‘Retch’ Is Right Response To Racism

‘It is easier for a man to be loyal to his club than to his planet.” - E.B. White

Dear Jennifer: Sorry for the delay but I just got around to your column on racism. I am truly astounded that you actually wrote:

“… when some of the most advantaged people in the world yell ‘reverse discrimination’ it reveals their ignorance, arrogance and disregard for obvious truths. It makes me want to retch.”

Such language might be acceptable for a 12-year-old pulling a tantrum, but you should be far above that. I am constantly amazed that you can be so rational and generous on so many subjects and yet become totally irrational on others. This is not the behavior of a mature person. Maybe it’s the counselor who needs counseling.

Keep writing, but please avoid childish tantrums and try to be rational. - Paula

Dear Paula: I considered nauseous, throw-up and vomit. I just thought retch had a nice ring to it. I was conveying strong emotion because so many people ignore the rational data on “reverse discrimination.” That data reveals a long, deep, extraordinarily pervasive discrimination against African Americans and an impossible to measure (too small to make a blip in the statistics) anecdotal reporting of reverse discrimination.

Take my discrimination test, give it to all your friends, then ask just one of your African-American friends the same questions.

Did you ever feel shut out of activities as a child because of your ethnicity?

Have you ever been denied entrance into a school, hotel, theater, restaurant, swimming pool, toilet, barber shop, meeting, store or club because of your ethnicity?

Do you think you’ve ever been turned away from an apartment or rental house, an employment opportunity, training or a promotion because of your ethnicity?

Have you ever been granted access or advantage because of your gender, parent’s position or membership, residence or kinship?

Have you ever felt people were refusing contact with you because of your ethnicity?

Has anyone ever said to you, “I didn’t want you here, but now that I know you, it’s OK”?

There is a new book out titled “The End of Racism.” The writer, Dinesh D’Souza (formerly from India), apparently believes that the racism felt by some minorities here is imagined because it is really their own fault for being born into lower castes. He doesn’t reveal whether he is a Brahmin (India’s highest caste) or just naturally superior.

D’Souza offers a perspective alien to democracy, that “inferiors” can be demeaned, discriminated against and even enslaved because it’s common, practical and sometimes they do it to each other. He points out that there were a few African-Americans who owned slaves so slavery was not inherently racist.

So I keep writing about racism with passion because we keep trying to explain it in every which way to avoid guilt. I do not think there is a single issue more damaging to my America than too many citizens denying what they know, by the simplest observation or experience, to be true. - Jennifer

Jennifer James: I admire much of what you write, especially your forward-thinking optimism. I don’t always share your views, but I always appreciate the chance to consider them. - M.E.

Dear M.E.: Thank you. One of the uses of this column is dialogue. A new business training tool I’ve encountered is Socratic Dialogue. It’s used as a shortcut to organizational change and problem solving. Socratic Dialogue assigns participants new roles and forces people to think in new ways. It is a welcome alternative to the fixed and rigid positions I so often encounter. - Jennifer

xxxx

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Jennifer James The Spokesman-Review