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Clansey's Point of View (Moondance) 1/30/2026 6:26:04 AM
When I wrote the novel "Moondance", I created two heroines in two separate eras (same location) who are linked through “mysterious” circumstances. They’re different in physicality and personality. Sybil (In 1997) is 42, weighs her actions, fears leaving her comfort zone. She’s tall…a dancer who sings. Clansey (in 1947) is a teenager. She’s impulsive, brash, rebellious, fearless. Short…a singer who dances. But they share some traits. Both are intense loyalty to friends, have the ability to eat like a Dallas Cowboy linebacker without gaining an ounce of fat…and are “color-blind” when it comes to race and ethnicity. Clansey, in post-War Texarkana, sneaking out to sing at black “juke joints” with her black best friend, Kate, considers the whole idea of racism to be so stupid, she can’t comprehend why Kate, who was gifted with a singing voice from the heavens, isn’t allowed to audition at the local theater, and nearly starts a riot when she coaxes Kate to go to the bowling alley with her.
Sybil in 1997 Texarkana also feels racism is stupid, pointing out that that the serial killer copying the Phantom Moonlight killings from 1946 and 1947 seems to be an equal opportunity murderer in that one of his victims was black and one Hispanic, notes this is not what folks had in mind in terms of Civil Rights.
Clansey and Sybil both believe in embracing diversity in terms of culture, religion, tradition, appreciation for the beauty found in the features of others, and keeping the color-blind masks on when it comes to equality, justice and following the Golden Rule.
America has a huge problem with racism. With diversity. It was hidden, barely below the surface, when Obama was elected president, but came slithering out, then exploding in all its nastiness, with Trump and MAGA. Why it was ever allowed to flourish to the extent it has I honestly don’t know, and while many refer to Trump’s “birther” idiocy as the start of the resurgence of blatant racism, I’m calling out Mitch McConnell, who stated he would do whatever it took to keep Obama from having a second term… and it wasn’t just to stop the Affordable Health Care legislation.
And now we see the results in an administration and its followers who use all the vile names, who proudly proclaim their hatred, who want to dispose of anyone who isn’t white, who despise the very idea of diversity. (I’m still reeling from the grotesque images of white tourists, looking like they just stepped off the set of Leave it to Beaver, laughing and pointing to the Alligator Alcatraz billboards). Those of us who are horrified by the attitudes and actions of these “white-supremacy” fools try to tell ourselves this will go away once Trump et al are removed from office.
There’s a middle group of racists who are as dangerous as the KKK types currently in power. Hidden racists. They won’t admit they’re racist, which makes it harder for everyone else to spot. The uncles and aunts who at Thanksgiving claim they voted for Trump because he promised to lower the price of consumer goods and reduce crime. But in their hearts they know that Make America Great Again really means Make America White Again. And everyone else knows it, too.
Finally, there’s another group who are, albeit unintentionally, a big part of the problem. Let’s call them soft racists…theirs is the racism of ignorance. There are millions of well-meaning people who don’t believe they have a problem with racism or diversity. After all, they voted for Obama! They love the musical “Hamilton”, and Beyonce and Bad Bunny and Ronny Chieng and will get their next car through Carvana now that Shaq is hyping the app. They have friends or colleagues who are “non-white.” They are sickened and disgusted by the actions of Trump and of ICE and are marching in No Kings events. BUT…they are woefully ignorant about the divide between black and white in this country. How many realize that Sunday is the most segregated day in America? Whites go to white churches. Blacks go to black churches. When they watch football on a segregated Sunday, how many folks take a moment to consider that, while most of their favorite players are black, the managers, the coaches, and the owners (I.e. the folks with the power ) are white. In today’s current make-of of Senators, there are 7 Hispanics, five blacks, three Asians and one Native American. The House only fares a bit better, with a quarter of the Representatives identifying as a race or ethnicity considered “non-white.” Ready for this? Approximately 66.7 % of Wall Street traders are white, and 80% of executives from the nations’ largest financial houses and banks are white.
