First Think, THEN Ink.

am·biv·a·lence
amˈbivələns/

noun

the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.

"the law's ambivalence about the importance of a victim's identity"

I have previously stated that there are times, based on your level of knowledge or experience, when there is a clear level of ambivalence about being an African-American citizen in the United States. These tend to be around days of National celebration, like Independence Day, Columbus Day, and yes, the month of February, which has come to represent "Black History Month."

The reason why the shortest month of the year became the month to celebrate African American history was, in fact, a reasonable element. It began as "Negro History Week" in 1926. This was chosen to be observed during the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (on the 12th) and Frederick Douglass (on the 14th).

In 1970 Kent State University expanded this concept to the entire month of February. By 1976, President Ford acknowledged the event, as it had expanded to learning institutions all over the country.

There is a lot of ambivalence when we talk about Black History. Isn't "Black" History just "history?" Why do we need a "Black History Month?" Doesn't celebrating Black History during February downplay those elements the rest of the year? Why is there no "White History Month"?

These are questions that have been asked of black people since the Bicentennial.

There are a lot of questions, a lot of issues, a lot of split opinions on Black History Month. Most famously, in a "60 Mintutes" interview with Mike Wallace, Morgan Freeman, who actually wasn't talking about this particular element as a topic of discussion, the conversation just meandered over into it, gave this famous quote, that a lot of people looking to squelch any celebration of black people love to play over and over again:



There are some serious issues with this concept, which has continually been trotted out since this interview happened in 2005, a dozen years ago. The first is it suggests that Black History is relegated to one month. Clearly it is not. It also suggests that Black History is not the same as history. We know that isn't true either.

Freeman also states that if we simply stop talking about racism, it will ebb away. But no social problem ever disappears without society confronting it, examining its moving parts, understanding how it works and who is benefiting from it and then dismantling it, piece by piece.

The problem that we have is similar to my issue with the Day 16 entry in my 30 Day Music Challenge. In case you need a refresher, that was the day listed as "A Song You Used To Love But Now You Don't" and my selection was Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World." Here we have a wizened black man stating that we need to stop talking about race in America if we are going to resolve it. That is exactly what the White Nationalists want to hear. A message like that allows them to ignore everything else because they found one black guy to say that we should ignore it.

I would note that Mr. Freeman has not said anything of this sort since that time, so if he felt as strongly about it now as he did then, he definitely has not expressed that.

I would say that if we actually did use Black History Month as a method for learning some facts, for understanding some truths, for building some empathy, for examining our society, it would be worth it.

But that's not up to me.

It has truly been a marathon going through Jona Olsson's essay, Detour Spotting. Personally, I feel like I have learned some important elements of the circumstances we collectively have to face when looking at race in America, and I hope they will help me when I talk about these issues again, either here on this blog, or elsewhere. It's important that we stay positive, try not to personally blame people, but work to give them an understanding of racism from the perspective of people who experience it and to hope that they will care, and will help as well.

Today's topic is more than appropriate as we head towards the end of this series of thinkposts.

28) Exhaustion and Despair - Sound the Retreat

“I’m exhausted. I’m only one person. I can stop and rest for a while.” or “Racism is so pervasive and entrenched, there just isn’t any hope.”


Reality Check and Consequence

Despair is a real enemy of anti-racists. If our commitment is a lifelong one, we must find ways to mitigate the effects. Neither burn-out nor desertion are of any use to the struggle. We can remember men who jumped on a “Take Back the Night” bandwagon, challenging violence against women - for a while. Until the attention on them as good men waned. Until the “glamour” of the issue faded. One of the historical, repeated failures of “liberals” in social justice movements has been their short-term and inconsistent commitment to the “issue du jour.

If we quit, for any reason, we are engaging our “default option.” (5) As white people, we can rest, back off, and take a break from the frustration and despair of anti-racism work. There will be no significant consequence to us for this retreat. White people will not think less of us. Racism doesn’t allow such a respite for people of color. One of the elemental privileges of being white is my freedom to retreat from the issue of racism. If things get too tough I can always take a break. And our work against racism doesn’t get done.

Ms. Olsson raises the point that really is crucial when it comes to white anti-racists: they can just take a break. Really, white people don't have to do any work toward changing attitudes or beliefs at all. In fact some would likely think that trying to help minorities might do damage to their status and cause them to be in a worse position because of it.

This is the common problem involved in trying to eliminate the institution of racism: there is a segment of people that completely believe it is beneficial. But really, even if you are the white cop killing a minority citizen, I presume you have to realize that you took the life of another human being, assuming you think of black people as humans, and that might weigh on your mind occasionally. So, yes, drinking from the fountain of racism might quench your thirst, but there's obviously lead in that water.

