Jim Murray

7 years ago · 4 min. reading time · ~10 ·

Blogging
>
Jim blog
>
Bad News For The White Bigots

Bad News For The White Bigots

Th gg Ets

; \
\First of all, let me preface this piece by telling you that I am a white guy. But I am also a Canadian white guy and have honestly never really believed that there was any sort of difference between white guys and any other guys or girls anywhere.
I believe we are all humanoids and that any differences between us are merely superficial and of no consequence. In fact, to me, it’s those differences that make us interesting, but not unusual as a species.
20TH BIG PRINTING

JOHN HOWARD GRIFFIN

ey

 

WHAT IS IT LIKE, REALLY LIKE, TO BE A NEGRO IN THE
DEEP SOUTH TODAY? NOVELIST JOHN HOWARD GRIFFIN
DARKENED HIS SKIN AND SET OUT TO DISCOVER BY
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THE NIGHT SIDE OF AMERICAN
LIFE. THIS IS HIS STARTLING REPORT.C—— 1
A SIGNET BOOK COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED
Many species in the animal and insect kingdom come in a variety of sizes, colors, and shapes. But unlike those animals and insects, we are the only species who seems to possess a bigotry about humanoids that are different from us.
This bigotry is most clearly seen in countries that are predominantly white. But that is not to say there isn’t bigotry everywhere because there is.
I’m not sure exactly why that is. And I can’t really speak for countries other than the one I have had the most exposure to, which is the US.

Where My Curiosity Started

I grew up in the border town of Fort Erie and spent a good deal of my youth in the neighboring city of Buffalo New York. Sometime in my mid-teens, I was downtown shooting pool at a pool hall on Main Street with a friend of mine when I first heard the word ‘nigger’ used by a white guy.
A very well-attired black man walked into the pool room with a custom made cue in a beautiful case. He got some balls, set them up on a table and started shooting by himself.
One of the guys at the table next to us said to the other guy, loud enough for the black guy to hear, “That nigger comes in here all the time. He’ll hustle your ass if you get into a game with him.”
I was shocked and so was my pal, Jim DeBeau. We had never really heard anybody talk like that. And you could definitely feel the tension level rise. We looked at each other and then realized that this could have been the beginning of a situation that would eventually involve the cops. So we got the hell out of there.

Year | 1950] 2010] 2050] 2100

Te
millions

 

Changing colours of the world population table
That little exchange stayed with me for a long time because I wanted to understand it. As I grew and became educated and read some books on the subject, which included Black Like Me, I started to realize that, though black people in America had been emancipated by the Civil War, the feeling of a great many white people through the generations, was they were simply inferior as humanoids.
This racism is so deeply ingrained in many Americans that it really doesn’t take much at all to bring it to the surface.
But black racism is really just part of a larger bigotry that many white people possess. And I believe this is a bigotry powered by the fear that the white race, if not defended, will someday disappear.
Not being a racial or religious bigot of any sort, I find it hard to understand why it would actually matter to people who are essentially just a shade of the humanoid species.

Bad News For The White Bigot

Jim Murray, Strategist, Writer
& beBee Brand Ambassador
I work with small to mid-sized businesses,
designers, art/creative directors & consultants

to create results driven, strategically focused
communication in all on & offline medio

| om also @ communications mentor, lyricist

& prolific op/ed blogger Your Story Well Told
mail.com | Skype:As you can see from this chart the number of white people in the world is in a reasonably steep decline. This chart will eventually become meaningless because, as my friend Charlene Norman wisely noted in a great conversation I had with her yesterday…’The human race is going to end up the color mocha.”
And she is right. When you have an integrated world, which despite the many efforts to change that somehow, the white minority will eventually be overtaken and disappear into the spectrum of other colors that make up the world’s population by pigmentation.
This is inevitable. My great, great grandchildren will probably not be white. And I don’t really give a damn.
Because despite all the ranting and raving and white supremacy bullshit and racial intolerance and bigotry and wringing of hands, nothing is going to change it.

