Dear Editor,

Here we go again, calling for the removal of a statue of an important historical person just because of his supposed racist views. This time, some of us in Africa are demanding that the statue of the father of modern India, Mahatma Gandhi, be removed because he was supposed to have said some bad things about us blacks.

Of course, that fact that this call by some of us flies right in the face of our supposed respect for the opinion of others, even Gandhi, was not bad enough, we are once again telling the whole world that when others “insult” us about abilities, or lack thereof, we must always make a big deal about it.

It never ceases to amaze me how we are so sensitive when others tell us that we are a race that is inferior, but we take such great delight when we insult other races. Some of our own black icons, like the renowned Louis Farrakhan, accused of being an anti-Semite, and the anti-white Marcus Garvey, are revered by us blacks. So why can’t we just let these supposed non-black racists be?

I wonder if the real reason why some of us get so hot under the collar when others tell us that we are inferior is because we think that they are right? Do we think that anti-black racists are telling the truth when they tell the world that we blacks are no good?

When white people are told that they are no good, they can laugh off the attack very comfortably because they can always point to their great accomplishments in science and the huge empires they have built. The same is true for the Chinese, Japanese and Indians. So why can’t we laugh off the supposed racist attacks of others when they say that blacks are a race of ‘good for nothings’?

Is it because all we can point to as our great achievements is only a list of entertainers such as athletes, musicians, church leaders, and talk show hosts? Is it because while others can point to their great scientists, we have none to show off?

I always say that if we have even an ounce of self-respect, and if we truly believe that we are a great people, then no amount of supposed racist insults will ever get us so angry, as in the case of that Gandhi statue.

I suppose that it is really true what they say that if you throw a stone in a pig’s sty, only the pigs that get hit will always squeal.

As a race, we really do need to grow up and learn to ignore racist insults like the ones Gandhi supposedly made. Let the dead man be!

Michael A Dingwall

michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com