The Rage of a Privileged Class

I find myself troubled today. My husband had a very unfortunate incident of racial hatred a few days ago and it has hammered home some terrible truths that I was previously afraid to believe – or in denial about. Without getting into details, he was run off the road and called racial epithets by a subcontractor of the city where we live. In fact, the individual who did this is working on the street right in front of our apartment. He has sought resolution from our local police and from the city but it appears that he is just supposed to get over it. I cannot help but think that things would be different if my husband were White and the person who did these things was Black. I find myself wondering if things will ever change. If you ever saw the movie “Ragtime” you would understand the true danger of allowing these behaviors to be found acceptable. In “Ragtime” there is a black male character who is very excited to have his brand new automobile, and some Whites decide that he needs to be taken down a notch, so they defecate on his car seat. When he goes to the police, they just tell him to wipe it off. This is basically what the police told my husband to do. Why is this acceptable? How is 2008 any different than 1968 in this regard?

I have had conversations with many White persons who basically have told me that we Blacks should be grateful for what we have – affirmative action, the right to vote, etc. – and that we have it better than we ever have. I am not so sure about that. I think that racism and prejudice are just more insidious now, not gone. I really don’t know what to do at this point. I told my husband that I’m not sure about putting roots down in a neighborhood where our rights won’t even be protected. I find that it’s hard to have an open heart right now, all I really feel is angry. No, actually, enraged. The worst part about this rage is that the majority of people that read this probably won’t understand why, and I can’t explain it to you. I just know that many Black people were beaten, tortured or killed just because they wanted the same rights as everyone else, and that 40 years later, I still don’t see where things any different.