The following are some notes on “Talking Race and Racism” in bell hooks’s “Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope” (2003). Please note that in what follows “racism” means American white supremacism and “black” in most cases means any person of colour in America.
Some of bell hooks’s observations on the nature of racism based on her 30 years of teaching in America:
- Most Americans think of the Klan and Nazi skinheads when they think of racism. But most American racism is nothing like that. Rather:
- Most Americans, whatever their race, are brainwashed to think and act in ways that support the racist set-up of society. Like the black woman who straightens her hair and then fails to see why her daughter wants to be white.
- A part of racism is the belief that it is natural and hard to change.
- “Learned helplessness”: Deep down most whites know that America is still racist but act as if it is not and put up this front that they are beyond race.
- Most whites know that America is still racist. That is easily shown by asking them if they could be reborn, which race and sex would they choose and why? It is also shown by their discomfort in talking about race. If racism is so dead why are they so uncomfortable?
- Racism lives on not due to a lack of knowledge – at an academic level racism is very well understood – but because Americans are so used to lying to themselves that action does not always follow thought. They have such a hard time telling apart fact from wishful thinking that because they want racism to end they think that in fact it has.
- American society is so separated by race that few whites are forced to listen to a black person for more than 30 minutes.
- The blacks they do come across – maids, Oprah, fellow students, people in countries that they visit – are “reconfigured to the greater good of whiteness”. They are seen as being there to help white people! Like when Jack Kerouac said, “the best the white world had offered was not enough ecstasy for me.” If such black people do speak their minds they are:
- “Playing the race card”: This is the main way whites have of dismissing black accounts of racism. It amounts to a racist ad hominem. It is why a white person can say the very same things about racism and be listened to seriously. When it comes to racism whites have a right to their point of view, blacks do not..
- Whites think they are so much better than blacks that they even think they understand racism better.
- Whites who think racism is the most dead are the ones in whom it is the most alive.
- White people can change. If they want to. She has seen it. To do so they must, like anyone else, learn about racism and then root it out of their own thought and action.
See also:
Another great post, abagond. 🙂
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I like this list and I’d love to read the whole book.
What I find particularly valuable is the last point, about what can be done. You don’t see hat often in discussing race, the proposition for a solution or even what can be done to make it stop, or to make it less strong. More race talk should focus on this, but I guess many (white) people didn’t even come to the point of admitting racism is still here.
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“That is easily shown by asking them if they could be reborn, which race and sex would they choose and why? It is also shown by their discomfort in talking about race. If racism is so dead why are they so uncomfortable?”
That’s funny, I was just thinking about this last night. I was thinking about privilege and how white privilege compares to class privilege. I realized that while I wouldn’t want to trade being middle class white for middle or lower class black, I would trade being middle class white for wealthy black in a heartbeat. (even though I might be confused for a busboy at a country club) it would be worth it hands down.
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I have this woman (early 30s) from TX who has said to me a few times- I wonder, what -does she think I’m racist? That I don’t like her because she is amerasian. She’s asked this a couple of times in response to my asking her to be honest with me about her behavior between us. The funny things is I never even thought of race as being in the equation. I even told her the first time that wasn’t the case. So I’m not sure if she is being manipulative to try and evade answering me truthfully and make it be like I’m over-sensitive about any issue because really I’m paranoid that she is racist or she is slipping out that although I never brought up race- she has an underlying issue with race & doesn’t realize that she is telling on herself now by implying or assuming that I’m making it a race thing. Of course either isn’t cool and maybe it is both- conscious on some level, yet not completely.
Again what I brought up I never mentioned anything close to race or even thought of that. However, because of it I now have to wonder. I also know when I bring up an issue to any of my other friends who I know are not racist, they never start asking me the same questions this woman has to me.
So what are your thoughts to this? Anyone?
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@ Mira,
This is because there is no advantage or benefit perceived by Whites to admitting or improving race relations. Because we live in such a hyper-competitive society where people are competing for limited resource, Whites have no interest in leveling the playing field. This is why I don’t understand why Blacks look to Whites for minimizing the impact of racism instead of focusing on ways to improve our own situation.
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@ lyla,
When you say “She’s asked this a couple of times in response to my asking her to be honest with me about her behavior between us”, can you give examples of this behavior and while I’m asking, did you give her examples?
