The festering wound of inequality and racism

by | Jun 1, 2020 | Editor's Blog | 3 comments

What we are seeing in America right now is a reckoning. The video-taped killing of George Floyd was the catalyst for the explosion of anger, but the underlying problems have been simmering for decades. The unrest is deeper than the unjustified deaths of unarmed African Americans at the hands of law enforcement and white vigilantes. It’s a reaction to the inequality that disproportionately effects people of color and has been laid bare by our response to the coronavirus.

Will Smith spoke the truth when he said, “Racism is not getting worse. It’s getting filmed.” White Americans finally see what so many African Americans have been saying for years. On a daily basis, they face discrimination that most white Americans cannot fully imagine. From the woman in the Central Park dog park who called police to falsely report that a black man was assaulting her to the tenant in the Minneapolis gym who called the landlord on black tenants of the same building because he didn’t think they should be there, African Americans are subject to indignities that would have white people marching in the streets with assault weapons. Cell phone videos have exposed the truth about the prevalence of racist attitudes. 

The arrival of the coronavirus has further exposed the inequalities in our society and our economy. A disproportionate number of those dying from the disease are African American. As stay-at-home orders shuttered all but the most essential services, we found that people of color are disproportionally our essential work force. They work in the meat processing plants that have seen so many outbreaks. They work in our grocery stores. They deliver our packages. They take away our trash. And they put themselves at risk of the deadly virus while many of the rest of us are staying at home and living online.

The promise of the civil rights movement is still unfulfilled and progress has stalled. While the Civil Rights Act 1964 opened doors by ending segregation and offering more opportunity for African Americans, it failed to lift enough black people out of poverty and did little to change the attitudes of white supremacy that are still prevalent today. For 400 years, African Americans lived as a state-sanctioned underclass whose status was enforced by both laws and repulsive customs. They were systematically denied access to capital and the tools that lead to opportunity. Fifty years has not undone the economic damage or removed the stigma of being black in America. 

The unjustified killing of black men at the hands of the people charged with protecting our society is the most blatant expression of the racism that infects our country. The failure to hold these rogue cops accountable shows the systemic impact. The incidents of death and the lack of consequences are just the most disturbing indignities that go much deeper and affect the everyday lives of black people. Frustrated African Americans who are more likely to live in poverty and more likely to be denied opportunity finally erupted on scale not seen since the 1960s. 

These riots differ from the ones in the sixties, though. The marchers are as likely to be white as black. A generation of young people sees and rejects the racism that has been protected or ignored by their parents. 

The purveyors of destruction in these riots seem to be more often white than black, too. The internet is awash with videos of white men and women burning and destroying property and black people begging them to stop, understanding that they, not the white perpetrators, are likely to be blamed. As conservative writer Nancy French tweeted, “Nashville is being destroyed right now. Every brick I saw thrown without exception was thrown by white people. This man was yelling at these white people who’d just put horse excrement on a cop car and broke out their windows. He said, ‘they’ll blame us!’”

We have also seen poignant scenes of police putting down their riot gear and joining protesters. Police across the country condemned the killing of George Floyd. Mayors and Governors stepped up to try to allow peaceful protests, recognizing the injustice that caused them, while protecting cities from looters and rioters who would destroy for the sake of destruction. Powerful new voices emerged to give voice to both the protesters and country. People like Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms and Killer Mike expressed anger at the looters and sympathy for the protesters in powerful speeches.

This week has been painful for our country, but the causes have been festering for decades. Our politicians have ignored or justified the rampant inequalities that divide our country. Racial attitudes have not evolved as much as so many people would like to believe. Supply-side economics rewards those who have already prospered while putting up barriers to upward mobility. The combination of societal racism and limited economic opportunity left too many Americans with nowhere to turn but the streets. Consequently, they are burning it down. Let’s hope we can rebuild it much better. 

3 Comments

  1. stfree

    Some years ago I wrote that many people who labeled themselves “conservatives” were nothing of the sort. It appeared back then that their only ideology was to possess and wield power. Whether that power was wielded over a smoking ash heap or not was of little concern. We see that playing to it’s sad conclusion today.

  2. Russ Becker

    Although I knew many white people who were/are bigots, for quite a while, they seemed somewhat subdued, and I had naively hoped that we were progressing to what some have called a “postracial society.” I was taken aback when, after the election of Donald Trump, pickup trucks suddenly appeared all over with blue Trump flags and confederate flags streaming in back. Even people who had apparently been socially reluctant to reveal their racism now began to speak more openly.

    As a veteran, I am very concerned about Trump trying to involve the US military to put down protests. Military forces are not peace officers. I know that deaths will result, whether by accident, or by the intent of some lingering racism. Then the civilian population will direct their frustration and bitterness against the troops, who may actually be reluctant to participate in such actions, and we will again have an era when those presently serving will experience the heckling and being spat upon, as we were in the Viet Nam era. Also, Commander Bone Spurs may actually induce a devisive split within the military forces, and this could result in a resulting schism, psychologically, if not resulting in actual physical force. I understand that it was reported that Trump had a phone call with Putin the day before he announced his plan to order American troops to help quell the protests. As Nancy Pelosi said, “. . .all roads lead to Putin!” Many of you may feel that I am in error, but I regard Trump as a traitor!

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