The Ankhesen Mié Lexicon is a continuing series on Ankhesen Mié’s blog. Here is a taste:
Drones
If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.~ Anatole France
This is a term for most white Americans when discussing issues of race. I derived it from the concept of Borg Drones being linked by a hive mind. Drones all respond to things the same way, often verbatim. Yet each drone (mine, not the Borg’s) insists they are an individual with thoughts untainted by their upbringing or their society. Each considers themselves, unique, often “special”, and immune to social and familial racial conditioning.
Drones tend to focus on “agreement” where opinions are concerned. When seeing/hearing other opinions similar to theirs, drones are either comfortable or excited and tend to point out how others agree with their thoughts, so naturally, they must be correct. It never occurs to drones that they’ve simply been conditioned to generate the same thoughts to begin with. In fact, they adamantly resist the notion, insisting they are each unique and special individuals; after all, all their friends and family say so.
Drones also be referred to as Lemmings or Sheeple; they can engage in “drone-speak” or “droning” (which is different from trolling, but still on the same level).
Mira’s Law
Inspired by a guest post, and most recently confirmed by a draptoresponsic patient, Mira’s Law refers to the dislike Europeans tend to feel for white Americans, which white Americans often are unaware of and have made no efforts to truly understand. Mira’s Law also warns against treating all white-skinned humans as a monolith, for on a continent like Europe, being “white” is not a deciding factor. Ethnic heritage, language, attitude, and country of origin are more stressed than mere skintone.
Happy Montage Thinking
This is delusional racism. Whenever a person [read: white] goes on a tangent about how “colorblind” they are, how they believe racism is “dying out on its own” (or even go so far as to say it’s already dead), or that people just need to have more mixed babies and everything will be okay, you can practically hear the sappy music playing in their heads as they envision a peaceful, post-racial world. They’ve skipped to the end of the movie, to the wordless montage in the sugary sweet epilogue which screams, “And they all lived happily ever after.”
People [read: white] often indulge the Happy Montage because they don’t want to talk about the darker part of the film (accidental pun…keeping it!). They don’t want to discuss racism as it is right now. They don’t want to examine their role in its perpetuation. They don’t want to look at their families and communities with a more critical eye. They just want to skip to the happy ending–which they will not see in their own lifetimes, by the way–while not actually doing anything to bring it about. In essence, they’re basically sitting back and letting everyone else–including other white folks–do the all heavy lifting.
See also:
- The Ankhesen Mié Lexicon
- Posts I have done on terms that appear there: drapto, the white chamber, Rented Negroes
- The Glosario
- Abagond’s glossary
Happy Montage Thinking
This is delusional racism. Whenever a person [read: white] goes on a tangent about how “colorblind” they are, how they believe racism is “dying out on its own” (or even go so far as to say it’s already dead), or that people just need to have more mixed babies and everything will be okay, you can practically hear the sappy music playing in their heads as they envision a peaceful, post-racial world. They’ve skipped to the end of the movie, to the wordless montage in the sugary sweet epilogue which screams, “And they all lived happily ever after.”
I thought I was the only one who hears that sappy music. It sounds like something John Williams would compose.
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Abagond:
Lazy thinking is the hallmark of utopian, post-racial thinking. Instead of dealing directly with an issue, they create useless racial cliches that lack substance. Post-Racial is stealth racism against blacks, No Doubt! It’s a gentler, kinder form of racism, but it achieves the same results……Destruction of the “Black Family.” Latin blacks are an example of said mindset. Black people who hate their blackness, and seek to destroy it all costs!!!
Tyrone
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:-DDD Well said ankhesen!
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Practically everyone follows some school of thought that he/she is not the originator of. Most people are followers. Those that try to claim that other people are followers except the ones that agree with them are blinded by self delusion.
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Thanks, Abagond!
Loving the new banner!
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No. That’s not analogous to what I stated at all. It doesn’t even make sense as a statement.
Ankhesen Mié has specifically pointed to White Americans and called them Drones for having a common opinion regarding race, as if those that feel otherwise don’t also share a common opinion among themselves and are somehow better. Most of the people that comment here repeat what each other says and give praise in support of their shared point of views.
