From O.J. Simpson to Trayvon Martin

DoubleThinkNot writes:

I am 52 years of age, reside in the South, and find myself more and more concerned about the direction of our country. My particular worry is about the mass immigration of non-Western non-whites, on top of the already volatile racial relationship between American whites and blacks, and the handwringing by too many white people as to the (white) causes of the many woes of the black population. Because of the sensitivity of the subject matter, for the time being, I shall use the pseudonym “DoubleThinkNot.” Due to the nature of the stories that I plan to write for my new website, I am concerned about the problems my family may experience, therefore the fake name.

One of my moments of awakening (likely the key moment) to the severity of the situation facing our country took place in 1995. I had a black friend who was a thoughtful, educated man, or at least he seemed to be on the surface. He was a co-worker, and we had worked together for about a year. During that time we had become fairly close friends (very close as co-workers go). Twenty-five years before we met, he attended a highly respected university. I state this to let you get a picture of the man.

My friend and I were at work together on the day the verdict came in from the O.J. Simpson trial. As soon as the verdict was announced he started dancing and cheering. I had already become extremely dismayed at the fact that this, supposedly educated man, a man I cared for, would believe that O.J. was framed. When he celebrated the acquittal, I was stunned. My good friend had just celebrated the acquittal of an obvious murderer. He was not just happy about the not guilty verdict. He was ecstatic. I could never reconcile this event with the loving, caring man I thought I knew. He actually told me that the reason blacks were happy about the not guilty verdict, was that it was payback for past wrongs done them by whites . It was obvious to all white people that this was the way blacks felt, but for this man to embrace that idea seemed outlandish. He saw this reaction by blacks as logical. I saw it (by white standards) as, borderline insane.

My reason for mailing you today involves the Zimmerman/Martin case. In the court proceedings for the Zimmerman/Martin case this morning, the judge didn’t recognize George Zimmerman standing in the court room. It may be nothing, but I found it peculiar. The video is here. The moment in question begins at the 33 second mark. I also discuss it at my website and give several theories as to why the judge did not recognize Zimmerman

LA replies:

About your story about your black co-worker and the Simpson verdict, what effect, if any, did this incident have on your friendship?

DoubleThinkNot replies:

In answer to your question about my friend, I lost respect for him. As I said, I was stunned. From that point forward I questioned his judgement, and began to ask him more questions. I found out that he believed that Europeans had stolen civilization, as well as a plethora of scientific inventions, from the black man. I now know this to be a part of Black Liberation Theology (Reverend Wright’s religion). I had heard these ridiculous statements from radicals like Louis Farrakhan, but never from someone I thought to be normal and sane, and surely never from a friend. In my friend’s mind (judging from the beliefs he shared with me), white people were the most evil people in the history of the world. My thinking was that with him harboring such opinions of white folks, how could he possibly care about me, and my family, or any white person. I eventually distanced myself from him.

- end of initial entry -

May 18

LA writes:

I think that the reader’s experience is fairly representative. A white person has a friendly relationship with a black person, and thinks his black friend is normal and sane. But then at some point the black friend reveals what he really thinks about whites, and his beliefs are so irrational and hateful that a friendship with him becomes impossible. I am not saying that this is true in all cases, but in many cases. One of the lessons is that if a white person wants to maintain a pleasant and respectful social or professional relationship with a black person, he must keep the relationship very superficial, so as not to find out what the black really thinks.

Of course, what I’ve just said would only apply to normal, i.e., non-liberal, white people. Your average white liberal would not be offended by a black friend who thought that O.J. Simpson was framed by police, or who danced in joy at Simpson’s acquittal, or who thought that whites had stolen black civilization. Yes, 17 years ago white liberals were shocked at blacks’ collective ecstasy over Simpson’s acquittal; but white moral and intellectual surrender to blacks has progressed a great deal since then.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 13, 2012 07:53 PM | Send