I’m surprised by how much Jasmyne Cannick’s article No Country for Black Men bothers me. I have been told to “get out of America” because of my opinions about the president and our government, but when Cannick says how much she dislikes America, I find myself wanting to tell her to get out. For some reason the argument of “I have a right to disagree” that I always use for myself just doesn’t want to apply itself to her in my mind.

I’m also concerned by my “get over it” attitude toward the article. I didn’t know I thought blacks should just get over slavery. I’m not sure that I do think that. But when Cannick goes on and on about blacks are still enslaved (”my people are still waiting”), I just want to tell her it’s time to forget the past and focus on the present. Yes, of course the disadvantaged situation of many blacks today stems from their experience as slaves…there’s no question about it. But is it really necessary to dwell on the atrocities committed back then? Should it just be a fact of life that blacks had this experience and now we move on? Should we move on? What good does it do to express anger at the “torture, rape, and death of countless black people” from long ago? (Even that phrase, “long ago,” is in question - when did blacks start on the road to equality? Was it the end of the Civil War in 1865, or was it not until the Civil Rights Act of 1965? When does the tragic past of black people end?)

The column definitely provoked a lot of feelings in me. I agree with Cannick’s statement “you will never catch me waving this country’s flag” but I disagree with her line about “I will never claim America as my country.” The whole column has left me shaken, and I think that’s a good thing when it comes to op-ed pieces.