Humans Always Worry Most About The Things They Have No Control Over

How many lives have been lost to racism? How many people have been sacrificed at the altar of some fanatic’s idea of a master race? How long will it take before the world finally gets over itself and quits trying to stem this tide? These are all questions I ask myself.
And this racial bigotry is really just the tip of the iceberg. There is social bigotry. There is educational bigotry. There is religious bigotry. There is political bigotry. There is the bigotry of economic imperialism. And when you lump all of them together, all you create is a very, very messy world.

Gene Roddenberry Is Flipping Over In His Grave

859681cf.jpgIn the world of future fiction, as depicted in series like Star Trek and Star Wars, the people of earth are seen as ‘earthlings’. They are many colors but nobody sees the difference. There are many ideologies and religions, but everybody respects the other person's right to be that way.
Why? Because they are unified as a species. They revel in their minor differences. They don’t stratify and turn everything into a ‘who is better than who’ pissing contest.
They have realized that there is absolutely nothing to be gained from trying to alter the course of evolution with bigotry or racism or sexism or misogyny.

The Last Dying Gasp

ddf4c9fc.jpgBoth my sister Sharon and my friend Charlene have come to the same conclusion which is that what we are seeing, not just in America but in many parts of the world, is the last dying gasp of the white (or pink, as sociologists call them), race.
They are expending huge amounts of energy and creating huge amounts of havoc fighting the inevitable.
To me, at least, it really is a form of insanity. And the root of a great many of the problems that the world, and most notably at the moment, the United States, is facing and making worse by having elected a president with no real vision or any genuine desire to bring the world together.
But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Bigots will come and bigots will go, but nature will have its way. Same as it ever was.

98738866.png
If your business has reached the point where talking to an experienced  communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.

Download my free ebook Small Business Communication For The Real World here:
 https://onwordsandupwords.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/small-business-communications-for-the-real-world/

All my profile and contact information can be accessed here:
https://www.bebee.com/producer/@jim-murray/this-post-is-my-about-page



All content Copyright 2017 Jim Murray



"""""""
Comments

Harvey Lloyd

7 years ago #20

Bigotry and racism has evolved. The question is no longer "white" but rather class. Class warfare is the new bigotry you refer. Its easy to park the conditions of society at a color and it was placed at the black many years ago, now it is being placed at the white. The color may change over years but i am afraid the last 8 years have solidified that class warfare is here to stay. The haves and have nots are still being defined into their respective groups and the use of color on either side of the debate is a political power play by many governments. The white bigot/racism/homophobe/male/female debate is merely emotional topics that avoids the real debate of class warfare. Until we decide to enter into the real debate the discussion will remain within the realm of popular topics with no substance. Being human of no color designation will require us to debate tough and consequential issues. But to have these we will have to endure the classes lashing out with rhetoric of no substance or offering of solution.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #19

#20
Thanks Judy Mackenzie. Every country has its warts. Some warts are a lot bigger than others. The Trump wort is the biggest wart in the free world, He has made it Ok to be subhuman. And he should not be in any sort of position of power. he is the most toxic person on the planet right now. He has a lot of competition though.
Remarkable article from Jim Murray -- what are your thoughts?
Well, Jim Murray, hopefully you've helped a lot of people think about this. I am lucky to have grown up with parents who made nothing of color; of course, given we lived in a totaly white town north of Boston, Mass., that was sort of easy. But my formative years did not include any version of racism or other intolerances that I can remember. My dad especially talked a lot of about treating others with respect, no matter their situation; although I don't remember him mentioning color as a specific, it was implied. Everyone is worthy of respect. Of course, as I grew older I saw how others felt about this issue and so many others. But I just never understood the hatred. Still don't. Someone's skin color is so superficial! And it's not a choice anyone makes. We are born as we are, and we can only control so much. I have no idea why anyone white would think he or she is any better than anyone else just because of their skin color. I just don't get it. I think one positive aspect of social media has to be the connections we have worldwide, something that wasn't very easy in the 1950s when I was growing up. It encourages us to see others as valuable, as our equal, as persons who have much to teach us -- no matter what their skin color, their gender, or their age is! Thanks for a very important article. Much appreciated.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #16

#12
You're probably right, Brian McKenzie. What more can you say?

