It’s been very interesting entering the US and being exposed to the US at the organic level, ie. experiencing what US citizens experience first hand, rather than looking at it from the outside. Now, New Zealand has its fair share of racial tension. Almost 200 years after the fact, many Maori still feel robbed and deceived by the colonialists and settlers that arrived in the early 1800’s and promptly stole land from them. There are a considerable number of parallels between the the early history of New Zealand and the early history of the continental US. In both case, the aboriginal peoples were displaced by invading foreigners and land was stolen and sold to yet more foreigners.
I think it’s safe to say both nations have taken huge steps in relieving racial tension. The US is by far one of the most integrated nations on the planet and a quick walk down Queen St in Auckland, New Zealand and one can see the number of ethnicities that now call New Zealand home. One thing that hasn’t disappeared from either nation, however, is a slow burning, festering under current of racial tension.
In the US, this is clearly seen simply by examining the media. In many situations, if a decision has to be made between black and white, either way the white man loses. If the black man is denied an opportunity, the race card is quickly played. If the white man is denied that same opportunity, the race card is not invoked and the white man must simply walk away with his tail between his legs. If the white man makes a fuss about the lost opportunity, again the race card is quickly invoked by the black man, thus forcing the white man to, once again, retreat with his tail between his legs. The truly unfortunate aspect of this whole affair is this scenario is repeated for pretty much every minority here in the US, leaving white america with greatest population, but the smallest voice.
For all intents and purposes, there has been a massive role reversal and white people effectively have more social responsibility than ever before and are constantly subjected to racial stereotypes and prejudices. This is far from the ideal of racial equality. I think the one thing that makes this all the more worse for white people, is that white people still control the upper echelons of society with an iron fist. Most of the corporate CEO’s are white. Most of the high ranking politicians are white, with the obvious exception of the newly elected black president. The danger here is that in an attempt to better integrate minorities into corporate and political america, we may well end up with candidates that are grossly underqualified and inexperienced in positions of real power, which has historically ended in tears.
In my opinion, the only way these problems can truly be resolved is to have the minorities truly move beyond the crimes of the past and for white people to truly allow full integration of these minorities. Having said that, the minorities need to want to be integrated. All too often, we see small pockets of minority populations creating small communities within an area (think Little Cuba in Florida) and maintaining the practises and traditions of their respective nationalities.
While I don’t believe we will see these issues resolved in my lifetime, my sincere hope is that there will be major steps taken in my lifetime. While I have never been a victim of serious racism, I am all too aware of the tensions that exist between white people and the minorities they have historically enslaved and dominated. My hope is that my children and my children’s children can grow up in a nation (be that New Zealand or the United States) that is truly integrated and truly see’s people for more than just color and nationality.
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