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On Racism
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how we might transcend it...
Hmmm... So as long as they are white-looking it cannot be racism? How is that?
There is no color in the definition of racism.
racism: noun: discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race
noun: prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races
The misperception that only discrimination against people of color is racism is a uniquely white mindset, rooted in ethnocentrism, which has facilitated the endurance of incipient racism.
Race itself is a fairly modern concept.
race 1
(rās) Pronunciation Key n.
- A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
- A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution: the German race.
- A genealogical line; a
lineage.
- Etymology...
"people of common descent," c.1500, from M.Fr. razza "race, breed, lineage," possibly from It. razza, of unknown origin (cf. Sp., Port. raza). Original senses in Eng. included "wines with characteristic flavor" (1520), "group of people with common occupation" (c.1500), and "generation" (c.1560). Meaning "tribe, nation, or people regarded as of common stock" is from c.1600. Modern meaning of "one of the great divisions of mankind based on physical peculiarities" is from 1774 (though even among anthropologists there never has been an accepted classification of these). Klein suggests these derive from Arabic ra's "head, beginning, origin" (cf. Heb. rosh). O.E. žeode meant both "race" and "language;" as a verb, gežeodan, it meant "to unite, to join." Racial is first attested 1862. Race-riot attested from 1890.
While race and racism are relatively new constructs, and some "white" racism manifests itself as antagonism towards nonwhites... the fact remains that racism, per se, is colorblind.
It consists primarily of "discriminatory or abusive behavior." The abuse of Iraqi people
as "ragheads," Vietnamese as "gooks," or black Americans as "niggers..." all fit the definition of racism. Pure and simple. Racists come in a rainbow of colors. Dick Gregory provided useful commentary.
"Just being a Negro doesn't qualify you to understand the race situation any more than being sick makes you an expert on medicine."
[Dick Gregory, 1964]
Timothy Martin Flanagan
www.WritingResource.info/multisearch.html
and also a relatively meaningless statement. Denial is a dangerous thing...
"Most Americans, white and black, see racism as a lingering problem in the United States, and many say they know people who are racist, according to a new poll"
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There is a deep cultural malady in white America,
a kind of delusional disease that prevents them from seeing reality,
as it is. They know that racism exists, but deny any role in it.
They recognize that systemic prejudice has societal effects, but
claim they play no part in the process. They realize that the
Republican Party is the party of racism, but vote for it, anyway.
White folks have an unexamined problem. They
t ought to stop looking at
us Black folks, as if we are the flawed specimens, and take care of
their own contradictions.
For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=310&Itemid=33
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