Jim Murray

7 years ago #15

#14
Lisa Vanderburg...All you can do is what you can do. I write this stuff because it's what I believe I am saddened by a great deal of what the world has become for no reason other than to protect the white, the wealthy and the entitled. It feels like true democracy is becoming a fantasy.

Paul Walters

7 years ago #14

Jim Murray for my sins I spent many of my formative years living in South Africa under the terrible apartheid regime which was quite frankly appalling. I left , permanently way befor Mandela was released and the transition to Black government and black empowerment, What that country is undergoing right now is in fact reverse racism . Even after twenty five years of black rule the sins of the fathers are still being expunged. Tis a strage world we live in

Lisa Vanderburg

7 years ago #13

Just shows what stupid honkys we are Jim Murray (although I'm unsure of the pluralisation of honky?). As restaurateurs, we've employed and trained every color of people, yet it wasn't until we opened up in Florida that racism became so apparent. We'd been in London, Spain, other places, but this was a primitive can o' worms; that someone would so casually and openly slur another human because of his color - the assumption being I would agree or concur because I was the same color as the speaker. Sickened me, and I said so....over, and over and over................. My kitchen was full of mainly black preps - (the whites that had to take that sort of work were less intelligent or lazy). This was the time of the 3-strike rule and so many of them had fallen foul because of this blanket-racism that had sealed the envelope that had got them to 2-strike. After that , it was the 'system' that just hung such a heavy weight around their necks,....few made it. And that's only from my vantage point. It broke my heart and I did everything I could to encourage them in the outrage they faced. Some very determined souls did make it, for a time! I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice that a baby born of two different colored parents are stunningly beautiful - God's trying to tell us something, eh?

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #12

Absolutely right on the button , even Ireland who was an homogeneous society up to 25 years ago will see its pool gene shaken down with the population now including 12 % of residents born in a different country , thats good news but bad news for the inuslar minded folks :-) As an aside I smiled at your comment on great great grand children as I am writing a post which is a letter to my great great great grand child I will probably not getting to finish it this week but working on it ... Thanks for the post Jim Murray

Jim Murray

7 years ago #11

#7
Thanks CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit. I didn't know you knew Charlene. She's a marvel. I'm totally in love with her. I'm pretty sure we'll be working together going forward on different things we both run across. She told me about her situation. I talked with her for 2 hours yesterday at a Tim's. It was great. She's pretty much back to normal. She just needs to work on her confidence a bit more. I think I have convinced her that she is, in fact a writer, which she was doubtful about. Sitting in front of me with a published book, it was not that hard to do. She inspired this post in fact. What a small world indeed, I will send her your regards, sir.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #10

#8
Jerry Fletcher...I agree. But I can only tackle on fucked up issue at a time. Otherwise my head will explode.

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #9

#6
Jim, also a very fitting post for the same day in history when civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. NatCivilRightsMuseum‏Verified account @NCRMuseum 11h11 hours ago Outside Rm 306 of the Lorraine Motel #OnThisDay in 1968, Dr. King was fatally shot at 6:01pm. He was pronounced dead at 7:05pm. #RememberMLK

Jerry Fletcher

7 years ago #8

As scary as the idiocy you describe is there is one which I believe excedes it. That is man's inhumanity to women. It crosses all races and socioeconomic differences. It is abhorrent. And because of a charity I'm involved with each day I learn more. There are days I'm ashamed to say I'm a man.

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #7

Hi Jim, pass my deepest regards to Charlene Norman. Who would thought that you would move to St. Catherines and she would move to St.Catherines and of all the new people that are in St. Catherines, the world it turns out yet again, at least from my own experiences, it is indeed a small world and that you are friends with Charlene. If it is not a small world then it definitely is an example of synchronicity. Charlene is a great mind and I am glad that she has refound new verve of life and spirit. I am also glad that things are on the up for her and that she has battled through what would have sunk a lot people in similar circumstance, especially her health scare and the adversity with absolute tremendous courage. Speaks volumes for her and who she is. Most of all that she is back to her best and again enjoying the fullness of life. That she is your friend, well that is an added bonus - and so I'm really happy for her. I have seen her silently pop by beBee but I had no idea that both of you know each other. As for the future, it never turns out the way we expect. Scientists will do to human beings what they have done to corn, and by 2100 skin colour will simply a genetic modification - at that time we can have whatever colour baby we want. Think about what synthetic biology is going to reek into being by 2025 and 2100 is really unimaginable in comparison. Imagine how the Jetsons thought life would be like today - it's fun seeing how our ancestors envisaged us a future race.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #6

#4
Thanks . Right on the money and I would bet my house that all those powerful old white me are holding that country back and keeping it from becoming all it can be.

