If ignorance is bliss, and racism is ignorance, then does racism equal bliss by the transitive property?
Crips & Bloods: Made in America
No, that’s just a joke, but I thought that would be a clever title. I quickly have an example of the racism I was talking about in yesterday’s post about Los Angeles:
I am currently searching for a new place to live. I answered an ad on craigslist for a room and the person on the other end said, “All I got so far lookin’ at my room is n—–s and tweakers.” I told him it wouldn’t work out between us and promptly hung up the phone. I was shocked. At this point in time, it is not some bold and courageous thing to stand up against racism. It’s pretty commonplace. Most people condemn it, and rightfully so. But it still bears its ugly head.
A lot of people in major cities in the US think they are enlightened. New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are notorious for having citizens who look down on the “backwards country folk”… especially in the south. I took a trip to Birmingham, Alabama last spring and the attitude was one of regret for the mistakes of the past. I saw several inter-racial couples and a civil rights museum. Of course there are still ignorant racists there. But the point is they’re everywhere. There is a KKK chapter close to where I grew up in rural New Jersey.
A great documentary on racism in south central LA is “Made in America: Crips and Bloods”… It chronicles the history of gang violence in south central LA going back to the 1940s I believe. South Central used to be a nice place to live but now it is a war zone. I was actually escorted out of Compton by a police officer my first year in LA.
I’m not really trying to break any new ground here on race relations. Tomes have been written about the subject. Just really trying to clear my head, which would account for the stream of consciousness style (or lack thereof) of writing.
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