The fact that some in Hollywood are defending child-rapist Roman Polanski reminded me of a cultural dynamic that I have been meaning to blog about. Having sex with children may have once been the "last taboo"—but not anymore. It would appear that the most socially egregious sin that one can commit these days is racism—and it is therefore the one sin we will never admit to committing.
We are misunderstood, like Joe Wilson. We are drunk, like Kanye West. We need anger management, like Michael Richards. We are doing our jobs, like the Cambridge police officers. But—get this straight—we are not racist.
How frequently we see the press conference featuring the public figure with tightly-pursed lips and loyal spouse by his side, admitting in sometimes lurid detail to all manner of criminal and immoral conduct. But have you ever seen someone stand up and openly confess this:
"The truth is, I hate black people. Racism is a dark secret in my past—a secret I thought I could conceal. I need help, and I'm getting it. Please respect my family at this difficult time. I'm so sorry for what I put them through."
Why?
3 comments:
[...] We are misunderstood, like Joe Wilson . We are drunk, like Kanye West. We need anger management, like Michael Richards. We are doing our jobs, like the Cambridge police officers. But—get this straight—we are not racist. …More [...]
This is a great topic, and I was surprised there are no comments to this post . . . until I thought about it. I'm afraid I must recuse myself from commenting.
Exactly! Thank you. I have tried to make this point with conservative Christians ad nausium. They can appeal time and time again to the usual old racist stereotypes, but then insist that they are not racists. It is the word 'racist', not the fact that is taboo. The irony is that these people should know, or have at least conveniently forgotten, that according to Christian thought, we only become righteous in God's sight when we confess our sins, not when we deny them.
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