While Baldwin may be happy with the current change our country is going through (a new president), I doubt he would be surprised that racism is still alive and well today. While the racist comments and issues that arise are nowhere near as overt as they were in Baldwin's time, they still exist and are still a problem today. I would say he would be disappointed in the way people view races different than their own. Notice I did not say the way people view African-Americans; the reason I did not single out only African-Americans is because they are not the only racial group that experiences situations in which they are discriminated against because of their color.
I recently had the unfortunate experience to sit in a restaurant and see a white man treat a hispanic couple like garbage. It made me sick to my stomach that I had to witness that; i was so disturbed in fact, that I got up and left the restaurant. I have a strong feeling that Baldwin would have been just as disturbed at the condition our society is in today. However, not all is doom and gloom on the issues of race; within the past forty or so years, our country has made significant progress towards people and things that are "different" and "outside of the norm."
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If you had confronted the man in question rather than leaving the restaurant, do you think it is possible he might have learned something? How might we all act and interact differently in our various social spaces to be a positive force for tolerance, for social justice?
ReplyDeleteI don't see what he could have learned. I have learned from experience that people like that are not going to be swayed from their prejudices just because I say that they are wrong. It takes will power and an intense desire to change your way of thinking, and I could just tell by looking at this man, that he was set in his ways; there would be no reasoning with him.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely believe that keeping an open mind and heart towards everyone is the first step towards finding a common ground between people. Tolerance isn't something that is just suddenly brought into peoples lives, it takes time and patience. If only people were able to have patience with one another, we would be able to start taking that first step towards understanding and openness. This step will hopefully start a movement towards acceptance. However, as a pessimist, i do not foresee this happening anytime in the near future.