DON LEMON: ‘Not Knowing You’re Racist Is The New Racisim’

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Donald Sterling and Cliven Bundy- Two people, who are recently accused of disparaging black people, some of it caught on video and audiotape; yet they deny they are racist.

Last week on CNN Bundy was recorded saying:

“If I say Negro or black boy or slave, I’m not I’m not. If those people cannot take those kind of words and not be offensive then martin Luther King has not gotten his job done yet.”

So in some odd way to Cliven Bundy it’s Dr. King’s fault that the rest of the world doesn’t line up with his point of view.

That was last week.

This week there’s a new one from Los Angeles Clipper’s basketball team owner Donald Sterling.

“You want me to have hate towards black people? I don’t want you to have hate. That’s what people do. They turn things around. I want you to love them, privately.  In your whole life every day you could be with them, every single day of your life… Not in public?  But why publicize it on your Instagram and why bring them to my games?”

You can love them, “privately.”

Sounds like the old slave owner who would pick one of his slaves and “love” them “privately.”

It’s all too warped and twisted and really defies any explanation beyond bigotry and racism.

Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere said on CNN that, “I’m not surprised by any of this. We have people who have very racist views but who don’t consider themselves to be racist. They think the things that they say about certain people and their thought patterns are based in some sort of reality. They’re based on stereotypes of course.”

The stereotype is that people other than those who look like you are not considered worthy or good enough to be seen with you in public.

I’ve said for years now that the new racism is the denial of racism.

In the past few weeks after hearing from Bundy and Sterling, I have changed my mind.

The new racism is being unaware that you are racist.

And that is the worst kind of anything; to be woefully ignorant.

Because in the latest two cases ignorance truly is not bliss.

It is downright dangerous.

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