But It's Not Racism Bro
As the saying goes, if you always expect the worst, you’ll never be disappointed. Set your expectations low. Fixate on worst-case scenarios. Visualise failure. What could possibly go wrong?
In my article, The Remarkably Unpopular Tale Of Black Progress, I wrote about Surya Bonaly, a black figure skater who certainly wasn’t expecting the worst when she performed the first (and still only) single-legged backflip at the Olympics. Bonaly did this, fully aware that backflips are illegal at the Olympics, simply because she “wanted to do something the crowd would like.”
So when she was penalised by the judges despite this athletic feat, she wasn't particularly surprised.
Unfortunately, 25 years later, some people who hear this story aren’t surprised either. But in their case, it’s not because they understand the rules of figure skating, it’s because Surya is black. And therefore, they already expect the worst.
Mrs C tried to justify this pessimism. Even though, by her own account, her own life is cause for optimism.
Mrs C:
Think you're missing something on this one, bro. I'm fortunate enough to live a very privileged life compared to most people, and especially compared to other black people. Yes. We have made progress, but from my position of comfort, I've seen more than enough situations that can be explained only by racism.
In Bonaly's case, there was information that onlookers did not know. Without that knowledge, however, looking at a maneuver performed by one black girl that no other skater could complete successfully, looks like racism. Sports commentators at the time could easily have added context, but all that I recall being said is that the maneuver "was illegal." Context is everything.
You may not care what I think about you, but if you want to be taken seriously, then please don't quote anything that "apologist" Tim Scott has to say. He does not help your argument.
Steve QJ:
“looks like racism”
But is not racism bro. This is the point. So if it looks that way to you, it might be worth examining your filters, no?
And why is additional context necessary? The move is illegal. The commentators said so. Do they also need to add a statement pandering to black people? Should they do this whenever a black person doesn't win in case it "looks like racism" to some people?
This is the problem I'm talking about. I don't know where it is for you, but there has to be a point somewhere where we stop presuming racism by default. Because doing so hurts us far more than anybody else.
Thanks for your input about Tim Scott. I'll be sure not to acknowledge the existence of black people with the "wrong opinions" in future. I too only support black people who say exactly what I think they should say at all times.
Mrs C:
I know nothing about you except what I can infer from the little of you I have read. You know nothing about me, except for the little you've read, if anything at all. I will repeat; from my fortunate perch as a black person of great privilege, I have spent enough time between worlds that I know what racism is when I see it.
You seem to presume that black people are on the prowel, sniffing for racism the way predators seek prey. No, if anything, we need to be hyper aware in order to protect ourselves. As for me, because I live the way I do, I have the unhappy "privilege" of being surprised when racism smacks me in my unsuspecting face.
Steve QJ:
“You seem to presume that black people are on the prowel, sniffing for racism the way predators seek prey. No, if anything, we need to be hyper aware in order to protect ourselves.”
No, I don't presume this. But I've seen, countless times, black people cry racism in cases where racism was obviously not the issue. Bonaly's story is just one public example of this. But I don't think a single black person can honestly say they don't know people like this in their own lives.
You mention black people's need to be hyper aware. But I think this is exactly the problem. There's a trauma response known as hypervigilance. When somebody goes through something awful, they sometimes go through a period where they're hypersensitive to other potential dangers.
Sometimes they'll be afraid to leave the house or flinch at the slightest noise or become paranoid of anybody who shares any similarity to the person who traumatised them. Therapists work very hard to help survivors work through this.
I think some black people experience something similar. Only, in this case, they often haven't been through the traumatic experience themselves. And nobody is trying to help them work through it. Instead, they've been told, over and over again that they're under siege. Until they believe it.
Again, to be clear, this isn't to say that racism and racial trauma no longer exist in their own right. I've experienced racism too. It's to say that many of the people being most fatalistic about racism and white supremacy live lives that directly contradict their narrative. They're surrounded by examples that contradict that narrative. I think it would be better for all concerned if they could acknowledge the good in their lives and in society as well as the bad.
Mrs C:
Shalom and Salaam.
It’s a truism that if we look for something, we tend to find it.
If I believe the world is against me, I’m certain to find evidence that it is. If I believe that life is hopeless, I'm certain to find evidence that it is. If I believe black people are doomed to fail, I’m certain to find evidence that we are.
The thing is, especially in Mrs C’s case, how do you square this narrative with the life of privilege she claims to have led? If the system is working tirelessly to hold black people down, how can we explain her success? Or the many examples of black progress I point to in the article?
As far as I can see, there are two ways.
The disadvantages that black people face are real, but not as great as some people claim.
Black people are so incredible that despite unimaginably large disadvantages, we’ve made (and continue to make) enormous progress.
I prefer option 2.
Not only because it panders to my ego, but because even if the odds are stacked hopelessly and eternally against me, it’s better for me if I believe I can beat them. It’s better for me to have hope. It’s better for me if I’m not constantly expecting the worst.
The election of the first black president, the appointment of the first black Supreme Court Justice, heck, the entire civil rights movement, none of these things would have been possible without this foolish, improbable optimism.
I can’t think of anything more disappointing than if these people had expected the worst.
Way back when I was a grad student in CS, I missed a qualifier question, which I thought was graded incorrectly. I wrote an appeal, and while it was pending someone showed me the response from the question’s author, which was a long personal attack on the gaul I had questioning a Professor. Now, I’m Jewish and he had a definitely German name, and I did wonders if anti-semitism was the issue — his personal attack was so crazy.
But I was being hypersensitive, and I’m glad that I forced down that paranoia. Life would have been much worse had I retreated into being scared of being a victim of anti-semitism instead of participating fully in American society.
FWIW, years later, apres Google, I learned that professor came here as a Jewish refugee from the Nazis. My bad — turns out he just didn’t like being questioned by annoying students.
Steve, I'd love to know what you think of these groups that say People of Color feel unsafe hiking in American state and national parks: https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2023/07/oregon-groups-create-a-path-for-people-of-color-to-feel-safe-on-wilderness-trails.html