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How did the news of James Byrd, Jr.’s death personally effect you?

8 comments:

bell357 said...

It showed me that even though some white people say things in public that sounds good, but when the doors are closed and they talk to one another, I believe that they say and feel differently.Because why would somebody do that to another human being.

Anonymous said...

Being born and raised in Germany in the 50's by a Bavarian Father and a Jewish Mother, I was thought daily what harm prejudice can do to human beings.when i was 6 years old i saw for the first time a black man. I ran home and told my dad about it. He sat me down and ask me what color of flower is my favorite. I didn't had a favorite color, i loved all flowers because of their smell. My dad then asked me if i wants to plant a flower bed what kind of flowers would i grow. all kinds, i love them all. you see, said my dad, thats how god felt when he planted the human flower bed. he planted us all the same, he loves us all the same. I never ever again questioned why there are different colored people in this world. it was so normal to me, just another flower.
when i came to the states with an african american husband i did not know what to expect, because i was told to be careful.i have so man good and bad experiences, i get it from both sides, white and black, but thats another story.
the day when mr byrd got so brutally,inhumanly ,intentionelly killed ,has changed my attitude completely.where there was trust, i can't trust no more. where there was understanding, i can't understand nomore.i have cried for days, i have prayed for the family and asked god over and over again, why? why , in this beautiful flower bed that god created, are pesticides reciding?i dont have the answer, again, my thoughts, love and prayers go out to the byrd family and friends.

Anonymous said...

It personally effected me because I thought...this could have been my father, brother, or son. It made me realize how much hate there still is out there for our people.

Anonymous said...

The news of James Byrd, Jr’s death personally affected me for several reasons. First of all my biological father was from Jasper, TX, and being that it is a very small town, my first thought was: “I wonder if that poor man was related to us”.



Secondly, because I’m black, I couldn’t help but think what a shame it was that in this day and age, young white people still have such hate and disregard for a black person’s life. They still consider their lives more valuable than ours. They are still blood thirsty. It just made me think about those black & white images I’ve seen of white families gathering around for their favorite past time – a good ole’ lynching.



The whole thing made me very sad, but truthfully it didn’t really surprise me. What did surprise me, though, were the actions that followed it. I was surprised that others people, who were not black, took it seriously enough to go forward with establishing specific laws against such hate related crimes. Like Michelle Obama, I was finally proud of my country

Anonymous said...

After growing up at what I thought was the end of the racial tension in this country, I just thought it unbelievable that here I was as a adult living once more in a time where my people were being basically lynched again because of the color of his skin. I was saddened because it was a clear reminder that the struggle continues for African American’s first of all but also for our country as a whole. It was clear that not only did we have to continue to fight for get equal rights in the board rooms on our jobs and the social and economic system as a whole but we had to still watch our backs in certain areas of this country just to stay alive. I felt very sorry for the state of Texas when I read the story in a national magazine and it showed a picture of the license plate of the truck used in this heinous crime.

Anonymous said...

I was horrified, sickened. I couldn't believe such a thing could happen in 1998. As a city dweller (in Austin Texas at the time) I did not know there were still rural pockets of kkk members and sympathizers. And, I guess they're still out there. It's really hard to believe.

Anonymous said...

I was disbelieving that something this evil and awful happened in our country to Mr. Byrd. Hate crimes and racism are not something that "used to happen but don't happen any more" in America as many white people think and say.

Anonymous said...

.I rarely watch tv. but I entered to this page while exploring internet.
I want to comment about racism in U.S. RACISM IS BEEN HERE, ALWAYS! White people believe they are
supeior because they color, proved of this is slavery in 1700,racism against American natives,racism against middle eastern people, and the modern slavery against Spanish people.
Sadly I think this is not going to change,. those feelings are in ther DNA, but we (people) like to play to discuss this subject knowing deep in our harts that this is not the way to make them feell diferent. But in another way they are very polite,
they usually have a smile to everybody like nothing happens