Oprah and old white people
I recently saw a post on social media about Oprah Winfrey saying, largely, that racism wouldn't disappear without old white people dying. And I mentally responded with "Well...yeah? Did she also say the sky was blue?" And I guess this is not the general reaction from conservatives. I guess, instead, there's supposed to be lots of anger? Like she said something untrue? The thing that threw me is, generally, I find myself on the other side of the argument because I think the liberal definition of "racist" leaves something to be desired. For instance, in an awards ceremony with lots of unfamiliar "foreign" names a very popular American author was accused of racism because he just mispronounced the crap out of them. My argument at that time was that he was thoughtless, lazy, and unprofessional because his whole job was just to read these names off pieces of paper and he didn't do the prep work...but "racist" was a bit of a stretch.
Like Oprah, the idea that the problem of racism could possibly be solved in the world of today strikes me as impossible. With my operating definition of bigotry as believing some demographic is "less than" another demographic, I think it's entirely true to say huge chunks of this country do, and always have, seen themselves as superior. They won't ever change their minds. So why the anger? She didn't say kill the old white racists, she just said this was a problem that only gets solved over subsequent generations. It gets solved from the cradle, essentially.
So I've been pondering motivations for the angry responses. One obvious reason would be getting angry that a strong successful black woman with way more money and power than you is speaking out...but at that point motivation is bigotry and sour grapes so why would I bother trying to talk to them? Also, generally, not a fan of assuming bigotry motivates that many people. Another reason could just be a tribalist knee-jerk reaction. This successful strong black woman is a DUMBocrat and everything she says is wrong, full stop. But anyone that's so deep into that tribalism mindset is already a mindless sycophant of the current cult of personality anyways 'cause there's an 'R' after Trump's name so...another pointless exercise to speak to this person.
But surely some of my friends and family that reacted with anger had a more reasonable motivation. So I pondered. And I came up with what I think IS a reasonable motivation for thinking Oprah had a bad take. Not because she's black and successful and has ovaries, and not just because she's got a "D" next to her name. What if they actually think that racism is "fixed" in America right now? Fixed or damn near, right? If you think that racism has ceased to exist, then, yeah it's gotta be aggravating to think an entire generation of white folks has to die off to begin to solve a problem that's no longer really a thing. And that's what I'm clinging to - that lots of the pushback from people isn't because of racism or tribalism. Maybe...maybe lots of people just don't understand that racism is a problem right now in America?
So, here's the thing.
You ready?
Racism is a problem in America.
Now as a white dude that grew up in as WHITE a rural setting as is possible I...am not the person to tell you this. Like, my credentials SUCK. Before college I had all of two non-white friends. My first non-white teacher was sophomore year of high school. My second was college. I made my THIRD non-white friend, ever, when I met my first roommate in college. A grand total of TWO PERCENT of my Facebook friends are not white.
Read the above and tell me there's not a race divide in this country. I mean, I'm not THAT bad at making friends.
I've been pulled over more than 10 times in my lifetime and never, not once, was I worried about being shot. Even the jerk in New Jersey that assumed I was a drug runner because I had Tennessee tags never made me feel in danger. Nor the three different times in high school when I was pulled over at night time and IMMEDIATELY released after they saw I was white...as was explained to me by a cop friend later who said I was driving a "blackā car as a teenager.
Tell me a black guy pulled over more than 10 times in his lifetime could say the same.
If Robert Downey Jr. died this weekend you would certainly see many people upset. But instead it was Chadwick Boseman. Today there's people upset not because of a celebrity death but because he was the FIRST superhero that looked like them and now he's gone. Iron Man was a cool flick. Black Panther was transformational for an entire generation of kids.
One of my favorite twitter follows is a dude named "ConservativeBlackMan". He's a very smart man. (Obviously, since my infallible and perceptive self follows him). Anyways...he also says there's a problem. Believe me when I tell you that this guy IS NOT a liberal toeing that line.
I regularly take my kid trespassing to ride bikes around unused distribution centers and I'm not remotely worried that someone is going to call the cops. And I'm aware if they DO show up that I can schmooze my way out of it. Tell me all the parents of the kids in Squirt's class can do the same.
Ask yourself if your parents, or your grandfather, or your neighbors wouldn't have a problem with a black person coming to Christmas dinner.
Now tell me that racism isn't a problem in America.
Because if you CAN'T tell me racism is solved or damn-near solved in America...then there's something that logically follows. Some amount of cops and politicians and neighbors and decision-makers in companies are racists. Not 1 in 1000. Not 1 in 100. A significant amount. Enough to create a problem.
Cops have a dangerous and difficult job and some portion of them are racist. Protestors are trying desperately to highlight problems and some portion of them are instigators for rioting. Both of these poison apples are screwing up the bunch. The fuzzy edges of how many are the problem, how bad is the problem, and finding solutions to the problem are all INSANELY DIFFICULT to find and identify.
..But I feel like lots of conservatives have lost sight of the fact that there IS a problem. I feel like it's almost become DISALLOWED to even admit it, and that it isn't allowed to be a factor in decisions anymore. And maybe that's partly why it was okay in many minds to vote in a bigot like Trump who is the first President in my lifetime to be openly hateful. A man I personally feel like can be labelled bigot. If you think that there isn't hate in America then all of his rhetoric is just "locker room talk," right? Rather than something you would speak up against if you heard it yourself? Rather than digging an existing hole deeper?
So that's what I wanted to say tonight. The first step to solving any problem is to admit it exists. We're all in this together and we have a racism problem in America.
