Guest Post: Another view on the race conversation

Matt is a theology student living in the South.

Another View On The Race Conversation

By Matt.

Just read your "Better things to do" (From Feb 22) post. I guess it's assumed that Holder was directing his comments at whites only...I didn't hear the rest of his comments so I'm not sure. I think lots of people of different races are afraid to talk about race and end up falling back into easy, rehearsed answers. In that sense, I think Americans can be cowardly on the issue of race.

But assuming Holder directed his comments only to whites, my own experiences lead me to different conclusions than your own. I've been lucky enough to have lots of interesting (to me, anyway) discussions about race with black people. Of course there are times when I feel that black folk quickly dismiss certain arguments as racist. But people of all races quickly assume the worst of their "opponent" in discussions about anything. It's not easy to have a really thoughtful discussion about anything, including race.

In any discussion where people are "attached to the problem," unless the people involved have some kind of trust and affection for each other, both sides will tend to assume the worst of someone who disagrees with them. Just look at the whole Clinton-Obama race. Obama supporters too often dismissed critics as racist, but Clinton supporters too often dismissed Obama supporters as sexist. Human beings are quick to find bias against their cause, beliefs, candidate, etc. That's honestly why I have found it difficult to read your posts. Your own tone is, at times, awfully similar to the kind of bitterness coming from Holder. Or at least that's how I've felt when reading some of your posts. In the Holder post you complain that most discussions about race are not conversations, but you seem so settled in your own views that you might be just as much part of the problem. That's why I liked when you wrote, " Maybe I'm wrong. Let's talk about it." Maybe that kind of humility is present in many of your posts, but I don't remember seeing it much.

Don't you think queer folk can be as quick to judge straight people as blacks are to judge whites? Whenever people feel intensely oppressed, it's hard to have a nice, quiet debate. My own experiences in places like Watts, Harlem, and Baltimore help me understand why black folk are pretty pissed off about some things. My own experiences as a gay man help me to understand why queer folk are pissed off. Of course thoughtful whites are not as attached to the problem of race as many blacks are...just like thoughtful straight people are not as attached to the problem of sexual orientation as queers are. The issue simply doesn't cause that fire in the belly that it does for people intimately affected by the issue.

As a white guy, I think there is real value in listening to black people's view of race more than chiming in with my own view. That doesn't mean that I'm silent in a conversation about race. I get mad and raise my voice and challenge people's assumptions. But hopefully I only do that after really listening and allowing others to get mad, challenge me, and raise their voice at me.