Some people say ignorance is bliss. Yeah, right.
In the 21st century, I would think most of society has wised up about issues with no grounds of justification, like racism, but apparently that’s not the case. I thought of it as a philosophy of the white-hairs, something that would die off in this country within the next couple of decades. But it seems I’m the ignorant one.
In the last month alone, racist remarks have come up in political campaigns, and most disturbingly, a church just an hour north of Starkville voted out a newfound Christian kid for being biracial.
First off, I want to know what was going through the minds of the congregation at Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo when they voted to keep a 12-year-old boy, who the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal referred to as “Joe,” from gaining membership. A week prior, Joe as the saying goes, “asked Jesus into his heart.” The next week, the church kicked him out of the “House of God.”
It’s already absolutely ridiculous, but it gets worse. The members weren’t just voting to keep Joe from becoming a member, but in fact they were preventing any black people from becoming members.
For obvious reasons the pastor, the Rev. John Stevens, resigned that same night, and several members left the church.
But how can those still at Fellowship live with their decision, and why hasn’t there been more media coverage of the issue? And while we’re at it, why hasn’t there been an organized protest? We’re talking about blatant racism, and it’s going practically unnoticed. Where’s the justice?
A couple of states away in Virginia, Republican Sen. George Allen, while on the campaign trail in August to try to retain his position, called a University of Virginia student and assistant to Democratic candidate James Webb “macaca,” and also kindly welcomed him to America.
Thing is, the student, S.R. Sidarth, is a natural born citizen of the United States. Oh, and “macaca” is a French racial slur meaning “monkey” that was originally directed toward North Africans. Sidarth is of Indian descent. And guess what? This one gets worse, too. The 54-year-old Allen is also affiliated with the Council of Conservative Citizens, which is an organization that branched from the White Citizens’ Councils, a segregationist organization formed in 1954 by 14 white Mississippians. One of these founders was Robert “Tut” Patterson, who was once, I’m ashamed to say, captain of the Mississippi State College football team.
I realize that racism is far from being a memory, but what is it going to take to get people past their pointless prejudices and move on to progress and true equality? I’m in no place to offer a solution, because I don’t know how the mind of a racist works. I don’t really know everything minorities go through when they experience prejudice.
But what I do know is that it has to stop, and this generation has to make things right.