Photo Courtesy New York Times
“Black people will forgive anything!”
I’ve heard that line from so many black friends and relatives over the years that it’s become sort of a running joke.
A white governor accused of wearing blackface in a yearbook. We forgive.
A white supremacist murders nine black worshippers in a church. We forgive.
Countless big-name pastors caught with their hands in the collection plate or on a parishioner. We forgive.
But when I watched Sen. Kamala Harris’ exquisite takedown of Joe Biden this week over his past opposition to busing, an odd thought occurred to me: Maybe we are getting tired of being such a “forgiving people,” and that might not be so bad.
Most commentators portray Harris’ exchange with Biden during the second night of the Democratic debate as a potential game-changer for the Democratic presidential nomination. But Harris dropped a bomb on Biden that’s bigger than politics. She exposed a psychological shift in some parts of the black community that’s been building for years.
The old days of black people putting up with questionable leaders because they felt like they had no other choice may be over. No more talk about trying to understand white people’s racism, forgetting the impact of slavery, moving on from the past because “this is a time of healing.”
Forgiveness may not always be divine; sometimes it leads to something worse.
“Look at what forgiveness has gotten us. It gave us Trump,” said Wes Jackson, a commentator who said he cheered when he saw Harris confront Biden during the debate.
Biden not only misread the room, he misread the time.
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