With that said, it seems rather obvious that America is not yet there. Debates about available career opportunities for all people aside, there are still examples of blatant racism occurring everyday, including in the world of sports. Here are just a couple examples:
Don Imus on Rutgers Women's Basketball Team
Don Imus on Rutgers Women's Basketball Team
When you see/hear stuff like this, all you can think to yourself is...."WHAT?!" It's like...how could you even begin to think that that would be a good idea to say that....like, really. And Don Imus has a track record of offensive, racially insensitive comments about people of virtually all races and ethnicities dating back to the 1980s all the way into the 2000s, yet he has managed to receive all kinds of accolades including being listed as one of TIME magazine's "25 Most Influential People in America" (1997). It makes you wonder...
Kelly Tilgham on Tiger Woods
In this case, I tend to feel there was less ill-will in her comment than Don Imus'. Woods and his people seem to have some kind of relationship with Tilgham, and didn't take much offense to the comment. I think I'd sooner find her guilty of racial insensitivity in this particular moment than being a racist. Her private and public apologies were accepted by Woods, but the fact that she even thought to say that might say something about how historical acts of violence are viewed in this day and age. Have we become somewhat desensitized to heinous acts like lynching? Or the mass extermination of Jews during the Holocaust?
Personally, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm generally optimistic, and I tend to want to believe that most people are decent and that today's American society is farther beyond issues of race than it probably is. Clearly, this is far from the truth. Even though it may not be blatantly in our faces all the time, we still have a long way to go before we even begin to consider ourselves "post-racial".
I understand what Ashlee is saying. As Ashlee says, post-racial would mean that racism does not exist anymore. I do not think that this is the case in America.
ReplyDeleteHowever, where I am from in the Ukraine, racism does not exist because there really are not any black people. The players are white, the managers are white and the owners are white. This creates an atmosphere where racism is not even an issue. I can't say that the Ukraine is in a post-racial world but it is in a world without race. While simply not dealing with race is unrealistic, it seems to make things easier.
I also agree with Ashlee. Although some people may believe we live in a post-racial era, that is not necessarily the case. The videos above prove that we do not live in a post-racial era. There is still racism today. I believe that some people may still be racist because that is the way they were raised many years ago by their parents. It may be difficult for a person to change their point-of-view.
DeleteI found what Alex said to be interesting about where he is from in the Ukraine. The fact that there is no racism there seems crazy to me because here, there is still racism, and i can't seem to think about a world without it. Although racism is not as intense as it was years ago, it is still prevalent in society today.
I also agree with what Ashlee had to say. I mean we have come a long way in this country from racist times in the 60's and 70's, but I still think as shown in those two videos that there is still racism in sports. I feel like we are always going to have racism in sports because there are going to be those fans or talk show hosts that display racism in some kind. It's sad to think, but I feel that it is true.
ReplyDeleteI thought what Alex had to say was pretty cool. My ancestors were from Ukraine so it's always good to get an idea about the country. I agree with Kelly with that's crazy to think that there is no racism in that country, with growing up in the country that we live in. I think sports is a big reason why there is still racism today, because back in the 20th century sports is how African Americans made a name for themselves and gave them a reason to be proud. With the success and the total domination of African American athletes in sports today, there are still going to be those low people that feel the way they do.