I sincerely wish that we could look back on racism and laugh. In a time when high-schoolers have never lived a moment of their lives without the faceless internet, one might think the concept that you can tell what a person is going to do by looking at them would be over, a relic, a foolish notion of our ancestors. Like the divine right of kings or war being good for the health.
Alas, no. The practice of categorizing people based on ethnic lines still thrives, and not just with the aged, at whom we can shake our heads and say they don't know any better, but with everyone. Racism, like the inalienable human rights we claim, seems to recognize no boundaries,
Part of the issue stems from ethnic pride, of all places. We wave our foreign flags, toast in the few non-English words we know, and tell our children that the nationality of our forefathers is superior to the others. Our food is the best. We built this country. Our noble ancestors did this or that great thing, and our fellow Blankians (where blank is some race, creed, or nationality) conduct affairs in the best way possible. Not like those other people.
By aligning ourselves with things we did not do, with a history we took no part in creating, we put ourselves and our children into a category. And if we're in one, everyone else must be as well.
Another source of the persistence of racism is far more wide-reaching than holiday bluster. Turn on your TV and see how Obama is doing with white Catholics. Go to work and talk to the marketing people about their strategies for the urban vs. suburban markets. Institutions which make their living based on what people choose perpetuate the concept that groups of individuals can be fit into tidy, preordained boxes.
On one side, this is nonsense. Chaos theory can't predict the movements of caribou – why would statistics predict what free-thinking humans will do? The trouble is, on the other side this makes perfect sense. Of course people from the same background who live in the same neighborhood, attend the same church, send their children to the same school will tend to do some of the same things. As social beings, we feed off of each other, learning our language and behaviors from those surrounding us.
So, fine. Some tendencies of pockets of people can be predicted. I'm from New England and I drink too much. As all animals do, we learn. Last time I touched a porcupine, I ended up with these weird needles stuck in my hand – best not do that again. So, if the first few times I see people from New England they're drunk, I learn.
As an employer, then, should I assume that if I see UVM on a resume I should not hire this person? I mean, they'll be late all the time nursing that hangover.
But people aren't porcupines. Plenty of people in New England don't drink at all. We've all met Irishmen that have never been in a fight, Italians without mafia connections, anglos that can dance, Latinos that aren't emotional, etc.
That last bit raised an eyebrow, yes? We have no problems discussing the irish, italians, and anglos, but throw in a protected class and the racism-ometer spikes, doesn't it? And not because we're afraid someone might hear us, but because we're afraid we might be tagged as racists and lose our jobs.
This seems unfair. It's not. When our parents were kids, a few black guys tried to go to college and the National Guard had to show up. When our elderly remember their grandparents, they remember people who lived with – and fought a war over – the concept that people from Africa were better off living as Christian chattel than pagan free men. If asking people to tip-toe around a few issues is all it takes to bring our nation closer to the vision laid out in the Declaration, then too bad. Next time you swell with pride over the accomplishments of your ancestors, consider a little political correctness to be the payment. I know you never owned any slaves; you didn't fight in WWII either.
Any time we give the government the right to decide what people can and cannot say or think, we should get very nervous. A watchful eye must be kept on this, to be sure, but until we stop both individually and institutionally classifying people into genera based on tannin-level, it is for the best.
4 comments:
As I'm sure this is no surprise, I agree in part, but disagree in part with your post. I believe all men are created equal in that they all have basic rights, and a soul from God. However, that does not mean that all men are equal. This has nothing to do with amounts of pigment, melanin, etc... It has to do with abilities and capacities. That aside, when it comes to politically correctness I draw the line in the sand. You see Alex, if people of whatever color, race, creed, sexuality, want to be considered equal amongst all in society, then it has to be all or nothing. Only then can you have true equality. Either all people are a "protected class" or none are. By perpetuating the notion that certain people are "untouchable", in terms of stereotyping, etc... or maintaining that some groups have to atone for past sins that are decades, even centuries old, we are doing everyone a disservice. Until that is changed, true equality will not be attained. The judging of one based on content of character will not be reached, if we're forced to "protect" based on the color of skin. Moreover, while the utopian notion of pure equality would be great and I'll be the first to admit that it would, it can be argued that it just is not within human nature. I mean come on, you're an avid student of history as I am, yes? Tell me then, have you ever known any civilzation to have pure harmony, when it comes to these issues? The answer of course, is no. Is it unfortunate? Yes. Is it likely to change? doubtful.
I used to have the attitude that minorities who placed the burden of past injustices on modern white society had no right to do so. Then I lived and worked in the real world for about ten years...since then I've come to realize that racism is still prevalent-shockingly prevalent. I hear terms on an almost daily basis that I thought went out of style with whitewall tires and woody station wagons. How anyone can think that the average black man truly gets a fair shake in our society is beyond me. I agree with Alex: political correctness is a small price to pay for continued injustice.
I'll second that goose.
I whole heartedly agree with you Alex, until you get near the end there.
Assigning different privileges or penalties to different groups merely cements the divides between them. This has always appeared to me to be the fatal flaw of political correctness. By putting so much focus on how people are different it locks everyone into the categories you're referring to.
"By aligning ourselves with things we did not do, with a history we took no part in creating, we put ourselves and our children into a category. And if we're in one, everyone else must be as well."
If this is the cause of racism, how can perpetuating it be the cure?
And Alex if no one can talk about the elephant in the living room, no one can do anything about it. Banning certain topics of discussion, at best, prevents people from developing a better understanding of each other. At worst it furthers resentment and distrust.
wait a minute--I don't think we're talking about government sponsored programs like affirmative action or no-child-left behind (pardon me while I shiver in digust), we're talking about biting one's tongue when we feel like talking about how much better we are than everyone else or when we feel like throwing out an epithet or racially charged phrase. It isn't exactly a great burden--in fact most political correctness falls under the guise of plain old courtesy. I don't think courtesy serves to perpetuate our differences.
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