Call for reparations reveals underlying racist beliefs

Monday, 7/14/97 Call for reparations reveals underlying racist
beliefs Unfounded assumptions, excessive blame distort argument

By Eric Galen I was appalled at the unbridled racism and
complete lack of reason spewed forth in Victor Patton’s column
("I’m sorry just isn’t enough," July 7-13). In keeping, with the
title, Patton begins with an allusion to Clinton’s proposed apology
to black Americans for slavery and states that it "isn’t enough."
However, Patton misses an essential fact: the oppressors (masters)
and the oppressed (slaves) are all dead. In other words, who would
apologize, and to whom? Patton next jumps headlong into the first
of many attacks on "whites;" how Patton defines white is not clear
(though I believe that his purpose is best served by ignoring this
important clarification). "When I speak of race I do not wish to
generalize," says Patton, prior to alluding to white America as
"they (who?) hop into their Lexuses and drive off to Bel Air." So
much for avoiding racist generalizations! I can’t stomach Patton’s
attempt to lump all whites together for the purpose of convincing
the black community that their white neighbors are their
insensitively ignorant adversaries. Fact: six trillion dollars paid
mostly by while taxpayers have been spent on a welfare system,
initiated by a white president and a primarily white congress.
Welfare has been freely accessed by the black community for
decades. And what of affirmative action, instituted by our
government to benefit minorities? What about the white activists
who have voluntarily fought both physically and politically by the
sides of African Americans since the Civil War for the sake of
racial equality? Prior to the last presidential election, Colin
Powell led public opinion polls above both white presidential
candidates – a fact made possible only through the support of a
multitude of white Americans. Though some ‘bad apples’ provide the
exception to the rule, the vast majority of white Americans are not
racist, swastika-spraying, white-supremacist as Patton would have
one believe. Patton states that blacks are not "able to hold a
decent job because of the color of their skin." As sole reply I
need only refer to the following among a long list of self-made and
highly respected African Americans: General Colin Powell, Oprah
Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Clarence Thomas, Ward Connerly and Tiger
Woods. Though Patton’s views are neither persuasive nor compelling,
I do find the underlying impetus for such an article quite
fascinating – it ultimately proves to be the most revealing aspect
of Patton’s thoughts. Ask yourself why an individual who supposedly
wishes to see an end to racism would so adamantly pursue a course
of argument based on negative racial generalizations with sole
focus on where to point the finger of blame? If Patton’s goal is to
help establish an America without racial tension or preferences,
does it not frustrate his goal to utilize means that entrench
feelings of inequality and animosity between races? Isn’t this a
contradiction? When asking these questions, remember that
contradictions do not exist – when a contradiction presents itself
one need only check one’s premise to find the error. The faulty
premise is that which assumes Patton’s goal to be the end of racism
between blacks and whites. The correct (and frightening) premise is
that Patton’s means, his racist and unfounded beliefs, are his
ends. If Patton wonders why an end to "the race problem" is so
elusive, he need only look inward to see that his own racism
frustrates the realization of this end. Patton’s self-fulfilling
prophecy of continued racial conflict is illustrated by his closing
remark, "The future, I am sure, holds nothing but confrontation."
Hence, the most disturbing image gleaned from Patton’s article is
not one of slavery by "White America," but one of self-imposed
slavery through disregard for reason and an inability to move
forward – and there exist no defense or possible apology for this
kind of slavery.