What, me racist?

Re: Bilestew

Aw crap. You had to bring it up. Fine. OK.

Racism.

Jesus Christ …

Since nobody else is going to say anything...

Racism. OK.

Racism qua racism isn’t necessarily the shared perception of racial superiority by this group or that. The Star Bellied Sneetches don’t have to think “We’re superior to non-Star-Bellied-Sneetches” to be racist. They simply have to think, “We’re going to structure laws, government, culture, religion and informal human relations to give the Star Bellied Sneetches the advantage every time. Go team!”

Racism, in other words, is tribalism. It’s group selfishness. I.e.: asserting the interests of your “race” ahead of all others. That advantage is what counts. The pursuit of that advantage is the essence of racism. The crackpot theories of Hitler, Gobineau et al are a means to that end. But you can be a perfect racist and not have a drop of perceived racial superiority in your secret heart of hearts.

“What, me racist?”

If you favor legal and social systems that gives your “race” a leg up on the other bastards, yeah, you’re a racist.

Racism ≠ the perception of racial superiority.

Racism = the relentless pursuit of racial advantage.

Dig?

A government of laws and not of men is the ideal. But men create laws. And they create them to their advantage. More specifically: groups of men create laws to the advantage of their particular groups.

So, black people (men and women), when they look at the majesty of the Law, tend to see a stacked deck in which the odds are usually in favor of white people. White people say, “Nah, the law is color blind.” Black people say, “If the Law’s so !@#$ colorblind, how come it always kissing your white ass and throwing my black ass in jail?” To which the white person responds, “You’re not saying I’m a racist, are you?”

That’s where Derrick Bell, Cornell West, etc. are coming from. White folk say America’s a color-blind society. They say it’s not. For white people, the dice comes up 7, 7, 7. For black people, it’s snake eyes, snake eyes, snake eyes. They’re suggesting it’s not a coincidence.

I wouldn’t call that “reverse racism.”

I’d go with “intelligence.”