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I haven’t read Abagond in awhile but my catch-up didn’t disappoint!
bell hooks articulates something I think some would deny with their last breath. I love her writing.
Yesterday while I was jogging a white woman who appeared to be in her 60s or early 70s stopped me. She said, “I see you jogging all the time and I had to tell you, you are just so pretty!” I say , “Oh, thanks.” She continued, “Now, are you American (many people where I live are of foreign extraction)?” Red flag. “Yes, I’m from the midwest.” “Oh I knew it! You have such beautiful posture, almost like royalty. You know, our blacks are just so much better than the other blacks.” The huge, friendly smile she was wearing said she was dead-serious and saw absolutely nothing wrong with her words. She went on to tell me the cream of the crop had been weeded from those ugly tribal savages in Africa once they realized what a great commodity they had to sell, and boy were we lucky for the effort. Her childhood in the Old South had confirmed it! That’s why American blacks like me are so much prettier than “those other blacks.” I stood there not saying a word. When she finally paused I smiled my sweetest smile and said, “Let me stop you for a minute. I have to tell you, you sound utterly ridiculous right now. No, really. You just made a total fool of yourself to a complete stranger for no apparent reason.”
I have never seen a more shocked, bewildered look in my life. She changed from stark white to beet red so fast it was like a startled chameleon.
“But-but–I was COMPLIMENTING you!” I said, “Next time keep racist opinions to yourself. They make you look old.” And I jogged off, leaving her standing there looking totally confused. She clearly did not get it AT ALL. I chuckled to myself because if I told any of my white friends about the exchange they probably wouldn’t believe me, even though she could easily have been their grandmother. I had the hardest time trying to convince a white guy I briefly dated that in my experience most white people think just like this, whether they articulate it or not and that his refusal to even entertain the assertion pretty much confirmed what I was saying.
My dad and I had a good laugh about it and at the end we said simultaneously, “Gawd, they are TOTALLY crazy.” A younger, more militant me would have made it my job to correct people like that but these days my main concern is my own education. Though I do wonder what it will take for real change.
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@
This is because there is no advantage or benefit perceived by Whites to admitting or improving race relations. Because we live in such a hyper-competitive society where people are competing for limited resource, Whites have no interest in leveling the playing field. This is why I don’t understand why Blacks look to Whites for minimizing the impact of racism instead of focusing on ways to improve our own situation.
I agree. People cannot be talked out of their privileges or if so, they will only give up a few privileges if they see that they can gain something of equal or greater worth. I think that the way males can understand this best is by asking themselves whether they would give up their male privileges just because it’s the “right” thing to do. Not many of them would do this.
Frederick Douglass said:
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.”
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I’d like to jump on the bandwagon regarding Jorbia and Lookingfor’s comments.
Just look at all successful social justice movements, from Indian independence to Civil Rights, and even the SA fight against Apartheid. All of them have in common their struggle to obtain freedoms denied to them. They tried asking politely, then more forcefully, then shouting, yelling, and nobody said, “Well gee, those Brown people sure do have a point! Guess we better give them some of that freedom, eh?” Hah! No, instead talk turned to action, and sometimes action turned into force. Sad to say, but sometimes the only way people will hear you is if you refuse to comply with their comfortable little boxed-up world. Like my man Gandhi once said to the General:
The General said – “You don’t think we’re just going to walk out of India!”
Gandhi replied – “Yes. In the end, you will walk out. Because 100,000 Englishmen simply cannot control 350 million Indians, if those Indians refuse to cooperate.”
In the end, the reality is that racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, et al cannot, will not last. Why? Because it’s impossible to maintain control of people you discriminate against once they decide not to do what you tell them.
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Abagond and Butthenwhy,
Your comments about racism/White privilege in America are 100% on point.
Until EVERYONE is willing to admit these truths, the problem of racism in America will NEVER be resolved.
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“This is why I don’t understand why Blacks look to Whites for minimizing the impact of racism instead of focusing on ways to improve our own situation.”
Yeah, this. Racism is so deeply entrenched that it won’t be going away this century (& possibly not the next). Black people, at this point, need to be taking concrete action to improve their lives & put discussions of racism on indefinite hold while focusing on becoming economically independent. Thereby rendering racism’s effects on their lives mostly moot. This comment by jas0nburns says it all: ” while I wouldn’t want to trade being middle class white for middle or lower class black, I would trade being middle class white for wealthy black in a heartbeat.”
