We Get Comments... (#2) "Racists?"
A few readers have pointed out that many Texans favored secession in 1861 because of racist sentiments — that is, their motivation, at least in part, was to keep blacks "in their place" as subservient to whites.
While it cannot be denied that such sentiment existed among some (perhaps many) Texans in 1861, it bears mentioning that such sentiment was by no means limited to Texas — nor to the South. Racism peppered the social landscape throughout the entire U.S. and remained so long after the Lincoln's war.
More importantly, the racist views of some Texans in 1861 are simply no basis for presuming to project the same views onto secession proponents today. Yet incredibly, that's exactly what some folks have suggested — that those Texans who favor secession today want to reinstate slavery as an institution(!).
We find no empirical basis for such a notion. Nor, we suspect, can any of our accusers.
What we find perhaps more disturbing is the fact that some of our fellow Texans who favor secession seem motivated, at least in part, by another flavor of racism.
These Texans begin by complaining about "illegal aliens" (which is really just one symptom of a much more serious problem in the entire U.S.), inevitably making comments about the "prevailing [meaning white?] culture and society."
What these people apparently fail to realize is that the Texas of today is more multicultural than it has ever been, and there is no "prevailing culture and society," except in the minds of those who fancy themselves as members of some exclusive "prevailing culture and society."
The Texas Secession movement will not succeed if it tolerates an attitude of superiority on the basis of skin color or ethnic heritage.
While it cannot be denied that such sentiment existed among some (perhaps many) Texans in 1861, it bears mentioning that such sentiment was by no means limited to Texas — nor to the South. Racism peppered the social landscape throughout the entire U.S. and remained so long after the Lincoln's war.
More importantly, the racist views of some Texans in 1861 are simply no basis for presuming to project the same views onto secession proponents today. Yet incredibly, that's exactly what some folks have suggested — that those Texans who favor secession today want to reinstate slavery as an institution(!).
We find no empirical basis for such a notion. Nor, we suspect, can any of our accusers.
What we find perhaps more disturbing is the fact that some of our fellow Texans who favor secession seem motivated, at least in part, by another flavor of racism.
These Texans begin by complaining about "illegal aliens" (which is really just one symptom of a much more serious problem in the entire U.S.), inevitably making comments about the "prevailing [meaning white?] culture and society."
What these people apparently fail to realize is that the Texas of today is more multicultural than it has ever been, and there is no "prevailing culture and society," except in the minds of those who fancy themselves as members of some exclusive "prevailing culture and society."
The Texas Secession movement will not succeed if it tolerates an attitude of superiority on the basis of skin color or ethnic heritage.
posted by Mudrostovich at
12:10 PM
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