Freedom of Speech?
I don’t react well when people tell me I can’t do something. It’s why I have been successful in getting many gains for multiracial people. I never let governments, local or federal, tell me my children and those like them could not choose to be multiracial. But, you can’t have it both ways.
Arguments recently came up on a popular Facebook page called, “The Multiracial Activist,” administrated by James Landrith. It’s his page, but is understandably for and about the multiracial community. This is what Landrith posted about the recent arguments:
“ENOUGH. I do NOT have time to police DECADES of disagreement between certain parties. If you want to fight, do it
elsewhere. You are already fighting in several other forums. Before anyone starts with the “I’m the true victim” play, no – after
20 years of this shit a lot of hands are filthy with bad behavior. Some of these animosities date back to the mid 1990s. There
are members of this forum who weren’t even born when some of the fights started. Move it along to another forum. Now.”
I have never personally met any of the people who are taking potshots at me. Not one. There is a woman named Pam who says I’m racist. I am white, was raised by a Black woman, was married to a Black man for 24 years, and have multiracial children. I am now married to a Portuguese-American and we live in a largely Mexican community. I can’t conceive of anyone thinking I’m racist against anyone or as Pam says that I don’t like Black people.
Another person, Thomas, has his own axe to grind with me, apparently, although I don’t know what it is. I’d sincerely like to know. But still….
In many ways, we’re talking about freedom of speech here. The right to say what we will, although we may have to step lightly on social media. You can’t tell me I’m not supposed to answer my few critics and expect me to just shut up. I’ll respect that it’s your forum, but you sure put many things up there that offend me. I don’t like racial epithets any more than the next person, but I would not harm someone over them.
Project RACE remains a forum that upholds our mission statement and will remain so unless someone is physically threatened or attacked, which is too frequent in this country. We send our love and thoughts to the victims of horrible racism in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton, and hope the true racists stop the madness.
Susan Graham
Author: Born Biracial: How One Mother Took on Race in America