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@Lookingforanwers, Jorbia, and Temple
THANK GOD there are actually other people, who appear to care about the black community, that understand this! Their are so many things that we, as a community, can do to help our lot, other than praying/waiting for another community(that has no incentive) to do it for us by changing their general racist mentalities toward us(as if white racism the only factor preventing our collective progression)! Racism is not natural, however, human beings are predisposed to moderate prejudicial beliefs/biases towards out-groups. I think anybody with basic knowledge in human psychology and America’s racial history/politics should know that American racism/prejudice will likely never end.
It’s time that we stop being less idealistic and more pragmatic about black socioeconomic progression.
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Nice post, Abagond. i like the part that says, “Whites think they are so much better than blacks that they even think they understand racism better.” I think it is high time that we all should be fair with how we treat each other, whether black or white. Everybody deserves to be respected in as much as we would like to be respected by our fellowmen.
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So I think i’ve made it clear that in my view racism gets in the way of black Americans more than anything else. However, i’ve noticed that there are quite a few POC commentors on here who are saying that either talking about that doesn’t do any good or it isn’t the main factor. So to those people who say that i would ask the following question…
To what extent do you feel that cultural “blackness” gets in the way as far as achievement is concerned. Or in other words, do you think resistance to conformity into the dominant white culture is in any way to blame for lower than average black achievement? I’m aware that conformity is in many cases not enough and i’m sure people could provide ample examples of that. I’m also aware that forcing POC to conform to the dominant white culture is unfair. But what i’m asking is would or wouldn’t doing so actually help black people be healthier and attain more wealth overall. Would it be in their best interests to do so in the long run?
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@ laromana I hope two things: that she doesn’t feel the need to make it up to me next time she sees me on the trail, and that she didn’t have any children.
Speaking of privilege and self-blindness, your comment reminds me of water-cooler gossip about the Schwarzenegger affair. When a photo of the mistress came out, a coworker who fits the aforementioned description spat incredulously, “And she’s GUATEMALAN.” As if that was the worst part of that whole fiasco.
I couldn’t resist needling, “Yeah, can you believe that? The only thing worse would have been if she was black, huh?”
I had to correct the same coworker when discussing the war raging in Mexico. She insisted it’s just “The Mexicans” down there killing each other.
I had to tell her “I think you mean drug dealers. I imagine ‘The Mexicans’ are just as sick of the depravity as you would be.”
Gotta love normative whiteness.
I swear, I’m gonna make a photo book out of making people turn redfaced.
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My boyfriend lives in Indiana and deals with pampered white people most of the time. He told me this story of a woman that came up to him in bar and said that the Japanes desreved those earthquakes because they’re Godless and Pearl Harbor. She said it with a straight face and I think she was excepting to agree. He replied ” So, I guess 9-11 was for slavery and Jim Crow.
“I had the hardest time trying to convince a white guy I briefly dated that in my experience most white people think just like this, whether they articulate it or not and that his refusal to even entertain the assertion pretty much confirmed what I was saying.”
People never like to be the bad guy and love playing the vitcim. I think most people tend to do this. A couple of months ago, I was attacked by a guy that thought I was a crackhead because my lips are dark. and I dress gothic lolita.He told me that my kind doesn’t belong over here. My black friends had a very hard time believing the stories. One of Mexican friends said that she never met a racist Mexican. I think she did, but couldn’t see it. I think blacks and whites feed into each other. In my expereince both black and whites act like this. I don’t competely sympathizing 100% percent with black folks because they were given the excalty the same privilages as whites, they would act excalty the same way. If you wrote two articles, Why are Whites so racist ? and Why are Black so homophobic, the bs comments will come and sound like. Each will rationalize only the extremist do that and doesn’t represent the majority.
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“Black people, at this point, need to be taking concrete action to improve their lives & put discussions of racism on indefinite hold while focusing on becoming economically independent.”
See Manning Marable’s “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America” for the reasons why that is unlikely to happen. Capitalism and racism are tightly linked and in a country where whites control essentially all of the access to capital, that’s going to be next to impossible. Why do you think a strong black business class has never emerged in this country.
