I don't care Keith. I'm not here to make you happy.
No one appointed me anything. It's a message board. Within the rules, people can come here and post as they please. And I'm most certainly offering folks an alternative viewpoint. The problem here is that causes a certain subset of the membership --generally not you, to your credit -- a lot of heartburn. Think on that as to why it is.
I have thought why it is. I spent 7 happy years living in Northern Alabama and probably have more a feel for it than the actual Brit. During my time in Huntsville, I worked with many black people who were, in the main, high achievers. However, there was another tranche of black people, living over the other side of the railway tracks (literally) that were hidden away from the mainstream. There was generally no interaction between the two "communities". In a coffee shop in the Old Town Square (where Tallulah Bankhead was born) I learned that as recently as the early 1960's, a 'random' black' was hanged in that very same square, just for being black, an event which apparently occurred every Friday evening. There are many Americans I met who didn't know this. Several miles down the road in a town called Arab, a sign was to be seen that read "Don't let the Sun Set on your Black Ass".
At the time I marvelled at the progress that had been made in just 25 years, but then I realised it would probably take 125 years before any kind of 'normal' relationship could be expected and that what I was actually seeing was a lot of window dressing.
"Racism" per ce, is present in every society and at every level. The British were slaves before they became freemen, going back 2 thousand years almost into the Middle Ages. What I do know, is that social engineering and political meddling can sometimes cause more harm than good, and that the majority of people on this earth are just like ourselves and wish only good for each other. Then there's the other lot, the noisy one's with guns and big mouths.
What I am trying laboriously to say, is that we will get there eventually but I do not believe it can be forced, but should be encouraged in a less confrontational way.
On that particular subject, I must say in closing, that I am absolutely appalled at the Police 'Robocop riot gear' as depicted recently in the media. That can't help tensions can it?
I keep this photo on my desktop and have done so for many years, just to remind me of man's inhumanity to man..