It's tough for most people to ignore the scenario that has been played out all these years. But, it's much more easy to fall into the established patterns and behaviors. It actually takes work to get out of this sewer we've been in all this while. And, most of the time, nobody is going to work very hard to try to break the routine. So, that leaves the heavy lifting to the people who are committed, and most of those people are brown, because they're the ones being directly impacted by all of this.

We really need more white anti racists who understand that preventing racism will benefit everyone in our society. We need people who are willing to work with those that don't understand these points and could benefit from a clearer explanation. We have to communicate with each other, stay in touch with each other, continue to tell our truths and demand justice.

It's tough to fight a system that is as well-established and as carefully streamlined as racism is in the United States. It's understandable that even people who are completely on board with this concept might not always be there to do that work. The situation evolves; we all have our own personal problems and life issues to deal with on a daily basis.

But the world takes its sociological cues from the USA, and we need to be the standard bearers in demonstrating that we value every person. We have to value every person. Because nobody knows who each person will become. And we want every person to become the best they can possibly be. Just imagine helping each person become their ultimate selves. What sort of country NO! What sort of planet would that be?

I firmly believe that if we ever hope to achieve world peace, this is how it will begin. Because if we cannot communicate with, listen to, and work to help everyone within the borders of our own country, there is no chance that we could do the same with people we call "foreigners." To me, that would be reason enough for all of us to start working to correct racism. We can't get tired out now.




Previous thinkposts in this series:


1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

16. Day Sixteen - Former Life
17. Day 17 - Straightening Up
18. Day 18 - The Isolationist
19. Day 19 - Blackwards
20. Day 20 - Teach Me
21. Day 21 - White on White
22. Day 22 - Smoke and Mirrors
23. Day 23 - Personal Work
24. Day 24 - Whites Only
25. Day 25 - The Accountant
26. Day 26 - Innocence
27. Day 27 - Silence

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

Detour-Spotting is a challenge. Jona Olsson's essay requires everyone to face the facts that even when we intend to accomplish positive movement in the fight to end racism, we may not actually be making any progress at all. Today's topic is one I promised I would get back to examine on the very first day of this series of thinkposts.

26) The “Certificate of Innocence”

Some times we seek or expect from people of color some public or private recognition and appreciation for our anti-racism. Other times we are looking for a “certificate of innocence” telling us we are one of the good white people.


Reality Check and Consequence

If our ally commitment depends on positive reinforcement from people of color, we set ourselves up for sure failure. The first time a person of color is displeased with our actions, we could respond, “Well, if the very people I’m doing all this for don’t want my help, then why bother?” Clearly, we’re challenging racism for “them” not for us. We have not identified our self-interest, as a white person, for fighting racism. Until we do, we will not be able to sustain this lifelong journey.

When I began this examination of Ms. Olsson's essay, all the way back on Day One, we had a lot of ground to cover, as we examined her personal history with racism and with the first topic of discussion. But in the midst of all that, I wanted to make one clear point. I said:

good work on avoiding racism really doesn't DESERVE praise from people who would otherwise suffer from it. This is a trap that many anti-racists fall into: the expectation of reward for not being racist.

While we discussed the concept of expecting some sort of "fair trade" concept for white people who offer support to minorities in yesterday's topic, that thought is somewhat related to this concept of looking for constant praise, rewards and ego stroking to encourage anti racists to continue to move forward.

Again, that's wrong.

If you see racism as an "opportunity" to do a little self-aggrandizing, you really don't understand any of this.

But this takes us back to the point of how white people perceive racism and what they think it is, based on their own limited perspective rather than listening to what those that experience it are saying about it. If your view of racism is just something "annoying" that you can "get over" in a day or two, it would make sense that you perceive it as something like a game.

Reflecting on today's point, we should remember that our culture has been one of instant gratification for decades: that somehow there needs to be a treat for everything we do that isn't in our comfort zone. That could spell trouble because there won't always be a direct reward for every white person's selfless act against racism as we work to clear these problems. If rewards must continually be doled out for every step forward, there is going to be disappointment, at best.

Again, we must look at middle and lower class white people who are the ones who likely feel disenfranchised, afraid or even angry over any attention given to minorities when it comes to this.

It really does make sense that this is the sticking point. If everyone had success, there would be no need to view other people as a cause of failure. But if there is a struggle, if things are not as easy or as pleasant as one would hope, there is a need to place blame. So, it's within that framework that we are attempting to have a conversation about race in America, when there is a whole group of people who are perpetuating it because they feel like this is benefiting them somehow, that they are doing something right, that they are doing this for their own survival and have no choice in the matter.

