Are We Changing in America?

I'm sitting here writing on Gather while my family watches the movie Blazing Saddles. We bought a Mel Brooks Collection on Dvd so we can see our old favorites. Last night we watched the movies Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety.

I remember when Blazing Saddles came out in 1974. There was a lot said back then because of the use of the N word.  It is sad that the N word is in it as that word needs to die out of our vocabulary. Will this film help keep it alive to future generations? I do think Mel Brooks did a good job showing how stupid racism is.

Though like the tv show All in the Family, I am not sure the racists understood that the underlying message was how dumb racism is. Archie was a typical white male of the time period. My father watched and agreed with Archie while I identified more with Gloria and Mike. The Jeffersons spun off of AITF as well as Maude. I watched both.  I watched tv shows based on whether they were funny, not the race of the actors. Tv shows brought non white people into our living rooms no matter what kind of neighborhood we lived in and although they entertained us like white entertainers,  they were able to show us that they were people just like us, living, loving, intelligent talented people.

The problem in America in regards to racism is that racists bring up their children to be racist. The other one is that non white people have been so mistreated that when they are hurt by others they expect it to be because of their color. There are racists but there are also cruel people everywhere.

I wish there was someway to show non white people that not all white people share some of these rotten people's view. I hate the idea that someone has an idea of me and bad expectations because I am white. 

 I will not tolerate the N word in my home or my presence. Maybe because I have no one nationality that I can claim, I am a mix of things, I look at this issue differently. I was influenced by my parents racism, but I did not adopt their attitudes or beliefs.

Someday I hope being a different color is just like having a different color hair, eyes, being tall, short, etc. We have to stop deciding that one group or another is a lesser being. We are all the same.

 People are people. We are a melting pot and blend of people and cultures. We need to celebrate each other and stop hurting each other.  We are Americans, all of us!!! We need to accept that we are all the same with the same needs, hopes, and desires and get on with life!