Viewpoint:
Trumping the Race Card

It seems like the race card gets played an awful lot in the United States these days, mostly in criticism of impartial treatment towards blacks.  But the fact of the matter is, the heart of the social divide in the U.S. is class, not race.  This is true of most every country.  Unfortunately, once a person is born into a specific class, it is very difficult to climb above it.  This I believe, at least in the U.S., is mostly attributed to barriers such as progressive taxes and the incredibly high cost of education. 

That is why statistics that show blacks are worse off than whites in the U.S. are misleading.  Because they imply racism, when actually it’s a representation of the class system.

Now, the class system may not exactly be fair, either.  But before we criticize how the poor are treated in the United States, let’s take a closer look at them.  According to the Census Bureau, 92.2% of the poor own color televisions.  60% own microwaves.  41% own their own homes, and 70% of those without a mortgage!  According to the National Center for Policy Analysis:  A greater percentage of the poor own VCR’s than the non-poor in all European countries except the United Kingdom, more dishwashers than the non-poor in the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and more microwaves than the non-poor in every European country.  Things in the U.S. are pretty good all around, it seems, compared to other countries.

Also note this:  a recent study of  the poorest 20% of people in the U.S. discovered that they spend twice as much money as they earn!  Hey, going into debt is the American way, and apparently that knows no class bounds. So, poor income doesn’t necessarily equate to a poor standard of living.

I always find it hypocritical when people complain about how badly this country treats them, but then refuse their right to leave, and continue to take advantage of everything the country has to offer.  Don’t get me wrong, I would never tell someone they weren’t welcome here just because they have some complaints.  I’m all for fighting for change to make things better.  But when you look at the above statistics, and the high levels of immigration we see year after year, it makes you a bit suspicious when you hear constant complaints about how bad things are here.

And despite all of this, we still hear a constant demand for black reparations.  And in fact there are a number of lawsuits being heard today for reparations.  Now, it is certainly true that blacks were at a disadvantage when they were brought to this country as slaves.  But, didn’t whites immigrate here because they were at a disadvantage in their home country? There were no reparations for them.  They had to make it on their own, from scratch, in a new country.  They chose the United States because it offered opportunity.  That same opportunity is there now, for blacks and everyone.

Do some white people benefit today from the wealth of their ancestors?  Without question.  But their ancestors worked hard and took tremendous risks to improve their lives, and to make sure their descendents could have a better life.  They didn’t improve their situations by demanding reparations from their home country, or by asking for handouts over here. 

And dare I ask, do blacks owe anything to the U.S.?  How many soldiers died fighting for their freedom?  How many white people are worse off today because their ancestors suffered casualties in the Civil War?  Perhaps their descendants are owed reparations from blacks.  Is any consideration given to the fact the U.S. currently provides military protection to people of all colors?  As well as freedom of speech?  Or are these things entitlements?  I don’t know, there’s plenty of places in the world where that’s far from true.  People complain about health care in this country.  The life expectancy in this country is higher than in any other.

This is 2002, and slavery is long-since over.  But John Shelby Spong, a New Jersey Episcopal bishop, says “we still have the heritage of that.  And we have slavery's bastard step-child, segregation, that has been effective in this country and is still effective.”

Segregation, eh?  Let’s talk about segregation.  Halle Berry and Denzel Washington were the big winners this year on Oscar night.  Doesn’t sound like segregation to me… but I find it interesting that the “Black Oscars” were held the night before.  Is that segregation?  Hmm.  What about the “Black Grammys”?  Those are held every year too.  The “Black Miss America Pageant”?  I’m seeing a pattern here.  In Chicago, a “Black Woman’s Expo” was recently held at McCormick Center.  So I guess I agree, segregation is alive and well in this country.

Affirmative Action programs are equally ill-conceived.  There is a world of difference between equal opportunity and equal results.  Equal opportunity is something worthy of being fought for.  Demanding equal results is a cop-out.  And the truth of the matter is, the lack of equal results does not prove the lack of equal opportunity.

The Bishop says he thinks we’ve made some progress, but we have a long way to go.  Shame on America, I guess.  I wonder though, can he name one country that has perfect race relations?  That doesn’t have a slanted class system?  I’d like to know which ones those are.

Spong also says “I think racism is in the very air that we breathe.  I think I am a recovering racist, like persons might be recovering alcoholics.  I think you've got to be on guard against racism in your assumptions all the time.  I think racism is a sickness.”

Spare me, Bishop.  Racism is unquestionably wrong, but so is obsessively making it an issue where it actually isn’t.  Every time the race card is played, any progress is thrown backwards.

People who constantly use the race card as a crutch will never get themselves up and running.
Racism