Quote:
Originally Posted by psd
...I just wanted to add one thing. One thing I can't stand is when something has been around for decades, and NOW it's offensive. I find that infuriating. But I also understand the world has changed...
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Yes, the world has changed.
Decades ago, minorities were offended by certain things, but said nothing, or simply grinned and moved on, because most white folks simply
would not listen.Those things were always offensive, but "troublemakers" or those labeled "uppity" would find themselves unemployed or worse. (I'm sure nobody here would bother to read my accounts of conversations I overheard among my elders while growing up)
Consider the reaction here in the US during the 1950s when black folks got tired of being 3rd class citizens and started protesting. Protests did not begin in the 50s, but the modern civil rights movement began then, and continues to this day.
Consider the reaction back in the 50s: violence. By "law enforcement" and by private citizens. The reaction to peaceful protests was massive violence. The reaction in the 60s,when blacks began to turn to armed self-defense (the Black Panther Party) was even more violence.
The world has changed in some ways. It's wrong for white folks to think that they own the entire planet and can label and classify everybody else any way and any time they please. It's just wrong, and now, more and more minorities are standing up and saying so. Thankfully, more white folks--but still not enough--are agreeing.
It's wrong to assume that the sanitized version of history that the US and other Western countries teach their children should be allowed to go unchallenged. I wonder how many Americans who celebrated Columbus Day recently have read "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies," written in 1542 by Bartolome de las Casas. And I wonder how many of those who lament the removal of Confederate statues have read "Bullwhip Days," a compilation of remembrances of former slaves.