They Do Not Like You Bro. They Do Not Like Your Blackness

A few days ago, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, owner of some of the most successful companies in history, and perhaps the first man to be radicalised by his own social media platform, shared a racist meme on Twitter.

The image juxtaposed a screenshot from an interracial porn movie, featuring four black guys standing suggestively over a petite blond woman, with a photo of four Muslim men meeting with police in the U.K. to discuss the recent racist riots.

You see, Elon Musk has noticed that a disproportionate number of immigrants are non-white. So he took a picture of some other non-white people, who weren’t immigrants or Muslim or even from the U.K., and thought, “meh, close enough for me.”

Hilarious.

In my article, You Can’t Spell “Divisive” Without DEI, I wrote about the problems this kind of collectivism can cause, not least for people of colour. Looking at a group of people, noticing they have a trait like skin colour in common, and thinking, “close enough,” is racism. Whatever colour that skin happens to be.

Shirley wasn’t quite convinced.

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Shirley:

Skin tones aren't sports teams but the prevailing culture in this country always seems to want to hog all the wealth and power for themselvesw and mot share with other cultures. And when culture continues to rise despite every obstacle thrown in their path, the prevailing culture cuts programs that promote diversity, inclusion, and tolerance. Hmmmm. I wonder why?

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Steve QJ:

“the prevailing culture in this country always seems to want to hog all the wealth and power for themselves”

Agreed. But this isn't a black/white problem, this is (mostly) a rich/poor problem. I think it's sometimes tricky to tell the difference because black people are disproportionately poor, and racism is still a thing.

Keeping the focus on skin and not extreme wealth actually works to the advantage of the extremely wealthy.

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Looking back at this conversation, I wish I’d asked Shirley to explain what she meant by “the prevailing culture.” 

I don’t think anybody would argue that wealthy, powerful people want to hog all the wealth and power for themselves. But I strongly suspect she didn’t mean “wealthy culture.” 

Instead, I think Shirley has noticed that a disproportionate number of wealthy, powerful people are white men and thought, “close enough for me.” 

Anyway, at this point, Devin arrives to make sure I know that “they” don’t like me. 

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Devin:

Bro I was stuck in this perspective early in my life. They do not like you bro. They do not like your blackness. They don't give a fuck if you have money or not.

Keep an inquisitive mind. You'll understand one day. It'll hit you.

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Steve QJ:

“Bro I was stuck in this perspective early in my life.”

Haha, well, bro, I'm happy to say I've never been stuck in yours.

There is no "they" my friend. There are racist people and there are people who are smart and secure enough in themselves not to be. I pray, for your own happiness, that one day this hits you.

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Devin:

The "they" is the racist people. I know because i frequent places and chatrooms that dislike blacks and people who are racist. I am aware of thr metanarratives. Many smart and secure people are racist. There doesnt need to be anything deeper than apparence is what i mean.

Your arguments are based off of all of these strange assumptions as if wealthy and educated black people are unknown. The racists of today have consumed multiple experiences of respectable blacks.

What is important is consolidating enough power for these things to be indifferent. But it will never change the perspective of these racists which are literally skin deep.

Again, I've been through these things.

Also PS i love how you approach my comments dismissively as if you are a black man on another plane of existence than other black people. Assuming my intentions and that I am unhappy.

I challenge you to approach my perspective with curiosity and respect. Because, as you can see from the few things I've written - Ive thought about the subject of race conflict often

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Steve QJ:

“I challenge you to approach my perspective with curiosity and respect.”

I've been writing on the topic of race and racism for around four years now. That work has been read by literally millions of people, backed up by countless hours of research. I've had thousands of conversations with people from all across the political spectrum, from all backgrounds, of all skin tones, about racism.

I promise, I'm not saying any of this to brag, I'm saying it to point out that I've thought very deeply about this too (also, go back and read your initial comment to me and see if maybe, just maybe, you set the tone of “dismissiveness”).

It's not that I don't have respect for your perspective, I do. I know many people with the same perspective. The problem is simply that you're not saying anything I haven't heard many times before. Yes, I know there are racists, I know there are people who dislike "blacks" (even the fact that you call black people "blacks" speaks volumes to me), but I've spoken to these people, many, many times. I know there's nothing behind that dislike except stupidity and self loathing.

So I stand by my earlier statement, there is no such thing as a smart, secure of happy racist. This is true whether the racist in question is white or black.

Because in the end, whether you’re one of those people in the chatrooms, or the race scientists on Twitter, or the guy on the street giving an interracial couple a hard time, all racism does is eat away at you. Believing that you’re divided from millions of your fellow humans is worse than not feeling that way. And you have to be ignorant to think that way. It’s really that simple.

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I know it might seem as if I’m lashing out when I say racist people are stupid and/or unhappy, that I’m finding a simplistic explanation for a behaviour that I personally dislike. But I’ve thought about this deeply too.

Whatever I might think of his politics or personality or taste in memes, Elon Musk is arguably one of the smartest people alive. 

Yet with all his wealth, with all his success, with all the power and resources at his command, Elon Musk spends his time posting memes and misinformation in the hopes that edgy teenagers click a little heart icon under his name. 

You can try to tell me that these are the actions of a happy man, you can try to convince me that he couldn’t find a better way to express what I’m sure are his heartfelt and deeply held concerns about the U.K. police’s attitude to immigration, you can assure me that this isn’t one of the most pathetic, racist displays from a public figure in living memory.

But it’s close enough for me. 

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