Gregory Freeman: Letter Writers Reflect Problem 3/13/1994

Headline: LETTER WRITERS REFLECT PROBLEM
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun., Mar. 13, 1994
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 4B, Edition: FIVE STAR

A WEEK AGO I wrote about a survey conducted for the National Conference, a human relations organization formerly known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Among the results of the nationwide survey of 3,000 people, conducted by Louis Harris of LH Research, was that the nation's most populous minorities hold a negative view of whites. According to the poll, an overwhelming majority of African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans think whites "believe they are superior and can boss people around." An overwhelming majority of whites disagree. The survey showed that whites and non-whites are walking around in two different worlds.

I received several letters in response to the column, and I thought I'd share a couple of them with you.
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Dear Mr. Freeman:

I am a 42-year-old white man who is sick and tired of what I think is ingratitude by minorities in this country. America is not perfect, but it is much better than almost any other nation in this world.
   White people have done so much over the years to help minorities and all we ever hear is whining.
   With all the crime going on these days, I don't trust black people any further than I can throw them anyway.
   It seems to me that "diversity" in this country has brought us nothing but trouble. We're fighting over whether people should speak English or Spanish and silly things like whether we can root for teams like the Atlanta Braves and Washington Redskins.
   And if minorities are going to insist on complaining, they should complain about each other, not white people. We've done a lot to make their lives better. All they've brought to this country has been crime. We could have done without that.

H.A.
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Dear Gregory Freeman:

Your column about a poll that was taken about how blacks and whites view each other really made me angry.
   In my 47 years as a black man on this Earth, I have never seen anything that made it as clear as your column did why white folks don't seem to understand black folks.
   One paragraph said it all: "White Americans surveyed strongly believe that equal opportunities abound. A majority of whites surveyed believe that blacks, Latinos and Asian-Americans have equal access to jobs, to decent housing where they want, to credit and mortgages and to equal pay for the same work."
   If white folks can't even see that things aren't equal in this country, things will never get any better.
   And the part of the poll where you said that most whites favor full integration, I don't believe it. I think the white folks who were questioned must have lied when they were asked that question. If it isn't obvious already, I don't trust white people because they say one thing and do another, and always make sure they're the ones running the show. I think they lie in polls like this one to make themselves look good.

N.T.
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The letter writers unknowingly demonstrated what the survey was trying to point out: That whites and minorities are running around in different worlds. The way we view ourselves and the way others view us are wildly divergent, and we often don't trust one another, like the two above.

In fact, though, we have more in common than we usually realize. Our cultures may differ, the way we look, speak and act may differ, but our wants and desires are much closer than most of us know.
The basics are the same for most people, regardless of race, religion, ethnic origin and other differences we may have.
Most of us are decent people who want to live in peace. Most of us want our children to have lives that are better than our own. Most of us want to live crime-free lives and want our kids to have a good education.

If we knew each other better, we'd probably know all of that.
But when it comes to discussing race on a personal level, people clam up. They're afraid to offend or simply feel uncomfortable discussing their feelings with people of other races. When we do talk on a personal level, it's often because tempers have flared or matters have gotten out of hand. At that point, we're usually talking at one another instead of with one another.

Thus, the two different worlds I referred to above.
I think we can begin breaking out of those worlds if we decide that we really want to hear what others are thinking, if we are willing to honestly express our concerns and try to understand why others feel the way they do. I don't mean touchy-feely "dialogues"; I mean tangible, solid discussions where listening, expressing and understanding are the goals.

Our worlds are different. But if we work at it, we can keep those worlds from colliding.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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