Open Letter by Tim Wise

Tim Wise, a prominent anti-racist author and activist responds in an open letter "to the man sitting behind me at La Paz today, in Nashville, at lunchtime, with the Brooks Brothers shirt" about a conversation he overheard blaming those who did not leave New Orleans for their own fate. Understandably angry, Wise defends those who truly need no defending from criticism.

From the letter titled, "Blasphemy about New Orleans, a God with Whom I am Not Familiar":

I watched you wipe salsa from the corners of your mouth, as you nodded agreement to the statement of one of your friends, sitting to your right, her hair neatly coiffed, her makeup flawless, her jewelry sparkling. When you asked, rhetorically, why it was that people were so much more decent amid the tragedy of 9-11, as compared to the aftermath of Katrina, she had offered her response, but only after apologizing for what she admitted was going to sound harsh.

"Well," Buffy explained. "It's probably because in New Orleans, it seems to be mostly poor people, and you know, they just don't have the same regard."

She then added that police should shoot the looters, and should have done so from the beginning, so as to send a message to the rest that theft would not be tolerated. You, who had just thanked Jesus for your chips and guacamole, said you agreed. They should be shot. Praise the Lord.

Your God is one with whom I am not familiar.

I heard Wise speak last year in an event at the UW. He's a wonderful speaker who presents pointed positions on racism that many of us, no matter what your background, have either never considered before or avoided confronting. If you ever get a chance to listen to him, do it.

Tim Wise's Web site

Thanks to Xoff