Issues of race are not going to be solved overnight. This battle has been going on a long, long, long time. Part of the reason why this war is so difficult to win is that the enemy is capable of appearing 'invisible' or going virtually undetected; essentially a denial of presence while still affecting situations, relations and outcomes. It isn’t new to talk about racism, but it was always somewhat taboo to point out when there's a 600-pound elephant in the room. Such actions were made even more taboo by the invention of the concept “playing the race card”; a construct designed to instantly negate and decapitate any dialogue about race and racism in every context (I won’t digress too much by going into a linguistic - semantic, semiotic or cybernetic - decoding of that construct).
Nevertheless, one promising observation I noted during the 2008 US election was that this was the first time I’ve seen mainstream media really tackle, openly discuss and debate race and racism without appearing to be ‘walking on glass’ or compelled to do due diligence. I’m not referring to the occasional timid glance at the 600-pound elephant taking a dump in the corner, but an outright acknowledgement accompanied by the courage to ask ‘what is that beast doing there?’. I hope open, rational discourse about race and racism will continue and become more a part of the mainstream dialogue, because without out it there will be no increased awareness and understanding of this terrible, multifaceted and complex disorder (believe it or not, it’s not all black and white) - and without comprehension there can be no effective cures.
Nevertheless, one promising observation I noted during the 2008 US election was that this was the first time I’ve seen mainstream media really tackle, openly discuss and debate race and racism without appearing to be ‘walking on glass’ or compelled to do due diligence. I’m not referring to the occasional timid glance at the 600-pound elephant taking a dump in the corner, but an outright acknowledgement accompanied by the courage to ask ‘what is that beast doing there?’. I hope open, rational discourse about race and racism will continue and become more a part of the mainstream dialogue, because without out it there will be no increased awareness and understanding of this terrible, multifaceted and complex disorder (believe it or not, it’s not all black and white) - and without comprehension there can be no effective cures.
Follow MR Twitter
0 Response to "The Race: Part 2"