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Originally Posted by tstew
Interesting thread. Somebody suggested perspective from some black folk...so here goes....
I honestly find some of the historic symbols of patriotism a little ironic at best and somewhat disingenuous at worst. Can you imagine hearing some of the beautiful lyrics about freedom and liberty and God-given rights while at the same time recognizing that this was penned, quoted, and sang at a time when slavery was embraced based on color.
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Very good point. The irony was probably overwhelming, and hard to swallow. Kind of like Christians who talk a good game, but don't live up to their own ideals. Also, to add to the confusion, the Bible doesn't really take a stand against slavery, although it does condemn racism and slavery on
principle. Which is why you will find recordings of "good" slave owners and masters in history and in the Bible.
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"O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave" just seems ironic. I'm not even sure how one could say "With liberty and justice for all" with a straight face given the reality of the time.
...I don't believe the lady meant to be disrespectful, but she may have been misguided in her efforts. It just seems to me that the races hold the traditional symbols at different levels of sacredness.
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This is probably the case, but I think it can arise from a mistaken concept that the black people fought for freedom against
America as a whole, when in fact that is not the case. And the ideals our country stands for are applicable to everyone, therefore they should be embraced by all, and when those ideals aren't met, they can be used as a tool to achieve liberty, through tacit reminders to those who are in the position to bring about lasting and meaningful change.
The symbols of our country are symbols of freedom, not symbols of the "white man." It irritates me to see them minimized as such.
As for Ms. Rene--her intentions may have been good, but even if they were, she defeated her purpose, because some things you shouldn't mess with. To me, it would be the same as spray painting "black pride" across the American flag. Objecting to the graffiti is not the same as objecting to "black pride."
Okay, maybe that's apples and oranges. LOL!!! The Black National Anthem is actually a beautiful song, and can't be equated with graffiti.
Hum. The problem is...sometimes as a (sort of
) white woman I feel bullied into not expressing offense against what I perceive as racism and an old fashioned Superiority Complex because any objection seems to be perceived as innate racism on my part. Does that make sense?
And to address what Daniel asked earlier--I don't object because it's a black hymn, or whatever it was he implied. I object because she sang a song other than the one she was asked to sing (lack of etiquette), and used her platform for a political statement rather than graciousness, and respecting the honor paid to her with the invitation to sing the National Anthem for such an event in the first place.
It is an honor to be asked, IMO.
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