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If you are black, especially if you are black and poor, the boot of white supremacy feels the same no matter the intentions behind it. However, I do want to emphasize that among, younger, educated white folks, the goal is not to hate black people. The desire is largely to ignore black people, to ignore poor and segregated communities, to ignore the role of race in our Country's History and its present. It is racism by way of being passive. We do that by sending in militarized police to keep a lid on places West Baltimore and South LA and we sooth our souls by declaring that we "don't see color" and the reason why we, white people, have it so good is because we just so happen to have more impulse control (there is a reason why David Brooks is popular despite being so vapid).
As white people, we are not unable to see race and its role in our history. After all, we read magazines like The Economist and we know that when a civil war is being fought in Syria or in Nigeria, we know that the war is being fought along ethnic or religious lines. We know that most wars and most injustices are shaped by History. Many of use studied a great deal of History in school and we can see how past events affect later events. Even uneducated white folks cannot get enough of Titanic, Gladiator or Glenn Becks programs and other semi fictionalized versions of pop history.
As white people, we are unwilling to see the role of race in recent American History. In fact, white conservatives do not even really like thinking of themselves as being white. It is willful amnesia and blindness that the History that happened recently, in our own Country and which affects us the most, gets deliberately ignored. So many of us just want to believe that our world of sprawling suburban homes, swimming pools, white collar jobs, gentle local police forces, car dealerships, wonderful parks, World class High Schools and leafy Universities are the result of our hard work. We want to believe that ourselves and our good lives appeared out of the ether.
Obviously, that is not true but to acknowledge the role of white supremacy in America, is to rob a white man of his sense of superiority and merit. Even worse than that, talking about systemic racism, diminishes a white person's sense of individuality. Individuality is perhaps the most important thing for a white conservative, merely being seen as part of a group not of their choosing (as opposed to fraternities, sports teams, academic clubs or companies which we can choose to join) is dangerous to our whole sense of being.
Acknowledging that the vast forces of Sociology and History play the biggest roles in shaping who we are and how we live can be painful but it is also liberating. If you are wealthy and privileged, you can stop scrambling for lies and half truths and self serving narratives and if you are poor and disadvantaged, you can stop hating and blaming yourself. From those positions we can see things clearly, establish a social Democracy and get to the root of what causes so many social problems including urban unrest and police brutality.
As white people, we are not unable to see race and its role in our history. After all, we read magazines like The Economist and we know that when a civil war is being fought in Syria or in Nigeria, we know that the war is being fought along ethnic or religious lines. We know that most wars and most injustices are shaped by History. Many of use studied a great deal of History in school and we can see how past events affect later events. Even uneducated white folks cannot get enough of Titanic, Gladiator or Glenn Becks programs and other semi fictionalized versions of pop history.
As white people, we are unwilling to see the role of race in recent American History. In fact, white conservatives do not even really like thinking of themselves as being white. It is willful amnesia and blindness that the History that happened recently, in our own Country and which affects us the most, gets deliberately ignored. So many of us just want to believe that our world of sprawling suburban homes, swimming pools, white collar jobs, gentle local police forces, car dealerships, wonderful parks, World class High Schools and leafy Universities are the result of our hard work. We want to believe that ourselves and our good lives appeared out of the ether.
Obviously, that is not true but to acknowledge the role of white supremacy in America, is to rob a white man of his sense of superiority and merit. Even worse than that, talking about systemic racism, diminishes a white person's sense of individuality. Individuality is perhaps the most important thing for a white conservative, merely being seen as part of a group not of their choosing (as opposed to fraternities, sports teams, academic clubs or companies which we can choose to join) is dangerous to our whole sense of being.
Acknowledging that the vast forces of Sociology and History play the biggest roles in shaping who we are and how we live can be painful but it is also liberating. If you are wealthy and privileged, you can stop scrambling for lies and half truths and self serving narratives and if you are poor and disadvantaged, you can stop hating and blaming yourself. From those positions we can see things clearly, establish a social Democracy and get to the root of what causes so many social problems including urban unrest and police brutality.
