Hard_Rom
Northumbrian Skald
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2014
- Posts
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America's black president and its white supremacy
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/racism-america-election-obama-clinton-1.3791033
Mention white supremacy in America the next time the conversation turns to the U.S. presidential election, and watch what happens. Heads avert, a few eyes roll, and the conversation resumes, unruffled, after a few polite smiles.
The phrase is regarded as extreme — a gross exaggeration of problems America has, after all, tried to solve. Why, the president of the United States himself is black, and he never uses terms like white supremacy. Which is interesting in itself, because it goes to show the extent to which the American polity is gamed for white ascendancy.
Even a black leader cannot mention systemic discrimination against black Americans without nodding sympathetically to the grievances of white Americans, many of whom believe they are the victims in a politically correct world that values "diversity" over (their) merit.
The very word diversity is seen by millions of Americans as code for quotas and reverse discrimination. White conservatives talk wistfully about "colourblindness," something they seem persuaded actually exists.
Prof. Eddie Glaude, dean of the department of African American and religious studies at no less an institution than Princeton University, politely offers the following definition of white supremacy in America: "The belief that white people matter more than others."
In his rather ironically titled book, Democracy in Black, Glaude puts forth a powerful argument that white supremacy — racism — is not an aberration, the thoughts and actions of a hateful few, but rather a value baked into American democracy from its inception.
The founders, Glaude points out, were capable of jarring cognitive dissonance; even as they created a shining city on the hill with freedom and justice for all, they owned slaves. They saw no contradiction in that. And, writes Glaude, that disjoint continues to this day.
"Think about it this way," he writes. "When communists declare that Stalinism wasn't really communism, or when Christians and Muslims say that the horrific things some Christians and Muslims have done in the name of their religion isn't really Christianity or Islam, what are they doing? They are protecting their ideology…"
Likewise, he says, Americans separate the pristine ideal of America from its ugly realities: "We keep treating America like we have a great blueprint and we've just strayed from it. But the fact is we've built this country true. Black folks were never meant to be full-fledged participants."
Black Americans are harassed and killed by police and imprisoned in grossly disproportionate numbers. They are much poorer, twice as unemployed, more uneducated, and lead the nation in deadly diseases.
There is really only one explanation for that, unless you actually believe blacks are more intrinsically criminal, sick and stupid.
Blacks are constantly blamed for their own suffering, and Donald Trump is trying to ride that shibboleth right to the White House.
One of his campaign architects is Steve Bannon, the former head of the Breitbart website — which seems to relish singling out blacks for all sorts of sins, accuses Black Lives Matter activists of encouraging cop-killers and obsesses about "black crime" and "black-on-black crime."
(Yes, it is true most crime against blacks is perpetrated by blacks. And most crime against whites is perpetrated by whites. But there are no accounts of "white-on-white" crime.)
What's remarkable, though, is the crashing silence from Democrats about the life of black people in America. Hillary Clinton largely ignores them, concentrating instead on appealing to Republicans disaffected by Trump's loopiness. It's politically shrewd, perhaps; a politician has to prioritize for maximum effect, and blacks have been a reliable Democratic constituency for decades.
"All lives matter," Clinton admonished a black congregation several months ago, using what has since become a white-resentment code phrase.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/racism-america-election-obama-clinton-1.3791033
Mention white supremacy in America the next time the conversation turns to the U.S. presidential election, and watch what happens. Heads avert, a few eyes roll, and the conversation resumes, unruffled, after a few polite smiles.
The phrase is regarded as extreme — a gross exaggeration of problems America has, after all, tried to solve. Why, the president of the United States himself is black, and he never uses terms like white supremacy. Which is interesting in itself, because it goes to show the extent to which the American polity is gamed for white ascendancy.
Even a black leader cannot mention systemic discrimination against black Americans without nodding sympathetically to the grievances of white Americans, many of whom believe they are the victims in a politically correct world that values "diversity" over (their) merit.
The very word diversity is seen by millions of Americans as code for quotas and reverse discrimination. White conservatives talk wistfully about "colourblindness," something they seem persuaded actually exists.
Prof. Eddie Glaude, dean of the department of African American and religious studies at no less an institution than Princeton University, politely offers the following definition of white supremacy in America: "The belief that white people matter more than others."
In his rather ironically titled book, Democracy in Black, Glaude puts forth a powerful argument that white supremacy — racism — is not an aberration, the thoughts and actions of a hateful few, but rather a value baked into American democracy from its inception.
The founders, Glaude points out, were capable of jarring cognitive dissonance; even as they created a shining city on the hill with freedom and justice for all, they owned slaves. They saw no contradiction in that. And, writes Glaude, that disjoint continues to this day.
"Think about it this way," he writes. "When communists declare that Stalinism wasn't really communism, or when Christians and Muslims say that the horrific things some Christians and Muslims have done in the name of their religion isn't really Christianity or Islam, what are they doing? They are protecting their ideology…"
Likewise, he says, Americans separate the pristine ideal of America from its ugly realities: "We keep treating America like we have a great blueprint and we've just strayed from it. But the fact is we've built this country true. Black folks were never meant to be full-fledged participants."
Black Americans are harassed and killed by police and imprisoned in grossly disproportionate numbers. They are much poorer, twice as unemployed, more uneducated, and lead the nation in deadly diseases.
There is really only one explanation for that, unless you actually believe blacks are more intrinsically criminal, sick and stupid.
Blacks are constantly blamed for their own suffering, and Donald Trump is trying to ride that shibboleth right to the White House.
One of his campaign architects is Steve Bannon, the former head of the Breitbart website — which seems to relish singling out blacks for all sorts of sins, accuses Black Lives Matter activists of encouraging cop-killers and obsesses about "black crime" and "black-on-black crime."
(Yes, it is true most crime against blacks is perpetrated by blacks. And most crime against whites is perpetrated by whites. But there are no accounts of "white-on-white" crime.)
What's remarkable, though, is the crashing silence from Democrats about the life of black people in America. Hillary Clinton largely ignores them, concentrating instead on appealing to Republicans disaffected by Trump's loopiness. It's politically shrewd, perhaps; a politician has to prioritize for maximum effect, and blacks have been a reliable Democratic constituency for decades.
"All lives matter," Clinton admonished a black congregation several months ago, using what has since become a white-resentment code phrase.
