Recently I had an extended conversation with a dear friend about Georgia and the issue of racial politics. She is a former colleague, an historian, a Southerner with deep family roots in the South dating back generations. Now in her nineties, I value her erudition and experience.
As someone who first moved to the South in 1964, I have been especially hesitant to wade into the debate about race. After all, I grew up in Iowa in a town without any minorities and had never mixed with African Americans until I joined the navy. Living here I have experienced both the overt racism of some people and the altruism of those who long ago decided to accept and accommodate fellow Black citizens as eligible for respect and equality.
As my friend and I discussed history and race, we concluded that the issue was really socioeconomic more than anything. We agreed that we are all racist; people prefer to “herd” with their own types, and this human proclivity often extends to religion, ethnicity, and even national origin. We also agreed that once one gets by identifying other people using these characteristics, we find that we have many things in common and first impressions are put aside. Distinctions such as race become superficial.
What really matters are our socioeconomic differences. We tend to accept those who are like us. Whether they happen to be Black or Chinese, it makes little difference if we share similar values. People like us don’t pose threats; they are us. In my town with no minorities, it was the poor undereducated white people that were different because they were not like “us.” They behaved and lived differently. Predictability broke down, making me feel uneasy in their presence.
Today in Georgia we see all of this playing out. The murder of young Ahmaud Arbery and the sudden obsession by Republican legislators to rewrite the state’s election laws confirm that racial bigotry and ill feelings are still very much with us. Criticism in the Wall Street Journal and Republican pundits notwithstanding, Georgians and others might be excused for calling the new election laws “Jim Crow in a coat and tie.” Georgia has a long history of suppressing Black votes.
An observation I’ve noted before in these pages continues to haunt me: “We cannot bow our heads and call it ‘tragic’ and leave it to the authorities and the politicians who will never protect our neighbors or us unless we require it of them.” *
*Jim Barger, Jr., “Ahmaud Arbery Holds Us Accountable,” The Bitter Southerner, May 14, 2020.
In a more normal time, we could expect the Supreme Court to declare such actions/laws invalid…but this is NOT a normal time. Nevertheless, one hopes that these efforts to stem the tide of social progress will prove futile and that “good people” everywhere will voice their opposition to such blatant actions by a political party in its death throes! Alas, poor Georgia!
Thanks Barney. As the Barger quote suggests, “the authorities and the politicians will never protect our neighbors or us unless we require it of them.”
I think some “800 pound gorillas” are forcing the issue on behalf of the good people!!! Sports, CocaCola, Delta, go, go, go!