We can heal ourselves of racism
quite easily. We have merely to agree on
and start using an honest definition of the social disease known as
“racism.” Trying to solve racism by
using a racist definition of racism, which we have been doing for decades, is
like using an oil soaked rag to try to clean up an oil stain on the floor of a
garage. It is an approach doomed to failure.
If we are to agree to a new
definition of the word, and thereby start solving the problem of racism (which
we must do) we first must realize that racism is a mental problem, a glitch in
our thinking. With that understanding,
racism should be defined as thinking that the genetic, ethnic heritage of any
participants in any action, whether as victim, perpetrator or bystander, should
be taken into consideration when determining the moral worth of their actions.
Granted, this new definition of racism is a little wordy and hard to understand
at first, but we will get back to explore it in a few paragraphs.
First we should take a closer look
at the old definition we have been using for so long, and how badly it has
served us.
Today, 6-13-24, a piece from Bari
Weiss in the Free Press, with an interview of Sheryl Sandberg, had a most
powerful point that crystallizes the perils of using the old definition of
racism.
Bari Weiss- “I think polarization
is a big issue. There is a worldview
that's taken hold on a large part of the left that insists that people's
identity determines whether or not we judge their actions as moral. And if a group has been decided- in this
case, Palestinians- that they are victims, then everything is permissible. And when it is decided that a group is the
victimizer, nothing is permitted. And once you have that lens on the question
of Gaza/Israel or Israel/Palestine, everything flows from that , and therefore
Israel can be basically guilty of
everything, and the Palestinians can be guilty of nothing.”
Identitarian politics, which Ms.
Weiss here crystallizes for all to see, and which culturally dominates Western
culture today, is merely our old, wrongheaded (at best long obsolete)
definition of racism, writ large and grown existentially cancerous. Constantly dividing and categorizing people
in this manner is extremely unlikely to heal racism. Especially so since mis-definition of racism
is being powerfully used as a cudgel to oppress and divide the people. Consequently, this abuse will probably
continue for a long time, or at least until the greed of the greedy rulers who
are using it is totally satiated. In
other words, not real soon, if we leave things as they are.
The first time I heard the old
definition of racism I heard it from Dr. Cornell West, but I am not sure it is
his originally. Regardless, I am glad
that since that first encounter with Dr. West's thinking I have come to greatly
appreciate some of his perspective because I
instantly and adamantly disagreed with his definition, the old
definition, which is something along the lines of,
“Racism is racial or ethnic
intolerance wielded over some victim people by those who have power. Only those with power over others, legal,
social, economic, and cultural power, can be racists. All people can be prejudiced toward those of
another group, but if they are not a member of the group in power they can not
be racist. Racism is the combining of
prejudice with power.”
I first read this definition in
the early 1990's, and was shocked to learn it carried legal weight. Still am
shocked. From the very first encounter,
I foresaw all the political mischief potential in this warped definition.
While it can be conceded that
this concept might have been a constructive tool back in 1955, when there was
an accepted legal imbalance based on racist thinking, even then it missed the
essence of the problem of racism. More
importantly, it should have been abandoned as obsolete with the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, when we as a nation undeniably moved away from a
racially imbalanced legal matrix.
Among many other abominations
generated by this definition and its descendant derivatives over the years ( In
addition to the recent rationalization of rape as a war tactic spotlighted by
Ms. Sandberg in the interview mentioned above) is the absurd notion that
Blacks, or African Americans, or Negro Americans, can not possibly be
racist. This because the grandees of
intersectional identity politics have deigned that Black people have been and
still are so deprived of power that they can never be racist.
This falsehood of Black American
immunity to the sin of racism ran abroad in the culture the last forty years or
so while slowly combining with the world wide revulsion about the racist matrix
White America imposed on Black America for more than a hundred years after the
abolition of legal slavery. When those
two factors were combined, we, as a people came to the dubious conclusions that
racism is the sin of all sins, the one failing that can be righteously judged
and condemned. Additionally, we as a
nation came to a further conclusion, a truly dangerous and ugly one, which asserts
that only White people can be racist.
That is our modern American
foundation, if we will be honest about it..
Racism is the sin of all sins, and only White people can be racist. The
entire intersectional pyramid of privilege, how it is to be extended, and to
whom, is built on this foundation.
This obvious falsehood has long
stood in the way of truly productive reconciliation in race relations in
America. It puts us all in different
categories and prevents us from all answering to the same moral code. Such continued social imbalance perpetuates
the dysfunctional social dynamics of the slavery and Jim Crow eras. When the acts of members of one group can be
punished as hate crimes, while mirror image acts from members of another group
are considered legitimate and legally ignored, intimate social relations
between the two peoples become rare and strained. Few people will willingly submit to patently
unfair treatment.
Thus our long held mis-definition
of racism has morphed into the excesses of woke-ism and from there into an
awkward and illegitimate attempt at a counterfeit judgment day. These people, mortal people who breath and
poop and die just like you and me, have taken it upon themselves to adjudicate
who is owed what from who from forever ago.
It is beyond dispute that the wisdom requisite for such an exalted task
is far above the pay grades of any of the “expert” class, even though they have
collectively anointed themselves to it. The wannabe conductors of some kind of
secular judgment day. We ought not be
foolish enough to buy this line of baloney and let them try.