Sadly, when Black Lives Matter was building some momentum and people were starting to pay attention to all those young lives being lost through violence, much of it perpetrated by law enforcement, the movement was co-opted by the “All Lives Matter” slogan. Which sounded nice to the soft racists, because, after all, it was factually true, Everyone’s life IS important. But the slogan stripped away the whole point of getting people to understand that Black Lives have NOT mattered in this country for 400 plus years.
And, no matter how much empathy we believe we have, most people who identify as white can never truly comprehend what different ethnic groups in America have lived through… and continue to deal with on a daily basis. But we CAN pay more attention. We can ask why we’ve felt sadness and, yes, horror ,at seeing the actions of ICE but didn’t rise up in collective outrage until Renee Gold and Alex Pretti were murdered. Where was the fury when Keith Porter was shot on New Year’s Eve? Where was mainstream and social media? Was it because there was no non-stop video showing the murder or because, unlike Gold and Pretti, Porter was black? Why didn’t the millions who proudly proclaimed they voted for the first black president in American history rise up and scream for the removal of ICE the instant we saw these thugs raiding apartments back in October and zip-tying black toddlers in the streets of Chicago?
I think at least being AWARE of the soft or ignorant racism within us all is a decent first step followed by an effort to make some changes in your own life. Step out of your comfort zone on Sunday and go to a black church. Support diverse candidates in elections. Do tiny things like having a real conversation with the check-out cashier at the local grocery store. If you find yourself getting annoyed because the guy in front of you at Publix is speaking broken English while trying to work the mini-ATM, ask yourself how you’d fare if you were trying to shop in a store in Peru. If you live in a town with a school named after Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee, campaign to change the name to Harriet Tubman Elementary or Sojourner Truth High. Flood the offices of your Senators or Representatives with emails and letters and phone calls demanding an accounting for the injustice and illegal actions being taken by the Federal Government.
Take a moment every day to reflect upon your own feelings and actions when it comes to anyone who is “different” and come up with your own plan to lose that ignorance.
I just keep hoping that one day America will come around to Clansey’s point of view…appreciating diversity in all its forms…and being absolutely color-blind when it comes to justice, equality, and the Golden Rule.
And, no matter how much empathy we believe we have, most people who identify as white can never truly comprehend what different ethnic groups in America have lived through… and continue to deal with on a daily basis. But we CAN pay more attention. We can ask why we’ve felt sadness and, yes, horror ,at seeing the actions of ICE but didn’t rise up in collective outrage until Renee Gold and Alex Pretti were murdered. Where was the fury when Keith Porter was shot on New Year’s Eve? Where was mainstream and social media? Was it because there was no non-stop video showing the murder or because, unlike Gold and Pretti, Porter was black? Why didn’t the millions who proudly proclaimed they voted for the first black president in American history rise up and scream for the removal of ICE the instant we saw these thugs raiding apartments back in October and zip-tying black toddlers in the streets of Chicago?
I think at least being AWARE of the soft or ignorant racism within us all is a decent first step followed by an effort to make some changes in your own life. Step out of your comfort zone on Sunday and go to a black church. Support diverse candidates in elections. Do tiny things like having a real conversation with the check-out cashier at the local grocery store. If you find yourself getting annoyed because the guy in front of you at Publix is speaking broken English while trying to work the mini-ATM, ask yourself how you’d fare if you were trying to shop in a store in Peru. If you live in a town with a school named after Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee, campaign to change the name to Harriet Tubman Elementary or Sojourner Truth High. Flood the offices of your Senators or Representatives with emails and letters and phone calls demanding an accounting for the injustice and illegal actions being taken by the Federal Government.
Take a moment every day to reflect upon your own feelings and actions when it comes to anyone who is “different” and come up with your own plan to lose that ignorance.
I just keep hoping that one day America will come around to Clansey’s point of view…appreciating diversity in all its forms…and being absolutely color-blind when it comes to justice, equality, and the Golden Rule.
