Franchise Player
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: H-Town, Texas
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I was wondering if there would be a post on CP about the boycott and if it would spark a large discussion. I can't read through all of the posts but I have read through several.
If you don't live in the US or have never lived in the US and only ever lived in Canada, trust me when I say- the move to the US full time, especially near or in a big city, would shock you in regards to racial tensions and disparity.
The politicians and the media in this country are the biggest provocateurs when it comes to racial relations. I don't care what anyone says, they are the constantly the hot stick poking the fire, and that goes for the left, right, and moderate news channels. The political parties are a sham and the money behind most of the politicians are from old, white wealth. It doesn't matter which political party you agree or disagree with. They are all in it for money and power.
There are common misconceptions in the United States that get to the root of systemic racism. These misconceptions further cloud the views of the public and make race relations confusing.
For example, many people know that Abe Lincoln and the Republicans were anti-slavery and the South (pro-slavery) were Democrats. People say 'The parties switched' at some point. The truth is, the parties never switched. The truth is Democrats held every Senate seat in the South (South of Mason Dixon line) in 1960, 4 years before the Civil Rights Act. When the civil rights act passed in 1964, 80 percent of Republicans voted in favour, while there was strenuous backlash and opposition by Democrats in the South- and 21 Southern Democrats voted against the civil rights act. Of these democrats were the leaders of the KKK and even Al Gore's father. The fact that most people think that Democrats are 'for black people' gets confusing and is cause for argument and many misunderstandings. Historically they have not been, and if you read some of the Democratic laws passed since the Civil Rights Act, you'll see that many of them were designed to keep minorities poor and reliant upon government. Republicans also have passed legislation to try and swerve the South to the right, but it is interesting to note that several states became red in the past 20 years. Georgia for example, became Red for the first time in 2004.
The other common misconception is that United States pulled Africans from the arms of their families and forced them to come to America to be slaves. The truth of course is much more horrific and brutal. For two centuries, Africa sold over 10 million of their own people in what's now known as the transatlantic slave trade. Of the 10 million, the United States 'bought' around 3-4 percent, and the rest went to other places like Brazil, Jamaica, Haiti and other places in the South Atlantic. The misconception that the United States is the only country that brutalized slaves makes the disparity especially bad, even though slave ownership was horrible enough in the first place.
The biggest issue is, of course, where we are today. African Americans hold positions of power and influence and of course there are laws against segregation and racism. But honestly, we can't erase hundreds of years of prejudice and inequality in 40-50 years. The truth is, redlining has been the most detrimental aspect to inner city neighbourhoods and while they can say it doesn't exist anymore, we all know it does. There is a reason that someone with low income gets a car loan with 40% interest and someone with a higher income can get one for 0%. Our system is designed to keep minorities and poor people at the bottom, and people with money and wealth at the top. There is bias in every faction of the American economy. There is a reason why there can be 50 shootings in Chicago with 10 murders, all African American, and there is barely a blip on the news. It's because we don't value black lives in America. It might come to the attention of the world when a white cop shoots a black person, but honestly that's just a small percentage of the problem and the reason you see it on television is because the media knows it will get ratings. The media values the life of one black man who was shot by a white cop more than the lives of 50 black people who were shot and 10 who were killed because they can make a circus out of the coverage, and 'poke the fire' so to speak. Blacks, other minorities and the poor in America are seen as not important, or not AS important as others in society. If we tell ourselves that's not true, we are idiots.
People ask 'Why is there systemic racism' in the United States, and no one ever has an answer. No one ever bothers to talk about the brutal history of the US and the results of hundreds of years of racism. The truth is, there is systemic racism because the SYSTEM is designed to be that way. We can march, protest, tear down statues, boycott hockey games- but nothing will change here until black lives truly matter. I am not talking about only black lives that are lost by police shootings. I am talking about black communities and black culture in every way. They need to be treated equally and have equal opportunity from our government, our banks, our schools, and our leaders.
Instead, we have one party vs. the other ranting about who is more racist, and we're lost, confused, fighting, and segregated. It's a sad state of affairs.
But personally, my opinion is, if we don't address ALL of it, we keep putting a band-aid on the problem and as we've seen, it only gets worse.
But alas, the point of the thread- should the NHL boycott games? Honestly, I think it's disingenuous. Maybe the boycott was meant to be a symbol of support, but if we're being honest, hockey players are predominantly white and usually from families with means to pay for hockey in the first place. If I were an African American in the midst of this turmoil, I might feel a bit patronized by the gesture. Just my opinion of course.
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