> http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C600111140%2C00.html > > " The footage is shot in black and white. As the commercial begins, the camera pans down a crowded bus. A woman gets on board and notices one empty seat, next to an African-American man. She glances at him and moves away, searching elsewhere for a place to sit. > This public-service message is one of two new messages produced by the YWCA. Both will be shown on MTV and other stations. The point of this particular spot is that racism may have become more subtle, but it has not been eliminated.
The guy who wears a bedsheet and torches a cross -- that guy I never worry about. He's a lightweight who's going to stamp around, draw attention to himself, and scream "I'll show *you*!" The guy who wears a business suit and smiles while he shakes your hand... the lady who clutches her purse just a little tighter... the guy who looks around and locks his car door... *these* are the ones who bother me, because they not only don't consider themselves racist, they often have the kind of power over other peoples' lives that Mr. Bedsheet only dreams about. That, and you often can't identify them, whereas you can spot Bedsheet Bob a mile away. That being said, it's easy to point and say, "He's a racist!" when someone exhibits racist behavior, but we ought to recognize three controversial points: that racism is a matter of degree (many of us may have anything from a "quirk" to an outright "Not my daughter!" reaction); that the more subtle racism is, the bigger a problem it is (think virus as opposed to tumor); and that people who exhibit racist behavior are themselves victims of racism that we should try to help as best we can (as in racism is a contagious disease that can continue infecting). I really feel sorry for people who grew into racist behavior. There have been things in their lives that have deeply injured them, and making them the enemy and trying to shout them down does nothing but fuel them. I wish I had an answer along the lines of "Step 1... Step 2...," but all I can think to do is talk to them, try to learn what made them think like they do, and maybe try to show them that the stereotyping they've associated with a group doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I may never get through to a Klansman, but I can approach the people I know a little bit at a time. Respectfully, Adam Phillip Churvis Member of Team Macromedia http://www.ProductivityEnhancement.com Download Plum and other cool development tools, and get advanced intensive Master-level training: * C# & ASP.NET for ColdFusion Developers * ColdFusion MX Master Class * Advanced Development with CFMX and SQL Server 2000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:147251 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
