High-Tech Hate

Gone are the days of harmless, yet imaginative video games that sparked creativity and competition as we defended a galactic spaceship or gobbled cyber-dots with a yellow Pac-Man. Now, our children are being exposed to such degenerative forms of “entertainment,” the products of twisted minds. Even cyberspace is not immune to racism.

Imagine sitting at a computer playing a game called Border Patrol where you kill immigrants for sport by aiming a cyber-gun at pregnant women, called “Breeders,” as they run across the border, kids in tow, earning points when you hit your target and splatter their blood across the screen. Or, if that’s not enough “fun” for one day, you can download a game aptly-titled Ethnic Cleansing, described by its developer as “the most politically incorrect game ever made” where the object is to kill as many Blacks and Jewish people as possible.

National Alliance, the White supremacist group that created Ethnic Cleansing, comments on the intent behind the game’s creation:

"The whole intent of making this video game was to make a racially provocative
video game and if it does help promote the separation of the races, then it’s
been positive and that’s what we want."

You don’t have to search far to find these games on the Internet. News reports confirm that tailored websites allow visitors to download games for a minimal cost, but not before inundating them with propaganda about racist ideals and organizations. So, what we’re talking about here is more than a few minutes of video game play, but rather a platform for preaching racial injustice, a vehicle used to espouse misguided beliefs on racial separation, superiority, and genocide.

The games are targeted toward children and teens, today’s video game generation. Seventy-four percent of families with school-age children own video game equipment and school-age children play video games an average of 53 minutes per day, most of which is unsupervised by an adult.

But, even more tragic is the adverse effect these video games have on the minds of adults in positions to power, eager to undermine, oppress, and exclude people of color. We are still marching to gain equality for minority groups and the cyber-attacks on noncitizens and other people of color represent yet another hurdle we must overcome.

The fact that this type of commercialized racism is allowed to pollute the Internet is deplorable and destructive, to say the least. It took years to dismantle segregation and all of its ugly ideals and these products are evidence of concerted, premeditated efforts to return to separate and unequal. Even more disturbing is the portrayal of people of color and ethnic minorities in such a way that condones abuse and violence. What a sad commentary on the state of our nation when “games” that spew hatred and dehumanizing people of color, are allowed to proliferate in our society.

Beating Them at Their Own Game

Remember the saying, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?” Well, the phrase aptly describes the praiseworthy efforts of three women in Wisconsin who responded to racially bias treatment in the banking industry by building their own “legacy” of equity.

Chartered in 1999 by three African-American women, Legacy Bancorp is the only privately-held bank holding company in the nation organized by African American women, and is the parent company of Legacy Bank, a strong example of community banking in action. Legacy Bank is the result of people of color working together to tip the scales of power in their favor. Frustrated and dismayed over preferential treatment given to White males with regard to lending, capital, and money, the professional women used a large chunk of their own capital, and raised additional funds to cover the $7 million startup costs for this undertaking. According to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal , today, Legacy Bank boasts 35 employees and assets of $136 million.

A bank vice president with 28 years experience under her belt, Deloris “Dee Dee” Sims had her fair share of watching Blacks and other minorities being treated unfairly based on the color of their skin or their gender. The mission of the bank she started with two associates, one of whom is the former wife of professional basketball star, Bob Lanier, is to “be innovative in providing financial services to those who aren’t served well while building the economic base of the community.”

The bold business move by Sims et al. is in line with the eighth covenant discussed in Tavis Smiley’s newly-released bestseller, The Covenant with Black America , which outlines a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African Americans today. In an essay titled, “Accessing Good Jobs, Wealth, and Economic Prosperity,” President and CEO of the National Urban League, Marc Morial, declares that “without the wealth and equity of homeownership and sound investments to fall back on, African Americans stand on shaky ground.” He urges the Black community to “take ownership of our own economic destiny as well as urge our leaders to develop policies to help working families.”

Considering the following alarming statistics, we must come face to face with the fact that the wealth gap between Whites and people of color continues to grow:

• While the income gap between Blacks and Whites narrowed in the 1990s, the wealth gap actually increased during that same period.
• By 2002, more than one in four Hispanic and African American families were asset poor, having no liquid financial assets, compared to six percent of Whites.
• Fewer than 50 percent of Black families own their own homes, compared with more than 75 percent of Whites.
• African Americans are 3.6 times as likely as Whites to receive a home purchase loan from a subprime lender and 4.1 times as likely as Whites to receive a refinance loan from a subprime lender. Subprime lending is usually one to six points over the prime rate and is reserved for lending to businesses that do not qualify for “prime” rates.
• African Americans have a median net worth of $5,998, compared to $88,651 for Whites. Even more alarming, 32 percent of African Americans have a zero or negative net worth. (All statistics taken from The Covenant with Black America by Tavis Smiley)

One surefire way to guarantee that people of color will not be able to buy a home is to deny them home loans based upon prejudicial factors. Sims obviously had a front row seat to these and other racist and sexist practices, so much so that and by the end of her third decade of trying to work within the system to level the playing ground, she decided to venture into the industry and make her own rules – a gutsy move we hope will be a model and inspiration for others to follow.

We're Humans, Not Hondas

State legislators are patting themselves on the back as a bill passes requiring all Michigan residents to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. To address the problem of the more than 43 million people in the United States without health insurance, Michigan has passed new legislation based on the state’s auto insurance policy requirements. So, in effect, the state has made it legally appropo to treat poor patients like automobiles.

How can any rational-minded person reasonably assume that slapping people who cannot afford or qualify for health care insurance with a hefty fine will increase their ability to get insurance or pay for it? The costs that taxpayers absorb to treat an uninsured person is significantly less than what it would cost to pay for the incarcerated uninsured, which is where they will end up, if and when they fail to meet the stipulations of this new law.

Perhaps Michigan needs to be reminded that uninsured people are just that – people. If poor people can’t afford to insure their automobile, they have the option of electing not to drive. They don’t have the option not to get sick. This legislation only adds insult to injury. It is our sincere hope that more states don’t follow Michigan’s human/automobile analogous model of health care reform.