| Abstrakt: |
The article reports that understanding the vicious circles in which we are caught requires attention to the ways in which all parties participate in their perpetuation. Clear understanding of the participation of whites, is impeded by an excessive focus on racism and outright discrimination, which diverts the attention from the more subtle, but perhaps more formidable and unyielding impact of indifference and the feeling that those people are not others concern. Appreciation of the role of blacks is obscured in a different way. Here, the reality that the overall impact of the patterns of racial interaction is most palpably harmful to African Americans, combined with knowledge of the shameful history that initiated these patterns, can funnel the vision toward a view of African Americans as simple victims. Concern that frank discussion of the more disquieting features of life in the inner-cities can be misused is by no means unwarranted. Influential voices have indeed seized upon the more problematic features of inner-city life as a rationalization for policies that perpetuate neglect and maintain inequality. |
