I am baffled by the racism of the pre-1970s Deep South
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Anonymous
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I'm watching the excellent documentary Freedom Riders on WETA. It's about the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the group of young people (black and white) who attempted to desegregate interstate bus travel. At each stop, they were brutally beaten and terrorized by white racists in the Deep South. Have you ever wondered why these people (southern whites) were so vitriolic and hateful? Have you ever wanted to talk to a person (now) who participated in the violence back then about WHY they were like that? Have you ever wanted to TRY to understand why they were so brutal and vicious and full of hate?
Needless to say this film is really getting to me. I can't stop tearing up while I watch it. I just don't get it. I'm so glad I wasn't alive back then. Sorry for the rambling. |
Anonymous
| If you are brought up to believe something, even something so terrible and wrong, you can and many do. Probably applicable to terrorists who hate the US. |
Anonymous
| Or many in the US that think all Muslims are terrorists. |
Anonymous
| I have teenage relatives who still think like that. |
Anonymous
Wait, do tell. I'm serious. What do they think? Like the OP, I've never understood the reasoning (or more correctly, the thoughts, as they aren't reasonable in the slightest) behind the rabid-dog racism and violence that goes along with it. W/o getting too personal, could you share some insight? |
Anonymous
| Can't the same school of thought be applied to Nazi's? |
Anonymous
Yes. And Rwanda, Bosnia and parts of Africa where there is ethnic cleansing. |
Anonymous
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OP, i think there are two parts to this. the person who acts out in the name of supposed "superiority" and the environment, or system, that supports this person's ideology. racism is so nuanced. it takes a village to create and support a racist.
i find it amazing that segregation happened a mere generation ago. think about that. we are not so far removed. sometimes i look around at older people and wonder what they were thinking and doing during that time. |
Anonymous
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The film you are watching sounds very grim. While I do believe that it was not a pleasant time, I would also question the accuracy of the movie.
Something dramatized for tv does not mean it is accurately describing the time. |
Anonymous
OP here. It wasn't dramatized. It was a documentary with primary documentation and first person testimonial. You can find out more about it here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/ I have no doubts that it is all true. |
Anonymous
uh, it's a documentary not a lifetime movie special. |
Anonymous
| You should also see Eyes on the Prize. |
Anonymous
Are you serious? You need a history refresher if you think this "dramatized for tv." The OP is talking about the Freedom Riders, some of whom were killed for doing what they did. Yes, that is "grim" but it is also fact. My dad moved to the South from Connecticut in 1969. He was harassed repeatedly by the Klan for having black friends and once even threatened at gun point that he would be killed if he did not immediately separate from his friend (he did not and they kept walking). I assure that the such rabid racism does not need to be dramatized - it was (and unfortunately for some still is) very much real. |
Anonymous
If you are over fifteen this is inexcusable. |
Anonymous
OP here. I've seen it and I think it should be required viewing for every American high school student. I'm a history buff and I avidly watch and read quite a lot about the civil rights movement. Still, I don't understand it. I was born in 1970 and I can't believe this was a part of our history less than a decade before that. |