Sunday I was watching my usual professional football games and noticed that several players had the above-noted terms on the backs of their helmets. While the sentiments, like many platitudes, sound nice they’re fundamentally meaningless. The only people who can end racism are the people who benefit from it and, importantly, have no idea they’re racists. Turns out a majority of those who benefit from a system built over nearly 400 years literally have no comprehension of their role in continuing racism in the US.
A majority of Americans who are not people of color believe that in order to be a “racist” one must hate or despise those who are physically and observably “different” from them. Unfortunately that’s not the case. While folks who actively hate others based on skin color, culture or race exist (and do little to hide their hatred) they are in no way the majority of racists in this country. Most racists are simply people who operate based on a number of assumptions regarding those who are conspicuously different from them. Ironically, one of the strongest indicators of racism in this regard are people who “don’t see color.” In reality, if one were unable to see the obvious differences that exist between themselves and others they should really get in to see an ophthalmologist. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with noticing someone has darker skin than you, problems arise when one’s presumptions about such differences control one’s view of such people.
Let’s consider some of those presumptions. One of the first is that every person of color has had the SAME opportunities as those who are not people of color. Another is that the grossly inflated percentages of people of color being incarcerated means they belong in prison. Yet another is that failure to succeed in the US is the result of laziness and a lack of willpower. This latter view is amplified by the existence of an extremely small minority of people of color obtaining what most Americans consider to be success. A number of these folks (but certainly not all) grew up in impoverished conditions but managed to avoid the open violence that often plagues such communities. Put simply, such people are the EXCEPTION and not the rule. The unwitting racists to whom this article is addressed use these exceptions to conclude the United States has moved beyond its racist history when, in fact, it’s nothing more than a glorification of tokenism.
What these folks fail to understand is the real world of human Color. The fact they may not publicly use derogatory terms is in no way “enlightened.” Stereotypes did not arise in a vacuum. When my grandfather sued the City of Pomona over some of its racist policies (and won) even some of his own people (including one who published El Espectador) were critical of him stating that it was “too soon” for such an action (it was late 1941). That same critic two years later joined a larger lawsuit in San Bernardino (I guess it was finally time). The defendants in my grandfather’s case asserted, as a defense, that they opened facilities to Mexicans (and other brown folks) on “Spanish American Day.” Unsurprisingly that “Day” took place the same day the pool was disinfected after closing (for the weekend and the Whites). While laws may have changed many human hearts and minds have not.
Many closet racists suggest the mere fact overt discrimination is usually illegal means things have changed - they haven’t. So long as there are different (and usually far more difficult) paths available to folks depending on skin color, racism continues (in the form of those differing paths). Add in the disparate treatment of people of color by too many members of law enforcement (something I’ve personally experienced) and one should, if one is being honest, recognize that as much as things have superficially changed, at their core they have changed very little. If you really want to “test” yourself for racist tendencies try this small trick - visit a community in which YOU are an obvious minority. While there, examine how you FEEL in such a situation. If you’re afraid it means, at a minimum, that you’re likely a racist regardless of your best intentions.
Circling back to the NFL’s helmet quotes, Webster’s first definition of “Hate” is - “intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury.” This definition notes the sources of hate and one which I believe is the fundamental human condition behind it - FEAR. Like all human emotions, fear results from biological responses to various situations and conditions. Whether it’s a response to a physical threat, a realization that another person or being is significantly more powerful or dangerous or that the risks in a given situation are quite tangible, fear is ultimately about one’s sense of self-preservation and is very often about the “Unknown.”
Despite its source one of the things we know about fear is that it tends to minimize our intellectual ability to be objective and seek the truth. It often arises when we find ourselves in a situation in which we don’t know what’s coming next. While it has its purposes it can also be one of the most dangerous emotions we ever face. Today, whenever I sense fear in myself I try to step back and give thought to what is going on. (Full disclosure: I have an adult onset form of Hydrocephalus that is something of an advantage). Before I was formally diagnosed I had noticed a change in my reactions to various circumstances. Some of those that had been most troublesome in the past no longer troubled me. While my brain has inexorably (albeit slowly) continued to heal I’ve noticed this emotional gap between the person I was and the person I am has persisted. One advantage to this disorder is that it has helped me understand both the role of fear and means by which it can be intelligently managed (at least most of the time).
What all of this means in the end is that it is possible for someone to be racist because they don’t truly understand what racism is. It also means the underlying causes of racism are often the result of emotions rather than choices. Lastly it means that if we, as a people, are to defeat racism it is absolutely essential that we truly level the playing field. That necessarily includes recognizing the disparity that exists between the experiences of young children growing up in highly homogenous communities. A child raised in Beverly Hills will experience an environment that a child raised in a housing project can’t even dream about. Until we honestly acknowledge and address this disparity racism will continue to plague our Nation.