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@Jas0nburns
I believe I am one of the commenters you are referring to, so here goes my response:
I want to make it clear to everybody that I do not believe we should ignore white racism. We should talk about it and all Americans should be made aware of institutional and historical racism and the socio-economic affects they have had/have on Black America. That being said, I believe the amount of focus we give towards racism should be proportional to the amount of the affect institutional racism currently has in perpetuating racial inequality.
“White ppl aren’t to blame for PERPETUATING the racial inequality in America tho. I mean you can say white racism is at the root, but I would only say 20% or less of inequality can be attributed to institutional racism. A big enough number for the blaming types to focus all of their attention to, but its def not the root of PERPETUATION. Most of the rest is the culture/mentality(65-70%) too many blk folks adhere to.”
This link helps illustrate that point.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081217124150.htm
To your questions:
“To what extent do you feel that cultural “blackness” gets in the way as far as achievement is concerned.”
-A lot
“do you think resistance to conformity into the dominant white culture is in any way to blame for lower than average black achievement?”
-Yes, well.. somewhat
“would or wouldn’t doing so actually help black people be healthier and attain more wealth overall. Would it be in their best interests to do so in the long run?”
-Possibly, however, I believe that African Americans should retain their culture, while making some adjustments(mainly to family structures & value of education)
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Jas0nburns,
You are mistaken, thinking every Black person uses racism as a marker for their achievement.
For example, I have always thought of myself equal, don’t think white people have to praise me, but am I suppose to take racist crap in the face? Have some imbecile gloat about being superior to me and listen to the ” if only blacks would do such and such, we’d be better off?” BUT WHITE PEOPLE JUST LOVE THE BLACK SHARECROPPER STORY and ignore the many generations of successful Black folk, because it doesn’t fit their stereotype of inferiority which only a few escape. Whites are not defined by their drug addicts, thugs, poor, illiteracy or their failure to be productive only are the non model minorities are.
Black culture is a few hundred years old in this country and it is not what the media portrays. What you see is American culture with a Black twist. When the Negro sang “Go Down Moses” it didn’t mean they were looking for one. One by one, two by two and so on, many found their way to freedom.
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@Hey Now
“See Manning Marable’s “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America” for the reasons why that is unlikely to happen. Capitalism and racism are tightly linked and in a country where whites control essentially all of the access to capital, that’s going to be next to impossible. Why do you think a strong black business class has never emerged in this country.”
I haven’t had the chance to read this book yet, but judging off of the title alone, it sounds like a bunch of ideological b*llshit. I scoped some of the chapters on Amazon’s website and it seems as if I have already researched most of what he discusses in the book(and probably agree with a lot it). However, I disagree that Black people need socialism or white racism to end in order to progress(two things that will likely never happen in the US). Capitalism is just fine. The main reason why it hurts blacks is bc we lack the education & skills to compete in such an economic system and that is 100% completely our fault. Black people have the opportunity to make sure our children are educated and develop skills and it is not the responsibility of white society to provide that for us.
Smh… I get tired of people discussing black folks as if we are a child-like race that needs White God to do everything for us. We have plenty control over our situation. Unfortunately, people just fail to realize that. They take the presence of white racism and claim it is the ONLY FACTOR that hurts blacks economically. What about education? What about parenting? Why do people like to brush these things to the side as if they do not matter?
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@Hathor
“For example, I have always thought of myself equal, don’t think white people have to praise me, but am I suppose to take racist crap in the face? Have some imbecile gloat about being superior to me and listen to the ‘if only blacks would do such and such, we’d be better off?'”
Society is always going to be society and it will always have its good and bad. There is nothing we can do to help that. YOU are the only person that has control of your mind. You don’t have to be mentally affected by white racism if you don’t want to. You don’t have to let talk of racial superiority or black pathologies get you down. Do what I do and just laugh it off. Think about how YOU think of YOURSELF and not about what society or other individuals believe. What some Stormfront jerk thinks about you is not important and it certainly does not trump anything that you believe/know about yourself.
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“You are mistaken, thinking every Black person uses racism as a marker for their achievement.”
I don’t think I typed anything that would allude to that. Or maybe I don’t know what you mean by “marker”.
