WARNING: this post is super long and includes YouTube vids. Sorry in advance because I, too, hate watching those in the middle of my blog-stalking.
Today I watched a video posted by two of my Facebook friends with requests for comments. The topic is one that I've thought a lot about and never really come to any conclusions over, so I'm just going to post what I've gathered, and y'all can feel free to comment your own ideas as well.
First, the video that prompted this post. Please, take a looksie:
"Look around and you will find
No one's really colorblind!"
So is it true? Are we all a little bit racist?
This video reminds me of three people: Morgan Freeman, Benjamin Carson, and Louis C.K.
Let's start with #1, Morgan Freeman.
There's been a quote spread all over my social media lately by good ol' Morgan. You've probably seen/read it, but if not:
"How are we going to get rid of racism?"
"Stop talking about it! I'm gonna stop calling you a white man, and I'm gonna ask you to stop calling me a black man."
Woo, go Morgan! says everyone on Pinterest and Facebook. Now, I love me some Morgan Freeman, but is it really as simple as that? Does NOT talking about racism suddenly make racism go away? I think not, but I also don't think that's what he means. I think what he means is something similar to what I learned from...
#2, Benjamin Carson.
In winter semester I decided last minute to go see this Benjamin guy at a forum in the Marriott even though it was inconvenient and I really didn't have time and it was a long walk and so on. It was the best decision I made all year. One of my favorite things he said was this:
"What I have discovered in recent years is that it is virtually impossible these days to talk to a large group of people without offending someone... I really do not believe in politically correct messages and in fact I actually think it’s extremely dangerous. It seems to me like a lot of people who founded this nation came here trying to escape from people who tried to tell you what you could say and what you could think. And here we come reintroducing it through the back door. Really the emphasis should not be on indemnity of speech and indemnity of thought. The emphasis should be on learning to be respectful of people with whom they disagree."So essentially, to heck with "politically correct"; rather, let's just promote respect for everyone's differences. Brilliant! Except it seems to contradict what Morgan said. He claims that we should stop talking about racism, but Ben claims we should say whatever we want about it. .... Wait, what? The key is that they both call for the same result: less emphasis on the issue in general. Hmm, that brings me to...
#3, Louis C.K, who joked about racism on Jay Leno one time and I just happened to catch it and remember it and write an essay for American Heritage with it. I tried to post the clip, but it's "expired" on Jay's site, whatever that means, so there went my comic relief. Sorry. Just read the essay:
The United States of America stand
as a supposed beacon of freedom and equality. Our founding documents stress the
importance of individual liberty and the government’s role in protecting that
liberty. Our nationwide ideology that “all men are created equal” has given
scores of people hope in the American dream. However, these founding ideals
have often been weighed, measured, and unfortunately, found wanting. Both
throughout our history and in today’s current situation, the government has
struggled to come completely clean with the claims it’s made in regards to
equality for every person. No matter how much government may try to eliminate
discrimination, vestiges of racism will remain a part of society due to the
extra attention from the government as well as the traditions of generations
past.
It’s no secret that the government
has tried for years to compensate for the effects slavery and discrimination
have had on people of races other than white, but these attempts now approach overcompensation.
Comedian Louis C.K. bluntly described the discrepancies between government’s
attention to different races when he said, “I'm not trying to say that if
you're white you can't complain. I'm just saying that if you're black you get
to complain more.” The belief that any minority has the right to protest for
reform rightfully has a strong hold in our society because it is listed in the
Bill of Rights. Protests and petitions by minority races have changed the
course of freedoms in America for the better in the past, but some races have
now reached the mindset of excess entitlement, requesting and receiving benefits
they simply have not earned. Affirmative action is an especially controversial
example of unearned payments given to generations that never actually suffered from
the original discrimination. As minority races cry out for benefits from the
government, they simultaneously draw attention to and increase the public’s
dislike of their differences. Ironically, their demand for equality and the
efforts of the government to meet that demand widen the gap between races even
further rather than solving the problem.
In addition to the growing inconsistencies
regarding government action for certain races, the underlying sentiment among
the people is essentially one of forcedly positive racism. Peter Brimelow, an
author interviewed by CNN, stated, “Americans are trained to think that any
explicit defense of white interests is ‘racist.’” Since white people have been
the population’s majority and highest on the social ladder seemingly forever,
people of all races feel that defending white interests contributes to social
inequalities and negative racism. Non-white races tend to complain as discussed
above, and white people often end up feeling guilty for having sought their own
best interests. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with white people
living a life without want, people will tend to view any attempt, even on a
small scale, to assist the white population in obtaining such a life as
prejudiced and unfair.
