Quote:
Originally Posted by einbert
And beyond all that, it is really really a problem that white people have that they think because they have, for example, a close black friend that they are all of a sudden immune from saying or doing racist things. This is absolutely not the case. Being racist is a natural extension of being born and raised in the United States, a white supremacist society, so what someone should do is reflect on that fact rather than be defensive when people tell them racism is a big problem in the United States.
If the US is a white supremacist society, how did Barack Obama become president? You mention hierarchies and providing platforms for minorities who push the view that the U.S. is not racist, but that does not appear to apply to Obama. If I am wrong about this, please explain.
Please also outline what would need to be demonstrated in your mind to show that the U.S. is not a white supremacist society, because, as Mat Sklansky is also unclear on this point, apparently minorities claiming that there is no white supremacy culture is insufficient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by einbert
Anyway, if you want to understand why your black friend might believe that racism doesn't exist or isn't a major problem in America, consider this. White supremacy runs so deep in this country, any person of color who's willing to deny the fabric of white supremacy can get a very big, very loud platform because they are the perfect tools of white supremacy. The people at the top of the hierarchy get way more mileage out of Omarosa than they do out of Mike Huckabee. And there will never be any end to the incentives for people of color (normal people, not just those with a huge media platform too, because those people tend to work with white people and their bosses tend to be white people) to adopt these kind of ideas in order to push their way into what they see as the upper eschelons of the socioeconomic ladder. The higher a person is on that ladder, the more and more pressure is on that person to push these notions of "colorblindness" that actually enable and empower white supremacist hierarchies in the United States.
I had attended an AME church in the Rust Belt for many years as a congregation member and as a volunteer tutor in a location that had not insignificant problems with crime. Many of their sermons concentrated on the following themes:
- Staying in school and getting an education
- Not doing drugs or alcohol
- Not getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant before marriage
- Not committing crimes.
- Community outreach by the black community to the other communities, and especially to the police, which includes reporting crimes and criminals to the police and having community leaders meet with the police community outreach divisions weekly.
- Removing the Uncle Tom mindset and reaching out to successful black people to mentor other black people on how to succeed. Had many guest speakers from law enforcement, military, business, etc. give their experiences as successful black members of society.
Not once did I hear them say that their problems were due to the police or racism or white supremacy, and they don't buy such arguments either although they have been made before to the AME ministry. Is their approach and mentality correct or incorrect? Are they simply victims of white supremacy in your mind for denying racism in their desire to push into the upper echelons and be accepted by white people? If that is the case, how do I teach them about your view of white supremacy being the root of their community problems to better educate them on achieving success?
Last edited by Morishita System; 02-22-2017 at 10:05 PM.