Why is there racial bigotry and where is it coming from?
A racist is a person who believes that a particular race is superior to another. “Racial” and “ethnic” discrimination. Superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous, and there is no justification for racial discrimination, anywhere, in theory or in practice.
A bigot is a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions. Bigotry is abuse aimed at a prejudiced or closed-minded person, especially one who is intolerant or hostile towards a different social group or groups (especially, and originally, other religious groups), and especially one whose own beliefs are perceived as unreasonable or excessively narrow-minded.
False racism is a term I refer to when a minority feels they are not receiving instant gratification or when they feel they are being mis-treated and want to play the “race-card” as a matter of convenience. There are certain individuals and groups who believe this tomfoolery of mass racism but that only exists in the light of ignorance and intolerance of one another. Those are the true racists and some who have this inane belief that they have some kind of ongoing entitlement because of the free handouts our government foolishly signed into practice.
“Our true nationality is mankind. And our true race in human.”
~H.G. Wells
There is no perfect society. No utopia. There is corruption and a high level of corruption this nation has never witnessed before. The reason for this epic quantity of corruption is the narrowness of sight and often times the ability to see the truth and accept it. These are the weak because they are either not strong enough to accept the reality nor willing to. It is much easier to conform to societal norms of conformity rather than to take an independent stand for justice and social acceptance. Be the word of reason and be outcast. The days of strong leadership has left the dock of this nation and the spirited people who followed the beacon, hath abandoned its beckoning call to treasonous acts and the silence of a nation.
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Albert Einstein
There are many righteous individuals out there in our communities. Those are the true minorities whose voices are muted by the social injustices and the barbaric acts of violence of our times. Let me speak for myself that might shed some light for others in the vain attempt to communicate and restore understanding and break down the walls of hate and racism.
For decades now, black people have been referring themselves as ‘African-Americans’ regardless of the fact that they were born right here in the beautiful country of the United States. The obvious question is why? The reactions are often hostile. Why is that? It is after all, a very reasonable question. After all, we do never hear of Irish-Americans, Japanese-Americans, European-Americans, etc. Certainly, all or most of us are very proud of our ethic origins. That is what is great about this melting pot of our nation. In NYC, we get to enjoy the various ethnic parades and religious holidays for all. It is a great American tradition (no pre-fix).
If you are a Black person calling yourself an African American, were you born in Africa? If so, then you should be able to tell me what Country you are from in Africa, what is the language YOU speak in that country, and the Village/Tribe you come from there. If you can’t tell me these things, you are NOT an African American!
If you were born in America, then you’re technically an American. Is that right Barack? An “African American” is an immigrant that migrated from Africa to America. Black is not a race it’s just a color. Humanity is a race.
But lots of Black people can’t even name one of your African ancestors. Some of you don’t know anything about Africa so you have African or Black pride day. That I think is terrific. However, when was the last time you or your children celebrated American pride day? For those of you who answered yes to that last question, did you celebrate American pride day with your fellow white Americans? How many of you know the number of interracial marriages in America? Are their children African-American also?
So if you were NOT born in Africa like Barry Sotero, how can you call yourself an African American? That’s disrespectful to use a race title that is really not yours! Even though many Africans don’t mind… That is STILL disrespecting them. You should be calling yourselves American Blacks or ***** Americans. Because you were born here, and most of your ancestors died on American land.
Not to offend anybody. But Black people are NEGROS born in America. Do study your history! In the slave days Native and Africans were both called NEGROS because they all had Black/Brown skin tones. White folks couldn’t tell the different between y’all… So they threw the Negros all in the same basket. White people had slaves, natives had slaves, and yes, free Africans had slaves. Stop and think for one second. How could White folks get millions of Africans on a slave ship?
You have the obsession of calling yourself African-American because you want to create that divide. The White people back then and even today did NOT hand out nor promote that moniker. Do you need a reminder of slavery because white people were slaves also but we did not go around calling ourselves Irish-Americans, White Americans, Anglo Saxon-Americans to put a line in the sand?
We are discussing ancestral continent background. Not disparaging this nation and separating yourself from this mighty nation and weakening it by breaking the chains of unity.
“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” Malcolm X
Abraham Lincoln the greatest president of our land who provided slaves freedom but a century later thankful generations felt it incumbent to spit on his grave and legacy. Nearly a century later, came a man who was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950’s when civil rights became a noted issue in this nation. He became a leader – arose from the ashes and fought with words and not violence. He became a leader, a visionary for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based upon his Christian beliefs.
He fought against segregation and led numerous non-violent protests through oratory and on October 14, 1964 received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial equality through nonviolent resistance. I never heard Dr. Martin Luther King refer to himself as African American and was heavily opposed by militant blacks such as the Nation of Islam member Malcolm X. Now, through all his struggles and his tireless efforts to promote the passage of Civil Rights and Voting Rights, his death was and is memorialized by rioting.
