Racism or Jealousy? The Great Divide

I recently had a couple of thoughts about the future. One was that Senator Barack Obama was President of the United States, but only after a very turbulent and ugly period of violence and strife. Quite reminiscent of over 40 years ago, when some in this nation could not handle the change that John Lewis, Jessie Jackson, Dr. King, Dorothy Height and many of us made possible so that ALL of us could enjoy the American Dream.

The other thought toyed with what would make some people behave so badly. Why were some people so upset that a person of mixed race was running for President and running so well? Possible answers came from two Caucasian male friends of mine and in separate, unrelated conversations. The first was the family member of a prominent wealthy American business who confessed to me what he declared to be a coveted secret among many white males and an issue of ignored and unexpressed conflict : "if they (white males) tell you that they are not deeply attracted to black women, they are lying." That was a remarkable revelation from this man who had only the integrity of our friendship as his motivation. It was a shock to me because I wasn't seeing this enacted on television or in the movies. How then, can people develop a broad sense of one another, when there is so much misunderstanding and conflict? The second answer to this question came from a friend who had done some work in a majority African American community, could not understand why people, who did not have much, who seemed disenfranchised and who were "downtrodden" could smile, laugh, have joy, love and "talk trash." "Things are not how you see them," I said.

Yet, some people think things are as they see them and dig their heels into the sand, clinch their fists and reject any other notion of people. They do not know what it is to be an African American. That in spite of the challenges, there is love, joy, and community in ways that don't even appear on BET, let alone network television. The "great divide" is a program by television and other media, that fails to represent people, of all cultures, as they are. Had that happened, others would know that there are many children and families like Senator Obama and his family. I see them all of time. Children who are raised by single mothers and grandparents who whisper hopeful words of possibility into their ears and hearts and who grow up to lead communities, black organizations, major corporations; who win sports trophies and break barriers and dominate the music industry and create fabulous lines of clothing, who love their children and work and who do more than the media could ever keep up with. Maybe that is why it doesn't. (That's another story.)

So, I understand the resentment and fear of these people who behave badly against Senator Obama and others based purely on race. You see, they do not realize that love prevails among us. They wonder how these people could keep standing when they, themselves, were losing so much? Actually, this new leader shows what many of these people want in their homes. They want what these African Americans have in spite of the odds against them. That's called coveting. Perhaps what we think we are seeing is not racism. Consider that, under any other circumstance, this is called envy. They want this:



Thanks to Clay Aikens.