Filed under: Politics
I don’t know what it feels like to be the target of racism. I’ve been around conversations where someone was expressing some sort of racist thought and just being around them makes me uncomfortable. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a minority and here someone express such horrible thoughts or to be the recipient of these hateful words.
This country has a sad history of racism, espeically in regards to slavery. I’ve been a part of conversations where someone would say, “it’s not my fault that there was slavery, I wasn’t even alive then. What am I supposed to do about it.”
While it’s true that there is nothing one can do to change the past but to act like that’s a reason not to do anything is ridiculous.
The state of Virginia did something incredible today (from cnn.com)
Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery.
While this resolution does not carry the weight of law it is an important step to recognize the evils of our past and to say “that was wrong.” The resolution also expressed regret over the “exploitation of Native Americans”.
My question is why has it taken so long for something like this to take place. It’s obvious that you can’t go back and change the past, but why hasn’t our government taken steps like this already. To ignore the past and act like if we give it no attention all the problems caused by these actions would go away is foolish.
I think this is a picture of true humility. Here’s hoping that this is just the beginning.
