OPINION:
Growing up, I firmly joined with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in decision-making about other people. I never judged them by the color of their skin, but rather by the character they displayed in their actions. I believe that some have abandoned this wisdom over the past 50 years.
In its place is the tacit permission given to some races to judge others by the color of their skin. These groups only associate with people of their race, only trust people of their race and only listen to people of their race.
We see this in advertisements every day. Depending on the targeted demographic, a specific ad is filled with people of only one race, or else people of other races are presented as stupid. If we are to really address racism, we must address it when present in all races. Racism only begets more racism. It cannot be used to solve racism.
Now we see some evidence that a major political party might be racist. I believe that we saw it when former President Biden stated that he expected Black Americans to vote for him, and that if they didn’t vote for him, they weren’t really Black. We see it when city leaders only hire or surround themselves with people of their own race. When it was white people doing that, it was rightly seen as racism.
Now we have Democrats crying over white South Africans being allowed into the U.S. because they are being persecuted by the leadership of their own country. Over the past few years, the Democrats have been responsible for a racist immigration policy that favored certain races and discriminated against others.
The time has come to end all racism, even the politically supported and encouraged racism of one party. The color of a person’s skin should never be the basis for judgment of their character or ability.
MICHAEL T. BUTTNER
Bel Air, Maryland
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