Racism Is Real

Racism is real. White supremacists exist. Representative Steve King has long been known for his views and he deserves no excuses for his comments. We all know he is far from the only one who believes white skin makes one superior regardless of how he couched his defenses with words like culture and destiny. Racism, like all forms of bigotry, is dangerous and counter-productive to maintaining our democracy.

Racism is here. It is alive in the minds of people ignorant of the facts around them. The color of one’s skin does not make them more or less intelligent, lazy, mean, kind or any of a million other characterizations applied to them. The fact is that there are good and bad people in all skin colors, in all economic brackets, in every belief structure and every culture.

Representative King, trying not to tell an outright lie and also not to perhaps, damage his re-election chances, by telling the absolute truth about his belief, placed the emphasis on culture (their culture versus our culture). The acceptance of other cultures, he says, are damaging to our way of life. What that means, I cannot know. I know that our way of life includes systemic racism where we compartmentalize the “different ones” and push them into certain neighborhoods, jobs, education facilities.

Racism is wrong. It is wrong when Rep. Steve King suggests it. It is wrong when the current administration encourages it. It is wrong when one person causes harm or discomfort to another because we are different. Worse than being wrong, is the damage it does to out value system and our way of life.

This is a country of immigrants and suppressed Native Americans and refugees and freed slaves. It is the flavor of each of these contributors to our mix that produces the vibrant, resilient, strong society that we have today. We are better than the white supremacists. We are better than the hate groups. We are better than we have to be. We are better, because we are diverse and tolerant.

Yes, racism exists It is here. So does anti-Semitism, xenophobia, gender bias and a host of other bigoted ideas. We need to face them all and learn to be even better than we are today. In the United States of America EVERYONE deserves an equal opportunity. Stand and fight for equality and denounce Rep. Steve King and Steve Bannon and anyone else who encourages unfairness to any of our citizens.