Inventing racism

America as defined by the modern Left

So it's official.  There is no sin but racism.  America alone is racist, and is defined purely by its racism.  Racism is the unforgivable sin that even Jesus can't forgive.  Racism is the all defining Caucasian trait.  It would be far better for a white man to rape a white woman than for him to rape a black woman.  Prove I'm wrong in saying that in 2020.  Racism is irredeemable and cannot be allowed to exist, therefore the only country in history that is defined by its racism must go.

Furthermore, the more you can claim victimhood of racial oppression, the more off the hook you are.  And since we can tell racists by their skin color - owing to only one ethnic group capable of being racist in the first place - you had best find ways to redeem yourself of your inherent, genetic racism, which can't be forgiven if you are that skin color. 

Because of this, there is no more reason not to see racism in all things and in all places than there was to see witchcraft everywhere in the 17th Century American colonies.  In fact, it's likely we see racism more than they saw witches.  And we all know about their obsession with witches back then. 

Which brings me to something I may or may not have written about.  I looked in the archive but couldn't find it.  It was sensitive at the time, and for a long time I thought of writing on what happened, but chose not to.  I do think I finally blogged about it but since I didn't use actual names, I can't find a way of going back and locating it.  So because much has changed since then, I thought I'd bring it up again.

This will be an abridged version, just in case.  It came about around 2016 that an old high school classmate of mine, two years my junior, posted on Facebook of the unbridled horror he went through in our racist, all white village in Ohio.  Turns out he was hated by everyone: teachers, students, cops, dogs, cats, you name it.  He and his brother were pulled over by cops, spat on by kids, completely alone and discriminated against.

His Facebook post drew out dozens of other classmates wailing with great tears and repentance, begging forgiveness, and saying how brave he was for calling us out for the racists we were.  Now I must say something here.  By today's standards were we racist?  Yes.  By standards back then were we racists?  Depends.  Sometimes maybe.  At least in terms of humor and jokes.  It was a cool thing to do in a mostly white community.  

And trashing people for a laundry list of things - including ethnic differences - was all the rage back then, even if one or two particular cases were becoming verboten (blacks and gays). Respect was for old timers.  Being cutting edge and racy was the cool thing to be.  Of course there were other things we talked trash about too: weight, height, being an outsider, being poor.  The results of a fallen world I suppose. But it wasn't something we dwelt on.  It isn't as if we woke up everyday thinking how racist we could be.  I'm actually sure entire months went by when we didn't give ethnic minorities a second thought.  And if we knew them personally, we were as likely to be friends as not.

Including with this kid who, by my and other classmates' recollections, was not hated.  In fact, he was an excellent student, a good athlete, and he was one of two students in my school who could breakdance.  In the early 80s, that was worth its weight in gold.  He was extremely popular with the girls, and even dated some of the more popular ones.  If he had a hard time nabbing a permanent relationship it could have been due to the fickleness of females in that he was rather diminutive of height - barely about 5' tall in high school.  

But he was popular with the teachers, was on several sports teams, often varsity and first team.  He did well in school.  His older brother, on the other hand, was a hellion.  He was a bully, too.  Unlike his younger brother, he was big.  Tall, lanky but strong.  And he and several others terrorized us younger classmen.  Did we pop off the odd racial slur when he was coming after us?  Yeah.  It was about all we had in our arsenal.  If it didn't do much, it did something, and that meant quite a bit right before getting the hell beat out of us.

His older brother was also a trouble maker.  In a small town like that, trouble makers are watched by the cops.  It is entirely possible that the younger brother may have at times been mistaken by the police for his more troublesome older brother, especially while driving.  And it isn't because 'they all look alike'.  Truth be told, I have four boys who look as different as night and day to my wife and me.  But time and again people will say 'Gee, they look like those Russian dolls, just bigger and smaller versions of the same kid.'  So if the cops thought the same thing, it might not have been racism at all.

