My Goodness, I Hope This Message Is Not Sounding All Wrong
It’s been pointed out numerous times, by various people, that some of today’s “anti-racist” efforts have swung all the way back around to outright racism. Whether it’s the bigotry of low expectations, the return of racial segregation, or the new breed of race essentialism, racial discourse is in bad shape.
The thing is, at least in some cases, these misguided people really do have good intentions. And in others, they’re being given so many conflicting messages that they don’t know where to turn.
In my article, The Progressive Rebranding Of Racism, I pointed out several instances where this problem has spiralled out of control. And suggested that all the confusion could be solved by embracing the radical notion that black people were simply people.
Araci still wanted a little clarification:
Araci:
Well you are right, but on the other hand Malcom X used the factor race to be proud of it… but this could lead to a bit conversation and I am typing on my phone… but I still agree with you 90%
Steve QJ:
Well you are right, but on the other hand Malcom X used the factor race to be proud of it
😅 I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here, but I don't think the colour of a person's skin is anything to be proud of either,. Pride should be reserved for things we've achieved. Things we've worked for and earned.
The colour of somebody's skin is just a thing. Like the colour of their eyes or the shape of their nose. Being “proud” of these things makes no sense.
Araci:
I agree with you, do not get me wrong. Why would I be proud of something external to myself? In short, what I was trying to convey is related to the long debate that Critical Race Theory has been pushing for. I am also struggling to decide who is right or even if there is a right or wrong side. I mentioned Malcolm X as he proudly affirmed his identity as a black man so that 'blackness' — whatever it is, a social construct for me as much as 'whiteness' — had no negative attachment and was socially accepted. Of course, he is in another time, another era. It is also hard for me to accept that CRT theorists advocate the ' social race' factor. Although the intentions are good, the message conveyed may not be understood by all.
On the other hand, I agree when they say that, although there are no races other than the human race, it is still true that this social factor is still so crucial in people's lives. I am trying to educate myself as much as possible, but there are so many forces and strong arguments on both sides sometimes it is hard to know where I should go. Should we care about this 'social race' and be 'colorblind,' or say everybody is equal, etc.? My goodness, I hope this message is not sounding all wrong.
Steve QJ:
sometimes it is hard to know where I should go.
There is no place where you “should” go. The question I use to guide me is “what world do I want to live in?” How do I want the world to look one day? For me, that's a world where the colour of a person's skin is no more important than the colour of their eyes or their hair. Where we don't hate or judge or separate ourselves on the basis of this meaningless difference.
Everything I say or write is weighed against that goal. At least unless somebody can show me there's a problem with that goal. Nobody has been able to yet though. We all have to figure out our ideas for ourselves instead of just accepting somebody else's. And yes, we have to figure out answers that work in our time. Malcolm X lived in a very different world to us. The answers he needed are not, thank God, answers that we need today.
Your message doesn't sound all wrong, don't worry. You sound like you're trying to figure things out. That's a good thing.
Malcolm X is well known for his militancy and his ideas about black separatism. And it’s hardly surprising. Any group of people as horribly mistreated as black people were during his lifetime, would produce militants of their own.
But less known are the revelations expressed in this letter, written during his first pilgrimage to Mecca about a year before his assassination:
For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors. […]
There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying the same spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe could never exist between the white and the non-white.
Malcolm didn’t become a pussycat after his pilgrimage. America was still bitterly racially divided, black people were still brutally oppressed, and Malcolm remained as determined as ever to end that oppression “by any means necessary.”
But during his time in Mecca, Malcolm saw the world as it could be. As, he realised, he wanted it to be.
In our own way, in our own words, we each need to come to that same realisation; that none of us should be oppressed or disadvantaged or judged because of the colour of our skin. That a spirit of unity is possible, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. That all people, whatever our differences, are simply people.
"...a world where the colour of a person's skin is no more important than the colour of their eyes or their hair." This is exactly it. I'm mixed race (Pakistani/Caucasian) and my wife is full Chinese. I tell my kids their "race" is "the future."
Whenever I talk to anyone, of any background, about race, I encourage them to envision a future where, no matter who you encounter, you don't load up pre-conceived biases, judgements and stereotypes. As a tribal species, that may be almost impossible. But we should still strive for it.
It’s a strange topsy-turvy moment we’re in. Instead of dismantling stereotypes, progressives are leaning into them. It comes up across multiple spheres. My daughter is asked about her pronouns after cutting her hair, as though short hair is somehow incompatible with femininity. Instead of expanding what’s possible as a girl, we’ve firmed up the old boxes and just let people move between them.
It’s somehow now ok (even funny) to dismiss any white woman we don’t want to listen to as a Karen. We didn’t stop racial name-calling. We just broadened it.
The “progressive” position for the first year+ of the pandemic was to keep the schools closed for, believe it or not, the benefit of marginalized people who, the narrative went, did not wish to return to school because of racism, etc.
I feel like the world has turned upside down. I want to be a progressive again in the world right-side-up.