Racism

(http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/10/128708361385481314.jpg)

Racism has been a problem in the United States for many many years and even with immense efforts by a lot of different movements, people, governments, etc, it is still as prevalent as it has ever been.  Why is that?  I recently read a quote from Morgan Freeman, a black man, and wonderful actor, on this subject as he was interviewed by Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes. I have posted the transcript from this clip below:

Mike Wallace: Black history month you find….

Morgan Freeman: Ridiculous.

Mike Wallace: Why?

Morgan Freeman: You’re going to relegate my history to a month?

Mike Wallace: Oh, come on.

Morgan Freeman: What do you do with yours?  Which month is white history month?

Mike Wallace: (pause) Well, I’m Jewish.

Morgan Freeman: Okay, which month is Jewish history month?

Mike Wallace: There isn’t one.

Morgan Freeman: Oh, oh. Why not? Do you want one?

Mike Wallace: No.

Morgan Freeman: Right. I don’t either. I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.

Mike Wallace: How are we going to get rid of racism?

Morgan Freeman: Stop talking about it.

Awesome, purely awesome.  I love this man even more. The problem we have is trying to fix the problem by over correcting. We have become extremists in everything we do and enough is enough. I went and found the clip from 60 minutes with Mike Wallace and at the end, Morgan Freeman states: “I’m gonna stop calling you a white man, and I’m gonna ask you to stop calling me a black man.  I know you as Mike Wallace, and you know me as Morgan Freeman.” How wonderful of a world we would live in if we all took this advice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

As a side note, this had nothing to do with Jake’s post on Martin Luther King Junior Day from a few days ago. We’re both rather sarcastic here and will say things that offend I’m sure, including “racist remarks” used as humor, but we strive to balance that out with enough “humor” about every other ethnicity, gender, race, religion, etc including those we belong to. We encourage laughing at the silly things that make us who we are. If you can’t do that, then you’ve got a problem, so deal with it.

– Chris