That was about all I could remember of him.  I'm not saying he encountered no racism.  But I remember he could also be loud mouthed and rather caustic too.  And he wouldn't have been the only one to be on the receiving end of cruel barbs, and he may have delivered a few of his own. As I said, ugly kids, fat kids, poor kids (we were a relatively wealthy little town), outsider kids, lanky kids, non-athletic kids, dumb kids, kids that play on rocks - you name it, everyone had something that could make them targets if they weren't in that rather elite upper Varsity and Cheerleader club in the school.  And oddly enough, he was closer to that club than most.

So I was taken by not only his recollection of things, but how many others practically groveled at his feet and begged forgiveness.  Again, unless there was some big part of his life I missed, he was generally liked, overall popular, ran with some of the more popular kids, got on well with the teachers and the school administration in general, and that was that.  The Jim Crow horror story he wrote of was something I don't recall.

I thought of that when I saw a quickly circulating story in which Alex Van Halen, brother of the late Eddie Van Halen, laments the unbridled evil and racism they endured when they were in school - something I never heard mentioned all the years I was a fan. And I thought of a couple years ago when some Hollywood leading lady spoke of the horror of her days in school, outcast, hated, mocked because of racism.  Only in her case, her classmates came forward with yearbooks (boy are those becoming important), showing her as a member of the homecoming court, cheerleader, among most popular and in all the cool clubs and organizations, hanging with friends and classmates, at the top of the school's popularity ladder.  In short, she was wrong.  Perhaps even lying. 

And I wonder then, are the Van Halen brothers telling the truth?  Are they right? Is this a case of some form of social hypnosis or suggestion, planting memories in people's minds?  That actress (whose name I can't remember) was obviously wrong.  My former classmate wove a story completely opposite of what I and other classmates I know remembered. 

And if that is the case, how about the millions of others now out marching, screaming discrimination, howling about racism here and racism there.  Are they right?  Are they telling the truth?  Were they bullies and while beating someone up, the only thing that someone could think to do was toss a racial slur in retaliation?  Are they just lying?  

It makes you wonder.  Don't think I don't.  We know from Salem that people are quite prepared to believe whatever.  We know from cases of false accusations of child abuse back in the 80s and 90s that memories can be implanted.  We know from the Nick Sandmann debacle that ethnic minorities can seize upon the current mentality and make false accusations against white Americans (in the case of Sandmann the American Indian activists was actually guilty of what he accused Sandmann of doing, yet the press, pundits and even Catholic leaders believed the activist based purely on ethnic grounds). Given that our society has all but said if you can claim discriminated-against-minority status you are exonerated of all responsibility, are a hero and martyr and can enjoy almost carte blanche, with no proof necessary but your claim, is it too difficult to think there could be recollections that are a bit wide of the reality?  

This isn't to say there was never racism.  Or that there isn't racism.  It isn't even to challenge the modern notion of racism as the only all defining unforgivable sin.   But just because it exists, does that mean some can't invent it?  After all, if you asked almost any German in the 1930s who was to blame for their problems, they would have told you, whether it was true or not.   I'm sure for many of them, they would have believed it. 

UPDATE:  Apparently DL Roth has jumped in and said the same.  Again, do I doubt it happened?  No.  School can be cruel and kids can do and say all manner of nasty things.  That the Left has declared racially tainted behavior to be the only one that matters doesn't change that.  It does make us remember that perhaps Eddie and the gang were just as cruel to other kids for other reasons.  Maybe not.  Eddie and Alex were known to be rather brutal at times in their dealings, but that could be a factor of being rich and famous.  As kids they may have been angels.  Or not.  But just like gays in the gay marriage debate, or women in #MeToo, racism is simply the only thing that matters now.  It isn't really.  Nor was it fifty years ago.  But the purpose is, again, to divide people and strip away the idea that equality is a thing worth caring about, if not worth keeping. 

I hate it when life validates my boys' cynicism

So CNN is reporting on 'nationwide protests' in wake of Jacob Blake.  Note well, we have no clue what happened but by edited videos and eye witnesses who all seem to have the same appraisal of guilt and innocence.  No trial.  No investigation.  And already entire professions, ethnic groups, and nations are being condemned.  Goebels, patron saint of mass communications, would approve.