“Have some imbecile gloat about being superior to me and listen to the ” if only blacks would do such and such, we’d be better off?” BUT WHITE PEOPLE JUST LOVE THE BLACK SHARECROPPER STORY and ignore the many generations of successful Black folk, because it doesn’t fit their stereotype of inferiority which only a few escape. ”
That’s true. I’m aware that there have been many successful BP. But I was actually referring to the many comments made by POC on this blog.
Many POC commentors here think that racism and WP aren’t to blame for lower than average black achievement, and even if WP are to blame it doesn’t do any good to talk about it because WP aren’t going to change.
I don’t think that the POC who make those type of comments should be ignored just because it doesn’t totally fit in with common AR narrative/dogma. So my question (to them) was if you take racism out of the equation, what is it exactly that IS getting in the way.
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@Jas0nburns–
There’s no “cultural blackness” of the sort you speak of here. All Americans are “culturally” American. And whiteness is no guarantee of achievement (or how do we explain all of the non-achieving & underachieving white people). So, in answer to your question–whiteness or conformity into whiteness is definitely not required for any individual to achieve. What’s required for achievement is a home-culture that places a premium on knowledge, education, & encourages curiosity.
As to your first point, I have no problem talking about racism. Venting removes the feeling of isolation & relieves the stress & anxiety of daily encounters with racism. What I’ve often observed with whites is that while some can be informed & can accept the IDEA of racism. It’s much easier, due to self-interest, entrenchment & denial, to rationalize and/or dismiss the FACT of racism & it’s effects on the racialized. So, while conversations about racism are beneficial, in the end, talk is cheap. Positive action leads to power.
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“See Manning Marable’s “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America” for the reasons why that is unlikely to happen. Capitalism and racism are tightly linked and in a country where whites control essentially all of the access to capital, that’s going to be next to impossible.”
@ Hey Now–
Thanks for the rec. I’ll look into this. I’m reading Marable’s Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention now.
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“How Capitalism…” really opened my eyes. A must read. If you like it you should also check out the book that inspired it: “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.”
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Thx Temple and Cynic for answering my question. Even though you gave me totally opposite answers and so i’m no better off 🙂 I suppose that’s the nature of these things though, all questions lead to more questions and the closer you get to the truth the less certainty you find.
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@ jas0nburns
“To what extent do you feel that cultural “blackness” gets in the way as far as achievement is concerned. Or in other words, do you think resistance to conformity into the dominant white culture is in any way to blame for lower than average black achievement? I’m aware that conformity is in many cases not enough and i’m sure people could provide ample examples of that. I’m also aware that forcing POC to conform to the dominant white culture is unfair. But what i’m asking is would or wouldn’t doing so actually help black people be healthier and attain more wealth overall. Would it be in their best interests to do so in the long run?”
I do think it is wise to know when and how to pretend to conform to any dominant culture (emphasis on pretend). “When in Rome do as the Romans do”. Notice this phrase is qualified by ‘When in Roman’ not any and everywhere and ‘do as Romans do’ not become Roman.
The trick is to maintain Black culture privately at home and among friends while pretending to conform to the dominant culture when necessary (specifically at work, or engaging the dominant culture at large). Even when it comes to simple things like music, I listen to all Black music but know just as much about White music as if it were my own, and when I talk with them, I keep it on their stuff and everything is fine. More business cards, more business connections, more free business lunches etc, etc… They are not interested in our stuff but that’s their loss that’s all. I get to appreciate all their stuff and they don’t get to appreciate Luther.
No, we should not have to always conform BUT one thing about Whites (who are the dominant culture) is that they make it very difficult for those who do not think and act the way they do. They cannot tolerate diversity of opinion. They just withdraw (with all their resources in tow). Only the White view is reality to them. So to the extent the Black culture (or Blackness as you put it) is perceived to be different from their cultural norms, yes it will hinder Black achievement.
Now let me say something else that may seem very controversial for some here. There are some things the Blacks can learn from the White culture.
1.White culture understands the value of building coalitions to accomplish a common goal. They don’t need to like each other first or agree on everything. As long as they have a common goal on the issue at hand, they will work together on that specific issue. Very useful skill. Black culture requires that you get along first on virtually everything before you can work together – very limiting.