It is true that younger generations
have more tolerance for diversity, demonstrating the success of generations
past in increasing acceptance. In past generations, interracial couples have
been scorned and even outlawed; today, though, if a teenager sees an
interracial couple holding hands, it will not strike them as improper or even
as strange. On the other hand, if that same teenager sits next to a Middle
Easterner for the duration of a long flight, they likely will have the word
“terrorist” cross their mind, even for just a moment. If they see a woman of
Latino descent working at a fast food chain, they will probably not feel
surprised in the least. These uncontrolled impressions
form the hints of racism that carry across generations, and the government has
only a very slim chance of ever forcing them out of our culture.
In summary, although government may
try, they will likely never succeed in eliminating racism simply because
inequality in society will always exist. We can aim to even out the unequal distribution
of wealth and opportunity by offering benefits to the less fortunate, but only
if these benefits do not outweigh the living standard of the more fortunate. And
then even then, government action will encourage the fortunate to complain that
they must work while the less fortunate free-ride. Essentially, whether
inequality exists between races matters less than the fact that inequality
exists; since government cannot perfectly solve the general problem of
inequality, they also cannot solve the problem of racism. Thus, it is a
permanent fixture in our supposedly equal society, and fretting over it will
not change that reality.
So it's not my best essay ever, and I'm not sure I still agree with it all, but I do still think the racism issue is presently incurable. And if that's the case, why not let it be? If we ARE all a little bit racist, what's going to change that? If some have risen above it, can they pull us up with them? Is it worth it? Will it solve anything? Why don't we take Ben's idea and Morgan's idea and Louis's sarcasm and make an effort to better this level we're at, right here and now? I'll stop making a big deal out of it, you stop making a big deal out of it, and suddenly two people don't have a problem with racism. Keep it up, and soon lots more people also don't have a problem with racism. Maybe by eliminating everyone's problems with racism, we can begin to cure racism itself? Because if there are no problems stemming from it, then racism's not the problem at all, right?
I don't want to make excuses for racism to be okay, but I think the sooner we stop the ever-presently pouncing cry of "RACIST!" the sooner we'll see a lack of racism, and vice versa. It goes both ways, of course. Hmph. Just... everyone cool down, ok?
I know, I know, it's easy for a white girl in America to say.
This is not a real solution, but I'm not sure there is one.
What do you think?
Wow. Great job accumulating all of those sources, 'Lyssa; to me, your analyses seem reasonable and supported. I think the only hope of ever even partially eliminating racism lies in the youth of our society, as you alluded to when speaking of modern-day teenagers viewing interracial couples. Because of the general shift in the societal norm, we have been raised in a time that separates us from the feelings of decades past. When Morgan Freeman pleads for the world to stop talking about racism, he's asking that we raise our children the way our parents raised us: Detached from the bits of us that may be a little bit racist. If we succeed, then there should be no need for political correctness because the "offensive" words don't carry the same stigma for the rising generation that they did in years gone by. I don't claim this method to be perfect, but promoting tolerance as a dogma and refusing to take offense (while easier said than done) has to result in a better society, doesn't it? I don't know; just throwin' my card into the mix. Thanks, 'Lyssa!
ReplyDeleteThank YOU Jared! I agree with everything you've said, especially that bit about gradually detaching small racist parts as time goes on. I believe any progress is good progress, slow and steady wins the race, and any other cliches that describe how true change is instituted. Here's to hoping they work as well on a nationwide scale as they do for one person at a time. Thank you for commenting; I loved reading your perspective.
DeleteI agree with you. I especially agree with you that, while it may not be the cure, making a big deal about every little comment or thought posed by someone will never help eliminate racism. Sure, some comments are just plain mean, but that's a different problem that only stopping unkindness, judgment, bullying, etc, can fix. But then we're getting into solving everyone's personality problems which is not possible in the natural man state.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, just because I have a little pride in my race and heritage and history as a white person and then maybe voice that a little bit doesn't mean I'm putting down others.
Also, I am totally on the bandwagon against political correctness. I have been for a long time and I sure don't keep up with what's 'politically correct' because I don't think that we all should have to worry about whether one word is ok to say today but not tomorrow. It's about choice. I don't choose to get offended when someone refers to me as white instead of Caucasian, or cracker instead of white bread. So if everyone decided to not get their undies in a bunch because someone didn't remember that today's word-of-the-day was black and not African American, we'd all be a lot better off.
In other news, I'm glad Morgan Freeman isn't dead. I like him :)
I like Morgan Freeman too. I want him to narrate my life.
DeleteAnyways...it may be sad to say this, but I feel like I've been taught such a lack of pride in "white culture" that sometimes I feel like there isn't a white culture after all. And obviously there is, but when examples of culture seem only to come from those other than your own, it's difficult to distinguish between being a part of a specific culture and simply being a part of the majority.
Thanks for commenting :)
I like this post. Racism is such a complicated issue that our general public has made huge strides in, but I think you're right that racism will never completely disappear from our country or any other because to a certain extent, it is natural to be made uncomfortable by the "other."