So as I blogged, we were doing a cookout and the boys were camping out.  While roasting our goodies, we discussed many things as we are wont to do.  My wife and I made it a priority to have sit down, home cooked meals as much of our life as we could.  So the boys are used to robust debates and discussions when food is in the area. 

We came to the topic of Covid, quarantine and BLM.  We were all laughing at the death of scientific objectivity in the wake of so many scientists, experts, and medical pros insisting that the Covid virus knows well to avoid BLM protesters.  We mentioned that in our little neck of the woods, C19 had barely phased us, even during the height of the initial outbreak. 

Then came BLM, and for a week we had hundreds, if not more, coming from out of town to gather locals together for multiple protests.  In about a month, we suddenly had hundreds of cases and multiple deaths.  That lasted for several weeks until, like the rest of the state and country, the cases and deaths began to decline, and continued to decline.  Good news. And pretty much that should solidify the idea that large gatherings outdoors can increase the spread of C19, including gatherings for BLM protests. 

Anyway, during the talk one of my boys quipped that since C19 is going down, businesses are opening, and the economy seems to be getting better, it's about time for another black man to be shot by police.  I glared at him, for no other reason than we live in America in the 21st Century, and a single slip of the lip is all it takes for a life and livelihood to be forever ruined.  Also I try to discourage that level of cynical pessimism that assumes the worst in the style of broad conspiracy theory motifs. 

Then, lo and behold, what happens?  Well, need I say more.  It chills to the bone to think this could be true.  Not that it's part of some conspiracy where the parties involved are paid to shoot and get shot.  But somehow things are in motion for these things to happen, and to be exploited on cue for reasons to do with divisions and unrest and power, whatever the cost in lives and human suffering.  

My old college professors always said America was the country to fabricate things and whip its people into frenzies for the sake of the wealthy and the powerful.  I'm starting to think they were onto something. 

The American religion of Antiracism

Spot on.  My boys and I talked about this very thing some weeks ago, as we noted the growing number of people, books, movies, songs and just about everything else that is being heaped on the pyre of our self-righteous hatred of racism.

It's passed something, though we couldn't put our finger on it.  Clearly, what we are seeing today, just like the laughably absurd Oscar Scandal of 2016, is well beyond any sensical or even moral assessment of racism past or present.

Obviously part of the problem is those who shamefully and wickedly exploit and even promote racial tensions and ideas in the hope of personal gain, or advancing an agenda.  We've seen that in spades ever since Obama's election threatened the narrative of 'Racist America that only the Liberal gospel can redeem.'

But it's more than that.  I heard some time ago that there is some award in the name of H.P. Lovecraft that has been eliminated on the grounds he was a racist.  That's what spurred the discussion with my boys.  The point is, we were sure those who presented the award were aware of his racism if he was, indeed, a racist.  And he probably was.  Based on our definitions today, you'd be hard pressed to have lived before 1965 and not be racist. 

But there was something else.  A beyond 'holier than thou' attitude behind it all.  It wasn't just 'Look at me!  See how awesome I am because here are all those evil racists and their racist ways I hate!'  No.  It went beyond that.  Clearly the ones who protested the Lovecraft award had to know that the ones giving the award were aware of Lovecraft's racism.  People as into awards like that would have to know.  And from what I've read, most who opposed ending the award were quite aware of his racist ways.  They simply didn't believe it mattered.

And therein was the issue.  You see, the antiracism of today has become something of a religion.  Or at least a cult.  And a major tenet of this new cult isn't just to demonstrate my moral superiority of all those loser racists of yore by reducing them to their racism and condemning them outright.  It's also to show my infinite superiority to everyone else in the world today:  'You see?  You're just not as antiracist as I am.  There you were, with your racist Lovecraft award, excusing his racism.  Perhaps even snickering behind the scenes because in reality, you're not as antiracist as me.  Who knows?  Maybe it's because you're really, deep, deep down, a racist just like him.  I'll show you how antiracist I really am!'

