Hate Transcends All Differences

(NOTE: All links in this blog have the potential to contain harsh/explicit language)

Readers,
    Race came up in class again, but this time in the form of a 8 word and 1 contraction long "tweet," which you are welcome to read here. It was made by Roger Ebert, a famous movie critic, in response to the censorship of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." (article here)
    People pounced on Ebert because in their eyes it was completely inappropriate for him to comment on the topic since he would never be on the receiving end of such words, even if, as they said, he is married to a black woman. These comments opened up a larger discussion, could someone who's not black ever have the experience enough to talk about issues like the n-word?
   I found a small answer in an unlikely place, a YouTube video. (You can watch it here, starting at 1:09. But the video itself has no connection to the point he is making). In this video, the man talking tells his story of having a black sister, and working with Latino immigrants almost his entire adult life. He states that while he could never truly understand the experience, he had a very personal insight as to what it would be like to be hated on that level. That is what it boils down to. In modern times, the n-word no longer refers to slavery like it once did, it is now a vehicle for hate. In my opinion, you don't need to have experience with being called a slave or a n***** to be able to comment like Ebert did, it's all about knowing what it is like to feel that heavy hatred those words carry. In essence, hate and racism isn't restricted to African-Americans. I feel anyone would be free to comment if they thought they had a similar experience with hate.