So, I've been thinking, after an exchange RE: Bernie Sanders I had earlier, about racism. About how when black people and white people talk about racism, part of the disconnect is we're often talking about two totally different things.
I think white people, a lot of well meaning white folx, have a problem identifying racism because they have no idea what it is. And this isn't wholly their fault. America has dedicated a lot of effort to sanitizing, washing its history. It can be hard to see if you don't live it.
So white people have been taught that racism is a matter of opinion, one person hating another based on the color of their skin. And, well, sure. That's a part of racism, a symptom of it. But it's not the whole picture. Not even a large part.
That would be like looking at the smile and missing the whole Mona Lisa, racism is, and has always been about power. The Virginian with a conferate flag in his basement has been far less damaging to black people than our continued legal exclusion from the illusory American dream.
If you trace the origins of wealth in the modern American family: the GI Bill, the Homestead Act, the New Deal, you'll find they all have one thing in common. No Blacks Need Apply.
And if you don't think of that when you talk about racism, we aren't having the same conversation.
And if you don't think of that when you talk about racism, we aren't having the same conversation.
You may be wondering why I mentioned Bernie Sanders earlier. He is, for now, the leader of a progressive movement in America, a borderline socialist groundswell addressing a lot of issues politicians are reluctant to discuss.
I understand his popularity, it's refreshing to see someone finally address in the mainstream long ignored truths about how fundamentally imbalanced our society is, someone who is willing to look frankly at our nation's cracked foundation.
Alas, it makes the cracks he misses all the more frustrating.
From his rhetoric around class, Sanders makes it clear he believes a rising tide will fix all boats, redress the economic injustices, and the racial ones will also disappear.
From his rhetoric around class, Sanders makes it clear he believes a rising tide will fix all boats, redress the economic injustices, and the racial ones will also disappear.
From the way he talks about racism, it's clear he too thinks about racism as a matter of hearts and minds, and not about why doors, when opened, don't necessarily open for everyone.
And when you point this out, his supporters get defense. "He marched with King!" "But Clinton" this and "Biden" that. And yes, they are worse.
But I never had hope for them.
But I never had hope for them.
It's frustrating, demoralizing, to see someone *so* *close* either be unwilling, or unable to grow along this fundamental fault line. It's a sobering reminder, if we Progressives of color want our agenda reflected in this movement, we will have to seize its mantle for ourselves.