And that looks a lot like what we are seeing, especially among whites who strut like peacocks under the banner of 'uber-antiracist warrior.'  Sure, some of it is just keeping the flames alive, or using it to keep a job undeserved or get an award unearned.  And of course there will be times it is a legitimate complaint. 

But the almost fanatical zeal with which it seems folks are running up and down the aisles, tearing anything off of shelves, destroying art and movies, tossing down anyone and everyone past or present because of the charge of racist, seems more than a condemnation of racism.  Increasing it looks like a condemnation of everyone else around us for not being antiracist enough. 

Maybe racism is behind the Oscars snubs

But not the kind we think.  The kind that says blacks and their stories are valuable only insofar as they advance the narratives and agendas that we support.  A different, and interesting, take on the great Civil Rights struggle of 2016. 

Racism in America

My boys asked an interesting question. Why is it when someone says something like this – focus on the white vote or whatever - it’s racist.  But when the media blames whites, talks of the angry white male, speaks of white anger, talks of divisions caused by whites and the need for politicians to appeal to minorities and not focus on whites, it isn’t racism? 

Good question, if you think on it. I know I didn't have a good answer. The best I could say is it's racist if the first consideration is what is the color of their skin. I guess. Just because those other cases aren't labeled racist doesn't mean they're not. They are. Especially if it is considered racist to say the exact same thing, just about another skin color.  I have no problem saying Ms. Coulter is a racist, as long as I can add Salon and Huffpost and most of the national media to the mix.

American racism

A thought.  Is America a Racist Nation?  Yep.  That's because America inherited the racist justifications used to excuse the African slave trade and persecution of American Indians by the European imperialist powers.  Protestant England, Catholic Spain and Portugal, and yes, the Islamic world.  All had their own Racist Justifications for what they knew was wrong, but a justification for what they wanted.

The thing is, America is a young nation formed in the midst of this.  Those cultures and nations and kingdoms were already ancient by the time the Founding Fathers came together to make some sense of this mess.  The slavery and racism that America had on day one of its official existence was, of course, the gift given from England.  Not that England was unique.  But that's where it came from, and it was in their blood like persecuting opposition to gay marriage is in our blood today.

But when it was time, those cultures could simply dilute those racist excuses into the larger pool of their more ancient cultures, customs, traditions, values, and histories.  America as a nation couldn't.  Racism used in America to excuse African slavery and Indian persecution was there from day one.  There is nothing greater to swallow it up.

Of course that's not to say racism only exists in America.  Or that those other European nations don't still have traces of it in their blood.  But if England adopted flagrant racism to excuse the slave trade or stealing land from the native inhabitants, all of which it benefited from for almost 200 years, that was only a small part of its history that stretches back centuries upon centuries.  Same with Spain.  Or any of the Islamic states that had their own brand of 'they're just so close to animals' reasoning to justify the robust Arabic slave trade.

America?  Nope.  Our existence has had that from day one.  If we got rid of all traces of racism tomorrow, we would have to exist another 600 to 800 years without racism to have the same amount of overarching culture to swallow up the blight.  That we've come this far already, in only a matter of a dozen generations or so, is - to me at least - a point to celebrate.  Especially when we consider the fact that in such a short time, there are 15% of non-whites in the US Congress, vs. 4.2% non-whites in the much more ancient (and far less racist) British Parliament.  Put that in your clay pipe and smoke it.

Just saying.  Since this week is a week once reserved for, among other things, thanking God, being with family, celebrating our heritage; now it's a week to be reminded of white racists imperialists slaughtering godlike indigenous people in order to set up a holiday which is only good as a means for increasing Wall Street's bottom line.  I thought it was worth the reflection.

Obama reminds us that it's always about race

So I've been following the tragic and sad shooting of Trayvon Martin.  Now, I don't know what happened.  I wasn't there.  As far as I know, the majority of Americans opining on this weren't there.  So I'm not going to judge. 