Instead, let us consider adopting
the new definition of racism, the one which says it is racist to weigh anyone's
moral actions based on their ethnic or racial heritage. The truth of this definition is demonstrated
by applying it to historic actions which we all agree were racist. First of all, the holding of African peoples
as slaves was justified because of their race.
The deprivations of rights, even to those of African heritage who gained
freedom, was justified as not immoral because of the ethnic heritage of the
victims.
On the other side of the ledger,
many of the crimes of the slave owners
(rape, murder and theft among them) and those of the later landlords/
terrorists, was adjudicated as acceptable because of the ethnic heritage of the
perpetrators. “After all, they were
White men, so it was okay what they did to the darkies.” was the honest to God
thinking.
All of this thinking fits
precisely within our new definition of “racism.” In every instance, the moral content of an
act was determined by considering the ethnic heritage of at least one of the
people involved in the action, whether as victim or victimizer.
Now think about how this
definition could be used in today's world.
If everyone who has issues accepting ethnic differences (basically all
of us) would just be honest and sincerely try to stop thinking in ethnically
biased ways (and that can include different faith groups), we would quickly be
much better off. We would find ourselves
in much more of a positive minded meritocracy, in which each of us has every
reason to perform as well and virtuously as possible. No longer would social connections matter so
much, so instead of nurturing up our wealth producing networks, we could be
free to focus more on merit, nurturing up our souls, talents, and
families. And hence, our organic
community.
When one stops to think about it,
this definition of racism is a very granular one, focusing on small, common
instances of racist thinking. Many small
moments, in traffic, at church, shopping, in a park, and many other situations;
It asks the question, how do we think of the people we meet for the first
time? What is it that causes us to think
less or more of someone, what about their demeanor or presence do we feel
comfortable or uncomfortable with. Is it their eyes, the set of their lips. Is
it their skin color? If the ethnic heritage of the stranger figures high on
that decision tree, we ought, as an individual, look at oneself. Because we all could be better off if we had
a much more meritocratic society. Merit
is what we should recognize and reward, not any kind of accident of birth. It is how to return to a virtuous, merit
based society, one small, granular thought at a time.
This granular definition is also
how we can see that the old definition of racism was a racist oily rag,
incapable of cleaning an oil stain.
Since racism is thinking that race determines moral worth, any thinking
that posits that we should establish an entire intersectional hierarchy (based
on an inscrutable ordering of all ethnic and identity groups) is, in every
instance, severely racist. Small wonder
we haven't made much progress toward inter racial harmony during our decades of
using that constantly worsening but always false definition.
What's more, no one should object
that use of this granular definition of racism is in any way intended to dodge
White American responsibility for the horrors of state sanctioned racism. On the contrary, this analysis will better
enable us to accurately diagnose the spiritual disease of racism. However, the first step in this process is
for us all to admit that we are all susceptible to this disease, much like the
common cold.
This is a very important point
because while racism is a disease, it is primarily a spiritual disease, which
means it is highly contagious. Because
of that, many people on the receiving end of racist malice are prone to hatred
and judgmental thinking, rendering them vulnerable to being attacked by those
self same spirits. And then the abuse
and stupidity tends to multiply with mindless group revenge, back and forth for
God only knows how long.
So we all must first admit some
fault, and then we can start looking at the problem of racism through that
granular lens. I don't know for sure
what all we will see when we honestly do that work, but if my lived experience
is any indication, I think we will find that White America, still today,
practices a great deal more racist thinking and habits than almost any other
group on Earth, with, in my opinion, the Chinese coming up a close second. Certainly, in my experience, African America has much less of that
problem, even though there are some virulent racists in the African American
community. It is axiomatic that to be
effective, this remedy to racism must be applied whenever a case appears, no
matter which community it is in.
Employing the same dispassionate rigor with which we defeat any other
disease.
Virulent is the exact word to
describe the strain of racism that has infected America since before we were
born as a nation. America has endured
the worst, the most virulent, case of racism the world has ever seen. Our case was already severe when it was
rendered the worst ever by the lies used in the South to reconcile the
Declaration of Independence with chattel slavery. They felt philosophically driven to the point
of denying the very humanity of an entire group of humans. Humans they could talk with, interact with
and love.
It is as though we purposely
called down a demonic principality on our head so as to empower ourselves to
retain the peculiar institution.
Hopefully, a demonic principality which has been summoned is a demonic
principality which can now be exorcised.
While some of the early Southern
founders bear much blame for this great mistake, I recognize as an always
Northerner that we went along with most of that Southern racism, and were happy
enough to do so too. So America has had
a terrible case of racism, and it still does. White America most especially.
Now while we're saying this, look
at all those other nations and peoples around the world, watching us, laughing
and pointing, thinking they are all that.
Pathetic !! Because this racism stuff really is a problem
for the whole planet. The only reason
those other folks all over the planet think they are better than us on this
issue is because they have not had to deal with all the cultural mixing that we
have. It is our destiny and our burden
to E Pluribus Unum, that is to take many and make one. The rest of the world should be hoping we
work it our here, because then maybe they can too. While it is true that America has (or at
least had) probably the most virulent strain of racism in history, that should
be no comfort to the others, because the planet as a whole has a very acute
strain of the same disease, and the patient's condition is worsening.
