What racism is and what racism is not. An Understanding.

Before the Presidential election season gets into full swing, I feel I need to get an understanding with people and hopefully some will read this and understand. i am speaking primarily of younger readers who are mostly less than 35 to 40 years of age. Those who didn't grow up during the Sixties and Seventies. Those who are listening to the voices who are tagging disagreement with public policies and social issues as racism. Let me give you some examples from personal experience.

I grew up in East Tennessee during the Sixties and Seventies. I grew up in a small town in a small county. It was about 30 miles from Oak Ridge and about 35 miles from Knoxville which was the nearest large metropolitan area. Are towns had both white and black residents.

However the two counties immediately to the north of ours had no black residents. For a reason. They weren't allowed to settle and reside there. i don't know yet if that has changed. I know it was still that way 25 years ago.

That is racism.

The town next door to where I grew up was the only town in the county that had a movie theater. It was a wonderful old place and in the summer you could go on Wednesday afternoons and see movies for 10 cents. No kidding. Such blockbusters as Green Slime and Destroy All Monsters were some of my favorite fare.

About ten feet up the street from the box office was a door. It had no markings. If you had watched you would have seen the white patrons buy their tickets and go in the main entrance. You would have seen the black patrons go in the unmarked door. It led to the upper balcony and that was where the black patrons had to sit. I believe that went on through the entirety of the Sixties.

That is racism.

Now we are in the second decade of the 21st century. For the most part in this nation I am relatively certain conditions like that no longer exist. I said "relatively" and if anyone is aware if definite situations I will listen to your account with interest.

However if I disagree with the policies of a political party and the social aims of it's leadership and vocal members...I am not doing that out of racism. Lot's of times I read these things and am not even looking at the physicality of the individual and thus don't know what race they are. Yet I disagree and often in strong terms. At that point I don't care if they are white, black, yellow, brown, or if they are a one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater......THEY ARE WRONG.

That is not racism. That is a difference of opinion and that is why we are a free nation. It is much of the basis of our Constitution. I am happy to have been raised in those unfortunate times only so that now when it matters greatly I know the difference between racism and the use of a political weapon.

If you are one of the younger readers I will be more than happy to discuss this further with you. I only ask you be open minded about what is being said about people and policies. There are people being described as racist who have not one racist bone in their bodies. This is done out of fear and the desire to control the conversation and make it as one-sided as possible. They feel if they can paint their opponents as racist you will out of horror of it ignore their ideas.

Do you see how this can be dangerous?

Copyright 2011 J.S.Chambers