Absurdity

I know I said I was going to write about Up, but this incident has inevitably irked me for the last couple days.
In recent years, anti-immigration and white nationalism seem to have escalated in both the US and Europe. The resurgence of Neo-Nazi movements, groups like the KKK and the Skinheads, etc. have used threats and attacks to declare their hatred of other races.
Even though they have a long history in America, I am appalled that these heinous acts still happen today, that in 2009, we still have to deal with idiots who blame our problems on Jews, Blacks, Asians, Muslims, or whomever.
Contrary to popular belief, racism is still rampant in this country, as Wednesday's event indicates. I have met people who have made the assumption that racism ended with the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. They could not be more wrong. In my opinion, racism was just getting started. Since then, racism has expanded to include the influx of immigrants that have reached our shores over the last quarter century. Increased immigration, along with high-achieving minorities, are probably the advancements that fuel racism today. I would also imagine that white supremacists are also angry that an African-American leads the most industrialized nation in the world.
So bottom line, racism is a continually growing calamity afflicting America and rest of our 21st century world. When we consider this week's incident and the countless others like it, as well as ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and Africa and Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, these do nothing to ameliorate the ills of racism. We have a long way to go.