"D" is for delusional

I'm in shock right now at the idiocy that defines the state of Arizona. What is the point of legalizing racial profiling by allowing people to be detained and questioned about their immigration status if an officer SUSPECTS that person to be in the country illegally....does your state want to look like biggots? How many white people do you think will be detained and questioned regarding their legal status? How many ethnic minorities who are already scared of the police will now pull over for the blue lights..not many I bet. And then the brilliant governor signed into law a bill that PROHIBITS the teaching of accurate Mexican and Hispanic history because it might spark anger against white kids. I got news for you Arizona: white people and other privileged majorities don't have the greatest track record throughout history. Probably those kids have a right to know that they have been oppressed in the past and they should be encouraged to be productive leaders in the future. But instead, Arizona feels that we bury facts and teach our children incompletely, so thus continue narrow minded racist thinking throughout the generations. They should be so proud......

Reading this makes me think of other racial delusions that are taught to people from elementary school and solidified by the fears and actions of people who don't understand what racism actually is. Think of what kids buy into as a great metaphor for America: the melting pot. Kids are taught that the US was and is a melting pot where people can run from oppression and blend into the culture here, where everyone's values blend together and come out "American". This is supposed to be the basis of treating everyone the same, no matter what race, culture, or religion they come from because that is the way we avoid racisim. But what I just described is the definition of racial blindness. Seeing everyone the same and treating everyone the same means that we don't ever learn to see people as individuals..we never learn to respect individual values and we never look to learn cultural competence. ANd because of this, our kids tend to stay centered in their cultural comfort zone, and often interact with other races begrudgingly or with pre-determined stereotypes. And they continue to preach the same equality to their kids, with the great intentions of avoiding the racist behaviors of the past. But they are just replacing one form of overt racism with an undercover one. It all starts with elementary education, and until the predominantly white US Senate and Education Boards across the country decide to put aside their delusional fears to address it, it likely will continue.....