Down with racism

Lately we've had some incredibly bad, blatant examples of racism.  Cliven Bundy giving us the lame old idea that black people were better off as slaves.  Donald Sterling, LA Clippers owner, on tape berating his (black and Mexican) girlfriend for publicizing herself with black people (MAGIC JOHNSON being the case in question).  This comes not so far off the heels of the Supreme Court telling us we don't need the Voting Rights Act anymore, because things are different now.  Want to reconsider that whole "racism-is-over" thing, John Roberts?

In the murder mysteries I enjoy, some of the great fictional detectives such as Lord Peter Wimsey suggest that the murders we hear about are only the failures.  The really successful murderers not only don't get caught, but they murder people cleverly enough that we don't even know a murder has been committed in the first place.  These successful murders, he argues, may represent a far larger portion of all murders than the "failures".  Whether or not this is really true about murder, I think it's highly likely that it is true about racism.  For every Cliven Bundy or Donald Sterling, how many more racists are hiding in the shadows, concealing what they know are politically incorrect thoughts and feelings, not getting caught?

The majority of white people, I hope and believe, are not racist and are horrified by these recent statements.  Sometimes, in some circles - like the highly educated ones that John Roberts must move in - the majority can seem so much like unanimity that we forget how far we still have to go.  But the racists who get caught may not just be the only few out there. Not a majority, but enough to be a real problem that needs to be addressed.  But when race does come up for discussion, most non-racist white people feel vaguely guilty and self-conscious, unsure what to say... so we say nothing, even though we know that when we don't stand up against racism, we basically help it along.  Well, it's just not good enough to let African-Americans fight this fight by themselves.  White racists EXPECT them to react negatively.  But they may believe that most other white people secretly agree with them.  They may think that those hidden racists are actually a majority. So let's not let them believe that.  Let's stand up and say how unacceptable and untrue these racist statements are. "I'm white, and I'm not afraid of becoming a minority.  I'm white, and I oppose what you're saying, Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling. I'm white, and I am NOT OK WITH RACISM."