I anticipated that you might object, Azizi.

Of course no one consciously wants to feel persecuted. But have you not met individuals (not of any particular race, necessarily) who subconsciously wanted to feel persecuted? And why? Well, there are many reasons why.

Some people really enjoy feeling a sense of persecution, because it makes them feel righteous, it makes them feel noble and put-upon, and it gives them something to be indignant about all the time and raise hell about. It justifies their cherished beliefs about themselves and others. It reinforces their sense of identity. It confirms their mythos...the way they see themselves in history. It exonerates their anger. It gives them the right to lash out at someone. It proves that they were "right all along" about "those" people. Such a person will look around diligently for offence by someone, anyone, even if it is not being offered, and will soon think he or she has found it.

Hell, I've had (a few) relatives like that, and they're not black. ;-) They're white. I've had (the odd) neighbours like that. I've had (again, a few) co-workers like that. Such attitudes are not restricted to any particular race. Such attitudes are often based around gender or religious or class issues rather than racial issues.

You say, 'the statements appear to lump all people of African American descent into one homogeneous thinking & acting group called "The blacks".'

Ah...well, that would be a grievous error, and it is precisely the practice of people with a race-based "victim power" psychology...or a "superior race" or "master race" psychology to do that: to lump all the people of their race into one homogeneous thinking and acting group called "US". To lump all the people of some other race into one homogeneous thinking and acting group called "THEM".

That's what the man who wrote the passage I quoted is objecting to, and that's what I'm objecting to...whoever does it...black, white, Native American, female, male, Protestant, Catholic, I don't care.

You said, "I'm sure that (the victim game) does occur among some Black people sometimes."

Yes it does. It also occurs among some Native Americans sometimes. I can attest to that, because I spent much time among Native Americans for decades because of my affection for their traditions, and I got a bellyfull of witnessing the "victim game" being played by the end of it. It occurred among long-haired white youths in the years of my youth...and I got a bellyfull of that by the end too. It was the same damn victim game being played...but a different set of "victims". It's so self-serving and hypocritical. It occurs all over the place among all kinds of people who think of themselves as being (or having once been) oppressed by someone, and it can be a very nasty thing to deal with. You get blamed by association for stuff you were never even a part of when you're not one of the group.

When a person cannot look at issues dispassionately outside of the specific identity of their race, their religion, their politics or their gender...then the stage is set for a lot of unnecessary trouble and ill will.

Is prejudice alive and strong in the USA? You betcha! And it goes both ways. It's downright frightening in some parts of the USA. The only country I've been in so far where I honestly could not detect any hint of racial division between the blacks and whites I saw around me was in Cuba. The lack of any noticeable racial divide there was quite noticeable. It was one of the best things about the place.

As for Canada, things are fairly moderate here compared to the USA...but there is definitely prejudice, and there are definitely people playing both the "victim" game and the "superior race" game, whether or not they will ever admit it or even become aware of it.