An essay on racism

Words

Words have meaning. The way we use words can change the world. Sometimes just thinking about what the words mean can change everything we know.

What does the word ‘racism’ mean? To some it means hate. To others it’s an excuse to be cruel and unfair. To some it signifies a crutch to be leaned on while still others see it as a challenge. Like most words, ‘racism’ can have meanings Webster never considered.

The Miriam Webster dictionary defines racism as 1: A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produces an inherent superiority of a particular race. 2: Racial prejudice or discrimination.

Like many people I define racism in my own way. To me racism means making serious judgments about others based on their skin color or race. I consider it to be a subset of ‘prejudice’ which I define as making advance judgments about people without having evidence at hand. Amongst all the stupidities that mankind has invented over the millennia prejudice has to top the list.

If our society would agree on a definition of racism we could move a long way towards peace in this world. Years ago I arrived at my own meaning for the word and applied it to my life. I have since learned that many people are so invested in their own view of racism that any change is viewed as a threat, especially when it attacks the industry of racism which is spawned by hate and fueled by profit.

My own epiphany came during a discussion regarding a senatorial candidate.

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) had invited all candidates to speak to their convention and one had refused. The other party in our discussion held the viewpoint this showed the candidate had little regard for the interests of black people. My return, without deep thought, was that perhaps the candidate simply didn’t wish to associate with racists. I was immediately challenged to explain my point, which forced me to give it more consideration. Often what’s arrived at through instinct needs a grind through the mental mill before it can be intelligently shared with other people.

The point I explained was this: The NAACP is at face value a racist organization. Their very name proclaims they work to give advantage to people based solely on skin color. Is this not the very definition of racism? If the organization was named

The National Association for the Advancement of White People would it not immediately be lambasted by one and all as a racist organization?

There is an argument that ‘people of color’ need help to right past wrongs done to their race. True or not, I simply will not believe that allowing one case of racism to counteract another can be right. Ignoring the inherent racism in an organization formed and dedicated to act based on the color of a persons skin does not make it right. Two wrongs do not make a right. Perhaps the candidate agreed with that idea.

In her essay ‘Why does my race matter?’ Yasmine Bahrani relates her experience of being pigeon holed by race. “Now a whole national dialogue on race is underway. What I have come to want from such an exchange is what I used to think every American wanted: to be taken for who I am” says Bahrani . She states she wants to be judged for herself and not her race. She does not wish to be an object of racism any longer. Her words echo those of Martin Luther King who once said he dreamed of a time when his children would be judged based on the content of their character, not on the color of their skin.

I find myself in agreement with Bahrani and what she says in her essay. I think her point is simple and striking. It resonates in my own thoughts. How healthy will our society ever be when racism itself has become a business? She states “Even so, I prefer to take my chances as an American among other Americans and not to construct an alternate identity out of my ethnic origins as a shield against this hurt”. I regard this as an extraordinarily healthy outlook, both for her and our society as a whole.

Racism is pervasive in our society and I believe one of the reasons is a lack of definition. Situational ethics abounds in the industry of racism and the malleability of the words can be partially blamed. Anytime our society aids and abets ingrained racism by turning a blind eye to one flavor of it while chastising another, the inherent dual standard involved will destabilize our society. Fair is fair, and justice should be color blind. Even a child can recognize that dual standards are wrong.

When I was forced to define what my instincts told me about racism I was also forced to make a decision. Many people have a vested interest in maintaining our society in its delineated racial strata and these people don’t take kindly to having their profitable authority challenged. There is an entire industry formed around the idea that the guilt of racism can be bought off with mere money, when the real answer lies in intellectual honestly. The herd has been schooled to regard as evil incarnate anyone challenging the high priests of racial strife. It’s never easy or comfortable to go against the herd, yet sometimes the words really do matter more than life in the herd.