The word racism has been tossed around lots lately, especially in the US. So I decided to dig deep into the issue and find out what was going on. I started with the most unbiased news organization I could find. The call went like this:
- “Good morning, CNN—you’re a racist.”
- “Hi. Van Jones please.”
- “Van Jones, CNN—you’re a racist.”
- “Hi Van, I’m doing some research on racism and figured you’re the man. Is there a definition?”
- “Sure, there are three levels. Level 1 is when you physically hurt people—it’s the worst. Level 2 is old time discrimination—denying people a fair shot at employment, education, an apartment, or access to a club. Level 3 is when you verbally trash people in public just to keep them down.”
- “Cool. Then why have you called people like John McCain a racist?”
- “That’s Level 4—they’re conservatives. You see, in American politics they call us commies and we call them racists. Folks down here get it, but sometimes it scares people from other countries.”
- “Okay, so then what’s all this stuff about white nationalists and white supremacists?”
- “Even I don’t understand that, you’ll have to ask David Duke.”
So I called David Duke:
- “David Duke—I’m not a white supremacist.”
- “Hi David, I was just calling to ask about your story?”
- “We believe white people are no better or worse than anyone else. We simply host an organization that opposes affirmative action because it discriminates against whites from getting jobs or gaining acceptance to colleges and universities based on the colour of their skin.”
- “That sounds almost reasonable. Anything else?”
- “Yes, we advocate for immigration to center around keeping America a predominately white, Christian nation. We believe there’s nothing wrong with Africans living in Africa, Chinese people living in China, and white people living here in America.”
- “So you’re like the Japanese who believe in homogeneity?”
- “Yes, and we believe all liberals are communists and we have a real conspiracy hard-on for the Jews.”
- “Okay, so you do have some weird ideas?”
- “Right. And that’s the point. Just because Hitler was a bad man, doesn’t mean he was a pedophile. And just because he wasn’t a pedophile, doesn’t mean he wasn’t a bad man. So just because I’m messed up as a nationalist, doesn’t mean I’m a supremacist.”
- “Thank you for clearing that up. Lastly, is it true you were once a member of the KKK?”
- “Yes, but that was 40 years ago and the KKK isn’t what people think”
So I called up the KKK—and a Chinese guy answered the phone.
- ”Good morning, Kru Krux Kran.”
- “Excuse me, are you Chinese?”
- “Yes, I think so.”
- “You gotta be kidding. How did a Chinese person get a reception job at the KKK?”
- “Well, first they don’t want me because I can’t say their name—Kru Krux Kran. But then I charge them with racist and judge say they got to give me the job. So now I work here for five years.”
I didn’t ask any more questions because I sympathized with the employer. (It’s like ISIS having to hire someone with a lisp. Can you imagine? “Good morning, Ith-ith.”)
Nationalists
So what’s the difference between a nationalist, a supremacist, and everyone else?
Nationalists believe what David Duke says and their websites claim they’re against violence. They simply want to make their point. One which very few people support and that’s going absolutely nowhere. Supremacists take it to another level.
Supremacists
Being a supremacist gives you all the benefits of a nationalist with two additional features:
- Whites are genetically superior (because of how nature makes our genes)
- Whites are God’s chosen people based on some twisted interpretation of the Bible
The first may have flown years ago before we started to screw each other, but now that the cat’s out of the bag, I don’t think we can make this claim. My guess is it’s an old argument meant for an older time because if immigration has taught us anything it’s that we (people) are all the same. But before experiencing today’s living proof, humans believed all sorts of things about each other.
As for God, the world is filled with twisted interpretations of scripture and it’s true that supremacy is part of all religious order. But when it comes to modern day America, this type of thinking is out of date (i.e., supremacists aren’t on the rise).
Note: Other than to populate the new world, immigration was devised to show the world we can all live together. And Jesus would have been proud of that.
Summary
Deciphering racism is like having a transgender pick a pronoun—it’s complicated. And the world is so crazy these days I heard a single mother of nine say she doesn’t want any more kids.
When you use the word racism you need to define exactly what kind. Generally, it means one group being mean against another (nothing to do with race). Violent racism is common throughout history. A good example is the Rwandan genocide. Hutus and Tutsis looked so much alike the government had to issue mandatory identity cards to tell them apart. Discrimination-based racism is like the one between the British and the Irish, which lasted for 400 years. Both of these types still exist in the world but not in the US.
Realists know that John McCain is not a racist and neither is ol’ Mitt. The left needs to grow up in this regard (and maybe righties could curb their use of the term “commie”). There’s also no doubt about the ugly side of left. They use violence without condemnation, lie without conscious, and fight like a girl. This doesn’t mean their causes aren’t just, but they’re certainly not a bunch of fine people.
Neo-Nazis are on a different page and skinheads are just disgruntled punk rockers who hate that everyone now dresses like them. So they shave their heads to show that nobody loved them. And if you think about it, probably nobody did.
In order to be effective social justice warriors, people need to understand their adversary’s side and put together a relatively solid argument. For example, if you’re interested in the issue of statues and the confederacy—without being punched in the face—watch this episode on C-Span. It gives real history and the story from the last caller is beautiful. There’s also a series on CNN called the United Shades of America. Here are some clips (clip 1, clip 2, clip 3, clip 4).
Note: All research for this article was done using my wife’s browser.