Racism Dead – Bigotry Abides

By Eddie Griffin

Monday, November 17, 2008

Well over half of America put their confidence in the leadership of an African-American by electing Barack Obama to be President of the United States. Over half of America believes that race is not a prerequisite to lead the most powerful nation in the world. The rule of racism, at last, took backseat to the will of a people who believe that all men are created equal in the sight of a Christian nation. A man named Barack Hussein Obama was judged by the content of his character, instead of prejudices aroused by his skin color.

Some people have yet to accept the outcome of the election. Race hatred is being fueled by hate groups, aimed at dividing the nation. Many people look away and pretend bigotry is not there. But it is there, and has been all along.

Some people confuse the two. This is obvious by mass reaction to the November 4 election results. The ideology of white supremacy was resoundingly discarded by the popular vote. It is no longer the dominant ideology that guides our nation.

We have always insisted that “racism” was predicated upon dominate-subordinate relationships between whites and blacks. From the perpetual occupation of the Whitehouse down to city hall, we have slowly migrated toward a “more equal” union. Now, from city hall to the Whitehouse, political power is no longer monopolized and abused to benefit one race or one culture.

Racism can only exist as long as skin color was the prerequisite for occupying the most powerful office in government. In the South, the political right to govern was a “white right to rule”.

In 1964, I was one of the scholars who debated the meaning of “Racism”. We were surprised that our definition was employed by the United Nations, except for one distinction. Global leaders would not accept racism being equated with white supremacy. Their counter argument was that any race can dominate or suppress another race.

In the U.S., it manifested itself in race relations between "the whites" and "the coloreds", and through a rough series of evolutionary progressions toward a truer sense equality. But the resistance to these changes has historically been violent. It is the outward aggression against change that we signify as “racist behavior” or bigotry.

This distinction is very important in this day and time, post-election. If racism is dead, as I have argued above, then the angry backlash is bigotry with a dangerous potential, similar to the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. All of Lincoln's days in office were haunted by plots of his assassination. No man should have to live with that threat hanging over his head.

I do not buy into the myth that there is no racist plot against Barack Obama’s life. This is why we continue to pray for him and for our nation. We know the truth of racism is about power.

Now racism is dead. Get over it.

If people cannot get over it, then there is a hate-crime conspiracy waiting to lure them in.

The Patriot Act gives the President of the United States almost absolute power in dealing with domestic terrorism. And, what is more threatening to our national security than to openly plot his assassination.

It is unpatriotic to threaten the life of the man who provides a security blanket over this country. In rapid order, these instigators and would-be assassins need to loose their “freedom of speech”, “right to privacy”, and, if suspicious enough, “freedom of movement”, making certain to respect due process of law.

A threat inside the nation should never exist. If we were aware of an al-Qaeda cell operating inside the United States, there is no doubt as to what we would do? And, these people are operating in board daylight? What is too shameless to be done in darkness is hereby brought out into the light, how arrogant!