ReplyDeleteI think what Morgan Freeman means to say is that noting race when it is completely irrelevant continues to keep race-as-a-difference-between-us in our mindsets. Certainly if we are trying to describe someone physically, it makes sense to note their ethnicity as much as their hair color. Obviously sweeping statements like "black people are lazy" are damaging, but positive racism is damaging, too, even if it's not as much. I don't need to tell you that my doctor is Asian when I talk about him unless I am noting something that is relevant, which I am probably not. We'll stop qualifying race as much when we stop making note of it when there is no qualifying factor.
However, as much as we don't want to note it in instances of irrelevance, we aren't going to start denying our own heritages (as Bri says), because most of us have pride in our families, our nations of origin, and what our own cultures have brought to the world. THAT'S the kind of thing we don't want to get rid of, but keeps our differences in our minds. As long as those differences are celebratory (like that kind of pride in our heritage), I think they're good. Recognizing our positive qualities should never be divisive.
I think racial stereotypes still play a large role in our minds whether we agree with them or not because they are still so present in our society. People joke about them, people talk about them without realizing it, and it lingers in our social consciousness. I think you're right that "terrorist" comes to mind when we see a Middle Eastern person on a plane because people joke about it so often and TV networks disproportionately cast Middle Easterners in terrorist roles, etc. While many stereotypes are rooted in a truth, many of them are unfair because a few notable members of a particular group that we are somewhat ignorant of did something noticeable and it's what we now associate with them. It's hard to get rid of those associations, because our brains do stuff like that for reasons, but I think it's important to recognize it so we don't open our mouths and make huge, unfair generalizations, because obviously most Middle Eastern people just go about their lives like you and me without being hateful or violent and would like it as much as we do if their crazy Uncle Joe would stop making them look bad.
And Google said I talk too much for one comment. I'm sorry, I'm terrible at succinct writing.
ReplyDeleteAffirmative Action is a rough topic. I won more awards than anyone in my high school senior class on awards night, but got very little scholarship funding because I'm, well, a middle class white girl. It's hard not to feel like that's unfair, but since most ethnicity-based scholarships are privately-funded, maybe that says more about how my own ethnic community does or doesn't give back. Affirmative Action isn't a community helping its own, though, it's an institution weighting its scoring in favor of minorities.
I think it's true that effects of impoverishment and discrimination linger for several generations, just as in our own families, each generation is able to provide a little more than the last. If you're starting at -10 (and it's the fault of a country who stole you from your homeland and forced you into slavery), it's going to take longer to get to the middle class and one could argue that the country which displaced you owes you a little help. This leaves me with very mixed feelings, but I tend to think that at this day in age, a person's finances say more about their opportunity for social mobility than their race. A rich minority kid probably doesn't need any help getting into a university because that kid's parents were likely to be able to help with homework, buy healthy food, provide a stable home life, extracurricular activities, and all the opportunities that money affords us. While that child may have faced varying forms of discrimination or mistreatment based on race, I would argue that a poor white child faces larger obstacles. I think Affirmative Action has outlived its usefulness for most communities, but whenever someone makes a good argument for it, I find myself a little torn.
This got long. Anyway, complicated stuff without easy answers.
I agree. Thank you for adding so much to my own thoughts and perspectives. Also, can I just say that I love the way you use examples??
DeleteComplicated stuff indeed. I was talking to Mariah about an essay she had to write last night regarding the current vitality (or lack thereof) of the American dream. She had sources to synthesize that claimed either a) the American dream is alive and well, and anyone who wants to succeed can through hard work and determination, or b) give it up already, you die in the same social status you were born in. (Ok, they were a little less extreme, but you get the idea.) It made me think of your comment, that last paragraph specifically. Perhaps it would be better overall if we focused the efforts we dedicate to fairness for race to efforts for fairness of opportunity? Also, is Affirmative Action supposed to be capitalized? Rats, I feel uneducated, ha.
Thank you for commenting. Love reading what you have to say.
I think it should be capitalized because it seems like a title to me... I didn't check though, because that's too much effort.
DeleteMAN, I feel like the American Dream is dead because every day I'm like, "I'll never be able to afford a house! Waaaaahhhh!" and then I remember that I can afford dinner and that's a big deal. I feel like the the American Dream is still there, but there are a ton of people who work dang hard and can't seem to climb out up and people who don't work all that hard and are blessed with comfort nonetheless. Caleb and I could be sitting pretty with our salaries somewhere else, but around here, I have no idea how people afford homes. I was talking to my aunts the other day, and no one they know of their generation of home owners would be able to buy their own house today. Real talk.
The American Dream is a formula that doesn't always work? It has a margin of error? I dunno. That's why I feel like safety nets are important for those at the bottom rungs of society. I think fairness of opportunity is the biggest thing.