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I saw Letterman last night. Richards is in shock over what he did. He really doesn't think he's a racist, but it's pretty clear he is. Even in his apology, he broke the group into racial segments. He was obviously raised in a very racist family to even think those words. With therapy, he might be able to open his eyes and mind a bit. I think he's open to that idea. It's too late though. His career is over.
Mel Gibson primed the waters for Richards. People are even more sensitive and less tolerant than before. Good.
I'm so grateful to my parents who didn't allow racist talk or racial slurs in our house. I didn't know what most of them meant until I was a teen. I'm still not sure on some of them. If I used one I'd heard from the other kids I was quickly corrected. "We don't use that word in our family. It's rude. If you want to talk about a family you say their name, not where they're from." The most insulting terms were ones I never used. Seeing/hearing my parents react to hearing them was enough. "There's no excuse for that kind of language! That's just ignorant!"
To be truly color-blind, you can't think of people as color groups but as individuals. Growing up in a family like mine, I didn't realize how unique we were. Racism is bewildering to me. Life is hard enough without adding useless hatred to it.
Even still, sometimes the ideas that have assaulted me from the media and from other people will come into my thoughts. It's hard to be truly color-blind when the world around you isn't. I recognize them for what they are and send them on their way. The terms don't come to mind. Nope! They don't. If you don't think in those terms, they won't pop out of your mouth at inopportune moments.
Mel Gibson primed the waters for Richards. People are even more sensitive and less tolerant than before. Good.
I'm so grateful to my parents who didn't allow racist talk or racial slurs in our house. I didn't know what most of them meant until I was a teen. I'm still not sure on some of them. If I used one I'd heard from the other kids I was quickly corrected. "We don't use that word in our family. It's rude. If you want to talk about a family you say their name, not where they're from." The most insulting terms were ones I never used. Seeing/hearing my parents react to hearing them was enough. "There's no excuse for that kind of language! That's just ignorant!"
To be truly color-blind, you can't think of people as color groups but as individuals. Growing up in a family like mine, I didn't realize how unique we were. Racism is bewildering to me. Life is hard enough without adding useless hatred to it.
Even still, sometimes the ideas that have assaulted me from the media and from other people will come into my thoughts. It's hard to be truly color-blind when the world around you isn't. I recognize them for what they are and send them on their way. The terms don't come to mind. Nope! They don't. If you don't think in those terms, they won't pop out of your mouth at inopportune moments.
