Comments On Racism

The following was sent to me via email by a friend. I found it interesting, so I am reproducing it below:

Someone finally said it.
How many are actually paying attention to this?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Native Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' .. And that's OK.
But when I call you, Nigger, Towel head, Sand-nigger,
Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ... You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
So why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King
Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You
Have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) .. We'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day .. You would call us racists.
If we had White History Month We'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives
We'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of
Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
! Wonder who pays for that?
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships
... You know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed
Black Colleges in the US , yet if there were 'White colleges'
THAT would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching
For your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights,
You would call us racists.
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're
Not afraid to announce it. But when we ann ounce our white pride
You call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer
Shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running
From the law and posing a threat to society .. You call him a racist.
I am proud.
But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?

There are some obvious problems with this email, in that there WERE all-white establishments in the past. There WAS a time when the majority treated the minority badly. For proof, ask the Asian immigrants- they faced barriers far greater than those faced by the ex-slaves. This past is why the Civil Rights movement was necessary. However, the basic point, which seems to me to ask why it is the minorities who are now eagerly embracing segregation, is a valid one to me.

On a related note, it is my belief, after living abroad, that if it was not the white Europeans who dominated the world for the past few centuries, we would still live in a medieval atmosphere of hate and ignorance. It wasn't the Africans, Asians, Hispanics or any other culture that came up with the Bill of Rights. It wasn't they who determined that slavery was evil and finally ended it. And it certainly wasn't any of these other cultures who made any efforts to make minorities in their home societies feel more welcome. How does Mexico treat illegal immigrants in their country today? Only the caucasian, Christian Europeans and Americans of European origin did these things.

Anyway, I welcome any other thoughts on this.....