Trent Lott, who looks like an early Gumby model, especially in the hair department, is not wining The Smartest Man award this year. Mister Claymation put his foot all the way into his mouth regarding his segregation comment at Strom Thurmond’s birthday thing. Lott is an idiot and always has been an idiot, so I can’t get too bent about it: “Stupid is as stupid does” to quote Forrest Gump.
But here is the real point: Despite what the politically correct might think, historically, America and (to a lesser extent) Canada, have been extraordinarily racist for most of their history. There is no excuse for racism. Hating someone just for their colour or heritage is silly. Get to know the person first, then hate them for specific behaviours or beliefs.
At various times in the history of both countries, we have hated Irish, Poles, Blacks, Hungarians, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Jews again, Catholics, Protestants, English, New Zealanders, Latvians, French, Chinese again and have actually passed laws disenfranchising them, or limiting their immigration, or passing laws that preclude their owning land, farming or having government jobs.
Humans are essentially xenophobic. We like others who are like us. Wind back the time machine and you’ll probably see Cro-Magnons with the same features and values hangin’ together. It still happens today: Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Saigon, Poletown, Greek Town, Scarberia, BarbecueHaven, The Glebe…ad nauseum.
Since we can’t change history (People were killed, in my lifetime, just because they were of a certain pigment) and Humans won’t change, we can only accept the fact that ‘we’ as a society have done some really stupid things IN THE PAST.
So, to everyone who gets bent with non-PC statements of fact: That was then. This is now. Judge me on my actions today, not what my great-great-great-great grandmother thought, did, or didn’t do. And get over it. To quote Colin Powell approximately: “Racism is the other guy’s problem, not yours.”
RoadDave 