Fight for Democracy, Part 9: This is America

There’s likely to be a lot of talk about race in this election cycle, as there should be. I know that makes a lot of (white) people uncomfortable, and they tend to tune it out, but the issue is not going to go away and we all need to address it. The way to start is with a little information and honesty.

When a lot of people think of racism they think of people using the n-word, of the KKK or the alt-right talking about whites as a better, purer race. They think it’s a small group of people who hate. They think it’s overplayed by the media. They are wrong. First, it isn’t a small group. While a very small number of people admit to being racist, polls suggest that about 11 million Americans agree with the alt-right/neo-nazi version of white supremacy (https://www.vox.com/2018/8/10/17670992/study-white-americans-alt-right-racism-white-nationalists). In current-day America about 10% of the population is against interracial marriage, 20% of Americans (mostly white) agree with the statement that black people are less intelligent than whites, and over 30% say whites are harder working than blacks (https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/race-society/white-racial-attitudes-over-time-data-general-social-survey). That’s pretty much definitional racism and those aren’t small numbers.

But perhaps more importantly, that’s not the only type of racism. Implicit bias probably has an even larger affect. Implicit bias is our unconscious racism. It’s the racism that comes from the guy who treats everyone he meets with respect and courtesy, by also is much more likely to reject a job application if the name sounds too black (https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/mar/15/jalen-ross/black-name-resume-50-percent-less-likely-get-respo/). It’s the racism of the police (http://www.nber.org/papers/w22399) and schools (https://medicine.yale.edu/childstudy/zigler/publications/Preschool%20Implicit%20Bias%20Policy%20Brief_final_9_26_276766_5379_v1.pdf) that views black individuals as inherently more dangerous and more responsible for their actions at an earlier age. We all have implicit biases on many topics, and it’s about blaming only certain professions or labeling people racist. But racism cuts across every part of our society, whether you think yourself colorblind or not, and refusing to admit it won’t make it go away.

Both of these lead to systemic racism. It isn’t a personal choice that someone makes to discriminate against an individual, but rather a consequence of those (mostly) unconscious decisions that then enter the structure of our society. Our schools are as segregated now as they were right after desegregation. It’s still harder for black people to get housing loans. Middle-class black people generally live in neighborhoods with living conditions (parks, gov’t services, crime rates, etc.) of lower-class white Americans. Black people use marijuana at the same rate as whites but are three times more likely to be arrested for it. The sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine (more often used by blacks) are much steeper than for powdered cocaine (used by whites). Most of these differences did not develop because any one person or small group of people set out to discriminate against black people. But they still exist and most of us simply accept them and allow them to perpetuate. That is racism.

And if you don’t accept that, you really need to ask yourself  why not. If black people have it worse (they do: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/21/17139300/economic-mobility-study-race-black-white-women-men-incarceration-income-chetty-hendren-jones-porter), if they have 1/10th the wealth of whites, then there is either some sort of systemic difference in our society that limits the capabilities of blacks to acquire wealth (this is the definition of systemic racism); or black people are simply not as capable of achieving success, whether it’s because of genetics, culture, or something else inherent to them (believing this is the definition of racism). There’s really no getting around it: it’s racism.

I know I’ve thrown in lots of links with lot of numbers, statistics, and charts, but that’s the point. You don’t have to see racism - I don’t very often - or be racist - I don’t think most people are (at least not consciously) - to understand racism. But if you discount a mountain of data, if you ignore the stories and pleas of African Americans, you can’t claim ignorance. And if you see it and do nothing, you can’t claim innocence.

More data, for the hard to convince.
THE ULTIMATE WHITE PRIVILEGE STATISTICS & DATA POST
by J.B.W. Tucker http://www.jbwtucker.com/ultimate-white-privilege-statistics/

If you don't want to put that much time into things, here's a fairly short article showing just the tip of the iceberg, but still enough to make the point: Institutional Racism is Our Way of Life. https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2015/05/06/institutional-racism-is-our-way-of-life

Ta-Nahesi Coate's excellent summary of how we got to this state - know the past to understand the present. The Case For Reparations. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

The seminal explanation of White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack: http://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf

Hopefully this will get you closer to understanding the modern civil rights movement known as Black Lives Matter. The best way to understand it is to listen to what they are fighting for. You'll find it's much harder to dismiss their demands when you know what they are: Campaign Zero.https://www.vox.com/2015/8/21/9188729/police-black-lives-matter-campaign-zero

As a white man in America, I've been able to go my whole life without ever having to deal with race. A lot of people want to continue in that manner. Until those of us who are in the majority consciously choose to listen to the minority, to force ourselves to face something which might discomfort us, the people of color who are oppressed will continue to face injustices without the option of looking away. It's inhumane to ignore them, it's arrogant to deny the truth, it's too easy to let the status quo stand when it leans in your favor. I've chosen to enlighten myself and I hope others will do the same.

And if you want to read it from someone more eloquent and knowledgeable than myself: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html