What Obama does in his 39 minute speech is say this; "I have a old crazy relative named Wright, who says stuff that in his generation sounded ok, but in our generation is completely unjustifiable. We all pretend to listen to him and we ignore the insano stuff. Just like everyone who has old crazy relatives."
I can completely sympathize with this. The last time I was in Savannah with my Dad he went off on racial slurs that went against every fiber of my being. I tried to call him on it, but it was no use. He believes this stuff. He's stuck in the 50s and in the 50s you could say this crazy "n" word crap. And believe me, it didn't stop there. Some of the stuff he said I simply cannot even conscience.
Does the fact that my father is an extremely vocal racist reflect negatively on me? I certainly hope not. I think it helps that I don't live close to him. Does it mean that I share his views? Hell no! Does it mean that I have tried to change his mind? Yes. Was I successful? Not in the slightest. Why? Because he is a crazy old man!
Am I racist? Sure. But not to anywhere near the same degree as my father is. And I'm self reflective and try to stamp it out when I feel it. But that doesn't mean it's not there. Like anyone I have preconceived notions of a person based on their appearance or affect. Our brains are wired, for good evolutionary reasons, to quickly categorize 'threats'. Grouping, categorizing, judging, it's what our brains do 24/7.
I'm sure that when I'm in my sixties and seventies I'll be saying stuff that Megan finds offensive. I hope that I'll be lucid enough at that time to take her negative opinion of my comments to heart. I know my Mom was successful in moving her tone and views over time, as is Carlos, as are Lori's father Bill and his wife. Not all old people do this 'old people crazy talk' thing, but some do.
Now, can we move on to the next reason to hate Obama?
Posted by jherr at March 18, 2008 01:51 PMThanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
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