So, even if poor or lower/middle class white people do step up and support minorities, their efforts could be muted by family and friends who see that as going against their best interests. But this is the continuing problem: when people are in a desperate situation, you can't use logic, common sense or reasonable arguments to help them see what's going on, and that is a big reason why we aren't making any progress. It's how superstition, tradition and standard practice work to assure that no work gets accomplished in stopping racism for that segment of our population, and that can bleed into other areas as well, where people outside of the group focused on the oppression of minorities might get caught up in the machinery too.

How do we fix that mindset, when there are so many mechanisms that are there to make sure it stays in place? That it validates and informs people of what they should be doing? That it causes people to think that they are "giving up" their "rights" when all they are doing is treating their fellow citizens like the humans that they are?





Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

16. Day Sixteen - Former Life
17. Day 17 - Straightening Up
18. Day 18 - The Isolationist
19. Day 19 - Blackwards
20. Day 20 - Teach Me
21. Day 21 - White on White
22. Day 22 - Smoke and Mirrors
23. Day 23 - Personal Work
24. Day 24 - Whites Only
25. Day 25 - The Accountant

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

If you intend to be an anti-racist, and I hope you do, you have to understand that we are dealing with issues that are hundreds of years old, that they are being supported by a system that conditions people to behave and react in specific ways that perpetuate that system, that even when you are trying to do the right thing, it might go wrong or it might be wrong, and that ego could sometimes cause personal embarrassment, guilt or even make you want to give up and walk away.

That's all by design.

The system of racism has so many checks and balances, it makes getting a bill through Congress seem like an Executive Order.

Nothing here is an accident. This is a system, designed to make certain that a particular group is on top and stays on top, and that there is a group or are groups always beneath. While that seems beneficial to the over group, what we see happening is that there is fear, there is hatred, there is a clear lack of understanding, there is arbitrary reward and punishment for people who deserve neither, in short we see a lot of injustice. And, as Americans, I hope we can agree that we want to eliminate injustice for our citizens.

That's why I'm going through Jona Olsson's essay, Detour-Spotting point by point and looking at all the ways we have been ignoring the issue of racism. Today's topic is another one that is a bit more complex than you might imagine at first blush.

24) Whites Only

I have no connection with or accountability to people of color. I do all my anti-racism with whites only. I am accountable only to other white people.


Reality Check and Consequence

While it is vitally important for white anti-racists to work with other white people, this detour results in white people again controlling the direction and focus of anti-racism work.

Learning to follow the leadership of, and taking direction from people of color, while being accountable to them are all vital components of our ally-ship.

One of the problems we face when it comes to trying to discuss race in America is a basic concept: white people don't know about racism.

I've pointed this out before: White people have never previously, do not currently and likely will never experience racism in the United States or in any of the current "whitecentric" nations, worldwide.

We've been through what I would describe as a "false equivalent" of racism, (which we partially covered on Day Three, "Reverse Racism") usually involving some sort of physical harm perpetrated by a minority citizen against a white person, or a series of epithets being said by a black person to a white person. That actually isn't racism at all. It can be prejudice, discrimination or bias, for certain. But racism, if we are looking honestly at it, is a lot more wide ranging, deeper, more insidious and much more powerful than hurt feelings over an insult. Racism harms people physically, psychologically, emotionally, politically, financially, morally, and that's just what it does to the perpetrators of it.

The problem comes when white people want to focus on the injustices that they face, so they can claim they suffer in a similar way to those that are living with racism. It's another method of derailing the conversation we need to have about race in America.

As the USA is a White Supremacist country, white people tend to both expect to be the experts in everything and to discount the opinions of anyone else. Sadly, that holds true even when it comes to topics they know nothing about, like racism.

A brief example... many years ago, there were studies that suggested that the muscle groups of black people and white people were different physically: black people were particularly good at sprinting short distances, which is why they did well in the hundred meter dash, but white people were better at the more elegant longer races like marathons. It had something to do with processing oxygen or getting rid of lactic acid or the length of tendons... some sort of "scientific proof" that "explained" this.

Not only don't you hear those sorts of comments anymore, nobody ever came along to refute them after they were proven wrong.

And, in a way, that relates back to how white people don't want to listen to black people about racism. They still want to be the experts in the situation and maintain control of the conversation. It's a method of preventing guilt. It's a way of protecting feelings. It helps assure that we never go into areas that might make white people "uncomfortable."

I hope we can agree that talking about a subject is not as "uncomfortable" as having some of your family members, friends, neighbors or fellow citizens killed in cold blood by someone who was sworn to protect them.

So, what we have here, with today's topic, are white people who simply won't listen to anything black people have to say on the subject of racism. And, let's face it. People like that probably haven't put "ending racism" as a top priority on their list of things they want to accomplish in life. But the good thing is we have folks like Ms. Olsson, Jane Elliott and Tim Wise specifically to help people like that.

I've mentioned Ms. Elliott and Mr. Wise in previous essays in this series, but now is obviously the time to closely examine who they are and what they do.

Jane Elliott is an important figure because she has come as close as anyone to giving white people a hint of what racism actually is about.

In 1968, after Dr. King was assassinated, Ms. Elliott wanted to give her grade school students a real sense of who that person was and what he was trying to achieve. In order to do this, she created a unique experiment. Now known the world over as the "Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Exercise," she divided her class up by eye color, then purposefully treated the blue eyed students nicely, and the other set as if they didn't belong.

The reaction brought a lot more than just learning. Fellow faculty members and parents of her students lashed out at her for this lesson.

If you have an hour to spare, the long time PBS series "Frontline" did a piece on Ms. Elliott and her exercise back in 1985. Sadly, it is just as timely today as it was during both the Reagan and Johnson administrations.

A Class Divided was the name of the episode. If you have a chance, please view this. It lays out the entire story and gives you a sense of how her class digested this lesson and where it took them as adults.

Ms. Elliott has been teaching this lesson every year since 1968, which is now approaching a half-century.

Mr. Wise is also a long time activist who began his entry into the field when he worked to get US colleges and universities to divest from South Africa during their Apartheid period, and expanded as he started to notice similar injustices in the US. Active since the 1980s, he is a lecturer, a writer, and a staunch antiracist who is in constant demand to present this material and put it in context.

There are dozens of Tim Wise videos on YouTube. Just type in his name and you'll have your choice of numerous hours of his lectures. But I'm linking to one really timely one here (and it's only a bit more than three minutes):

How Trump Uses Race to Divide and Conquer

Certainly these people, along with Ms. Olsson, are great allies in the fight against racism, because we desperately need white people who know and understand these issues to speak to other white people. That's why I specifically wanted to explore Ms. Olsson's essay, as she is a white person doing exactly that. We could always use a few more knowledgeable white people when it comes to issues surrounding race and who hopefully are willing to talk about it with others.



Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

16. Day Sixteen - Former Life
17. Day 17 - Straightening Up
18. Day 18 - The Isolationist
19. Day 19 - Blackwards
20. Day 20 - Teach Me
21. Day 21 - White on White
22. Day 22 - Smoke and Mirrors
23. Day 23 - Personal Work

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

We have been going through Jona Olsson's essay about race in America and why we cannot seem to dismantle the issues we have between white people and many minority groups in this country. Giving it the title Detour-Spotting, she is spotting every detour we take when on the road to resolving our racist behavior.

I think the topic for today is one of the smallest fractions of the pie when it comes to issues that need to be addressed, but it certainly belongs on the list, so let's give it a look.

22) Smoke and Mirrors

We use the current politically correct language; we listen to the right music; we state the liberal line; we’re seen at the right meetings with the right people. We even interrupt racist remarks when the right people are watching and when there is no risk to us. We look like anti-racists.


Reality Check and Consequence

This is the “Avon Ally,” the cosmetic approach. People of color and other white anti-racists see through this pretense quickly. This pseudo-anti-racist posturing only serves to collude with racism and weakens the credibility of sincere white anti-racists.


The people Ms. Olsson is describing in today's topic fall into a very specific category. These are people who don't understand the stakes of what minority citizens face when it comes to racism, who don't have the empathy needed to view and fully comprehend the circumstances their fellow Americans are protesting. In short, we are talking about those who find the discussion of racism as something that can get them likes on social media or accolades from friends, family and neighbors, but think it's just a game to play.

That sort of thinking is still rooted in the concept of minorities not quite being human. It's a level of thoughtlessness that people protesting the death of an animal at the hands of an abuser would not allow. Yet, that same respect and dignity is not offered here.


Though, I have to say, I would prefer someone at least pretending to be an anti-racist to someone who isn't even putting any effort into it. There's always the chance that some of those actions could sink in and make an impact!








Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

16. Day Sixteen - Former Life
17. Day 17 - Straightening Up
18. Day 18 - The Isolationist
19. Day 19 - Blackwards
20. Day 20 - Teach Me
21. Day 21 - White on White

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

I think there are a couple of really crucial points to keep in mind, as we go through Jona Olsson's essay, Detour-Spotting. The first is that racism isn't something that any white people who are currently living created. So, this isn't exactly a litany against them. Rather, we are examining their willingness to listen to what is being said to them, and how they react to it.

But we do need to look at the elements of those reactions, which is what we are gauging when we go through this list of reasons we haven't properly dealt with the long-standing issue of racism. Today's topic is one that is all too familiar.

20) Teach Me or Help Me, I’m Stuck

“I want to stop acting like a racist, so please tell me when I do something you think is racist.” (Spoken to a person of color.)


Reality Check and Consequence

White people often assume that they can learn about racism only from people of color. We further assume that people of color have the energy and/or desire to do this teaching. My understanding is that most people of color are weary of educating white people about racism.

We will get stuck. We’ll get frustrated and impatient with ourselves and other white people in this struggle. We’ll stay stuck if we don’t seek help from other white anti-racists. Our inclination in the past has been to ask people of color to help us. We should seek out other white people BEFORE we go to people of color. Perhaps, as we become more trustworthy as allies, we will build genuine relationships with a few people of color who will offer their reflections for us when we get stuck. But this is at their discretion, not ours. We can’t assume or act as though people of color should be so grateful for our attempts at anti-racism, that they will be willing to guide us whenever we are ready to be guided.

You know, teaching has been severely undervalued in this nation. We hear it frequently: it's tough to find good teachers. And, when it comes to racism, asking for a teacher may well serve as another method of derailing the conversation.

Here's what I see. If you constantly have to ask if you're doing something wrong, you don't have to bear the responsibility of actually knowing what is and is not appropriate. So, you can just do whatever you want and check in later about whether or not it was racist with someone you trust to tell you. That's about as lazy and uncaring as can be.

Waiting to be told by some instructor how to avoid being racist is not an appropriate way to handle the circumstance and could create twice as many issues, as the annoyance of a bad comment or action gives way to needing an explanation of just how and why it was offensive.

Again, this is a simple case of not feeling the need to do the leg work. It apparently is not something that matters deeply to some white people to find that research on their own, so, rather than knowing, they just go ahead and take a chance that the joke they think is so funny won't be heard the wrong way, or that they just absolutely must use a stereotype to reference how a person looks in the course of their commentary.

Ms. Olsson is correct. There has been a never-ending amount of teaching that has occurred, certainly since the Civil Rights Act became law. And the problem is that the learning somehow never seems to stick, so the lessons are remedial, we go over the same issues week after week, year after year, generation after generation, It never ends. There doesn't seem to be any way to get to a point where minorities aren't handing out instructions on how to treat a fellow human being.

If we constantly have to stop and explain, that's time taken from our lives to correct a mistake you should have learned on your own. We all are working with a limited amount of time, so it's not fair to make a minority person that has been offended by a so-called ignorant white person spend part of their life correcting that. If it's important enough, you can do the research and figure it out.

It should be important enough.



Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

16. Day Sixteen - Former Life
17. Day 17 - Straightening Up
18. Day 18 - The Isolationist
19. Day 19 - Blackwards

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

The reason racism is so difficult to deal with for minorities who are on the receiving end, is painfully obvious. But why it's challenging for white people to understand is really what this series is about. Jona Olsson's important Detour-Spotting essay is a comprehensive listing of the excuses our society has collectively offered up for why we have made no significant movement in the age-old issue of race in America.

While yesterday's topic was a pretty easy one to understand, today's issue is a much more complex one.

18) The Isolationist

“I thought we resolved this issue (racism) when it came up on the board last year.” or “We need to deal with this specific incident. Let’s not complicate it by bringing other irrelevant issues into it.” or “This incident only happened today because the TV news last night showed police beating that Black kid.”


Reality Check and Consequence

Attempts are made to isolate a particular incident of racism from of the larger context. We blame a publicized incident of racism outside our organization to rationalize an internal incident and to avoid facing the reality of racism within. When trying to resolve an accusation of racism within an institution, we often see the incident in a vacuum, or as an aberration, in isolation from an historic pattern of racism in this institution and nation. Racism has been institutionalized so that every “incident” is another symptom of the pattern. When we continue to react incident-to-incident, crisis-to-crisis, as though they are unconnected, we will find genuine resolution only further from our reach.

When white people discuss racism, there are several problems that occur. The first, of course, is they have never experienced racism, so they have no real context for what it is. Because of that missing context, their view of what racism is, how it works and what it does is also skewed. And because they don't have any real sense of the elements that racism creates, they view any issues of racism as singular cases, as anomalies, or possibly as not being racism at all.

This is what we're talking about with Ms. Olsson's point for today. If you don't believe racism exists, you aren't going to view any case of racism as what it actually is. That's another reason why discussing race in America is so incredibly challenging. It's like attempting to communicate these concepts to the people we must speak with in a language they not only do not comprehend, it's a language they believe has no meaning.

We, as a society, have to understand some basic things. One of these would be: if someone is unfamiliar with a topic, they should yield their opinions to those who are familiar. Certainly a patient wouldn't advise a doctor on how to treat their illness. Same thing here. Minorities are the ones who are expert at what racism is. But, all too frequently, white people give their opinion on what they believe racism to be, which can then dissolve into the argument about "reverse racism" or other points we have previously discussed in this series.

Additionally, white people may take any accusations of racism as a personal attack, meaning that they feel they are the ones being blamed, when, what needs to be examined are the institutionalized elements that have been causing the problem. You can begin to see how various elements of the points on Ms. Olsson's essay, work in concert to block many of our chances of discussing racism in any useful way.

If you take each incident as a separate issue, unrelated to any other trend or system, it's much easier to characterize them, or really rationalize them, as being something other than racism. That is what is desired by many white people, who are either simply tired of discussing race (even if they haven't actually had that conversation), want to deflect any blame or feelings of guilt in the circumstances of others, or perhaps want to make examples of the people who were victimized, as a method of justifying their beliefs.

This is where we have that communications gap. How do we get beyond these issues?

It will take work - energy and thought and a serious step back from ego. We have to listen to the experts and not attempt to drown them out when they tell their truths. We have to look at the overall picture, not at any one individual case, and understand how it fits into the concept of the narrative of racism overall.

But will we?


Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

16. Day Sixteen - Former Life
17. Day 17 - Straightening Up

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

We have been examining each and every listed point from Jona Olsson's brilliant commentary about how we avoid discussing racism in the United States in her essay: Detour-Spotting, a piece I continue to hope people are digesting. My role here is just in aiding it a bit by breaking it into smaller doses and helping it slightly by rooting out a bit more about each topic as we go.

We have what I think it the most inane of the topics to deal with today, but one that is no less valid than the others:

16) I Was An Indian In a Former Life (2)

“After that sweat lodge I really know what it feels like to be an Indian. I have found my true spiritual path.”


Reality Check and Consequence

This is spiritual or cultural appropriation and poses a serious threat to the integrity and survival of Native cultures. To fill a void in their own spiritual core, some white people are drawn into the New Age garden to pick from a variety of Native spiritual practices usually offered for sale. (White writers, such as Lynn Andrews and others, garner high profits from fictitious “Indian” writing and teaching, while many Native writers can’t find publishers.) Since Native spiritual practice is inseparable from history and current community, it cannot be disconnected from that context to service white people searching for life’s meaning. Appropriating selected parts of Native cultures romanticizes the lives of Native peoples while denying their struggles. Their land and livelihoods stolen, indigenous peoples now see white people trying to steal their spirituality. Rather than escape our white racism by finding a spiritual path, we instead collude in one more way with the genocidal attacks on Native cultures.

I can't help but think of the 1990 Academy Award Best Picture winner, "Dances With Wolves," which told a fictional tale about a Union soldier during the US Civil War (played by the film's director, Kevin Costner) who becomes acquainted with the local Lakota Indians. Eventually, he chooses to become a part of their tribe and during this process, meets and falls in love with another white person living with them, played by Mary McDonnell. No spoilers but I always thought the most bizarre element of it was that here were two white people, seemingly convinced that they had somehow become "natives."

When we speak about "Cultural Appropriation," people sometimes shrug it off, say things like "so, if I'm not Mexican, I can't eat tacos anymore?" or other misguided commentary. Let's see if we can unpack this in a way that makes some sense.

When dealing with racism, the elements of minority people in our society are diminished, their humanity, overlooked or removed. Yes, genocide was committed against the natives of this land, but they had some cool headdresses to wear and applied their war paint in a way that was totes amazeballs!

What's happening is people are willing to pick and choose the elements they like from a culture other than their own, and incorporate it into their own lives, yet they are not willing to acknowledge that the people who created those things are considered unfit to be incorporated into our society.

I hope it's clear why that's a problem.

Additionally, it has been claimed that the elements created by the people of these differing cultures were somehow "invented" by the white majority observers. In that way, the audience of white people looking for something new and interesting, are willing to pay the "creator" of those stolen concepts, making this not just an insult but a monetary attack.

Often, the copied elements neglect some very basic things, for example, the original meaning of those objects and the feelings of the people they portray.

As we all know, in Washington DC, there is a National Football League team with a name that many Native Americans find offensive. The white majority claim that they aren't trying to be insulting and are, in fact, paying tribute to their history. Yet we know that the name of the team was, in fact, intended as a racial slur.

Despite numerous calls to have the team name changed (in the same town, the NBA's Washington Bullets changed their name to the Wizards - imagine the fact that 2nd Amendment supporters were offended about that name - so this request didn't set a precedent), there has been no movement on this issue.

Cultural Appropriation says that I'm willing to take bits and pieces of your life and use the ones I like, reducing you to far less than human. You're just a fix-it kit designed only for the pleasure of the majority, who will take those things, disregard their actual meaning and attach their own meaning to it, no matter what you might think about it. It's how humans get worn as a fashion statement or to liven up the boredom of an otherwise dull life.

Though Ms. Olsson has focused on Native American elements, certainly there have been no end of other cultures mined for their contributions and then tossed away - certainly when it comes to the black community, rap music, twerking and hair weaves are merely three elements that have been taken by the so-called mainstream market who then repackage it for their audiences, with no royalties in sight. Don't get me started on blackface performing.

That's the other issue that people don't seem to understand. The people that appropriate never bother to learn anything about those they are taking from; they are just using what they like and the people who created it can just vanish because we don't care about them.

We don't care: a three word summation of racism. And as we dehumanize people, we silently are stating that they are not worthy of equal rights. That is a very dangerous place to be.


Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash
15. Day Fifteen - Not Here

XX. Intermission

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

Having seen the Opening Ceremonies of the Rio Olympics, it's a great reminder that people from all over the world can come together in the spirit of friendship and competition and co-exist with an understanding that we truly are the same. Why we can't do this on a daily basis, not just for two weeks once every two years, is part of the reason we need to examine the issues of race and how they impact all of us.

Jona Olsson's essay, titled "Detour-Spotting" is the template for my examination of the issues that are particular to our discussion of racism and how we avoid talking about it. Today's topic relates right back to our Olympics concept:

15) Not Here In Lake Wobegon

“We don’t have a racism problem here at this (school, organization, community)” or “We didn’t have a racism problem in this town until that Mexican family moved here.”

Reality Check and Consequence

As white people we do not have to think about racism when our school, organization or community is all white. Racism does not usually become apparent TO US until there are people of color in our frame of reference.

This is kind of a no-brainer. Without any minority people in the community, in the state, in the country, everything is "fine."

This is reflected in a popular sentiment suggested by some of the legislators at that time: once the Emancipation Proclamation passed into law, many wanted to send former slaves back to Africa, this even though America was the only country most of these people knew, being born in and growing up here. Of course, some did take the offer, and the country of Liberia was formed as a home in Africa for former US slaves and their descendants. Point being, once black people no longer served the purpose desired, the first thought, for at least some government officials, was to send them somewhere else. Out of sight, out of mind.

This doesn't speak to the obvious point that these people performed all of the labor to create this country and should have the right to enjoy the fruits of that labor, but are being sent somewhere else as a "reward."

That relates to the old wheeze "why don't you go back where you came from?" a comment that still gets used even today by racists that don't want to see someone other than themselves in their line of vision.

The unspoken issue that this particular topic touches upon is one that cuts to the heart of the matter: it reflects in all of the elements we have seen on newscasts and in social media regarding racism. It is simply that there is a desire by some to simply wish minorities out of the picture. All of the points in Ms. Olsson's essay we are talking about would be moot if there were only white people here.

Again, this is an element that speaks to the thought that any minorities are not as human as white people and that they can and should be shuttled or shifted away whenever possible, for the convenience of white folks. The "white flight" of the 1960s and 1970s out of cities and into suburban areas was a variation on this theme. If they won't leave, we will.

Even though Jim Crow had outlawed segregation in 1964, there was no desire to have black people living side by side with whites even after the laws changed.

And, as we all know, it's through living with someone that we can come to know and understand them. So, really, this was an opportunity to get to the truth of everyone's humanity, lost. Because of that choice, we still are dealing with a lot of the thoughts that we are so different and so afraid of each other that we still aren't able to face these issues.

I should take a pause here and point out something obvious. Part of the reason racism is still so rampant is that we are still viewing this as a black v. white issue. It really isn't that, as there are many white people who are aware that we are all humans and that we need to start acting that way. But, even within the description - black people and white people, the minority and the majority, part of the element that creates this challenge is that we are separating these two camps when what we're trying to achieve is that understanding that there really is just one race: the human race.

I have frequently stated that most every issue we have, when it comes to human interaction, is a communication issue. Certainly, racism can be boiled down to that as well. And let's face it. If you are ready to send away someone without knowing any substantive element of who they are, aren't you the problem?


Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association
13. Day Thirteen - The Penitent
14. Day Fourteen - White Wash

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.

When we discuss the elements of race in America, if we ever do such a thing, there is always an issue with overdoing it. There is a fatigue level that gets reached and once it is crossed, it's next to impossible to continue. So, we have to leave it off and try to start again at a later time.

That's part of the reason why I wanted to give Jona Olsson's essay, "Detour-Spotting," this kind of day by day treatment. Granted, Ms. Olsson manages to stay very concise in her efforts to discuss the problems we face, but it's still a whole lot of material for white people to try to absorb when many of them didn't know or understand that any of this existed before they attempted to look! In that way, we have to take it slow, take some breaks, and try not to let any of this get personal on our journey of discovery and understanding. Making the discussion personal, as we have already covered, will derail the conversation and prevent us from even examining racism in any helpful way, let alone improve or prevent any of it.

Today's topic is appropriate to that thought...

13) The Penitent

“I am so sorry for the way whites have treated your people.” or “I am sorry for the terrible things that white man just said to you.”



Reality Check and Consequence

While there is probably no harm in the “sorry,” if it is not attached to some action taken against racism, it is most often just another expression of white guilt. Being an ally to people of color is not limited to our apology for other white people’s behavior, it must include anti-racist action.

We know there are different kinds of apologies. There are the kind of apologies where a person is truly feeling sorry for what happened and wants to make that be known. But there are also apologies where a person is just sorry they were caught, or are apologizing for convenience sake and is really only sorry about needing to apologize, not about the action taken that caused that need.

It's also difficult because the person apologizing may not believe they themselves have done anything wrong. In that sense, the apology is really merely for show, or to say something placating, or to divert the thought that the apologist thinks the same way as the abuser.

The problem we run into with an apology, when discussing this as part of our conversation about race, is that it's simply a way for white people to assuage their personal feelings over black abuse, a flesh colored band-aid for a broken leg. Additionally, under normal circumstances, when an apology is offered, it is anticipated that the action that required an apology won't readily happen again. That isn't how it goes. Because from every hate filled word said, to every bullet from the gun of a police officer, we know that there will be yet another case of verbal abuse to yet another family mourning a son or daughter, sometimes only days after the previous case. Then, at that time, another apology is offered.

When behaviors do not change, saying sorry is about as hollow a remark as you can make.

But the apology is only meant to make the white person saying it feel better about themselves, so they don't have to think about the system of privilege and oppression that allows them to make such a meaningless comment to someone who has been abused by said system.

The way to make these apologies have meaning is to work towards never having to make them, again. That means becoming an advocate for black people. It means coming to terms with the issues Ms. Olsson has listed here. It means stopping your own racist or unintentional racist behaviors and working with family, friends and neighbors to help them stop their behaviors too.

But, you know, that's an awful lot of work to do, and it's not even an effort that is viewed as something directly benefiting the people being asked to do that work. So, maybe we'll put that off till another day. This is why dealing with the issue of race in America is so difficult. Sacrifice is considered sacrilege and there is a palpable sense that white people are being asked to sacrifice part of what they have come to understand is standard in their lives in order to "be fair." If you view it from that perspective, even supportive white people who want racism to stop might give pause. This goes back to the "Bootstrap Theory" where it's expected that you should work to achieve, not be given anything.

Of course, that ignores the fact that the architecture of white power and privilege was built with black bodies during the slave trade and perpetuated with the concept that white people are the default and anyone else is lower than that. Now that all of that has been established, now white people are ready to "play fair," which, when you view it in those terms, isn't fair at all.

It's the gaps like this - arguing against Affirmative Action, stating that All Lives Matter, suggesting that there is sadness and sorrow over the circumstances that many minorities have to face in this country but then not being willing to lift one finger to help stop those circumstances, that we have these completely different world views and, sure enough, another day has gone by with no changes to prevent or even slow down the process.

Is there any hope of going beyond the perpetual apologies and making the changes needed to stop racism?


Previous thinkposts in this series:

1. Day One - I'm Colorblind
2. Day Two - Bootstrap Theory
3. Day Three - Reverse Racism
4. Day Four - Blame The Victim
5. Day Five - The White Knight
6. Day Six - Lighten Up
7. Day Seven - Don't Blame Me
8. Day Eight - BWAME
9. Day Nine - We Have Overcome
10. Day Ten - The End Run
11. Day Eleven - Due Process
12. Day Twelve - By Association

A reminder: because of the sensitive nature of the subject, comments directly to this and all previous and future essays in this series are screened. Thank you.