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Dear Sir,

I congratulate Larry Burchall on "moving on" so early in his life and since he has been moved on for quite some time I suppose it annoys him that others have not.

From his numerous articles on the subject it

appears to me that he is particularly incensed by anything he interprets as reinforcing victimhood in Blacks. The key word here is "interprets".

He referred to Tim Wise's work as "snake oil" in his June 20 column.

The most common usage of the phrase "snake oil" is as a derogatory term for compounds offered as medicines which implies that they are fake, fraudulent, quackish, or ineffective. The expression is also

applied metaphorically to any product with exaggerated marketing but

questionable or unverifiable quality.

The implication in Burchall's article is that Wise's work is not only fraudulent but this white man is making money from the black experience.

I have attended four or more of Mr. Wise's talks (I have never seen Mr. Burchall at any) I would describe them as honest, insightful, factual, and brilliant. As a person of black heritage I am as sensitive as most blacks to any disingenuousness on the topic of race and I have not detected any language that would encourage blacks to hold on to victimhood nor was there any sign of him measuring blacks against white American standards and culture, in fact, it would be contrary to his way of thinking. He readily acknowledges that his knowledge of racism is based on the U.S. experience but he is remarkably well-read on the subject in the Bermuda context.   From what I have seen and heard from white people who attended they found Wise's talks useful and in some cases transformative. I think he deserves to be paid well for his work.

Seeking change

That Mr. Burchall thinks this is snake oil salesmanship, it is his opinion which he is entitled to. Tim Wise is not speaking to Mr.

Burchall who has "moved on", he is speaking largely to the people of his own race and his intention (by the way) is not to inspire guilt, but to assist them in learning how they may, sometimes unknowingly,

be perpetuating racism. To speak about the past with the purpose of seeking change in the way people think, to my mind, is a genuinely healthy activity.

Yes, history is all about stories, and from them we are inspired to try on new ways of thinking so that we continue to evolve.

Racism has not only damaged blacks profoundly it has also seriously damaged

whites. It is tremendously useful to know that part of history. It is a short period in the history of humans that is relatively recent

so the effects are still here.  To open it up to the light of day is part of the journey of "moving on".

Yes, there is a bit of moaning but there is also a great deal of education, enlightenment and an

unprecedented amount of research going on in this area in many areas of the world which will lead to more and more awareness and hence more and more healing... and moving on.

I do not condone the idea of telling people to "move on". People will "move on" when they are ready to.  A case can be made that the period in which we thought we were integrated and "moved on" was actually a

period in which blacks were so tired of fighting that they settled for less than what they deserved and moved on too quickly.  It became politically incorrect to even mention the word "race",  and the

result was institutionalized racism. There was always that elephant in the  room which no one dared to acknowledge. If it has not been dealt with properly we can at the very least acknowledge its existence and have an open conversation. It is not only a good idea but essential.

If Mr. Burchall does not need it - I applaud him but

it may come as a surprise to him that he is inadvertently engaging in the Big Conversation even though he is fighting and kicking against it.

Frances Eddy

Warwick

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