England is abuzz about a single “racist” comment.
British papers report that on January 5, 2012, Dianne Abbott, England’s first black member of Parliament, allegedly tweeted to Bim Adewunmi, a black freelance journalist, that white people "love playing divide and rule."
Now, on the face of it, one might call the remark racist. But could it merely be the “honest” racially-biased opinion of one black woman at one moment in time, an opinion not unlike momentary racially-biased opinions that intrude into the consciousness of white people against blacks or Koreans against Chinese, or between any two racial groups?
I know virtually nothing about Abbott; she may or may not be racist. What I do know is that the personality of anyone who claims never to have had a racially negative or racially stereotyped idea flit through his mind can be summarized with one word: liar.
Belief in the righteousness of one’s one group—whether that is a racial, sexual, religious, family or other group—should not be condoned. On the other hand, it is patently absurd to become incensed by every minute group preference expressed by every person anywhere.
During my childhood, I recall a different typical approach to someone expressing a negative view of an “out group.” At that time, when the listener heard an unfairly biased remark, he would refer to the biased person as “ignorant” and move on to some more fruitful endeavor. He did not make a “federal case” of it.
This is not to say that we always should merely shake our heads and walk on. When verbal bias is repeated, intense, or prolonged, strong counterstatements are absolutely essential; all the more so when verbal bias is accompanied by actions taken against any group. But let’s not react intensely to every minor comment made by every narrow-minded person.
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