Friday, July 23, 2010

Race v Racism

We will not get beyond “race” then until we deal with racism itself. Folks however keep putting the cart before the horse. Dealing with racism is a much more difficult proposition than dealing with race. Confronting racism means confronting privilege. It means confronting the reality of power, and the possibility of a redistribution of resources. In a society in which white privilege grants most white folks the right to believe wholeheartedly in the myth of meritocracy, the idea that they have everything they have solely based on their own merit and hardwork, rather than having a huge help from centuries of racial privilege, dealing with racism is a veritable nightmare. So rather than do that, we keep talking about “race.

For 200+ years slaves were not allowed to accrue anything: wealth, inheritance, family valuables, not to mention intangible lessons a mother/father passes to their children, the identity you have as a family member, and had no part in the fabric of American classics, nepotism and cronyism. The advantage did not end in 1863 or 1865 as the South did its best to intimidate with “Jim Crow” laws until 1964.

Tea baggers, who whine about anything no matter how farcical, just say “get over it”.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

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