Although I've been trying not to be pulled in, some of the--ahem--let's say, conversations about the Confederate flag and its related language, the South, and naming rights have pulled me in. There are just too many personal ties. People I used to know keep slopping sugar about how much they just love all their friends of every color, but they'll "just have to agree to disagree." There's all this talk about how none of this was a problem for years and years and there's only been unity. That is a completely illogical conclusion unless you've refused to listen for the last several decades. And I know that's not true for these people 'cause they've heard ME explaining things to them.
People need something to cling to, so, okay. Maybe people need to interpret the Confederacy "heritage" or whatever (of course, I'm a lifelong Southerner, too, but whatevs).
But here's what I don't get: Why the dismissal of people who say that these things are painful? Do they not believe it? Or do they just not care? "Suck it, people of color!"
And can they find some way in which their Christian ethics (plastered all over FB pages and such) jibe with their position?
Most of all, what I don't get is that you call me your friend. You say you care about me. You say you love me with the love of Christ. It's one thing to say that you think "outside agitators" are "stirring things up" but it's a whole other thing to say that a request for change is "stupid" and "oversensitive". But let's say that's true. I'm just hyperemotional (me, your friend, not the "outsiders")--how much does it cost you to just give a little on this? Does it cost less than hurting your friend? who you love?
I realize that I've switched to second person here. That's how crazy this making me. So I've decided that neither logic nor pathos is going to work. I give up. Have your racist idols. They mean more to you than relationships and compassion and "love". I give up. I know you're going to argue that they're not racist and neither are you. That's not logical, but enjoy it anyway. I tried to remember that my silence wouldn't protect me, but losing my righteous mind and having a stroke is more than I'm willing to give you. Never-freaking-mind. That is my official position.
So, instead, I'm reading Yo Is This Racist? It's much better than working my way into a stroke.
1 day ago
3 comments:
That's about the size of it, huh? I love that site!
I don't get how they don't get it. I have lived in the south (born there), lived there for a while as an adult, and my family is all Southern. I have also lived outside of the South, and I see how non-Southerners use the flag to represent hate. If "it's all stupid" folks can still be resentful about the "War of Northern Aggression," how can they not imagine the negative emotions triggered by the confederate flag and all it represents?
And really? "Outside agitators"? Martin Luther King, Jr. has already dealt with that argument.
GEW, I can't explain it. That's part of why it's making me frustrated. The responses seem to be somewhere between, "Smile and hush" and seething anger. It all seems dismissive and illogical--and I'm not good with things that don't make sense.
Oh well.
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