The Race Canard
The looting caption may have been unfair, but the constant citing of it merely reflects resentment of racism without presenting any real evidence of racist behavior.
The Washington Post ran a Page 1 story, "To Me, It Just Seems Like Black People Are Marked." The story was basically harmless, but the headline probably did some damage, confirming for many readers that blacks have been singled out for unfair treatment.
An essay on Katrina in the Post Style section used campus diversity jargon referring to blacks as "the Other," saying, "Mainstream America too often demonizes the Other because, well, we've been conditioned to do so." No explanation of why mainstream America, so woefully conditioned and addicted to demonizing, has donated over $750 million to mostly black hurricane victims.
Heather MacDonald writes on the City Journal website, "That people are giving so feverishly in spite of the competing images of looting by the flood victims and the reports of murder and rape is even stronger proof that racism has lost its grip on the American mind: The givers are refusing the bigot's reaction of impugning an entire race by the loathsome behavior of a few."
The media have been reporting on two tracks. One stresses the empathy and generosity of mainstream America, as reflected in the astonishing donations, the thousands of volunteers who poured into the area, the collection and shipping of tons of food and clothing, and the extraordinary efforts made by rescuers, often at the risk of their own lives. The other features the usual bitter denunciations of racist America. Which do you suppose is a better indication of where the nation wants to go?
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