My beef is how the concept of "black racism" is being used by predominately white commentators as a nullifying argument whenever the issue of institutionalized white prejudice against blacks is brought up. "Black racism" is supposed to be the mirror brought up to the face of black Americans whenever they attempt to explain (once more) how the effects of institutionalized white prejudice continue to harm them in a variety of ways.
As Abagond explains, the concept of "black racism" is more or less illusory and misleading:
Black racism is not a mirror image of white racism. It is not equal and opposite. Instead it is different in scale and kind:
Blacks lack institutional power. They do not, for the most part, control
- the banks,
- the police,
- the courts,
- the schools,
- the hospitals,
- the newspapers,
- the film industry,
- the fashion industry,
- the labour market,
- the housing market
and on and on. Instead whites do. So much so that their racism affects rates of black unemployment, income, life expectancy, education, segregation and incarceration. Blacks do not even begin to have that kind of power over whites. If wealth is power, as it largely is in America, then whites as a whole are a hundred times more powerful than blacks (that is double what it was before the Great Recession). Even though the president is black, he cannot openly help blacks without being accused of racism.
Internalized racism: The racism among blacks is mostly directed against other blacks, especially against one’s self. Blacks are subject to much of the same racist brainwashing as whites, particularly through television and school. According to one test of racism (the IAT), 42% of blacks are racist in favour of whites!
Blacks understand whites way better than whites understand blacks:
- Because they have to just to feed their families in a society that is mostly white.
- Because they read white books, watch white television, receive white educations, work at white companies, etc. They have to deal with whites. Meantime whites can avoid dealing with blacks or having to take them seriously.
This makes it hard for blacks to stereotype and dehumanize whites to a serious degree.
- Blacks have not committed serious injustices that require racist whitewashing.
- Blacks do not build their sense of self-worth on looking down on whites.
- There is nothing like a black n-word for whites. So much so that most of the commenters on this blog who use racial slurs against whites are themselves white!
- There is nothing like the black Klan. Some whites think the Black Panthers were like that, but they never went into white neighbourhoods to spread terror and lynch white people.
Blacks do commit hate crimes and so on, but to think black racism is equal and opposite to white racism is to miss the nature of both white racism and black racism. White racism is institutional and cultural and a hundred times more powerful. Black racism is personal and, to a large degree, is a weakened form of white racism.
The use of "black racism" as a weapon in heated debate isn't something new, as explained by commentator "sam":
It is very simple to call black radicals racists in USA. That tactic has been used at least since 1950′s against any black movement, person, or this blog, which has been fighting against the racism in USA. It is the easiest and cheapest and fastest way to discredict anybody and very effective.
I don't expect those who are comfortably wedded to the notion of "black racism" being an all-encompassing phenomenon to "get it." Cultivating the notion of "white victimhood" in response to dwindling social power and the loss of their societal punching bags and relief valves requires not listening to any argument that challenges their notions of "black racism." Once someone realizes what a complete crock "black racism" is, the notion of victimhood simply falls apart.
On the other hand:
“bottom line is you can make me the villian if thats what you want to do, but black racism does exist and it is growing like a cancer among some blacks.”
Notice the part, "bottom line is you can make me the villian..."
Some people will feel like they're being chastised or chided over the flawed concept of "black racism." They will reflexively shut down and begin repeating "I'm not the bad guy, you black racist you" meme over and over again until the argument ends. Some people are just like this. Is it our job to find more effective ways of breaking the flaws to them gently? Personally, I don't think so, but others may disagree.
The need for maintaining the black boogeymen as a national sideshow is pretty damn strong. Otherwise you wouldn't see the Tea Party's attempts to mold the New Black Panther party into the black equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan. To the point, groups of black men nationwide will never receive the implicit and unspoken sanction of most parts of the nation to burn down white homes, churches or schools, or to drag white men off the back of pickups or hang them for sport. You won't see the New Black Panthers or anyone remotely like them marching through Main Street in a display of intimidation towards whites. It won't happen because the existing power structure in this country will not allow it to happen.
As I mentioned in the last blog post, some whites are simply afraid of the possibility that any sort of concrete black movement will soon translate into a "black revenge," where blacks seeking compensation for the cumulative effects of institutionalized white prejudice will start by taking away white wealth and social privileges. Some whites see themselves as being a couple steps and one charismatic black leader away from being herded into ghettos. Considering past history, some whites subconsciously feel they're more than deserving of whatever fate they receive. And that may explain the reflexive defense mechanism for issues such as reparations and reconciliation. Perhaps that's one of the reasons Reconstruction was quickly put to bed, and a reason why the concept of a successful black-led nation seems abhorrent to many.
*I never did like the word "racism," as it tends to verbally categorize people of color into different "sub-species" of human being. Such a thing makes it easier for the so-called "predominant race" to treat others as sub-human or non-human. The terms "ethnic background" and "ethnic groups" lend themselves to a more equal footing, putting everyone "on the same page," you may say. That's just my opinion on the issue.
