The premise of the post is that coherent ideas shouldn’t be slammed as 100% false because you disagree with the premise. If this makes you run to your computer and deem me an ignorant or misinformed racist, this is a key element of the problem I’m talking about.
I’m really sick and tired of people calling each other racist because they have sympathy toward Trump, or (gasp) sympathize with protesters against Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement. To be fair, I have not followed these protests closely. I have not attended any of them. I have not researched any of them, which makes me ignorant enough not to have preconceptions beyond what I read and see in the mainstream media. What I do interpret, broadly speaking, is that the left wing protesters are on the side of racial justice and equality, while the right side is for preservation of the status quo. Now there may be crazy elements within these groups that I am not familiar with, but broadly speaking, these are their platforms.
Now what’s wrong with racial justice? Anyone against it would be a racist, right? The status quo people are racists, right?
Here’s the thesis of this article- they’re both right, and the conflict persists because each side only sees themselves as right. We need more activists to stand up and say they’re both right. Only then will a true dialogue occur.
The conflict persists because each side only sees themselves as right.
What do I mean that they’re both right? I mean that historically, African Americans have been marginalized, and while that has, legally at least, been corrected, African Americans still feel that they’re missing out from the fruits of the wealth of this country. They feel there is injustice within the criminal justice system, in the education system, in job opportunities. I agree that’s how they feel, but here’s a news flash- the government doesn’t really care about anyone, African Americans, whites, or anyone else. The only reason more whites than African Americans have succeeded economically is because more of them pushed their children to succeed, to finish school, to go to college or find a trade. That in turn leads to better jobs, which leads to better neighborhoods, where other white people with similar ideals live. If you doubt me, look at the statistics for graduation from high schools and vocational schools. Look at the statistics for college attendance and graduation. If African Americans don’t attend, don’t graduate, then of course they will miss out. No one is handing anyone anything on a platter. Each family needs to do their part to help their children to succeed. The government may provide financial assistance, but it isn’t going to do the job for you.
Each family needs to do their part to help their children succeed. The government may provide financial assistance, but it isn’t going to do the job for you.
Having lived in a black community, having been one of 3 white kids in a class of 30, I have a different perspective. I think the biggest problem African Americans have is within their own communities. Let me say it again- the government doesn’t care about anyone. It is up to you to push yourself forward. This is a huge misunderstanding that the black community has about the white community. They think 50 years after Civil Rights legislation, white people have things handed to them. That’s not true. Our biggest competitors now are not African Americans. They are the Indians, Chinese, Europeans, in short, people around the world who are getting free or subsidized higher education and kicking our butts on the education and job front. I believe white people have their own anxieties, and 60’s era messages about racial equality sounds foreign in the current climate. That’s why it’s falling on deaf ears, and calling people who have their own anxieties racists tends to rile some people.
Which brings me to the white supremacists and other right-wing groups. I think in order to understand someone, you have to look at where they’re coming from, and name calling is not conducive to any meaningful objective. In this cancel culture, too many people rush to judgment and name calling instead of taking a step back and looking at and listening to what someone has to say.
White supremacists, and all supremacists for that matter, are driven by fear.
White supremacists, and all supremacists for that matter, are driven by fear. They are afraid that they are missing out on opportunities and worse, that their children will as well. Feelings of “supremacy” are an ego’s response to feeling under attack.
Feelings of “supremacy” are an ego’s response to feeling under attack.
Why do some white people feel under attack? Because the country is growing, and not necessarily in their favor. They never had a say in who lives in their communities. Politicians just pushed social justice through with visas for high paid workers and illegal immigration for lower paid workers. Illegal immigrants eventually get amnesty, and their children are seen as competitors in a landscape that already feels like it’s squeezing the middle class. These social engineering decisions were made for us. The only difference is that people handle it differently. White supremacists see their world changing, and when another group chants “racial justice,” that’s code for taking something away from them, or them having to sacrifice something they don’t think they should.
So, if you take a step back, while both sides are fighting each other, they’re actually talking past each other. The BLM and Antifa needs to engage in thought experiments to better understand where white supremacists are coming from, and white supremacists need to find a way to communicate that they are not feeling the white privilege leftist groups think they are benefitting from. The truth is, it’s not black v. white anymore. The landscape has changed, and the people on the sidelines are the ones shrugging their shoulders at all this infighting while they push on with the riches this country has to offer.