I do wonder why the entire nation is captivated by this one case.  No, let me rephrase this.  I know exactly why, because the media is.  And why is the media captivated by it?  That's simple enough.  Because initially it was about some neighborhood watch fellow with permission to carry a gun STOP!  This is a great opportunity to exploit in order to ramrod our opposition to concealed handgun laws!  Hie to the scene!!

Yes, it's always said to see the life of a young man cut short.  It's damn embarrassing to watch his death be exploited.  But exploited it shall be.  Even now, as we begin to learn more details that paint the initial reports in a little less 'white handgun owner kills innocent black man' narrative, it takes on a life of its own.  Naturally a little thing like pesky details and facts wont' derail the juggernaut.  Just like the Duke Lacrosse case, in which a cadre of Lacrosse players was falsely accused of raping a black woman should have demonstrated.  Even as it became painfully obvious that the Duke case was crumbling, the media continued to push its dream narrative, bringing out scholar after expert to assure us that all whiteskin men were genetic Nazis who just can't resist lynching blacks and raping black women.

And so for this, I doubt we'll get to the bottom of it any time soon.  I don't think facts or details have any bearing on what people want at this point.  But what stunned me was our illustrious leader's foray into the maelstrom.  He could have offered sympathy.  He could have called for restraint in judgement.  Heck, he could have kept his mouth shut since he doesn't seem to get particularly involved in the daily murders in Columbus, Ohio.  But no, what does he say?  He says that Trayvon Martin would like like a son of Obama's if Obama had a son. 

Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?  Let me rephrase that as well.  What the hell does that mean?   Because I'm sure there aren't too many people stupid enough to miss exactly what that is supposed to mean, and what that statement is supposed to evoke.

How can we take racism seriously

When the charge of racism is used as often as the English definite article?  I've long maintained that someone who exploits racism for gain is no better than a racist.  This is particularly true because I can't help but get the feeling that people who obviously have it in mind to use racism for their own agendas might be inclined to want to see racism continue. 

This is, of course, difficult to prove, and can only be maintained in the area of 'hunch.'  Proving ulterior motives is, as we all know, next to impossible.  Plus, racism is the opposite side of the 'only thing Americans care about' coin (the other being sex).  As far as American popular meme is concerned, all evil is racism and if it ain't racism, it's not that important.  Therefore it's all around us like the air we breath.

Nevertheless, after the first three years of President Obama's term, it's not hard to see two things.  First, there are obviously still racists in America.  Second, there are obviously people who exploit racism for various - in this case political - agendas.  Has some of the rhetoric and images tossed at President Obama been racist?  You bet.

But on the other side, have there been obvious attempts to exploit racism in order to shut down debate and advance various topics and legislation?  Oh yeah.  So here we have an editorial cartoon portraying President Obama as a skunk.  Not particularly imaginative.  But nothing unusual.  That sort of things goes back to the beginning of the office.  Look at cartoons of presidents over the years.  Many of them have been far from flattering.  I grew up in the 1980s, and I can assure you that many of the portrayals of Reagan were far worse than this.

Still, it's in our blood to be offended when such images are applied to people we like, so it's not surprising that President Obama's supporters would not like the characterization.  But racist?  How is it racist?*  It's to make a point.  Now I might be inclined to consider that it could be racist if it weren't for the fact that almost every non-flattering cartoon, almost every criticism of President Obama or his policies has been called racist for the last three years.  And just like the endless attacks against Bill Clinton by the Republicans in the 90s eventually eroded the Republicans' credibility, I'm afraid I've heard the boy cry racist one too many times.

Racism is a problem.  Naturally.  It probably always will be.  But exploiting it, using it, even, dare I suppose, encouraging it just to score political points is no better.  Not just because of the chance of keeping racism alive and well, but also because once you've heard it a million times, and then a million more tomorrow, eventually it loses its punch.  And that, we all know, is just when the issue raises its head in the worst possible way, only to find a public that has grown apathetic about the entire topic.

*I admit I haven't seen the actual cartoon, but that's the result of crying wolf every time someone criticizes the President.  I assume, at this point, that the charge of racism is simply political expediency, not based on reality.