Racism: A Matter of Tolerance or Zero-Tolerance | By Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
“Each of us holds the power to determine what we will and will not tolerate within our spheres of influence.”
Our current environment has given rise to numerous expressions of hate, disrespect, and racism towards people of color, particularly African-Americans.
This is not a new phenomenon, but the 21st-century media platforms have amplified all communications, opinions, and expressions of hatred at an alarming rate. The presidential election of 2024, featuring an immensely qualified Black woman against a White man, served as a catalyst for racist and sexist rhetoric. The intensity and prevalence of these attitudes and sentiments reached unprecedented levels. This is no ordinary White male, but one with a documented history of lies, racism, abuse of women, fraud, and instigating an insurrection against the same constitutional government he swore to protect.
It is more insidious than mere words and actions when individuals offer “tacit" support, which means persons understand and support something without explicitly expressing it.
Any student of history (supported by source documentation) and current events can readily discern the patterns and threads of actions that shape our current circumstances. That history and current events form the basis of this statement:
Allow me to also share this perspective:
What is troubling, however, is the persistent tolerance for language and actions intended to demean, hinder, or harm Black people. Another artifact of this disrespect is the embrace of false narratives, and efforts to misrepresent history, leading to the miseducation of students as it relates to American history.
While it is clear what overt racists are willing to tolerate, the deeper concern lies with those who stand by, silently allowing or enabling such behavior. Their complicity, whether intentional or not, perpetuates harm and allows injustice to persist.
People continue to deny racism against Black people in our nation. All one needs to do is look at comments on posts by the NAACP, famous Black people, etc. We also see it reflected in the myriad of anti-Black responses related to "anti-woke,” “anti-DEI," Black history curriculum, and similar. These are responses from Internet "trolls," whom we ignore, but the sentiments and allowance of hatred represent some of the "threads" of our nation.
Our current environment has given rise to numerous expressions of hate, disrespect, and racism towards people of color, particularly African-Americans.
This is not a new phenomenon, but the 21st-century media platforms have amplified all communications, opinions, and expressions of hatred at an alarming rate. The presidential election of 2024, featuring an immensely qualified Black woman against a White man, served as a catalyst for racist and sexist rhetoric. The intensity and prevalence of these attitudes and sentiments reached unprecedented levels. This is no ordinary White male, but one with a documented history of lies, racism, abuse of women, fraud, and instigating an insurrection against the same constitutional government he swore to protect.
It is more insidious than mere words and actions when individuals offer “tacit" support, which means persons understand and support something without explicitly expressing it.
Any student of history (supported by source documentation) and current events can readily discern the patterns and threads of actions that shape our current circumstances. That history and current events form the basis of this statement:
Within the United States of America, racism is not only a stain on the fabric of our nation, but racism is part of the threads that form the fabric of our nation.
Allow me to also share this perspective:
The fabric of the United States of America is not all bad. Throughout our past and present, many courageous White Americans have stood on the right side of history, often making great sacrifices to champion justice and equality. We honor and celebrate their efforts in support of heroic African American men and women, whose contributions have shaped the nation.
What is troubling, however, is the persistent tolerance for language and actions intended to demean, hinder, or harm Black people. Another artifact of this disrespect is the embrace of false narratives, and efforts to misrepresent history, leading to the miseducation of students as it relates to American history.
"Tolerance" reflects what an individual or society is willing to accept or permit. Each of us holds the power to determine what we will and will not tolerate within our spheres of influence.
While it is clear what overt racists are willing to tolerate, the deeper concern lies with those who stand by, silently allowing or enabling such behavior. Their complicity, whether intentional or not, perpetuates harm and allows injustice to persist.
The righteous and helpful posture is zero-tolerance.
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Some examples gathered in a few minutes from Twitter/X which has ended nearly all moderation under Musk. This is pervasive and targeted nearly 100% at Black people:
People continue to deny racism against Black people in our nation. All one needs to do is look at comments on posts by the NAACP, famous Black people, etc. We also see it reflected in the myriad of anti-Black responses related to "anti-woke,” “anti-DEI," Black history curriculum, and similar. These are responses from Internet "trolls," whom we ignore, but the sentiments and allowance of hatred represent some of the "threads" of our nation.
Response to Former President Barack Obama Thanksgiving Greeting:
Comments about the NAACP
Comments about NFL Coach Mike Tomlin
~ Bryan Hudson
