Gregory's Server@ct_bergstrom As an editor, I wonder if there could have been a way to acknowledge the racism that is the context for this story, without fanning the polarization that is ripping this country apart. Is racism strictly an "American tradition" as the author writes? Isn't there racism in Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East? If we recognize that racism is a deeply human problem, can we address the issue more effectively—without inciting the predictable backlash from conservatives who feel attacked?
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9 comments
@JorisMeys @ct_bergstrom That's a good point. I don't mean to absolve the specifically American history of racism, but to contextualize it within a human story that involves ethnocentric violence going back to the ancient world. The problem is deeper than any one nation, and the current approach doesn't seem to be working but rather intensifying the wrong attitudes. If we recognize racism as a human problem, then we share a common ground from which to transform our societies, I would hope.  @aishasie Thank you for this comment and for your answer, @JorisMeys - these are the precious moments in social media where I can learn and widen my horizon.  @madrush @ct_bergstrom same goes for antisemitism. Think Dreyfus affair. Yet, Germany managed to get rid of the stain of Nazism by not only acknowledging its history, but also acknowledging that there's still people to this day that think Hitler was right. Germany has the strictest anti-Nazism laws I know. A Nazi salute in public can end you in jail, and rightfully so. They don't negotiate or "contextualize". And neither should the US.  @madrush @ct_bergstrom centering the feelings of the currently rampaging authoritarians has not worked for decades. Or I should say it has worked to maintain the status quo. At some point, we have to stand up for the people who are being actively harmed. We are well past that point. @madrush @ct_bergstrom At no point does the author suggest that racism is strictly American, and did you actually bother to read her post in the link? She states outright that she considered whether she could or should rewrite her author's note. You seem to think that didn't occur to her.  @madrush @ct_bergstrom That seems very unlikely. And: of course it's an American tradition. That doesn't mean it's not also, say, a British tradition. @madrush @ct_bergstrom yes, there are forms of #racism all around the world, but the specific nature + characteristics of it are generally deeply rooted in local culture and history. There will never be a one-size solution for eradicating it all. IMO the most efficient/effective is for each society to clear racism out of its *own* yard in a way that aligns with universal principles of a right to equitable (or at least equal) treatment and respect for all individuals |
@madrush @ct_bergstrom As a Belgian with a jewish grandmother that lived through WWII as a kid, and a half-german wife whose still-alive granny lived through WWII on the other side:
No. You either recognise your history and move on, or stick with the dirty stain forever.