Nothing wakes up communities of color more than when we see overt forms of hate making a comeback with a groundswell of support not too far behind!! It was subtle at first, barely making a blip on the radar. But then that drumbeat of obviousness began to beat louder and louder until it could no longer be ignored.
I connect these increased expressions of hate (or rather, resurgence of a cancer that only seemed to be in remission) to Barack Obama's candidacy for President and the increased likelihood that he could very well become our next President. When that happened, fear began to set in and long suppressed feelings of hate bubbled to the surface. As we all know, fear breeds hate! In my opinion, this is a fear of losing power or skin privilege.
Have any doubts? Just turn on the television and switch to any news channel, especially Faux News or CNN. It won't take long before eyes and ears sensitive to prejudice will soon witness negative imagery, reinforcement of stereotypes, code words and innuendo, and the like. What is more disturbing are the number of Americans who tune in for this skewed reporting and how such hate has become big business in America!
In this year's second quarter, Faux News led in the 25-to-54-year old viewer category, placing it firmly in first place as the "most watched cable news network" among this prized advertising demographic (Source: LA Times). Furthermore, Rush Limbaugh just inked a $400M deal to extend his talk radio show through 2016 (Source: NY Times).
Yes, it is in times like these that we find out just what America is really made out of! Sadly, it is not good news for persons of color like myself who are simply exhausted from this centuries-old battle against racism, racial and economic inequality, injustice, and plain 'ol stupidity!!
