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Racism is worse than burglary
About 15 years ago, an acquaintance in the immigration reform movement said that racism nowadays is a worse offense than murder. While she was indulging in a bit of hyperbole, we all knew what she meant. She didn’t mean that you would receive a worse punishment for being a racist than for committing murder, but that more public shame would associated with the former than the latter.
However, now it turns out that there are people who do literally consider racism a more serious offense than an actual felony. A student at Syracuse University was seen walking around a residence hall with his face painted a dark color, looking like someone made up for a minstrel show. When officers from the Department of Public Safety stopped him, he told them “that the face paint was camouflage—not blackface—and that he was actually on his way to rob a house.” Further investigations ensued to check out the student’s story. But the point is that this young man, faced with the suspicion of putting on blackface and thus of mocking black people, thought he would be in less trouble with the authorities if he said he was on his way to break into someone’s house. Comments
About 15 years ago, she probably had O.J. Simpson in mind. So her statement wasn’t hyperbolic at all. Posted by: Agricola on February 26, 2004 10:56 AMThe most dramatic example I know of this: when Jeffrey Dahmer was interviewed in prison about his crimes “he took exception to news stories that said he was racist for specifically targeting blacks.” A cannabilistic child-raping serial killer denies that he is a racist! Posted by: Somebody on February 26, 2004 11:08 AMWho are the “racists”? Those that give preference for color, those that blackmail corporations, those who say because I am black, Latin or Indian I deserve to reach into your wallet. |