Editorial: We must talk about racism
Some believe that racism no longer exists because we have an African-American president; a majority of Supreme Court justices believe that too.
Manifestantes protestan por la muerte de Walter Scott quien murió a manos de un policía blanco en Carolina del Sur. Crédito: Getty | Getty
SPANISH VERSION
People say that there is nothing worse than something you don’t want to talk about. The massacre of African Americans in a church that played a historic role in the civil rights struggle, at the hands of a racist young man, provides an opportunity for a nationwide conversation about one of the most serious problems this country faces. Now is the time to clearly and loudly condemn the racism that motivated this massacre.
However, that hasn’t happened. Racism is an uncomfortable subject for some conservatives who are part of the Republican base and blame racial minorities for their problems. Therefore, the first reaction to the tragedy was made to fit the conservative narrative that this was an attack on religion.
GOP presidential hopefuls, to a bigger or lesser extent, talked more about religion than about racism when they addressed this tragedy. Apparently, they don’t want to alienate white voters in the South, who partly share Dylann Roof’s frustrations about minorities and feel persecuted because they can’t impose their religious beliefs on the rest of society. Politicians know that the white vote in the South could decide the next Republican presidential candidate.
They are showing Roof a great deal of consideration as a troubled young man and repeatedly asking what led him to act that way. This reeks of racism. Such generous reactions, particularly when the defendant is a self-proclaimed racist, don’t happen in cases where the suspects are African Americans or Latinos. Even the concern that Judge James B. Gosnell showed yesterday for Roof’s family is unusual, since there is not so much compassion when the defendant is a person of color.
Some believe that racism no longer exists because we have an African-American president; a majority of Supreme Court justices believe that too. However, racism is more alive than ever. Politicians exploit the racial resentment of the poorest whites to explain their troubles. Fueling the populism of blaming immigrants and African Americans is simpler than addressing an economic system tilted against the poor, no matter the color of their skin.
It’s time to show leadership and call racism by its name, denouncing it as the most dangerous terrorism for our society. Let’s do the right thing instead of engaging in political calculations in the face of this tragedy.
