Does Anyone Know What Racism Is Anymore?

Last updated on: November 13, 2018 at 10:06 am by Libby Anne

Does Anyone Know What Racism Is Anymore? 2018-11-13T10:06:20-04:00 Libby Anne

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We have become a people afraid of labels—but not of the things the labels describe. We are a people who will do and say things that are sexist, but if you call us sexist—well. Then you are the one being mean. We are a people who will do and say things that are racist, but if you call us racist—well, we couldn’t possibly be racist, because we are nice people, and if you call us racist you are being mean.

As a society, we are more afraid of being called racist than we are of doing things that are racist. As such, we have become a society increasingly standoffish about calling out racism. Bernie Sanders’ recent comments about voters in Florida and Georgia’s gubernatorial elections are a case in point.

As reported in The Grio:

In an interview with the Daily Beast, Sanders classified obviously racist behavior as not “necessarily racist.” Sanders made the comment in reference to the lack of white support for Andrew Gillum‘s effort to become Florida’s first Black governor and Stacey Abrams‘ still on-going attempt to become the first Black female governor in the U.S.

“I think you know there are a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their lives about whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American,” said Sanders. “I think next time around, by the way, it will be a lot easier for them to do that.”

Actually Bernie, feeling “uncomfortable” about voting for someone because of race is racist and in these particular instances that “uncomfortable feeling” translated into the action of voting for the less melanated option. That is racism in action.

Our society as a whole is still so steeped in anti-black racism that it’s nearly impossible not to have bias or be affected by stereotypes. We have stigmatized racism without uprooting it. As a result, we have rejected only the label but not the reality.

We have also created an ahistorical view of our own history Today, white Americans celebrate and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. White America has turned Martin Luther King, Jr., into a sort of comfortable, unassuming black Santa Claus. We like to think that if we lived back then, we’d have been on the right side of history. Polls from the time suggest otherwise.

And as columnist Jarvis DeBerry has pointed out:

King was a disrupter, a disrupter of the highest order. So if you have a problem with today’s disruptive activists, then you’d probably have a problem with him. If, for example, you’re among the 57 percent of Americans who expressed a negative opinion of Black Lives Matter in an August 2017 Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, then you’d probably be opposed to whatever King would be doing today.

“Do you approve or disapprove of what the ‘Freedom Riders’ are doing?” Gallup asked Americans in 1961, and 61 percent said, “Disapprove.”

From that same survey: “Do you think ‘sit-ins’ at lunch counters, ‘freedom buses,’ and other demonstrations by Negroes will hurt or help the Negro’s chances of being integrated in the South?” Fifty-seven percent said, “Hurt.”

Our broken narratives have allowed many white Americans to oppose ongoing civil rights movements, such as Black Lives Matter, while simultaneously believing that they are not racist and that they would have been friends with Martin Luther King, Jr.

And then there’s the other side of the coin—white progressives’ willingness to their white ideological opponents the benefit of the doubt, as Bernie does in his statements. We’re not saying they’re racist. We’re just saying they’re uncomfortable. Indeed, there are a million and one think pieces about how not racist rural white voters are. It’s the economy. Or fear of change. How can we really expect them to keep up with this level of change without some bumps along the way, after all?

I don’t have answers. I only know that in our national conversation on race, something is very badly broken.

One more thing before I close. It occurs to me that the people who are most likely to become upset if they are called racist are the very same people who like to talk about the evils of “political correctness.” Doesn’t that seem just a little bit odd to you?

I have a Patreon! Please support my writing!

Politics

Social Justice

race

Previous Post

November 12, 2018

Evangelical "Parable of the Caravan" Takes a Bizarre Turn

Next Post

November 14, 2018 Evangelicals, and Why Kellyanne Conway Blamed Late-Night Comedians for the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atheism Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism Family Feminism Homeschool Meta Parenting Patriarchy Politics Purity Quiverfull Social Justice Uncategorized Worthwhile reads

Select a Month February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many seals, trumpets, and bowls of judgment are there in Revelation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ten each Seven each Twelve each Five each