The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-05-26

the issue of racial prejudice, and not with his material possessions or his position in a social order. Be- cause man is so endowed he is in- violable in that proportion and his freedom is indestructible. Racial prejudice is a moral issue as morals relate to an orderly community. While the material aspects of society are comprised of the various grades and levels the moral side contains no dissimilarities, no differences. Thus the material phase should be comprised of these various grades grooved into one another so as to maintain the balance of the body polite, and functioning within the common sphere of moral order rep resenting the dignity of the individ- ual. Thus class can never be hostile to class or race hostile to race.
 Racialism Disrupts Community
 Indicative of the effect of racial prejudice upon all is the fact that it sets up mutually antagonistic forces in meaningless collision with one another because of the conflict of self interests. AS result it dis rupts the true intent of any com- munity for as Webster defines-"A community is, a body of persons having mutual interests It is easy to see then how such prejudice acts upon the true goal of any com- munity such as Waterbury.
 What we should not lose sight of is the fact that racial prejudice as it exists here or anywhere is not the sole possession of one group in an- tagonism to another; rather it f1ourishes in all groups. Thus, one group of certain lineage may be prejudiced against another with the latter in turn prejudiced against a third and the third likely to be an- tagonistic to the first; a complete circle is formed. Because of this and other pertinent reasons We can- not overcome race and class diverg encies by universal form of prole- | tarianlsm as the Communists urge or by abolition of private property | and wealth as the Socialists con- tend. Our only way is by the de prejudisa tion of the prejudiced.
 We can form all the inter-racial commissions we please whose mem- bers by intelligent and formative efforts will expose and identify the aspects and locations of racial prejudice; but none of them will do any good unless we personally identify for ourselves the aspects and locations of prejudice within ourselves.
 Snobbery is Unintelligent
 Racial prejudice is snobbery, we repeat. It is the manifestation of the illustration that is the part of a snob Snobbery is the unintelli- gent interpretation of the grades of our social order.
 Since these grades or levels will always exist by rules of nature we should attempt an apt arrangement of their pluralities to achieve the unity necessary for the abolition of social prejudice. If we will recog- nize an orderly arrangement of so- cial levels and vacations without snobbiSh interpretation and then rise above them within ourselves to discard prejudices and hatreds we will have found lasting solu- ton to the problem. But we won't because we aren't that far advanced.
 Civic Effort
 Last Mondays civic discussion here of inter-racial conditions is commendable move outward from the dank morbidity in which preju- dice and hatred have been per- mitted to breed. Like the pallid flaccid, eyeless creatures that exist in the dark of the underground these negative sterile traits can sell dom bear, for any length of time the bright revealing glare of open discussion and identification.
 Similar efforts by the Connecti- cut Is.ter- Racial Commission should be heartily endorsed by all