The Recurring Rationalization of Racism

Semantics, pivots, false equivalencies, insane conspiracy theories and stupid jokes are all ways of not facing the issue of racism

Racism is prevalent throughout America. There can be no justification for it. It is fear and hate and ignorance. It is always always always wrong. Those who try to make excuses for it are usually the perpetrators.

No, not everyone is racist. Hatred is not inherent, it’s passed on and learned. It’s taught. My son is not even two years old. He hates nobody. We can all learn from him. He teaches me about being human every day.

Recently I spoke with a man who seems to think black people are more racist than any other ethnicity. When I asked him to explain himself, his reasons were stunningly ignorant:

“Why is it that blacks from Africa can succeed while black Americans success is in short commodity? [sic] It seems odd, even though black Americans already speak the language and understand the culture.

It can’t be racism, considering that black Africans are blacker than black Americans.

Or maybe it has something to do with the culture of American blacks? Yes, I know I am not suppose to say it, but perhaps listening to ‘gangsta rap’ and having children by the litter out of wedlock, refusing to speak proper English or pursue education for fear of ‘acting white’ and celebrating the criminal hip-hop culture isn’t good for black America?”

Wow. Where to even start with such hatefulness. Everything he said basically comes down to “black people bring racism onto themselves.” There are people who believe this ignorance. Some conservative talking points are built on it. “Welfare Queens” and such.

Black people are compartmentalized, insulted, assaulted, arrested, put down, patted down, shot, maimed, killed, jailed, dismissed, and disappeared at a rate that would have whites screaming in terror constantly. Period.

If it were me going through that, I would never stop breaking shit. I get pissed off if one person continually disrespects me, so I understand why there are those who are constantly angry due to the constant disrespect coming their way.

At least I think I understand. I have the barest glimmer, anyway, and can at least grasp that I won’t ever know those situations because I’m a white guy.

Saying that black people need to help themselves because some, (not all, not by a long shot) African immigrants are doing well is a fallacy. Those who immigrated here do receive the same negative feedback from a great many Americans, yes, but they were not subjected to it every hour of every day of their lives.

Conversely, not every black person in America is either unsuccessful or (what mostly white people refer to as) a thug. That’s just a massive generalization, a symptom of racism, and a false equivalence, either way.

And then you have people talking about “black on black” or “black on white” crime, trying to make it sound as if we have a race of Americans who are inherently violent and loathsome. This is racism in and of itself. Does black on black/black on white/white on white crime happen? Of course. That has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

Oh, but it’s been proven that the majority of mass shooters are white males if you want to play that tired argument. Don’t try it.

How about the “not all whites are racist” argument. Yes, that’s true. So what? Good for them, that’s how we’re supposed to be. Let’s not excuse the bigots because they know somebody who’s not racist. What is that, the flip side of “I can’t be racist because I have black friends?”

You have idiots screaming about a “War on Whites,” which is beyond laughable. This phrase basically translates to not wanting to give up their white privilege. It’s even more ridiculous than Conservative Christians claiming Religious Persecution. These people just like getting their way all the time, and sharing the nation scares them.

Then you have the folks claiming there’s no such thing as white privilege. They are deluded. White parents, the vast majority anyway, do not have to have talks with their children, telling them to be extra careful of the police, so they don’t get shot dead. I won’t have to have that talk with my son.

Others claim that anti-racism means anti-white. This would be the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory. Basically it says white people are in danger of extinction. Let’s say that again, there are people who think white people are going extinct. There is no truth or reason here. This is supposedly being perpetrated by the Jews, too, for extra crazy.

When I expressed these points to the man justifying racism, he called it “white guilt.” I realized then there was no further point in talking to him. You cannot reach the willingly ignorant, so try to band together with the rational. That’s the whole reason I started writing in the first place.

It is not white guilt to have empathy for your fellow human beings constantly being ground down, it’s empathy. This is a human trait, and those who would belittle it only speak volumes of their own small-mindedness. Empathy is not a bad thing. Compassion is not a bad thing. Rationality is not a bad thing.

Semantics, pivots, false equivalencies, insane conspiracy theories, stupid jokes, are all ways of not facing the issue of racist hate that is still very prevalent in America and the world. If the USA is going to call itself a world leader, than it cannot allow travesties like what happened in Ferguson to go unresolved. It’s over a year later, by the way, and it’s still going on. Something is very wrong here.

The Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution copied the Ferguson Hands Up pose. Palestinians sent support to Ferguson residents via social media. The Ferguson protestors themselves were not allowed to stop walking. They had to keep moving, with one designated gathering place under a heavily militarized police watch. That is unbelievably un-Constitutional.

It cuts right down to the bone; many Americans don’t want to hear what these people have to say even in the glaring face of monstrous and repeated injustices. How polite would you be, dealing with that? That’s why you have people burning the American flag. They have lost faith in this country, and I for one, can’t blame them.

Constant degradation has negative social consequences on a population. That’s the issue laid bare. The rest of the world easily sees that. Everything diverting from this is most likely bullshit.

Those who rationalize racism should not be tolerated and should never ever hold office. That they do only displays to the world the gaping social wounds of America. Until we vote these monsters out, this ignorance is going to continue to thrive.

If we cannot accept that Americans with a darker skin color have an infinitely harder time than the white ones, than we will NEVER be able to even hope to resolve this massive and underlying human rights issue.

Or are you comfortable enough with hatred not to do anything about it?