2.White culture (among themselves) put peace before truth. In other words, they would rather hide how they really feel in order to keep the peace. They don’t like to upset the apple cart among themselves. Black culture puts truth before peace. Always a need to “tell it like it is”. In the long run I’ve found peace before truth to be the better approach to building many relationships, and at times, I’ve found having peace to be more valuable than telling ‘truth’ or ‘telling it like it is’.
3.White culture understands the value of building long term business and municipal relationships. They would refer each other for business, do favors and give things for free just to build up some chips that they can cash in if needed in the future.
4.They know how to prioritize. They don’t get distracted from the things that are of value to them and inadvertently sacrifice the things that matters most. They don’t curse out their boss and get fired. They don’t get into fights over a look and potentially lose their lives when they have kids at home to support. They maintain life insurance to build wealth for their children and they don’t obsess over things that have little impact on their bottom line or ability to support their family.
These four things are virtually non-existent in the Black community and we would do well to study their success in these areas. Their gains are not just through exploitation. Although they act in some ways I totally loathe (constant denial for example) they actually have some very interesting cultural skills that have contributed to their success.
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“So my question (to them) was if you take racism out of the equation, what is it exactly that IS getting in the way.”
Racism is what is getting in the way. It can’t be taken out of the equation because it is the exact cause of the problem. It is what separates American Blacks from all other blacks — no other group of blacks has been greatly outnumbered and continuosly surrounded by their oppressors for 400 years in the way that we have. Others may also have been enslaved or colonized, but they still managed to keep their cultures intact, and, in the end, have had their oppressors go back home or give up the reigns of authority to the black majority. American slavery and Jim Crow have ended (only to be replaced with covert Jim Crow) and American whites haven’t gone anywhere! Not only have we suffered enslavement, murder, rape, and all types of social discrimination, but we have also been told for 400 years that we are: dumb, ugly, criminal, smelly, violent, immoral, sexually promiscuous, lazy, dirty, subhuman.
Few of these other blacks have had to continuously live with the types of brainwashing and the indoctrination while being we still struggle with today. And the brainwashing has been so thorough that many of us don’t even realize that they’ve been brainwashed — but they still manage to ensure that younger generations of Blacks don’t escape the self-hate they’ve been indoctrinated into accepting as natural and justifiable.
Blacks deep down believing they’re dumb, ugly, unworthy and incapable of success because they are black — the effects of long-term racism are insidious, and they won’t disappear by denying them, ignoring them or brushing them aside…I only wish things did work that way.
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I’m starting to get the feeling that some people want black folks to be seen as a perpetual victim class. This is why you see attempts to discredit any feasible solutions to common black problems that involve black people doing anything to help themselves. I believe this is a reaction to white racism. In order to validate their race and themselves, to convince themselves that they are not inferior, they must reject any notion that their is anything black people are responsible for. Everything can and should be blamed on whites. Blacks must be defenseless and incapable of responsibility. If you can’t blame whites directly then you must come up with grandiose theories of brainwashing and self-hate that force some black people to adopt anti-social behaviors. That way, you can indirectly blame white society while diverting any attention towards obvious cultural problems(OOW children, 1 parent HHs, disregard for education) that prevent black economic progression.
These people are really shooting themselves in the foot. To say that the well being of contemporary black society is 100% at the will of white attitudes towards blacks, is to say black people are infinitely doomed.
The solution to this damning mentality is to start valuing your opinions more than those of racist whites. Stop feeling you must be accepted by white society in order to validate yourself, your race. Start thinking about social and economic inequalities in a progressive way. Yes, we are victims, but when it comes to building the black community and overcoming racism, we need to think like warriors. If not, then you have already lost the fight…
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The Cynic
To laugh it off can be dangerous, because if those fools ever find a charismatic leader it could lead to violent action. In the mid-west there have been assassinations of prominent people who happen to be Jewish. Fortunately the FBI has had success in keeping such groups in check.
There are elements in the Tea Party movement who would be also susceptible.
Sometimes it is not words that are an affront, they are symbols. I am currently living in a nursing home for rehab and out my window the house across the street, flies the German flag of WWI, the flag of Nazi Germany and the Bennington flag, which some Tea Party members fly.
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Lookingforanswers,
I don’t agree with your 4 premises. I think your exposure to Black people is limited.
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Jas0nburns,
I don’t always look for racism as the first factor when something doesn’t go right, but if racism is blatant I know it.
