I know that many white people will instinctively and emphatically resist that observation. They'll note the self-evident truth that prejudice is confined to no one culture or color. Having known more than a few African-American bigots, homophobes and anti-Semites, I'll be happy to concede the point.
But racism is more than prejudice. It is, rather, the system by which prejudice is encoded into the laws and customs of a society so that, to take an example not quite at random, two black men can be arrested for waiting quietly on a prospective business associate to arrive for a meeting at Starbucks.
People of color have no access to the system that allows that. So, while they must figure out how to live under racism, racism itself is not their problem. The system was built by and for white people; it's up to them to dismantle it.
That's a truth white men and women often find difficult to process. I'm reminded of something a white, Southern-born colleague wrote in 1995. The late Michael Browning and I were traveling the South doing interviews and visiting historic sites for a series of essays on race.
In Atlanta, we sat down with the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a former aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and he mentioned a question he said he asked white people in his racial justice seminars: "Have you ever gotten down on your knees and asked God to forgive you for your racism?"
The question struck Michael like an uppercut. Here's what he wrote: "Vivian looks at me. The question is no longer rhetorical, but I do not reply. Southern irresolution: How, if I am as benevolent as I think I am, can black people see me as such a monster? Am I an inert part of some vast, weighty boulder of oppression? Do I injure blacks by breathing, and just being white?"
Irresolution is a common response. So are defensiveness and denial, rationalization, justification and a kind of puffed-up indignation accessible only to the profoundly entitled and entirely clueless. Think of that look on Sean Hannity's face when he has to discuss, well, anything having to do with race.
What you are less likely to encounter when confronted by racism is white people who will own the problem, who will have the guts, humanity and humility required to confront it, assess it and resolve it. So this column is a standing ovation for Starbucks.
Last week, faced with the public relations disaster noted above, CEO Kevin Johnson did all the expected things. He said what happened was wrong. He issued apologies. He did the whole this-is-not-who-we-are routine.
Then, Johnson did something unexpected, announcing the closure of 8,000 company-owned U.S. stores on the afternoon of May 29 so that his nearly 175,000 employees can undergo training in preventing implicit bias. Given how difficult it can be to get white people to even acknowledge the reality of implicit bias, we ought not breeze past the significance of that.
Matthew Powell
Starbucks deserves credit for one of the most authentic and creative corporate responses in recent memory. One of the bravest, too, given the likely hit to the company's coffers the mass closure represents.
And as we are singing praises, let's spare a stanza or two for the white civilians at Starbucks who saw what was happening, whipped out their cellphones to record it and demanded answers from the cops. Nor should we forget those who showed up and showed out at subsequent protests.
One can only hope other white people are taking note. Other white institutions, too. Meaning coffee shops, yes, but also libraries, churches, supermarkets, gyms and police departments. Ultimately, after all, this is not a Starbucks problem, but an American problem. And until we face it, the next public relations disaster — or tragedy — is always just around the corner.
It would be good to see Americans — particularly white Americans — take ownership of that truth. To its credit, Starbucks just did.
So gtfo and go to Africa where you'll be gods among men because, relatively speaking, American education and being a 56%er makes you superior to the natives in every way. Become the change you want to see in the world
>People of color have no access to the system that allows that. So, while they must figure out how to live under racism, racism itself is not their problem. The system was built by and for white people; it's up to them to dismantle it. >who is Barack Obama >who are all the black athletes making millions of dollars Sage
Angel Evans
The only thing we need to own again is fucking niggers.
Henry Hughes
actually racism is a construct you people keep telling yourselves to make excuses for not owning up to your bad behavior and bad decisions and poor impulse control, whites make these errors as well, we just call them white trash. so why do minorities think they're special and that we should give a fuck about their mistakes?
Camden Howard
>Racism is a white problem. I object. I'm Japanese but I fucking hate niggers.
Why have none of these skunk apes returned to their ancestral homeland where they can live free from the white man's oppression and institutional racism?
Just a side note, if the US legal, educational, penal, and social system is so white supremacist, why is it that asians have the lowest incarceration rate, highest grades, and highest average incomes? Asians sure didn't build the system. Isn't it a more plausible thesis that, as intended, the system is fair and rewards solvency and hard work while punishing indolence and criminality? >Muh institutional racism dismantled with 1 easy argument >this literally can't be refuted
That negro can get fucked. His ancestors could have ended up in North America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, or stayed in Africa. Each one of those outcomes is fucking shitty except for the one that actually happened to his ancestors.
God damn, I wish we were half as barbaric as the Arabs. They castrated their slaves, and as a result there's nary a nog in the middle east so they never became the burden they did here in the new world
Nathaniel Perry
I find it interesting comparing America and Brazil when it comes to black people. You see, Brazil was far more of a prolific slaver nation by a huge margin, which is evident when you look at its population.
Both share very similar history in terms of slavery, but where Brazil drastically differs from the states, is that they never "atoned" or tried to make up for their supposed crimes. They never gave the niggers an inch, or tried to cultivate a culture of victimhood for their black population. No appeasement.
The result? You fucked up, America. Should have forcibly shipped them off to Liberia like Lincoln wanted
>Blacks demand you apologize for being white and as such part of the inherently racist system >o-ok I'm sorry >Blacks demand you spend your whole life dismantling the racist system >Y-yes Tyrone I will >Ok white boy, you gotta hand over your house and your job now, you wouldn't wanna be a racist would you? >And so it continues ad infinitum
Cooper Cooper
rolling
Sebastian Turner
Jamieo Harris
Matthew Fisher
Patrick is finally shining the light on JEWISH SUPREMACY and their role in ETHNIC GENOCIDE PUSHED VIA DIVERSITY. THE MEDIA ARE 100% CONTROLLED BY THE JEWS. BANKS ARE FUNDING ISRAEL PROXY ENEMIES.
THEY ARE THE ENEMY OF THE UNIQUENESS OF THE HUMAN RACE. THEY ARE DESTROYING REAL DIVERSITY VIA "DIVERSITY"
We are not DIVERSE if we are losing our ethnic nationalist homes.
Do not believe their JEWISH LIES. Patrick Little is /OURGUY/
