Will acts of racism NOW receive the same public outrage as sexual misconduct?

Recently, there has been a rash of sexual harassment allegations, charges and settlements within politics, the entertainment and news industries.  Some prominent and powerful men have been forced to walk the professional plank.  Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Mark Halperin , Charlie Rose and now Matt Lauer have all had their reputations tarnished and have lost multimillion dollar a year salaries as a result of their transgressions.  Shame on them and they all deserve the consequences that have resulted from their despicable behavior.  They certainly aren't alone.  The list is long and seemingly grows daily (Since Weinstein, here's a growing list of men charged with sexual misconduct).  There is another prominent case of sexual deviancy in the news and that is the sordid tale of Roy Moore.  Moore has credibly been exposed as being a PEDOPHILE which is the WORST of the WORSE.  The others mentioned would be categorized as scoundrels.  Roy Moore deserves a category all his own.  He is a REPULSIVE scoundrel.  The actions taken against all except Moore have been swift, sudden and public.  Which leads to an important question.  Will allegations of RACISM and BIGOTRY now be found credible and result in swift, sudden and public action taken against the racists and bigots?  Will acts of racism NOW receive the same public outrage as sexual misconduct?  

RACISM is America's BIGGEST denial (Racism: America's BIGGEST denial).  It encompasses most, if not all, of American life from employment, housing, finance, education, public transportation and law enforcement.  Just as these prominent cases of sexual misconduct have spanned politics, entertainment and news is there ANYONE who believes that racism and bigotry doesn't run rampant in those industries as well?  Well?  Is there anyone?  

Despite the abundance of science available that proves racism is alive and well in America, there is a large swath of Americans who either don't believe it OR participate in it.  Some of the very people who quickly condemned the accused sexual predators are some of the SAME people who vehemently deny that racism exists.  In fact, in a recent piece in The Huffington Post the majority of white Americans feel THEY are the target of racism.  (Majority of White Americans Believe White People Face Discrimination).  Fancy that.  One quote in particular stood out:

“If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it,” Ohio resident Tim Hershman, 68, a poll respondent, told NPR. “If you want any help from the government, if you’re white, you don’t get it. If you’re black, you get it.” 

“It’s been going on for decades, and it’s been getting worse for whites,” Hershman added.

You've heard of "Weird Science"?  Well this is NONSENSE science.  Considering that African-Americans are the least employed, have the least wealth, have the largest percentage of children living in poverty and suffer from inadequate public education more than any demographic in the country, you certainly have to question the source of where the guy quoted in HuffPo's piece got his information from.  Sadly, 55% of white Americans DO believe THEY are the victims of discrimination.  The current occupant of the White House - whose name I refuse to write - rode the wave of CONTRIVED and MISGUIDED white anger and resentment in the 2016 election.  "Others" were blamed for ALL that ails America in the 2016 election.  As in, if not for "others" taking advantage of the system and living off the government there would be more available for "hard working" Americans.  Never mind the fact those "hard working" Americans consistently vote against their own personal interests and elect candidates to office who are solely bought and paid for by the donor class and top 1%. 

In my state, Missouri, the Republican controlled state legislature passed Missouri Senate Bill 43, which makes it more difficult to prove discrimination in the workplace.  Plaintiffs in discrimination cases will have to show documented proof they have been discriminated against.  Good luck with that.  Proving discrimination in the workplace was burdensome enough and now it has become virtually impossible to prove in Missouri.  The NAACP announced a travel advisory on Missouri as a result of SB 43 (Missouri Law That Prompted NAACP’s Travel Advisory Sponsored by Legislator Who Faces Suit).  The governor who signed the bill into law hopes this becomes a national template.  Sigh.  At the rate the Missouri state legislature is going, any day now an amendment will introduced to rename the state North Mississippi.  That's another topic for another day and time.

So ... HOW did we get here, America?  How is it that sexual misconduct and allegations of pedophilia are deemed credible where, in some cases, the allegations are from actions taking place 40 years ago while at the same time allegations of racial discrimination from long ago to today are MARGINALIZED?  Considering the tremendous burden of proving racial animus has become even more burdensome, a case could be made that when racial discrimination IS proven the penalties should be sudden, swift and public REGARDLESS of the industry or who the guilty party turns out to be. 

So I ask again: WILL acts of racism NOW receive the same public outrage as sexual misconduct?
Stay tuned. 

Peace, peace in the Middle East.

Craig Riggins

Email: therigginsreport517@gmail.com
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins