In Drunk Ex-Pastors podcast #8, one of the topics we discuss is racism. Jason brings up a quote from the first season of MTV’s The Real World where Kevin Powell (a black cast member) is accused of racism and in response says, “Black people cannot be racist. We don’t have the power to control. . . .” At first hearing, I dismissed Kevin’s statement as ignorant. After all, racism, to me (a white male), means considering someone to be inferior in some way simply because of their race. While this is a valid definition of racism, it’s not the only definition of racism and not even the main definition.
A quick search through the various definitions of racism will show that racism also has to do with the exercise of power. The first definition for “racism” on Dictionary.com is “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.” The second definition is “a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.” In America, we often call this “Institutional Racism,” and we white people aren’t quite as good at understanding this type of racism. In this sense, Kevin Powell was completely accurate.
Racism (believing someone of a certain race to be inferior in some way) and Institutional Racism (discrimination against other races by those in power) go hand in hand, but they must be differentiated when speaking about racism in order to have a productive conversation. Anyone can be racist, whether they’re a minority or not, but only those in power have the means to execute Institutional Racism.
A white cop may shoot a black man because he doesn’t like blacks and a black cop may shoot a white man because he doesn’t like whites, and both would be examples of racism. (Although one of those examples would be much more difficult to find.) However, when the white cop is let go with a slap on the wrist and the black cop is put in prison for years, you’re witnessing Institutional Racism, and that is something black people cannot enact, at least not in this country. In that sense, Kevin Powell was completely correct. Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, etc., are not able to be racist, at least not in America.
Despite what some political pundits will tell you (“We’re not racist anymore! We have a black President!”) racism is still alive in America, and Institutional Racism is the norm. It would do well for those in power (read “whites”) to acknowledge this and to work to change it. As Louis CK points out in his insightful standup routine about how awesome it is to be white, but how he wouldn’t want to travel into the future as a white man because, “we’re going to pay hard for this shit, you gotta know that. . . we’re not just gonna fall from number 1 to 2. They’re going to hold us down and f#$k us in the ass forever, and we totally deserve it!”
So, what you’re saying is, having things get better for minorities will not get us further as far as having racism obsolete. No one will have learned anything…it will just turn around toward whites. I hope to God you are wrong. I hate racism in any way….it’s ugly and ignorant.
Oh, and by the way, I don’t deserve it. I have never discriminated against another person because of the color of their skin. Just sayin.
Until Christian can chime in, I’d just point out that this doesn’t have to be the either/or dilemma that you seem to see, Laura. It’s not that we should just wait for the institutional pendulum to swing the other way and start punishing those who currently have power (whites). Rather, we should work to both end racism on the personal level, as well as seeking a racially-diverse enough power structure that it becomes really hard for institutional racism to work.
Hi Laura. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to elaborate since I wasn’t clear. I do hope that having things get better for the minorities will make things better for everyone. I don’t think two wrongs make a right. I didn’t quote Louis CK to justify racism against whites were the tables to be turned, nor was I incriminating every white person. I quoted him mostly because it’s funny, but he does make a point. We (whites) have had it good for a long time. We are getting better at recognizing the systemic racism in our country. We shouldn’t be lackadaisical in doing what we can to draw attention to it and see it changed. We should work towards that goal before we do deserve it.
I tried making this point to a southern old school Presbyterian, namely that contrary to what he seemed to think there really is such a thing as white privilege. I even cited my own early childhood personal experience about a nightmare I had that I was “turning black” and then a conscious thought as an early adolescent that I had a “free ticket” because I was male and white in America, all of which is to say that even at a very young age I was pretty aware that being white was just better than being black.
He was having none of it, though, and got pretty ticked. I think it’s because he anticipated that if we admit to it we then have to be somehow be sorry for our privilege. Maybe, but that’s another issue altogether. But to deny that it’s better to be white and male in America than not seems pretty lame. It’s like denying you can be born gay because you think that means you have to then morally approve because you’re somehow admitting it’s natural, but all you end up being is that guy who tells gays “it’s all in your head, snap out of it, you’re not really gay, you just think you are.” Seriously?
Can you imagine being on the other side of things? Being one of the disadvantaged and having those with the advantage tell you that they have no advantage. That’s a very frustrating place to be. It certainly doesn’t lend itself to harmony and reconciliation.
What I find interesting on the part of those who would deny that white privilege exists is this. They usually (always?) adhere to an otherwise conservative ideology that, among other things, resists egalitarianism. But if I’m right that one reason they deny WP is that they anticipate the egalitarian push to rectify things and reduce WP then I wonder just how conservative they really are. I mean, wouldn’t a conservative or at least a consistent conservative say, “Sure, WP exists because that’s the way the world works–some get the advantage here (but not there) and others the disadvantage there (but not here). In fact, there’s all sorts of privilege, not just white and male. Sometimes white males are at a disadvantage. Look, I don’t mean to encourage flat out incivility or injustice, and I’m all for the right woman getting the job, but all this talk about equality and reconciliation is a little too idealistic. WP surely exists, but I’m also not so sure that means we have to do anything particularly special about it.”
Zrim, et al.
Though WP exists, it needs to be nuanced in a multitude of ways. For one, it doesn’t trump Youth Privilege…or Good-Looking Privilege…or Stylish-and-Cool Privilege…or Jock Privilege…or Wealth Privilege…or Good-Old-Boy-Network Privilege…or Articulate-and-Talented Privilege…or Extrovert Privilege…or Coming-from-the-right-Family Privilege.
I’ve worked in White trailor-trash/ trailor-park communities…and no such thing as WP exists there. I have worked with highly-motivated, upwardly mobile Blacks with great senses of work ethic, academic excellence, and high-brow culture…and they have little to no trouble competing against WP. In fact, it is usually WP that finds itself intimidated. Hillary bows to Barack.
I can faithfully report, having been raised on the wrong side of the provervial tracks, that WP got me nowhere fast. It hasn’t helped me out a lick. In fact, it probably dragged me down a step or two.
Far more than individual racism, weak cultural ethics and weak familial cohesion and weak churches and weak societal structures and over-dependence on government have brought African-Americans to their present plight.
Conservatives don’t care a lick for minorities, whom they view as inferior and thus, beyond help (not to mention, diehard constituents of the the other party). Liberals strive to keep minorities poor and struggling and in desperate need of “progressive” solutions.
Minorities need to reject the institutional racism on both sides and forge a new reality.
Just because WP hasn’t helped every white person or hindered every brown or black person doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist as a general rule.
Eric, agreed, which is why I said “…there’s all sorts of privilege, not just white and male. Sometimes white males are at a disadvantage.”
But you also say that WP hasn’t helped you out “one lick.” Could be, but given that we’re talking in highly subjective terms, I’m not sure how this claim could be objectively measured. Maybe you could come up with some stats, just like those who counter claim that WP does translate into concrete benefits could. But I’m talking more about impressions and perceptions.
“Minorities need to reject the institutional racism on both sides and forge a new reality.” Sounds great, but easier said than done. Then again, I’m not even sure what it means. What’s the “new reality” look like, some kind of equality? But my point is that the human condition doesn’t work that way, there will always be inequalities (i.e. privilege).
And I’m not saying it’s what you’re saying, but this line often times comes from privileged whites who complain about being edged out by things like affirmative action which sounds an awful lot like the way the under-privileged complain about being on the fringe. But less frequent is the white privileged prescribing themselves this bootstraps sentiment–they want quotas to just go away. So it’s interesting to hear both sides squabble over political arrangements, then one begrudge the other for getting political and prescribing social sentiment that not only do they not prescribe themselves but require political means to achieve anyway.
Zrim–
I would be remiss to exclude the fact that I have been the beneficiary of immense privilege based on being American. I have not been edged out by minorities and hold no grudge against them. I have been edged out by depression and introversion…and more recently by age and ill health. There is palpable discrimination in this old world that has nothing to do with the color of one’s skin.
Those with similar skill sets and education levels have made ten to twenty times what I have made (measured extremely conservatively) and at least a small part of that has been simple discrimination. I’m not bitter. I don’t really care down deep. I’m not impressed with their lives, for the most part, and wouldn’t switch with them. I love my life…my wife…my kids. I’m blessed.
Heck, I was cheated out of a scholarship at a state university BECAUSE I was Evangelical. To be discriminated against is an awful feeling. I understand how demoralizing it can be. On a number of occasions I have thought seriously of suing, but bigotry is so difficult to prove.
I didn’t in any sense intend to minimize what minorities are up against. Taken across the board, they definitely lack privilege. It is simply not the case, on the other hand, that all Whites possess White privilege, nor is racial “superiority” the best ace to have up one’s sleeve.
I don’t know the answer for the revitalization of minority communities. I certainly wouldn’t prescribe for them anything I wouldn’t prescribe for myself. Many minority communities in the past have been able to overcome challenges. Often through the ministry of strong ethnic churches. There is almost no Reformed presence amongst Blacks or Hispanics. Good theology might be a good first step. Who knows?
Christian–
Certainly WP exists, but it is extremely difficult to measure and evaluate. So many other factors can keep a minority individual down. I’m not altogether sure WP is even a major factor any more. Conservatives are right about one thing: holding an attitude of victimization only keeps minorities in their place. I myself have to let go of the slights and move on. Do what I can do and not concentrate on what I’m not allowed to do.
The problem with political correctness is that it is often pragmatically incorrect. Do we care about minorities themselves…or do we care about our own reputation as those who “combat the evil of racism”?
Have you guys seen this from The Daily Show last week: http://thedailyshow.cc.com/extended-interviews/i11p92/bill-o-reilly-extended-interview
Eric, as a proud, card-carrying INTJ I feel your pain. It’s an extrovert’s world (unless an introvert votes).
Christian, Bill also thinks the Holy Spirit inspired one of his books (yes, the way he inspired Paul and Peter and the whole NT gang). Talk about privilege. I guess we’ll both have to agree with mutually disagree.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/video/O6CAJhEGny689m_WS1cHHhNgX_HEPJl9/the-gospel-according-to-bill-o-reilly-/