Theos-Talk Archives (November 1999 Message tl00326)

In a message dated 11/23/1999 12:11:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, Kym writes:

<< White society declared the same for
 African-Americans and now society wonders why African-Americans distrust
 white society.  Go figure.  Would you trust, Randy?  How many years or
 generations would it take for you and your family to forget all about it,
 drop all anger and hurt, and buddy-up to those who declared you inferior
 just because you were named Randy? >>

Wow, thanks Kym.  This was a very articulate statement of realizations I have
come to in recent years.  I used to wonder why we couldn't all just get
along, and why so many of "them" seem so angry ... and although I still wish
for getting along and think we should all work toward it, I now have a deeper
understanding of why at least some African Americans may harbor lingering
mistrust and resentment.  I don't blame them as much as I used to - and I
think it's really easy for us white people to say, "just get over it," when
we weren't the targets - and when our ancestors mostly came here willingly,
as opposed to being dragged out of their homes against their will, separated
from family members, and brutally subjected to a regime of slavery for
centuries, and then "liberated" into a hostile society with no education or
tools provided to deal with it.  Well, hello!  Gee, I wonder why we still
have a race problem!  The Bible tells us that the sins of the parents are
visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation, and I think
we are now suffering the karmic results of what our forefathers wrought - I'm
not knocking the good stuff, the progress toward the democracy we have now,
etc. - I think we should acknowledge the fullness of our history, good and
bad, and realize that the oppression of an entire people is not easy to "get
over."  Let's wake up and smell the coffee...We don't have to feel personally
guilty for what others did before us - but I think we can take some
collective responsibility as a society and our government can take some
responsibility, and individually we can do our best not only to be "fair" but
also to understand and to listen, and to examine our own thoughts for
assumptions that may be based on unconscious racism that is our inheritance
just as much as is freedom, democracy, and apple pie.  We can do this without
beating ourselves up, I think - we can do it with the kindness of a doctor
who has to cut out a tumor.  It's really sad - but it's an unfortunate legacy
of our past history, and if we air it out and hold it up to the light, we
have the best chance to make real progress.  And may God bless those African
Americans who have chosen to leave behind the path of bitterness, and may God
help to heal those who cannot, and to heal all of us from the lingering
effects of this scourge.
Christine