It's no secret that my news venue of choice is CNN. They unabashedly lean to the liberal side of reporting. They are biased and they own it. It makes it easy to discern fact from opinion over there at CNN. I take my daily news from them by saving the knowledge and throwing out the chaff.
The chaff: They have a series called "Black in America" and now, "Black in America 2". I don't get it at all. How is drawing attention to race helping anyone? It is so counter productive. It is just perpetuating the racial divides in our country. Clearly, we as a Nation have gotten over race to some extent and have moved onto (or shall I say regressed back to) using socioeconomic status as our new prejudice. It matters far more how much money you don't have.
How can it possibly be a good thing to call attention and focus an entire series on being black? The goal that we are so close to reaching is to have it not even matter what color your skin is. Now, I understand that a black person is treated differently then a white person. But, so is a poor person, or a person who is ugly, or a short man, or a fat woman. Everyone is different. Get over it. Streamlining a whole nations focus to being black in America is only perpetuating the notion that black people are different and of another class. Dig the divide deeper why don't you CNN. Ugh.
Now, also in the news there are reports that one of the nation's most prominent scholars was arrested in his own home for disorderly conduct.
Who cares that Henry Gates, Jr. is black? The answer: he does. If a white man had the same thing happen to him, no one would care. There was a call about a break in. He did appear to be breaking in. The man was disorderly. If this happened to me and the police showed up at my house, mistaking me for breaking into my own home, I would be praising the police for keeping the neighborhood safe, not throwing some sort of fit because of race. Furthermore if a poor black man with no money or education was arrested in the same situation, no one would care either. Would this have ever made the news had he been poor? Guess what Mr. Gates: they cared because of your social (thus economic) status.
Another thing CNN is reporting on is some principal succeeding by saying "you're black and you're smart". Ack. How about just "you're smart"? What would be so wrong with that? No one told me "you don't have glasses and you're smart" or "you're short and your smart". It is absurd. Stop acting like it matters.
It continually baffles me that people are still running around as if there is still prevalent racial prejudice when the real issue here isn't what color you are. For goodness sakes, our President is black. Guess what else he is: rich & educated.
We as a nation are so close to getting over racial divides. Please stop the hysteria. Let it go.
5 comments:
CNN is still in business? Last time I paid attention to that network, its ratings were plummeting faster than our President's approval ratings. I just assumed it was off the air.
But I can only assume that CNN believes races is still an issue because the white senator from California believes it matters.
http://www.breitbart.tv/god-awful-black-chamber-of-commerce-ceo-rips-sen-boxer-for-condescending-racial-remarks/
Amen and amen. I am so sick of the race-baiting people. We all have problems - most have faced some form of prejudice for some stupid reason. Just get over it and stop blaming the world.
long time reader, first time commenter- Amen, Mary! Although I think part of the reason CNN might decide to run such a series is because black Americans (especially the richer, cable-affording ones that comprise a valuable part of their audience) are still trying to come to accord on an identity- cool? powerful? beautiful? weak? troubled? A black friend at work recently asked me if Mormons considered black skin a curse, and after my "No" reply, he simply muttered, "Well it's a curse in America." That was a great surprise to me. To think that people truly doesn't appreciate their heritage is a shame. I hope that at least some of CNN's ill-conceived segments help black Americans form a better opinion of their race.
I guess you've never been a black person.
Dear Anonymous,
You have missed the point. It was in bold in my original post. Here it is again: It should not matter.
Have you ever met a "black" person that was so light skinned & you didn't even know their heritage? Or a Latina woman who had very American features, or hell, even a non-us born European? I have. I have known people who were not distinguishable. I have been mistook for being all sorts of races I do not have a cultural or biological tie to.
Just as you can not "tell" what someone's heritage is by looking at them, it should not matter after you know. What about a white person raised in a black culture or the other way around. Simply put, I echo my previous sentiment: It should not matter.
And, just as you chose to keep your anonymity by posting your comment with out your name, I would hope that you (along with others) would get that freedom in life as well. It should not matter who posted what comment. It should not matter what color you are. It should not matter what color I am.
Mary
P.S. My brother is brown. We have the same parents.
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