Racism on the Rise

Far from signaling the end of racism in our society, the election of Barack Obama seems to have reinvigorated it.

Fear of the "other" is as human as migration. Clans and tribes band together for protection against rival clans and tribes. The larger and more powerful tribes have better defenses that the smaller, weaker ones. Racism is an outgrowth of tribalism. For a diverse society like the United States, this presents a huge challenge. How do we unify as a "tribe," which we must do for self-protection and prosperity, when we are made up of such widely diverse elements? How do we identify fellow members of our tribe? Color does not work. We have many different shades of skin among us. Features don't work. We are made up of citizens from every corner of the globe. Language and accent don't work. Members of our society speak with a legion of regional and ethnic dialogs.

Faced with this uncertainty, we can become vulnerable to political factions that exploit racism. This behavior helps them cultivate their bases. Unfortunately, it also polarizes Americans into opposing camps and distracts them from real issues, weakening the fabric of our society.

The constant accusations that Obama is racist against whites are rationalized racism. Under this viewpoint, if he acts in any way that is beneficial to any African American or harmful to any white American he is pilloried in the media. That is an untenable code of behavior and yet many in the media hold him accountable to it.

There are many, many areas in which he deserves criticism. These accusations distract from more incisive analysis of the job he is doing.

The furor over the doctored video clip of Shirley Sherrod, the summarily dismissed Department of Agriculture Director of Rural Development in Georgia, was a case in point. There were no winners and it served to heighten racial tension.

For those interested, I have posted the link to the full speech below. I admit I have not watched the full speech, but have watched a longer version on a newscast.

http://www.naacp.org/news/entry/video_sherrod/

The NAACP was another target of the aforementioned clip. The NAACP's mission has always been the integration of African Americans into American society. It has always striven to be mainstream. It has not always acted wisely but to characterize it as a racist organization is another way of stating its goal is racist and black people are not equal. I don't buy it.