what gives the NAACP the right to dictate who a bank hires).
So, it wasn't as simple as him saying, "Sure, I'll hire 4 black people by a specific date".
When he said no to those demands, things got crazy. People were laying in doorways, sitting in front of the teller booths, preventing customers from doing their banking. They were singing, clapping, chanting, etc. all in the name of "equality and justice".
It made me think of the protests and violence we still see today. As I said yesterday, I think SOMETIMES trouble in this country comes, as a result of false narratives, loose terminology, and faulty premises.
People are rioting, protesting, and looting....because "inequality", "hatred", "racism" etc. But we need to consider how we frame those discussions, and how we define those terms. People hear those words and get fighting mad. Fine, but we need to understand how loose we are, with those terms today:
"Hatred" = Anytime you disagree with another
"Injustice" = Not creating a "seat at the table" for every race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, dietary restriction, eye color, body type, and soda preference
"Discrimination" = Expecting people to follow rules/laws
"Offensive" = The truth
"Racism" = All of the above....and then some. I'm probably racist for suggesting that some racism isn't actually racism.
Evil exists in our society. I am not naïve enough to suggest otherwise. And where there is racism, discrimination, bigotry, etc.......society should ABSOLUTELY NOT tolerate it.
But, in my opinion, a bank owner is not racist... because he can't guarantee a certain number of minority hires, within a certain amount of time.
A police officer isn't racist, because he shot a black girl, who was trying to stab another person.
A state isn't racist because it asks for EVERY voter to show an ID first.
A teacher isn't discriminating because she disciplined a Hispanic child for cheating in class, while warning a white child for whispering.
We have too much outrage over issues that we too broadly define.
First, I have always heard how racist the South was and still is. I grew up hearing how morally superior the Righteous North was, to the Evil South. That documentary showed there was plenty of racism and resistance to the Civil Rights Movement in the North, just as there was in the South. While that certainly was not news, seeing the documentary reminded me that history lessons often leave out inconvenient details.
Another thing that stood out to me, is how words like "bigotry", "freedom", "justice", and "equality" are framed. I think to this day, some protests result from broad interpretations of these terms. For example, in the documentary, there was a disruptive protest, inside a local bank, because the majority of its employees were white.
Here was the issue:
The NAACP organized the protest, because the president of the bank refused to meet their hiring demands. They wanted him to agree to hire 4 black people, by a certain calendar date. The president said they had a non-discrimination policy at the bank, were willing to hire qualified applicants, regardless of race, but could not agree to those terms.
The President of the Bank said, those demands failed to take into account the bank's future personnel needs, qualifications of applicants, etc. (Not to mention, what gives the NAACP the right to dictate who a bank hires).
So, it wasn't as simple as him saying, "Sure, I'll hire 4 black people by a specific date".
When he said no to those demands, things got crazy. People were laying in doorways, sitting in front of the teller booths, preventing customers from doing their banking. They were singing, clapping, chanting, etc. all in the name of "equality and justice".
It made me think of the protests and violence we still see today. As I said yesterday, I think SOMETIMES trouble in this country comes, as a result of false narratives, loose terminology, and faulty premises.
People are rioting, protesting, and looting....because "inequality", "hatred", "racism" etc. But we need to consider how we frame those discussions, and how we define those terms. People hear those words and get fighting mad. Fine, but we need to understand how loose we are, with those terms today:
"Hatred" = Anytime you disagree with another
"Injustice" = Not creating a "seat at the table" for every race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, dietary restriction, eye color, body type, and soda preference
"Discrimination" = Expecting people to follow rules/laws
"Offensive" = The truth
"Racism" = All of the above....and then some. I'm probably racist for suggesting that some racism isn't actually racism.
Evil exists in our society. I am not naïve enough to suggest otherwise. And where there is racism, discrimination, bigotry, etc.......society should ABSOLUTELY NOT tolerate it.
But, in my opinion, a bank owner is not racist... because he can't guarantee a certain number of minority hires, within a certain amount of time.
A police officer isn't racist, because he shot a black girl, who was trying to stab another person.
A state isn't racist because it asks for EVERY voter to show an ID first.
A teacher isn't discriminating because she disciplined a Hispanic child for cheating in class, while warning a white child for whispering.
We have too much outrage over issues that we too broadly define.
