I'd like to share some admittedly somewhat random thoughts on this subject:

..."to the extent that I understand Holder's attribution of "cowardice", it would apply as much to Americans "of color" as to us "colorless" folk."
-Haruo

I agree that Holder's remarks were and should be for all Americans, regardless of our race or ethnicity.

I think that many people are reluctant to bring up the subject of race, even in situations where it would be helpful to do so * because those people (regardless of race/ethnicity) have been taught that it is socially inappropriate to mention another person's race, and those people )regardless of race/ethnicity) are afraid of being labeled as a racist for merely bringing up the topic of race. Being labeled a racist often results in negative societal and negative professional consequences...


Because people (regardless of race/ethnicity) don't want to face possible misunderstandings and negative consequences, they often publicly pretend that race doesn't matter. Yet all the while institutional racism continues and misunderstandings continue and personal prejudices continue...and information isn't share when it would be at the very least interesting...So many missed opportunities.So little time we have together socially.

*for instance, if a person in an intergrated setting plans to meet a stranger for the first time and describes what she or he will be wearing but doesn't mention her or his race (but then again, it's likely that somebody has mentioned it beforehand).

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When I wrote that many people are reluctant to bring up the topic of race, I should hasten to say that obviously, some Mudcatters are not "most people". The subject of race comes up a lot on this discussion forum.

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As I have said before, it is a shame that there are so few people of color who post on Mudcat. Perhaps I should amend that sentence to "so few people of color who publicly acknowledge their race and/or ethnicity [with "ethnicity" here meaning "Latino/Latina"].
If there were more Mudcatters who are people of color [insert the "publicly acknowledge" phrase] than we {meaning Mudcat members and guests) could (but not necessarily would)M have a fuller, less one sided discussion about these topics. I would love that.

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While I appreciate Zora Neal Hurston's life work, it is my opinion {since I can only speak for myself just as everyone else does on Mudcat), that her comments are very dated. I have many problems with what Ms Hurston said in that quote, and how she said it. I'm sure that Zora Neil Hurston knew the folks in that town, and perhaps they as a population were shy. But given her description of her interactions with them in her book Mules To Men, I wouldn't call the people she wrote about "shy".

I think my main problem with that quote is the use of singular references to refer to a multiplicity of people-"The Negro"; "The White man". I really dislike those kinds of references because they appear to me to presuppose that there is only one way that diverse people live and move and have our (and your) being...And obviously just as all Black people don't look alike, all Black people don't think and act and react alike. And the same is true of non-Black people, whether they be White, or Asian, or Native American, etc etc etc.

And this sentence "And the Negro, in spite of his open-faced laughter, his seeming acquiescence, is particularly evasive. You see, we are a polite people, and do not say to our questioner, '[aw,] Get outta here!' We smile, and tell him or her something that satisfies the white person because-- knowing so little about us-- he doesn't know what he is missing"...

Don't you think that sentiment is dated? I definitely think so. I also think it's stereotypical, and reflects badly on Black people and on White people or would reflect badly on us and on you if that description were universally true (since any description would be true for some percentages of any population.

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One of the things that I like about Mudcat is that I can "meet", get to know, and learn about people in different cultures both within and outside of the USA.

Do I think that Mudcat is always easy for a person of color-No.

{I was going to write "for a lone" person of color but edited myself, and then decided what the heck, I certainly do feel alone here sometimes just as other people probably do depending on the topic/s being discussed).

But nobody said growth was always easy. When the going gets too rough for me, I disappear and then I come back or at least that has been my pattern. But other Black people might have no problem whatsoever with this forum, if they really gave it a try. I recognize it's my nature to burn up energy and then disappear to replenish my energy...I certainly can't blame that on Mudcat.

Does any of this have anything to do with the subject of this thread? I think so.

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Thanks, John for starting and continuing this conversation. I think it's needed.