Wherever racism is discussed, the same tired, typical reactions inevitably follow. The same held true when it was announced that the statue of a Confederate soldier would be removed from the campus at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Mayor Greg Fischer and University of Louisville President James Ramsey made the announcement yesterday, where Ramsey said that:
“It’s time for us as the University of Louisville to step forward in partnership with the City of Louisville and to move this monument, and to reaffirm our commitment to one of the basic tenets of our 2020 plan and that is a commitment to inclusiveness.”
Mayor Fischer added:
“The stain of slavery and racism that this monument represents for many, many people has no place in a compassionate, forward looking city.”
Just as all of the local news stations did, WLKY reported on the announcement and posted the story on their Facebook page.
Their readers reacted. Oh, did they ever react. Although there were posts supporting the removal of the statue, which will not be destroyed but simply moved to a new location, many of the posts expressed outrage and fell into the same typical patterns of everything from unintentional but still clearly racist to the blatant displays of bigotry that are easy to identify.
Here were the eight typical reactions to the story:
1) The Whitesplained History Lessons
These were the same reactions to the removal of Confederate flags from government buildings. Outraged racists insisted that the Confederate flag had nothing to do with racism despite the fact that it has become an easily recognized symbol of groups like the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists.
There is always a mention, as well, of the ‘black people sold and owned slaves, too!’ argument. They don’t seem to get that it isn’t about the oppressor, it’s about those who were and still are oppressed as a result of the history of slavery in this country.
2) Black People Get Everything While White Folks Are Oppressed
Poor, poor white racists. They are so very put-upon. People of color get one whole street in the city named after Martin Luther King and one station out of thousands dedicated to their interests. It must be so very difficult for white people to function in a society that treats them so cruelly.
What is society coming to, indeed, when a white person is made to feel uncomfortable when they express racist views publicly?
3) It’s All This PC Stuff That’s Ruining The Country
They continue to pretend that “PC” means “white oppression” instead of just “respect for other people.”
“White oppression is ruining this country!”
“Respect for others is ruining this country!”
See how one of those statements fits their outrage and the other doesn’t?
4) It’s All Obama’s Fault
You knew they had to get that in there somewhere, didn’t you?
5) The Real Problem Is Black Communities
This is a similar argument to the one that argues that they myth of black-on-black violence justifies the systematic execution of black men and women by police. They heard a rumor that black folks have killed each other before, so they can’t understand why police can’t just kill them with impunity.
White folks have to live in a city that have communities of color, where they’ve seen graffiti and local news only covers acts of violence that occur in black neighborhoods. Why can’t the mayor focus on how difficult this is for white people? How dare he focus on an issue that benefits only black citizens. What are whites getting out of this?
6) Liberals Are So Evil, They’re Just Like ISIS And The Nazis
Insisting that the government that represents all citizens and universities considering the needs of all its students is so oppressive to white folks, it’s like living under Nazi rule or being tortured by terrorists.
7) The Homophobic Slur?
It’s never enough to just hate one group of people, right?
8) The Blatant Racist
There’s always one who just doesn’t care and will come right out and say the most racist thing possible.
Here’s the truth: white people are not oppressed, and taking down this statue isn’t about erasing history, it’s about choosing which parts of it to venerate. It’s that simple.
For coverage of the announcement, see below:
Featured image screengrab via WLKY News video
