Discriminating tastes

Let me start this letter by stating I am racist. By definition, a racist feels discrimination against other races. When I see an African American or Hispanic American, I discriminate; I notice they are different from me. For me this is an unconscious action; I don’t know how I could stop it. Yet I like to believe I treat everyone the same, regardless of race.

Which brings me to Bradley Gitz’s op-ed on the controversy at Starbucks, where the police were called when two black men loitered in the cafe. Professor Gitz’s message seems twofold: One, hey minorities, we no longer lynch you or force you to sit in the back of the bus, so when everyday discrimination pops up and you are treated with undue suspicion, just stay quiet and accept it. You are so much better off today. And his second message is that if you do stand up and point out this latent racism, you are just party to a dangerous narrative being conducted by the Democratic Party. Never mind that unconscious bias is still bias, or that the leader of the Republican Party is happy to accept the support of the racists who would be happy to turn back the clock and put you at a separate lunch counter, or even lynch you.

If I can agree with Dr. Gitz, I don’t like identity politics. Racism knows no skin color; there are people who hate me because of mine. But today the table is still tilted against the minorities of the country, and until the playing field is level I expect them to call out latent racism whenever it occurs. KEVIN ELSKEN

Springdale