If only we all could see the world through Stephen Colbert’s race-less eyes. Those of you who have caught at least a few episodes of the “Colbert Report” on Comedy Central know what I’m talking about. Colbert claims he cannot see race. Essentially he doesn’t have the ability to distinguish a black person from a white one — he’s above race.
Unfortunately, the rest of the world is not up to speed with Colbert’s understanding of humankind. We all still see race both consciously and subconsciously, and race definitely still matters in America. We continue to have huge socioeconomic gaps between different races, and people still are fearful of other people’s skin color, sexual identity and orientation.
In February, Attorney General Eric Holder made a statement calling us “cowards” for not talking about racial issues enough. What he means by this is we not only have to continue an open dialogue about race relations — we must push it.
We have to face our fears and have an honest, open conversation regarding how we feel about one another. It’s hard to talk about it because we would then have to admit we still have an issue with racism. It’s difficult for Americans to make mistakes and even more difficult to admit those mistakes. As Holder said, we need to become “comfortable and tolerant about racial matters that divide us.”
Holder’s words should not just be connected with racial issues, but all discrimination issues. It is not OK to discriminate according to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity or orientation. We are all people, we are all citizens and we all have the right to an equal opportunity and the “pursuit of happiness.”
Perhaps, the New York Post failed to discuss the implications and the meaning of the chimp cartoon it published in February. Maybe there was nobody in the newsroom who thought the cartoon was commenting on race. I suppose, it is possible that the editors had no idea that the cartoon would stir up such controversy and opposition.
Again, this is the exact reason we should start talking. Not only do we need to discover how we all feel about race, but we need to start educating one another as to what is acceptable and what is not.
As a people we have a right to express our views. However, we, as a people, decided racism is erroneous.
According to Harvard University’s Social Science Professor Lawrence D. Bobo’s research, “Blacks see a deep and lingering social ill, and whites see a problem that is just about resolved.” Are we not talking because some see racism as a thing of the past and others feel it is as prevalent as ever?
Some simply refuse to even consider the issue of racial inequality. People who think like this tend to say it has nothing to do with race, but the lack of effort on the individual’s part, or that some people just have to work harder than others, anything is possible, if you apply yourself.
It’s clear to me Pat Buchanan is one of these people. He has failed to realize what talking about race should be all about. He has latched onto the word coward like a rabid dog and will not let go.
In response to Holder’s speech, Buchanan shouts statistics that point out such negatives as, “[A] 70 percent illegitimacy rate in black America, an incarceration and crime rate seven times that of white America, a 50 percent dropout rate in many urban high schools, African-American graduates reading and computing on average at eighth-grade levels.”
Is this not the point? What is happening in our society that is causing a particular group to suffer unevenly? It seems Buchanan is passing the buck — it seems cowardly.
Bobo essentially refers to this as laissez-faire racism, the tendency to blame blacks themselves for the gap in socioeconomic status. It’s like throwing an innocent woman in jail and then blaming her for her situation. Mr. Buchanan, you are a laissez-faire racist.
Serafina Costanza is a senior journalism major and an assistant opinions editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.