NEW ORLEANS — In the lead up to and following the latest installment of our series “The Talk," we’ve heard from many of you on the issue of race and identity.
Your reactions have come through responses to our online survey about race in America and they’ve also come through voice messages.
One man left a message saying we failed to say who is responsible in multiple attacks on Asian Americans.
“Stop with the pandering and the race-baiting. You’re being very disingenuous. You know who is doing this,” said the caller.
Arguably, the highest-profile attacks on Asian Americans are the deadly mass shootings at three Asian spas in Atlanta earlier this year. The suspect in those shootings is white. In some of the other attacks on Asian Americans, the suspects have been identified as Black.
With one advocacy group, Stop AAPIA Hate, documenting more than 6,000 reported hate incidents in the last year, it’s hard to determine the color of every suspect. Asian American communities have demanded an end to discrimination regardless of who is behind it.
The coverage of racial and social unrest has worn on some people. One caller said she felt the media was “taking advantage” of people. The caller said she’s 62, white and from the Northshore.
“We are not wealthy at all. We are just happy families that just want to get along with people and I’ve never held anything against any race because I do not think I am better than other people. And I think most people are like me,” said the woman.
Another man didn’t share his race, but he spoke bluntly about his view of Black people.
“Ok, let’s get real. You want to talk reality? You want to talk about race? You got politicians making excuses for them, the social, liberal media making excuses for them, telling them they can do whatever they want because of racism and slavery. This is total bullsh**,” said the man.
For different reasons, another caller expressed her exhaustion over the issue of race.
“Racism is stupid. It makes no sense. It’s unproductive and furthermore, it pulls everybody back,” said the woman.
This past week, I did find people pulling together. A local veteran made it his mission to get a headstone that’s been long missing for a Marine killed during the Vietnam conflict. One is white, the other was black.
When he met the Marine’s siblings this week they embraced, the siblings shared their gratitude for the care the veteran was putting into getting a headstone for their brother who was killed in 1966. Race didn’t seem to matter that day, and it’s a challenge to find a reason why it would.