Eric Holder is correct. America is full of cowards when it comes honestly dealing with the issues of race. We put our heads in the sand. You know all these people who say that we don’t need to discuss it and need to move past it….most of them are (ding-ding) white.
Of course, they don’t see it. They don’t get pulled over just because they are white, they don’t have to worry about whether they are going to get shot at because they are black, that some people will cross the street to avoid a black male, they don’t have most of their history ignored …..and don’t get me started on what we as a country have done to the Native Americans….some won’t even use the $20 bill due to Andrew Jackson being on it and what he did to them.
We may work together, but our social circles in America normally don’t mix when it comes to race. I don’t think it is thought out that way, it just happens. And we as a country are cowards on asking why and trying to actually understand where the other person is coming from.
You know my biggest surprise when I moved to Indiana….that I ended up in a school without a person of color until about year after I been there. I was like where the hell is everyone? It had everything to do with just how areas self-segregate. I ended up there because we needed to help out family, but I wasn’t happy about the lack of cultural mix.
That isn’t what I grew up with, I grew up with faces of color and accents. I loved it when we visited South Beach in Florida and Curaco because you heard a bunch of different accents and languages when you are there. I missed having that on a regular basis.
With all the issues that military faces (and yes there are racist there) you still have a more cultural mix and better chance of socialization and learning from each other. In fact a few years ago, they came out with a study that the best integrated communities were the ones of military retirees around military posts. That is what I really missed when my dad retired and we moved to be closer to family.
I’ve never felt comfortable in all white sittings. I think that is why I took so many African American classes in college. Hell, if I had paid attention I could’ve gotten a minor in it….doh I love learning about other cultures, I think it is also because I want to understand our race relationships. If you learn about our racial history you get a better understanding when you meet people, you know where they are coming from even if you fully can’t understand it unless you’ve been there.