Double-standard undercuts race relations
If ever there was clear-cut racism, this is it.
It’s deliberate, in-your-face, and unapologetic. Even worse, many not only accept it, but advocate it. It’s no wonder that America’s racial gulf is widening.
Many will undoubtedly think this refers to President Trump’s tweets regarding four Democratic Congresswomen. Good guess, since much of the media, and virtually all Democrats, have been relentlessly slamming his comments as “racist.”
No, the racism to which I am referring recently occurred in Detroit. But few heard about it, because it was barely a blip in the news cycle.
Organizers of the AfroFuture Fest music festival in Detroit advertised their pricing as such: “Early Bird POC tickets are $10, and $20 for NON-POC.”
In case you’re wondering, “POC” stands for “People Of Color,” while “NON-POC” is “NonPeople Of Color.”
That bears repeating: concert organizers actually attempted to charge white people double the price as non-whites.
That’s not just racist, but illegal. It’s against federal law, and almost certainly violates Michigan law.
Only when some performers and customers complained did organizers “grudgingly reverse their plan,” according to The Week. Nonetheless, they stated, “NONPOC individuals are encouraged to provide additional donations.” They simply don’t get it. And that’s brings us to the number one reason why America’s race relations are deteriorating: double-standards.
Racism is wrong, period. It should make no difference what “side” perpetuates it, and condemnation should be equally swift, regardless of skin color.
Instead, we have a system that increasingly punishes whites – reverse discrimination – as a “solution” to right the wrongs of America’s distant past. From affirmative action to advantages for minority-owned businesses to advocating reparations for slavery, all are programs that, by their nature, invoke race.
Yet when some politicians and leaders, such as Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, attempt to discuss racial issues, they’re often called ignorant by black leaders, and told to mind their own business. The result is a rise in hostility between races.
“Racism” today has become all about black vs. white, but that mentality misses the numerous other perspectives of racial history: many blacks were sold into slavery by other blacks; the majority of 18th and 19th century white Americans never owned slaves; the white Northern army defeated those who defended slavery; and the Civil Rights Movement succeeded, to a significant extent, because of massive white support.
Those facts are not to show “white superiority,” but just the opposite – the way forward is for America to be a colorblind society with “equal treatment for all; special treatment for none.”
But that’s not happening. Instead, extremists want us to come full circle by, ironically, reverting to the past. At first, people were not equal. After a bloody civil war, we progressed to separate and free – but still not equal. The Civil Rights Movement achieved equality for all. But now, for agenda-driven reasons, some want separate again – with special rights for non-whites.
The resulting backlash has caused a surge for President Trump – not because those supporters are racist, but because they feel isolated and victimized by an unfair society. This is still completely lost on the Left, even after it watched Hillary lose what most thought was a slam dunk election.
But rather than seeing the unrest that double-standards cause within Middle America, Democrats continue their headfirst plunge into oblivion by backing racist initiatives.
They also don’t understand that labeling damn-near everything “racist” is counterproductive, and, ironically, hurts true victims of racism. “Racism-du jour” claims have gotten so ludicrous that people have become desensitized, rolling their eyes and not granting credence to those cases that truly merit it. And that’s a shame.
Building a wall isn’t racist. Establishing a temporary travel ban on unvetted citizens from terrorist-infiltrated countries is not racist. Opposing affirmative action programs is not racist. And no, tweeting that congresswomen should go back to their places of origin to study problems in those regions isn’t racist. Divisive and ignorant, absolutely – but not racist.
What is racist is accepting things by one race that would be condemned if done by whites.
Take ABC’s sitcom “Black-ish.” Is it offensive that a show openly touts race in both its title and content? Yes – but only because of the double-standard.
If people don’t like a show, fine. We’re grown-ups. We can change the channel if something doesn’t meet our tastes.
That’s called live and let live, where people don’t have to scream in righteous protest over everything they dislike. But tolerance is in increasingly short supply.
Imagine the backlash if a network tried to air “White-ish.” Producers would get fired, actors blackballed, and the network would spend countless hours issuing nauseating apologies and mandating racial-sensitivity training.
But it will never happen. And that is where our system breaks down.
There is increasing resentment among white Americans who, as the “oddballs,” are not allowed to say and do the same as other races. Their perception is that they have become the only race without rights.
White comedians get censured for saying the same things as their black counterparts. Black politicians openly advocate the election of black mayors. Whites lose out on job opportunities and college admissions in the name of “diversity.” Selective discrimination has been deemed acceptable, even trendy, in today’s America. Far from creating racial harmony, as its advocates naively believe, reverse discrimination is quickly becoming the flashpoint in the powder keg of America’s race relations.
If we ever hope to eradicate racial tensions, we need strong leaders of all races to unite and demand colorblindness for America, from police to entertainment to the workplace.
America’s uniqueness makes it the envy of the world, where even its most downtrodden can overcome adversity to succeed.
But that rise must never come about because of race. When it does, we all lose a part of what makes us so special, our common bond: being Americans, and ultimately, members of the only “race” that matters: the human race.