Sometimes it might be sexism, since my jobs have been previously male dominated jobs and other times it takes longer to see the pattern of discrimination when I know I’m qualified. It is not arbitrary, My qualifications are determined by test. Thing is, it doesn’t stop me in achieving my goals,
If there had not been racism, racism and discrimination in social policies, welfare and Urban renewal; Blacks would not be in the state they are in. Welfare broke up families, white families too and urban renewal highway projects broke up the Black communities which sustained their culture. You cannot erase Jim Crow, slavery and the garden variety racism. You can not take racism out of the equation.
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Abagond:
This is the ugly truth about white racism……Most whites assume that they’re fooling black people. Whites think and act the way they do, because of false assumptions and premises. As black people, we think that whites interact with us a certain way because they’re supposedly better than us, Wrong! All whites know that a lot of us are not as educated as we should be about african history, african-american history, colonization, and so forth. The lack of proper study and education on our part makes it easy for whites and other non-blacks to to exploit our race and culture. Entertainment and sports are a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Black people have heavy influence in both areas, but, Who benefits the most from our artistic and athletic talent? White people, of course. An educated mind is our best defense, Always!
Tyrone
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“Who benefits the most from our artistic and athletic talent? White people, of course.”
Yep, I get a check from the NBA once a month. Every white person does. Yall didn’t know?
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@ jas0burns
First off this will be the only time I’ll type to you.
Secondly, Wow. I’m pretty sure when Tyrone said that whites benefit the most from black artist and sports he didn’t mean ALL WHITES. He meant the ones that own the record companies and the ones that own the sports teams,the stadiums and manufacture clothing lines and own the stores that sell these clothes, records and sport memorabilia are benefiting. Not to mention their relatives, children, grand children and great grand children; so on and so forth. Maybe even their first second and third wives.and their children.
Oprah is a great example of this. If she is worth billions, guess what the owner of the channel that housed her show is worth. They won’t pay you a DOLLAR if they are not making HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. Guess what, the owner of the station wasn’t a black person.
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“He meant the ones that own the record companies and the ones that own the sports teams,”
And he’s right, and so are you. But those WP have nothing in common with the other 99.9% of WP in America. That was my point. You and I probably have way more in common than any WP you or I know does with the WP you and Tyrone are talking about. But I forgot race is all that matters. My bad.
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@ Hathor
“Lookingforanswers,
I don’t agree with your 4 premises. I think your exposure to Black people is limited.”
You don’t agree with me? Fine. But you have just confirmed for me that your powers of perception are definitely lacking. I grew up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the entire country by anybody’s measure. You couldn’t decipher that about me, a black guy from the hood, but you think you can decipher the minds of white people?
And we wonder why they don’t think we are a serious people.
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@ The Cynic
“obvious cultural problems(OOW children, 1 parent HHs, disregard for education) that prevent black economic progression.”
100% co-sign. This cocktail of dysfunction is the number one problem facing the Black community today. Racism comes after these. Everyone but us seems to understand this. Why do we refuse to even discuss it?
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@Lookingforanswers
When I was reading over your list of supposedly white qualities I was like “wow, you must know some special ass WP” because the ones I grew up around have all those same issues that you seemed to be saying were more a problem for blacks.
Maybe there is some confirmation bias floating around among blacks as well as whites. We aren’t near as together as some seem to think trust me.
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@ jasonburns
Maybe then I should narrow my comments to middle and upper-middle class whites because that’s who I’m around 90% of the time when I’m at work and see these things at play. When I go home, I’m around lower-middle to lower class Blacks 99% of the time.
Maybe its a mistake to compare between classes. I’ve never been around lower class Whites so I have no idea what they are like.
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Abagond:
jasOnburns
It’s always been about money and power, Always! Most of the bs that black people are forced to deal with on this planet is about money and power. Black people are blessed to be black, No Doubt! But, we pay a heavy price for it at the same time. Our beauty, sexuality, art, music, and dance are a double-edged sword. As black people, we have a tendency to shy away from what’s real and focus on the trivial. On the other hand, those who are not black have a tendency to exploit black culture for their own benefit, knowing that it may not be the best outcome for both parties. The criminal justice system is another example of money and greed screwing both parties. Black males are brainwashed to be thugs and badboys for the benefit of white judges, lawyers, and cops. What’s the end result? Innocent black people lotheir lives over bs, as well as people of other races as well. Yes, crime is good for the wallets and pocketbooks of white people, but look at all of the death and destruction that is created in the country because of white people exploiting the ignorance of some black people for profit, It’s Evil! Wonder why I have a razor in my tongue, because of bs like that?