Wayne Yoshida

7 years ago #5

Thanks for the thinking piece, Jim Murray. This "human trait" is a learned behavior, which is a good thing - or a bad thing. I am glad you and your family taught your kids right. And if we all did this, the world will be a better place.

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #4

Nice buzz, Jim. Here are two points for consideration. 1) Yes, it's true that whites in the USA are declining as a demographic percentage of the population, according to the US Census Bureau. Hispanics/Latinos and Asians are the two fastest growing minority groups. Moreover, in many big American cities today there is what's been called a "minority-majority" population. This means that the combination of all "traditional" minority groups now outnumbers that of whites. This likely accounts for at some of the fear and paranoia of white bigots -- albeit, unjustifiably. 2) Per the above point, even with the increasingly diverse USA population, white men still control an overwhelming majority of power structures in the nation, from Wall Streets to Main Street USA. The number of non-white CEOs and C-Suite executives of the Fortune 500 companies remain exceedingly low compared to whites. Let's also remember we now have a white President (just saying) and the US Congress (especially the Senate) is still mainly represented by white men, especially at the leadership level. Thus, in essence white men still overwhelming control government and corporate America industry-wide. FYI - Here's a prior post of mine about why workforce diversity simply makes good business sense. https://www.bebee.com/producer/@dbgrinberg/why-workforce-diversity-is-simply-good-business

Jim Murray

7 years ago #3

#2
Thanks Don \ud83d\udc1d Kerr. You're right., I did kind of just pay lip service to the rest of the world. It is a universal problem. But as all the talking heads everywhere are fond of saying, the world looks to the US to set the example. Right now, the example is in deplorable shape.

don kerr

7 years ago #2

Jim Murray Insanity indeed and I hope not a part of some fundamental genetic coding. My kids just don't get why anyone gives a shit about the color of someone's skin and I hope that remains with them forever. My only note to add would be that this is not just an American problem. I know you reference the international community but the issues are also prevalent in many parts of Europe, Asia and (shock and horror) even here in the Great White North - which is kind of an awkward descriptor in the context of your post. As I said in my post earlier today, parochialism and populism are great hinderances to our advancement as humans.
May they rest in peace. ; -)

Articles from Jim Murray

View blog
8 months ago · 6 min. reading time

Over the past few weeks, in anticipation of submitting these stories to film and TV production compa ...

1 year ago · 3 min. reading time

Over the past two years, I have, among other things, been writing short stories. There are nine in a ...

11 months ago · 2 min. reading time

As the 21st century really starts to take hold, one of the most important places where huge differen ...

Related professionals

You may be interested in these jobs

  • EssilorLuxottica

    Sales Associate LensCrafters

    Found in: Talent CA C2 - 5 days ago


    EssilorLuxottica Toronto, Canada

    Requisition ID: · Store # : LensCrafters · Position: Casual Part-Time · Total Rewards: · At LensCrafters, we're passionate about bringing people better sight. And it takes thousands of people from all backgrounds to do this. · By joining our team, you'll learn about the opti ...

  • OPA SOUVLAKI OF GREECE

    food service supervisor

    Found in: Talent CA 2 C2 - 35 minutes ago


    OPA SOUVLAKI OF GREECE Calgary, Canada

    Education: · Expérience: · Education · Secondary (high) school graduation certificate · Tasks · Establish methods to meet work schedules · Train staff in job duties, sanitation and safety procedures · Hire food service staff · Prepare budget and cost estimates · Maintain record ...


  • Desjardins Longueuil, Canada

    Rattachée à la Direction Gestion du changement, la personne titulaire soutient et accompagne les promoteurs et les chefs de projets ou les gestionnaires du Mouvement dans la définition et la mise en œuvre des solutions de gestion du changement associées à la mise en place de solu ...