In 2008, we received our first black President. A virtual unknown Junior Senator from Illinois named Barry Soetero aka Barack Hussein Obama who was fought with more controversy than most President elects combined. The most troubling and surprising to everyone was when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in his first term within his first year.
The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United States President Barack Obama for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama’s promotion of nuclear proliferation and a “new climate in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim World. There are simply no words to describe or explain the audacity of this decision.
Because the liberals didn’t want to offend anyone, no one challenged these labels like African-American if it made people feel better. There is nothing wrong with being proud of what your ancestry is, but you’re still an American first. If you think like the radicals do then we really should all be called Native-American since we are born here, right? I’ll let my hundreds of American Indian friends from their indigenous tribes answer that who are fighting for their sovereignty.
Who can tell you that you were born different? And what does that really mean?? Different from who or what? We are all human beings – we just keep labeling ourselves to make us different from one another and that is not good.
These terms are classifications; would you agree? To classify race – is to promote racism – so who is promoting racism? It simply causes dissension and a rift in a united nation. To at least me, I am color blind and think about our race as one; the Human Race. It also simplifies everything and create cohesions and most importantly UNITY.
“Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.” ~Rene Hudson
Certainly there is an exception to every rule, so here I would say that if you are not heterosexual, calling yourself Gay-American makes more sense, is symbolic of peace and makes no connotation of race.
One might argue that they are being oppressed and call it racism. I believe if any classification was and is being oppressed is the gay community and their god given and constitutional rights to do whatever the ‘F’ they want to do but you do not see them conducting violent protests to validate their point. How many oppressed black celebrities are there who were born in Africa? Let’s ask just a sample like; Oprah, Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Halle Berry, Eddie Murphy, Jay Z, Chris Rock, Denzel Washington and I could go on with at least a hundred more and we have not touched upon sports yet. Michael Jackson (RIP) had an opinion on his roots.
6,000,000 Jews were enslaved, brutally starved, beaten, robbed and burned and gassed to death while alive 70 years ago but the Jews who were 99% white never rioted about equal rights nor violently protested about being oppressed by literally everyone even till today. They moved forward in prayer, forward in unity.
So, let’s get down to the crux of the real issue. Black America, for some part and in reality not whole part, is intolerant of white America and the systematic brutality by the police. What is more egregious is that the police are not being held accountable for their actions either. I must tell you, I fully agree with you. Putting that aside, it comes down to how the black populace reacts to these actions by the police and the government. Your reactions are misguided, callous, severe and misdirected. You are not searching for a solution but vengeance and vigilante justice is not the answer and deadly violence and at the same time showing your true colors. You may be insulted by that statement, but as they say the truth hurts.
Tell me the last time, you saw your first black American President walk through your neighborhoods and speak with you. Think back, when all of this “oppression” began? Was there anything your Commander-in-Chief could have done differently to help heal this nation, bring the people of this nation of all colors and beliefs together? Is it NOT incumbent upon the leader of this nation to bring upon change? Was it NOT his promise to you when you chanted his name and lined up at the voting booths in 2008? Almost like when you chanted “not guilty” and lined the freeways for OJ Simpson simply because the race card was played and let the real killer of two innocent (white) people literally get away with murder with insurmountable evidence and did that with hate in your heart. White people have made egregious mistakes as well but we must put that behind us and move ahead. Do we allow that with matters of National Security?
Also, it is not solely upon our leader to do his job, it is incumbent upon ourselves to do ours. To put ours differences aside. To right the wrongs.
“Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy
To target police officers and the very military who stood in front of you and took a bullet to preserve your freedom is an insult to every free American everywhere. To go to an NFL game and watch an overpaid, ignorant professional player sit on the sidelines while our time honored National Anthem is playing – an anthem that honors this great country and gave them and you the freedoms that millions of great American heroes died for is not just a slap in the face nor an insult, it is treasonous! If you do NOT like it here, you are FREE to leave.
You insult this nation with a Black Panther Party, be careful what you wish for.
In this nation, we have lost sight of who the real heroes are. They are the ones who run in the direction where the bullets fly. They are the first responders when all hell breaks loose when terror hits home. It’s the brave men and women who serve our country so valiantly and pay the ultimate price for YOUR freedom you take for granted. Only cowards sit home and watch real men and women protect and serve and fight terror both at home and abroad. mented of mutual and equal respect.
No one is above the law. If a brother, be him/her White, Black, Asian, Latino, etc. break the law and he is serving our nation in law enforcement or in the military, commit a crime against another, he is duty bound to arrest that person on site. If not, he is just as culpable of that crime as the perpetrator and be treated as such. No double standards, no entitlements and accountability for all. There are no buts.
About the author: Scott Bernstein is the CEO of Global Security International LLC headquartered in NYC. He has extensive experience as a Counter Terrorist Consultant, International Apprehension Operative, Human & Sex Trafficking Expert and a Military and Law Enforcement Trainer. He is available as a Consultant and as a Speaker. In addition to his LinkedIn profile, you can also interact with Scott on his LinkedIn group http://bit.ly/1LMp2hj.