Discrimination

Has there ever been a time when there was no discrimination? I don't know that there has. What is it about human beings that makes us suspicious of anyone who doesn't look just like us. Wasn't this a song from South Pacific? Yes, "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught". So, do we learn this from our families/friends or are we born with prejudiced bones throughout our bodies?

I just read a book called The Stubborn Twig that recalled the lives of Japanese immigrants at the turn of the 20th century into the Hood River valley. It was clearly a doomed relationship with their neighbors from the start. Suspicions of the Japanese population grew into fears which grew into intolerance which grew into hatred, all for absolutely no reason other than they looked different. This stuff really gets my ire up.

There was a resident of Hood River who was even quoted that they had no issues with Italian, Scandinavian or even German immigrants because they looked like him. And the result was internment camps where these citizens were treated like animals. We have always been so busy pointing our fingers at what happened in Germany and in the south Pacific, I think it was all a cover-up to prevent anyone turning the spotlight back on us. I don't remember hearing a single thing about all these camps stationed around the country. Not only was the fact that it happened unexcusable, the number of decades it took for us to apologize were unbelievable.

Along those lines, have we ever apologized to our Native American citizens?

I'm appalled, disgusted and embarrassed at how we as a people just don't get it. Kara, I said I wanted you to write about the proliferation of stupid people in this country, that includes the bigots. And maybe we need a second write-up on all the just, plain, mean ones.