General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: As a black man living in America (A nice, long essay)... [View all]Chemisse
(30,807 posts)I've never considered myself racist (I'm white), and I was actively anti-racism in my youth. But I did spend many years after that being 'passive' about it, raising my family and trying to get by financially. I still held strong opinions on many topics now considered left-wing, and would never allow a racist comment to pass by me unchallenged, but that's as far as it went. I had no energy left for activism.
Now my kids are grown and I am old, still working, and tired. I am angry about the way Obama was treated, I am angry about the surge of unleashed racism and I am burning with a white-hot rage that blacks are being killed by cops - all the time and with zero repercussions.
But I only have so much energy. I can write, I can post, I can model acceptance of all races of students in my very diverse high school classes and among the staff, and I can vote. It may seem passive, but I think every little tiny bit can help.
Thanks for provoking thought.