Tyrone
Reality Mode
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Exactly this.
“Yeah, this. Racism is so deeply entrenched that it won’t be going away this century (& possibly not the next). Black people, at this point, need to be taking concrete action to improve their lives & put discussions of racism on indefinite hold while focusing on becoming economically independent. Thereby rendering racism’s effects on their lives mostly moot. This comment by jas0nburns says it all: ” while I wouldn’t want to trade being middle class white for middle or lower class black, I would trade being middle class white for wealthy black in a heartbeat.””
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@the cynic
Please start you’re own blog. You make so much sense
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You have to love black people and the fools on this blog. black people are 24 percent of New York City’s population but they commit 68.5 percent of all murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults in NYC last year. Hundreds of thousands of data points that reveal a hard truth: any given violent crime in New York is 13 times more likely to have a black than a white perpetrator. Some black residents are law-abiding but the incidence of criminal activity among young black males is off the charts.
Despite this a poor black with average to good grades can go to any college he wants to. If you’re white, you have to be politically connected or be a great student to get into an elite university. Blacks have more benefits than anybody in society but they deny it because it gives them an excuse for failure.
Criminal activity among blacks is the poison of cities and of race relations in America.
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Abagond, you have to approve comments before they are posted, right? Why do you even let generalized drivel like the comment at 22:00:12 make it through?
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Abagond:
Joshua
Crime and violence are major factors, as Joshua stated. Why do so many black males fall into the trap? Abagond, allow me to get mental for a sec? The character flaw that I see in a lot of blackmen is “Groupthink.” A lot of us have a tendency to think and act as a group, and not as individuals. Most so-called experts often overlook this obvious flaw. Why? I have no idea. It’s an interesting topic to discuss further at another time.
Tyrone
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Co-sign, we are reading to our children every night, actively involved in their education. Try, try, and try again until you succeed. Never give up is our family mantra.
* Abagond, could you erase the other one* I was trying to use the quotations-hopefully this one works out right.
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I’m sorry baby, but that is about the most racist piece of trash i have ever read. first it starts with racism means white supremacism ??? So no other race has racist people among it ??? no one is racist against white people ??? the black man preaching death to the white devils, crackers, honkys, snow bunny, etc……… none of that is racist ???
and to claim that when white people claim racism, they are taken seriously ??? WOW !!! LOL !!! That is some really funny shi* !!!
the black woman who straightens her hair is trying to look white ??? as a white man who has always love black women, that one really pisses me off. is a white women who gets a perm trying to look black ??? no, she is trying to accentuate her own features. is a woman trying to be a martian if she uses blue eye shadow ? wow !!! LOL !!! no, black women like any other women, and men for that matter , try hair styles as well as clothes and shoes and glasses that make their own features stand out and to be more attractive. that is such a demeaning and yes, racist idea.
and as usual , whitey, whitey, whitey, whitey needs to change. it’s all whitey’s fault. where i grew up i felt so sorry for the black girls when i was a kid. i would watch black guys telling them they wasn’t nothin’ but n******. THEY WOULD NEVER BE NOTHIN”. they were ugly. they weren’t pretty like white girls ????? they needed to sell that thing. whitey would never let them be anybody anyway.
no, this article is nothing but vicious , racist ideology . I think in the end , the devil’s 3 greatest weapons are , The Holy Bible, The Holy Quran , and any history book ever written.
Humanity is such a sad and pathetic thing
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Robert Colvin:
Try reading the post instead of reading things into it that are not there. It does in fact state that blacks are racist, in particular this:
You gave examples of your own, even though you did not like hooks’s.
White supremacism is a set of ideas. You do not have to be white to believe in it (or act in ways that support it) anymore than you have to be Roman to believe in Roman Catholicism.
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Well, that’s going to cut down on a lot of my reading material.
Thanks
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no, this article is nothing but vicious , racist ideology
I see you have a problem with black people.
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