Case in point:
Drones tend to focus on “agreement” where opinions are concerned. When seeing/hearing other opinions similar to theirs, drones are either comfortable or excited and tend to point out how others agree with their thoughts, so naturally, they must be correct.
Well said ankhesen!
It never occurs to drones that they’ve simply been conditioned to generate the same thoughts to begin with.
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@ Sagat
Except that what we repeat here, is based off of what racist white people actually/irrefutably do. Whereas racist white people who say the things black people do, are primarily based off of long established and unfounded fears that were applied to blacks from the start. Despite how many times they are disproven, they just tweak the rules, (or use general terms that are always misinterpreted to mean “all”, while intentionally not clarifying otherwise) so they can repeat the same slogans and hold on to the same comfortable beliefs.
Being someone who does the very same thing on his own blog (keeping racist white fear based talking points alive, while masqerading as being an “honest and fair person”), I’m not so sure you should even be commenting on this, yourself. Seems a little disingenuous is all.
TBH, I think Ankhesen should have used the qualifying term “ignorant” to prevent known white racism apologists, such as Sagat, from coming here with his “Backpack Filled with Semantics Arguments.”
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Bulanikgirl,
No. That’s not what it means. Nationality is not independent of the concept a nation. I’ll assist you here:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nationality
The fact that everyone is from somewhere doesn’t mean nationality would cease to exist, as people still come from particular nations. And even your point as you thought it meant had nothing to do with what I wrote. The following tangent that you’ve gone on about lynchings and Germans shows that you didn’t comprehend my statements.
I was simply pointing out that the accusation of calling White Americans “Drones” for having similar viewpoints falls flat when we see the echo chamber here where you gleefully agree with one another. It’s stupid to belittle others as followers, when you’re a follower yourself.
The issue here seems to be that you and others don’t want to accept that you are followers. You really think that your regurgitation of ideas written countless times before is actually somehow original and that you aren’t following the pack. That’s where the self delusion comes in.
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“I was simply pointing out that the accusation of calling White Americans “Drones” for having similar viewpoints falls flat when we see the echo chamber here where you gleefully agree with one another. It’s stupid to belittle others as followers, when you’re a follower yourself”
Sagat, one reason why I agree with this post is because it’s true, and it comes from the experiences of people of color and anti-racist whites, experiences still disregarded by most whites and white-minded people who devalue whatever any POC says about what white people and race. They, like what you’re demonstrating by flipping the script, are trying to avoid roles whites play when it comes to racism.
“The issue here seems to be that you and others don’t want to accept that you are followers. You really think that your regurgitation of ideas written countless times before is actually somehow original and that you aren’t following the pack. That’s where the self delusion comes in.”
Speaking for myself, I know what I believe is not original, but it doesn’t make it any less important or true. Again, blog entries like this and others are depreciated not because of the excuse of following the narrative, but because there are truths within it that certain people can’t handle.
The issue at hand is brought up because of statements, comments, and actions described in the post which seem to happen all the time when racism is brought up.
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Bulanikgirl,
I agree, and some of them frequent to blogs like this one not to learn anything, but to promote their egos and their ideals hoping to change some minds that disagree with them. It’s like it’s never okay to disagree with them, but it’s peaches and cream if we listen to them even when they don’t listen to anyone else who disagrees.
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Once again… People who refer to nationality are racists.
Their problem is their inability to define ‘nation’ or race. Because neither can be scientifically defined.
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Hey, I like emerald and chocolate women.
Hell, I just like women.
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It’s true. A lot of racist white Americans are drones.
Drones who inherit and pass on non-factual and/or overblown beliefs about blacks and other non-white groups.
Whether some of the anti-racist commenters on this site can be put in the same group think type category is irrelevant.
The non-factual and/or overblown part is all that matters…
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I think the drone part was on point for a couple reasons.
1. It was clearly stated that this drone like behavior was observed around the topic of racism specifically. So even though all people can at times engage in drone like behavior, This drone behavior becomes especially clear to POC when dealing with whites in the context of racism.
