Saturday, May 07, 2005

A Clever Admission of Racism

The following statement is one of the more clever displays of camouflage ever devised. It seems to be used mainly by White liberals. Conservatives that take the trouble to try to appear non-racist may also resort to it. The statement is: "I'm a racist and we are all racists."

It looks very good at first. Making such an admission takes courage and insight, you'd think.

It is like the tactic of a crow, hiding in plain sight. Soon, nobody pays attention to them.

The reason for this admission is to normalize racism. It is one the most hateful tactics of social and psychological subterfuge ever devised. This clever admission of guilt serves to legitimize the myriad of the crimes of racists; from subtle ostracization to lynchings and genocide. It provides a rationale for White privelege, a privelege that has been won through a long history of mass murder, ruthless theft, and racist declarations to affirm our nefarious birthright.

Racism is not normal and it isn't human nature. It is part of an artificial continuum of domination that is hundreds of years old. Racism is a means of promoting, securing and legitimizing White privilege for the people and the heirs of the people that have killed, enslaved, and ostracized Blacks, Asians, and Aboriginals. People that take comfort in that privilege will both rationalize racism with statements like, "everybody is a racist and it's human nature" and then contradict themselves by saying that racism is either not a problem or not much of a problem.

You see a very similar pathological dynamic with religious zealots. People like George W. Bush and other members of the Christian Right will proclaim themselves to be sinners; that we are all sinners and if we ask our Lord for forgiveness and believe in Him, we will be granted out rightful place in heaven.

A bit of a cartoonish mental scam but one that is surprizingly common and resilient against the light of rationality and common sense.

These humble servants of the Lord then proceed to slaughter thousands to steal their resources. They hold a gun in one hand and a bible in the other. They spit venom through their fangs and declare war on evil.

Like the liberal racists that ignore their own racism, they take comfort in their sick and pathological skill at ignoring the immense pain that they inflict.

3 comments:

Archie said...

This post wasn't in reference to the KKK or any other group of right wing fascists. You people are easy to see. The type of liberals I was referring to share your sentiments but they hide in the shadows.

But people like you make it hard for the crypto-racists to make the claim that racism doesn't exist.

Archie said...

This article has been both slammed and supported in various Indymedia sites. Here is a note of agreement that I'm cutting and pasteing from Seattle:

od
Posted by: i at May 07, 2005 12:14
i posted a similar view and it was removed from this site.you have to realize people ,that racial attacks are actually occuring and it doesent make the news.please dont censor stories of racial abuse.i for one am right now experiencing extreme horror and pain .the only way i can describe the racism is to use an anology.what if a town full of black and mixed black people was where you lived and a black person attacked your white friend and called tghe police and blamed you.the all black police force must have assumed you did something because you were in an all black city.if you went to your white friends and co workers and theu just say ''well, thats just the way it goes.if they come to you anytime and attack you they can get away with it, any time anywwhere.'' if a black man walks down the street and sees that you didnt smile and bow your head he might say ''you looked suspicious and i thought you were going to attack me ,so i called the police and we conspired to criminalize you because you are invading our space''. THATS what racism is.every movement you make can be interpreted as ''suspicious''.or whatever delusional madness thast the american white ''race'' comes up with.its too late to fool me, i know the white structure wants to kill everybody ''different'' than ''them''.

Archie said...

Here are a few excerpts from some randomly picked comments:

In Australia, they normalize racism by making an acknowledged racist, Pauline Henson, into a popular TV personality. –Sydney, Au

The fact is that we all live in societies in which racism is deeply ingrained in the fundamental fabric. We will have automatically absorbed racist outlooks and prejudices before we were even old enough to know what racism is, much less take a critical approach to it. By pointing at racism in others but refusing to acknowledge it in yourself you are not only being hypocritical but you are also denying yourself the opportunity for self-development by recognising and rooting out your own racist tendencies. –Sydney, Au

Racism is the belief that human abilities are determined by RACE. Bigotry is the obstinate and intolerant adherence of a 'creed' or 'view' (opinion)…
…Racism was/IS the means used to get the ignorant masses to support their own leaders imperial grab for power (or the right to control other people's resources). The (ignorant) people are easily led to hate another race of people they do not understand anything about. –Sydney, Au

Your pompous and portentous slack theorizing might tickle a few students, but the rest of us its go,s in through one ear and out the other. –UK

I'll admit to being a bit racist. unconsciously. it's not human nature. it's a cultural thing, and it's a problem. but I try to avoid it, and I'd like to think that I mostly am able to overcome it, but I think about myself a lot, and I think that too many people in society are a little bit racist, without even knowing it. – Portland, Or.



well done. – Hudson Mohawk