|
and agree that we operate under a double standard. But I also believe that this incident is far more complicated than just black and white, legitimate and illegitimate, racist v. non-racist.
One of the things that strikes me about it - and bear with me here, this might sound weird at first - is the way it demonstrates how racism in American harmed not only black people but damaged and diminished whites as well.
Racism damages everyone it touches and its damage is not limited to its intended targets. Those who inflict it - despite their evil and horrid opinions and actions - are also victims in the long run. I strongly believe that unless and until people realize that racism affects each and every one of us as well, we will never really confront the issue.
Thurmond is a perfect example. Yes, he held reprehensible views, behaved despicably and did great harm to blacks and the country as a whole. But he was also a product of his time and was probably trapped into and driven by a situation that was far larger than he was. Of course, he could have bucked the system, rebelled against its strictures but, like so many other people, he did not behave heroically. He did what most people do - just went along with it and rode the wave.
Who knows the circumstances of Thurmond's relationship with Ms. Williams' mother? Many people assume that Ms. Williams was the product of a rape or something close to it. But it is possible that her parents had what passed for a mutual relationship in 1925 - it was not necessarily a rape or even a coerced situation. I say this based not only on the fact that Ms. Williams' mother seemed to have maintained contact with Thurmond and even arranged for him to meet their daughter, but also on my knowledge of numerous relationships by people in similar situations. For example, a member of my own family was the product of a consensual relationship between a black maid and the son of her white employer in the 1920s. They actually cared for one another, but knew they could never marry or even let anyone know about the relationship. When she became pregnant, his family sent him out of state to avoid scandal. And he ended up just going along with the system, becoming a very prominent member of the white community who benefited greatly by - and even helped exacerbate - the racial climate of the time. Sound familiar? And this sort of thing was not uncommon at all - in fact, it happened quite frequently, it just was never talked about. That's probably one of the reasons the exposure of this incident has been met with a giant shoulder shrug in the black community - most of us are thinking, "so, what else is new?"
Of course, this relationship could have been something entirely different - something more sordid and sad. None of us knows for sure, but we should not immediately discount the possibility that a relationship existed.
Like many white men of privilege during that time, Thurmond certainly knew he could never have a normal relationship with his daughter - for whom he obviously felt some affection and obligation - nor would he likely have even tried. But one doesn't have to be blind to his shortcomings to be somewhat touched by his efforts to be some kind of father to her - helping with her finances, arranging for her education, visiting her in college, staying in touch with her for the rest of his life. And one does not have to be an apologist for Thurmond to feel a little sad for him - after all, not only did he end up living a lie for nearly 80 years - for reasons not all of his own making - but he missed out on a real relationship with a child who would have greatly enriched his life and would likely have made him a better person. What a waste.
Multiply this by the number of people who have missed out on so much in life because of the barriers put up before them - and that they themselves often helped to perpetuate - and we can better understand how racism has infected and pulled down our society in so many ways.
As Bill Clinton said in his beautiful speech commemorating the 35th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, "Just as Dr. King predicted, the rise of black southerners to full citizenship also lifted their white neighbors. 'It is history's wry paradox,' he said, 'that when Negroes win their struggle to be free, those who have held them down will themselves be free for the first time.' . . . My fellow Americans, this day has a special meaning for me, for I, too, am a son of the South, the old, segregated South. And those of you who marched 35 years ago set me free, too, on Bloody Sunday, free to know you, to work with you, to love you, to raise my child to celebrate our differences and hallow our common humanity."
How sad that it has taken so long for America to realize this (if it even has yet). Imagine what our world would be like had the Strom Thurmonds of the world figured this out 80 years ago and had the courage to actually do something about it.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
