We HAVE to TALK about racism and police brutality

[Seminarian]

113. Unmasking Race and Privilege

White privilege is to white people as water is to fish. It is part of our "background of obviousness." We can't see it and don't know about it until something happens to lift the veil.

It's human nature to think in binaries and to be "tribal:" the assumption that I and mine are "people," and strangers, non-members of the in-group, different ones don't count as human. People can learn to get past that, but they won't figure that out for themselves. They have to learn critical thinking skills. They have to wake up.

I agree that we have to talk. More than that, we have to learn to listen and empathize. We have to be able to interrogate how racism and white privilege work to maintain the status quo and keep "the masses" stuck where we are, arguing among ourselves while the ultra-rich get everything they want. This kind of emotional intelligence and multicultural competence requires critical thinking, respect, and dialogue. What is needed is the kind of education pioneered by Paolo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and the resulting "conscientization" expanded upon by Gustavo Guttierrez and other liberation theologians (including James Cone, Black liberation theologian at Union Seminary.) Needless to say, that kind of education can't be assessed with bubble tests or taught on an iPad, so it isn't happening in public schools.

All the videos in this post made me sad, but most of all the one of the black radio host who complained about "brainwashing" black children to believe in racism. The "do what I say and you won't get hurt" and "thug" language he used were shocking coming out of his mouth. But another piece of the puzzle is that our entire culture is abusive and hostile, built on fear, bullying, and violence. It starts with the way many parents treat their children. The "poisonous pedagogy" that Alice Miller talked about in her books produces people who blame victims (and blame themselves if they are victims) and who can fall prey to the kind of blind, nihilistic denial that the radio host displayed.

The thing that frustrates me most about online discussions is the inevitable and rapid descent into arguing from anecdotes or folklore. "I knew a guy once who didn't get a job because of affirmative action" is an example of what I'm talking about. Of course, that shows clearly what has been termed "the possessive investment in whiteness." Affirmative action to help high-achieving black students overcome some of the deficits society imposed on them for being born black is "wrong," but the fact that 20% of the spots in Ivy League colleges go to "legacy" applicants is not even discussed. Because of course rich white people are entitled to that kind of benefit. Because they are rich and white. When I mentioned that to a white man who was arguing against affirmative action he said it "shouldn't" be that way--everything should be based on true merit. He missed the point.