2. Ive noticed it myself. Let me tell you from a white persons perspective that this is the truth! It’s actually a really good analogy. It doesn’t make me happy to admit that but what can you do? It is what it is.
Most WP don’t critically think about race or racism at all. We don’t question anything, we don’t care, we don’t want to think about it. So, when you don’t question or think critically about something, when you turn that part of your brain off, that leaves you open to influence by our white supremacist/racist society. The generalized racism that surrounds us has an easy way into WP who don’t question what their being fed. So in that way we are all receiving the same signal. We are acting like drones because we’ve turned off our ability to think for ourselves.
The fact that this may also be true of other groups doesn’t make it any less true of whites.
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BrothaWolf said: The issue at hand is brought up because of statements, comments, and actions described in the post which seem to happen all the time when racism is brought up.
And they’re brought up verbatim. What caught my eye is the copy/paste/quote nature of drones. They don’t even pause to rephrase a common ideal in a new way. They just instinctively recite something someone else said and they recite it verbatim.
It’s like a script. They hear “racism” and they immediately chant a slogan to avoid having to have a real discussion about a specific racial issue/incident.
Take, for example, the Michele Bachmann debacle in which it was stated that black children were more likely to be raised in two-parent households during slavery than they are now. Right away, the drones emerged, reciting blatant historical inaccuracies about the experiences of enslaved Africans, and they all justified their arguments the same way: “Just because it’s unfortunate or inconvenient, it doesn’t make it any less true.”
Drones don’t discuss or even debate an issue; they chant. They recite. They drone. If you point out the negative connotations of the Confederate flag, they chant, “Heritage, not hate.” When they want to shut you down in a conversation about race, they all quote the same diluted quote from MLK. When you point out the racism in their own statements, they all reach for the same “I can’t be a racist” credentials – black friends, adopted mixed cousin, Jewish brother-in-law (I’ve actually heard this one in person from a “friend”), or being an anime fan. They don’t deviate from The Script unless it’s been recently updated with new drone-speak.
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I also wrote: …each drone…insists they are an individual with thoughts untainted by their upbringing or their society. Each considers themselves, unique, often “special”, and immune to social and familial racial conditioning.
POC don’t subscribe to the infamous “special snowflake” thinking. While we are individuals and we are not a monolith, we also constantly acknowledge the cultural, linguistic, societal, historical, and familial influences which help shape who we are. When I read a blogger or commenter of color who appears to think the way I do, right away I think this person must come from a background or situation similar to mine, hence our tendency to think and respond in a similar manner. I don’t feel my individuality is threatened; there are 7 billion people on this planet, so I know I’m bound to run into people who are just like me.
Drones, however, all say the same thing the same way and yet every single one wants credit for inventing the wheel.
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So how do you think that this drone mentality functions? I’m sure there are those that actually do copy/paste stuff but generally it seems to come from the individual. Here’s the example I was looking for:
“they all reach for the same “I can’t be a racist” credentials – black friends, adopted mixed cousin, Jewish brother-in-law”
The responses seem scripted because they all come from the same weak understanding of racism. It’s obvious that these “credentials” aren’t valid as such, but they do stem from a certain logic. “if I really was racist, I wouldn’t have any black friends because racists don’t like black people. Therefor I must not actually be racist.”
This would be sound logic if racism only meant open hostility towards POC. WP think if they don’t go around burning crosses and calling POC by racial slurs that they are not racist. This is what we were brought up to believe so it should come as no surprise that we respond to charges or racism by becoming defensive. “I’m not one of THOSE people” “you’ve got it all wrong” etc…To us it’s always “just a misunderstanding” we just need to correct because we “aren’t a bad person”
The truth is that saying something racist doesn’t make you a bad person. It does mean that you should acknowledge the fact that you have done/said something that has had a negative effect on someone else, whether you intended it or not. It does mean that you need to think about what you said/did and why it was wrong and what made you say/do that, even though it’s uncomfortable to think of yourself as someone who could do/say that. You did it. It happened. Now make sure it doesn’t happen again.
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