Chamblee54

This content was published September 15, 2023. … America clearly has a problem with people of different colors living together. One way to view this racial dysfunction is as one problem, rather than competitive hating of wokeness and racism. This approach does not offer any easy solutions. We need to treat people with kindness and respect, no matter what adjective you put in front of people. As Rodney King said, “can we all get along?”
I recently wrote about Flannery O’Connor. She was a gifted storyteller, who posthumously run afoul of “whiteness studies and critical race theory.” The story cited an essay by Alice Walker, who grew up in Eatonton GA, a few miles up hwy 441 from Andalusia. “The magic, the wit, and the mystery of Flannery O’Connor I know I will always love. I also know the meaning of the expression “Take what you can use and let the rest rot.” If ever there was an expression designed to protect the health of the spirit, this is it.” We can call this dysfunction Race Rot.
One of the nastier parts of Race Rot is name calling. There are a pair of six letter slurs. One starts with r, one ends in r. One I am forbidden to say, while the other I am forbidden to not say. The mentionable slur is racist. You know what the other one is. We would be better off not using either six letter slur. People enjoy using six-letter slurs, so this is not going to happen anytime soon.
I am a certified white person, of Scottish and Irish descent. I am from Georgia. My great-grandfather fought for the Georgia State Troops, in the War Between the States. This affects the way in which I approach Race Rot. I see that racism is a problem, and find the bungling efforts at fighting racism … aka wokeness … to be incredibly annoying.
The problems with racism affect millions of people every day. One could reasonably ask, what is wrong with being against racism? The problem is not that you are fighting racism, but the way you are doing it. The trouble with wokeness includes disrespect, flakey logic, indifference to collateral damage, inflammatory rhetoric, hypocrisy, and a host of other micro/macro aggressions.
This is not a comprehensive look at Race Rot. There are many layers to this onion. Racism and wokeness (RAW) are only part of the picture. The story of Black and White has many shades of gray. We could spend hours talking about Race Rot, and only be more angry and confused when we are done. The best thing to do now is present some photographs, from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in June 1940. “Home demonstration club meeting has games and refreshments after discussion. La Delta Project, Thomastown, Louisiana”
We are all God’s children, not a walking six-letter slur. Be kind to each one. Please don’t shout. ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah