The situation in Ferguson is a reminder that no matter how much we pat ourselves on the back and talk about how far weve come in matters of race, that we havent really come all that far. To be blunt: one of the reasons suburbia has sprawled to the degree it has is because many suburban whites dont feel comfortable with black neighbors, and would rather pick up and move to a new community, even if its further away from their work and everything else, than stay put. White flight isnt a phenomenon just of the 60s and 70s, folks...if it was, the continued sprawling growth of suburbia would have slowed considerably. Instead, as older suburban areas become bad areas (racially mixed, often less affluent) those who can (guess who?) move away. The recent shift back to cities has thrown a monkeywrench into this entire process, of course, but to pretend the problems dont exist, to continue to pretend that our nations racial divide was miraculously healed in the 1960s and 70s, is nothing but an express train to nowhere. There are problems, deep-seated, uncomfortable, ugly, difficult problems on all sides of the racial divide. No one is innocent, no one is guilty, no one is a victim, no one is a perp. We ALL are innocent, we ALL are guilty, we ALL are victims, we ALL are perps. its OUR problem. We ALL have to solve it. TOGETHER.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:03:06 +0000
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