Denying racism causes harm

Racism and other biases have always existed throughout this country and still exist today. The recent guest opinion fails to acknowledge most of what has happened and continues to happen in this country.

We tend to think of racial bias, but women continue to face discrimination as do members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, those with disabilities and members of faith groups. If you subscribe to a newspaper, watch television, use any other media or simply pay attention as you go about your daily business. you will be aware that biases of all kinds exist nearly everywhere. Even behind some pulpits.

An example is that there are a large number of women in the military who have been sexually harassed and raped even in combat situations. Reporting these incidents seldom leads to conviction and often leads to retribution. The same occurs in some police departments. Sexual abuse at American colleges is a disgrace, and all too often campus security discourages reporting to police.

Women are often regulated to lower paying “women’s work” and are the least likely to be promoted. “Honey, will your man be here to sign the papers?”

One obvious form of racism is the laws in the South which directly denied blacks the right to vote have been replaced by voter ID laws that have been ruled unconstitutional, such as limiting polling places, etc.

Hiring practices traditionally disfavored minorities. Look at most company management teams, and there are often few minorities. The lowest paying jobs are most often held by minorities.

There are no white people being sprayed with pesticides while they do backbreaking work in the fields for less than a living wage. These workers have often been denied a wage increase that would result in a few cents more at the market.

The most hazardous chemical and other plants with years of minimal regulations have been located in areas surrounded by black communities. This was no accident.

Ask a person of color how often they have been treated differently than a white person, socially or at a store. How may many people of color have not been followed around a store?

In many places (not Longmont) Driving While Black has been common. When stopped because of your color, especially for young men, treatment can range from disrespectful to dangerous.

As discussed in a recent article in this paper, even district attorney’s offices such as that in Boulder County that are committed to eliminating bias in their proceedings find that it takes extraordinary effort to unbake biases that are not at first evident.

We have heard too many of these stories and more and much more for our black and brown brethren.

Recently we have unfortunately learned about the increased violence against Asians and Asian Americans.

There is not nearly enough space to discuss the continued mistreatment of our native population, starting with the frequency of being told to go home to your own country.

Poor schools, denial of jobs that one is qualified for, and denied opportunities to buy housing where you want has led to generational poverty and more difficult access to post secondary education.

The writer might well not be supportive of the LGBTQ community that continues to suffer from bias and violence. Violence and murder against the trans community is increasing and, I believe, is a function of anti-trans legislation and rhetoric by prominent politicians. A recent college graduate student that I know who is trans told me “I will not go to school in a state where you can’t go to a public restroom.”

Denying racism, banning books, forbidding teaching of actual history is typically promoted by racists for political reasons and does great harm now and for the future of our country.

Our voices matter. We should call out racism when we see and hear it. We can help reduce racism with our votes by paying attention to candidates’ rhetoric and voting record and by not spending money with companies that are openly biased or who support biased politicians or organizations.

We all can talk with our children about why learning about biases matters.