I Wish The World Is As You See It

All of us, in ways large and small, have our sights set on a world that’s not quite like this one. It could be a small goal, like a world where we’re richer or kinder or spend less time eating cookie dough. Or it could be something more ambitious, like a world where we judge each other by the content of our character.

But whatever it is, it helps to have an example to follow and be inspired by.

In my article, What Colour Is A Hero?, I advocated for a world where we choose our heroes, not because they “represent” us in some shallow way, like the colour of their skin or their sex or their sexuality, but because we share their values and aspirations and humanity.

Emmanuel appreciated the vision, but we disagreed about why we aren’t there yet.

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Emmanuel:

I wish the world is as you see it. A Beautiful and well-thought-out article. Unfortunately, racism is people wanting to protect ill-gotten wealth legacies.

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Steve QJ:

Thanks Emmanuel. But I think that's a very one-dimensional (though sadly popular) view of what racism is. Are there no poor racists? No racist immigrants who made their money in ways that have nothing to do with America's racist history? No black people who ever profited from slavery?

Sadly the world isn't as I see it yet. But it can be. It takes effort from all of us.

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Emmanuel:

The word racism should be replaced with “Legacy”. Groups who hate, hate because they are fearful of losing centuries of looted gains. I am not bordered [Editor’s note: I think he mean “bothered” here] by the Karens or the crazies in the Southern state with their cross burning and cape-wearing shit shows. My worries lie in the legacies of denial of opportunities in jobs, loans, justice, education, etc., etc., At times these legacies are sanctioned by modern-day institutions like government, banks, or colleges. Here are some examples: college admission scandal, Redlining by banks, NFL, wars, religion, sex, etc., etc.,

Yes, racism comes in all shades. Equity builds wealth. Wealth builds legacy. Racism protects Legacy.

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Steve QJ:

I am not bordered by the Karens or the crazies in the Southern state with their cross burning and cape-wearing shit shows.

Sure, but whether they bother you or not, these groups are still racists. And to have a definition of racism that excludes them doesn't make any sense.

I think we've all really lost our way with the "all racism is institutional" mindset popularised in the past decade or so. Similarly, to use "wars, religion and sex" as examples of...I'm not quite sure exactly, I guess you mean institutionally sanctioned racism? Is just so hopelessly imprecise and broad that you can never be proven wrong, but you can also never actually solve any problems.

I've noticed a lot of people recently, just saying everything corrupt or unfair or imbalanced is racist (and more recently anti-LGBT). But it's far harder for them to say exactly how. And even harder to say how to fix it (other than tearing it all down of course).

And that's fine. If you're living in a termite infested house, it might just need to be torn down. But if you don't know how to build a house, when you've finished tearing the old one down, you're actually even worse off.

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It’s tempting to identify a single, univariate cause for our problems. Especially a problem like racism.

Greed, hatred, history, “whiteness”, there’s no shortage of one-word answers for why racism exists and persists. But the truth is those two words that nobody likes to hear:

It’s complicated.

Racism is conscious and unconscious, systemic and individual, inconsequential and life-changing, and even, in some cases, a mirage. There’s no quick fix. There are no easy answers. Just one step at a time towards the world as we’d like it to be.