Understood. It has been said many times that Germany was in fact quite the opposite of what it became during WWII. That said, too often I think we lack perspective on this stuff.
As a Black man, age 56, I haven't seen anything this century--in terms of race tensions in America--that compares to what I witnessed in the 80s & 90s. (I am mostly talking about genuine friendships and relationships between Blacks & Whites.) It used to be a lot worse in my opinion. And of course my memories of "the bad ol' days" don't amount to a hill of beans compared to my parents.
The tensions we are seeing today, I believe, are a confluence of a number of real issues--income insecurity, the splintering/cocooning effects of social media, misinformation & partial truths spreading every which-way, distrust of critical institutions, and so much more--which people *oversimplify* as issues of "race".
Granted, *much* of the rhetoric we hear at the top suggests that we are at some kind of racial crossroads. But are we really?
Don't get me wrong. Race issues exist. But do they represent the core of America's deepest, most consequential problems? If we insist, I suppose they could be. But in reality? I say no.
We are a long, long ways from a pure "Black" versus "White" or "White" versus "Brown" depiction of life in this country. Police misconduct might seem like a Black issue, but it isn't. And neither is violent crime, if we think seriously about it.
And perhaps this is where I (inadvertently) concede to your point to some degree, Cet. Too many of us are not seriously thinking about any of this stuff. Emotionalism is too often the order of the day and it prevails throughout our political spectrum.
Understood. It has been said many times that Germany was in fact quite the opposite of what it became during WWII. That said, too often I think we lack perspective on this stuff.
As a Black man, age 56, I haven't seen anything this century--in terms of race tensions in America--that compares to what I witnessed in the 80s & 90s. (I am mostly talking about genuine friendships and relationships between Blacks & Whites.) It used to be a lot worse in my opinion. And of course my memories of "the bad ol' days" don't amount to a hill of beans compared to my parents.
The tensions we are seeing today, I believe, are a confluence of a number of real issues--income insecurity, the splintering/cocooning effects of social media, misinformation & partial truths spreading every which-way, distrust of critical institutions, and so much more--which people *oversimplify* as issues of "race".
Granted, *much* of the rhetoric we hear at the top suggests that we are at some kind of racial crossroads. But are we really?
Don't get me wrong. Race issues exist. But do they represent the core of America's deepest, most consequential problems? If we insist, I suppose they could be. But in reality? I say no.
We are a long, long ways from a pure "Black" versus "White" or "White" versus "Brown" depiction of life in this country. Police misconduct might seem like a Black issue, but it isn't. And neither is violent crime, if we think seriously about it.
And perhaps this is where I (inadvertently) concede to your point to some degree, Cet. Too many of us are not seriously thinking about any of this stuff. Emotionalism is too often the order of the day and it prevails throughout our political spectrum.
Ergo, maybe we *are* doomed.