SHE SPEAKS THE TRUTH: Katie Pavlich: America is not racist.
It’s interesting how those on the left, in this case Obama and Heschel, make broad, general statements about how far we have to go on race issues but don’t give specifics about what’s left to fix. What do white churches have to do with the Charleston killer? They’ve offered support and unity. Is that something they should hang their heads over? The answer is no. And despite what Obama says, racism is not passed along in DNA through the generations. If that were the case, America wouldn’t be the tolerant, multi-racial country it is today.
Yes, America, like the vast majority of the rest of the world, at one time participated in slavery. While the sin of slavery is not justified, it is important to acknowledge that the sin of slavery isn’t a uniquely American sin, but rather one of mankind throughout the course of history. Further, owning slaves is not a sin unique to white people; in fact, black Africans sold other blacks into slavery (and still do today). Slavery is uniquely human, but societies and countries that respect human dignity, like America, have stopped the horrifying practice.
We need more direct refutations of the “racism” accusation like this. Liberals/progressives talk incessantly about racism, yet there are spectacularly few examples of the phenomenon, so they pounce on every conceivable black-white interaction–think Ferguson and Baltimore–even if the facts don’t support their immoral, divisive accusations.
The Charleston shootings have given race-baiters an excuse to ramp up their rhetoric and double down on their strategy of divisiveness. Too bad the good folks in Charleston keep disappointing the progressive/liberal racism promoters with their acts of good faith, unity and charity. One can almost feel the race-baiters’ frustration that a random evil act didn’t spark race riots. But hey, they are at least getting traction on their longstanding agenda to erase all memory of Confederate soldiers and, of course, the Confederate flag.
instapundit
[ SC has one of the most racist histories of the US (probably only Mississippi and California are more racist), yet a young man growing up there could find no KKK or skinheads to associate with. He had to form his racist opinions on the internet. One of his drinking buddies was even black. Robert Byrd would have been so ashamed of modern SC. ]
...... Institutional racism is no longer prevalent in the ways the left claims. Obama, elected twice by American voters, is black, as is former Attorney General Eric Holder and current Attorney General Loretta Lynch. There are a number of blacks serving in the U.S. Congress, including Republican Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and Congresswoman Mia Love (Utah). The likes of Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé are business and pop culture icons.
Look around the world and you’ll find that America is the most tolerant and open society on earth. The World Values Survey shows India, not the United States, is in fact the most racist country with a class system. The same survey has shown for years that Americans are among the least racist in the world and therefore are the most tolerant.
Do racists exist in this country? Of course they do. Is their racism sanctioned by the government and celebrated by fellow citizens? Absolutely not. In fact, the Charleston shooter (who I refuse to name) told friends he felt isolated and alone in his evil, racist views. That’s a silver lining. As a society we have corrected many of the wrongs of slavery and racism, the individuals who have not corrected their racist views are an innumerable minority roundly and strongly condemned by the rest of society.
The Charleston shooter’s feelings about race are the exception, not the rule, in this country. This is demonstrated by the response in Charleston of blacks and whites holding hands and coming together, not apart, to honor the memory of those who were killed.
America isn’t a racist country, not even close, and it certainly isn’t a “white supremacist” society. The left falsely saying so promotes not progress but division. American history includes slavery and racism, but its current status and future as a whole does not.
The people who lost loved ones at Emanuel AME Church have forgiven their killer. It’s time the left does the same with America for her long past sins.
http://thehill.com/opinion/katie-pavlich/246440-katie-pavlich-america-is-not-racist
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