FROM BILL MAHER’S HBO SHOW-Bill Maher says the rule black Republicans must follow is to never talk about race or racism. “In today’s GOP there is only one correct answer to the discussion about racism. And that is: There is no racism in American anymore. Except reverse-racism against whites. That shit is real. You know, like the rapture?” Maher said on his HBO program “Real Time.” “If you think racism isn’t a problem anymore, you must be living under a rock — on Rick Perry’s hunting camp,” he said.”And what is the Republican solution to these outrageous [racial] inequalities? There isn’t one. And that’s the point. Denying racism is the new racism. To not acknowledge those statistics, to think of that as a ‘black problem’ and not an American problem. To believe, as a majority of FOX viewers do, that reverse-racism is a bigger problem than racism, that’s racist,” Maher later concluded. “And that is the unwritten rule about being a black Republican. You’re welcome in the party as long as you never, ever, ever mention race.” Does Bill Maher have a point? By not talking about racism are the Republicans pretending it does not exist? Let’s have a discussion. Let’s not just trash the messenger. I am not a big fan of Bill Maher, but does he have a point? Tell me what you think.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-maher-in-modern-republican-party-denying-racism-is-the-new-racism/
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OK. I’ll bite.
First, I DO admire Maher, for the most part. I don’t always agree with him, but he’s able to point out, in a humorous, sometimes crude, way some of the realities of our experience that we tend to suppress. I wish I had an HBO subscription, but alas, I don’t watch much TV, so I have to watch the occasional clip on the Internet.
Here is the blunt fact that no one ever wants to admit: We are ALL racists. You, me, everyone that comments here. It’s genetically and evolutionarily built into our genes. It’s the fear of the “other”, those that are different than us, that helped perpetuate the species when we lived in tribes. It caused us to band together in like minded groups, while making enemies of those that were different than us. It kept us safe and alive, able to pass on our genes to the next generation. So now, when we look at someone who looks suspiciously different than us, it is a natural, albeit irrational reaction to have an automatic negative attitude towards that person – before we start thinking. It’s instinctual, like automatically loving your child from birth, despite the screaming, whining, vomiting and pooping. And back then, it was one reason why our tribe succeeded and others didn’t.
You don’t see too many Neanderthals around anymore, do you?
But now we are civilized. We have learned a considerable amount since those days, and the need to be afraid of the bogeyman hiding in the bushes is not necessary. We have laws that govern us, and police protection, and the best thing of all, a developed reasoning ability to differentiate between what can harm us and what can’t. So we can consciously suppress our natural inclination to hate those “others”. It’s not hard. It takes constant vigilance, but it’s easy to train the mind to do so. And once trained, from birth, it becomes almost natural. However, if you raise a child to hate others, you’ve created a lifelong bigot.
Unfortunately, for some people it’s easier to revert to natural tendencies rather than think about living equally with our fellow man. And we have societal structures that still encourage it. Politics, for example, always seeks to make us fear those of different political persuasions, so that bolsters our natural aversion to those different than us.
You won’t agree with me on this, but much of religion (not all) tends to do the same thing. We band together in different churches, while claiming we are theologically right and all those other churches are wrong. Witness the pastor in Houston who claims that Mormons (and Romney) are simply a big cult, when in fact (laughably so) Christianity is just as much of a cult as Mormonism – it’s just bigger. So we sit in our churches on Sunday, smug in the knowledge that we know God’s mind, and everyone else doesn’t, thereby creating a nice little tribe that is encouraged to think negatively about our fellow humans. It’s doubtful that Jesus (had he really existed) would have approved.
Which brings me back to Maher. Yes, there is still racism in America. Blacks are racists towards whites, and vice versa. And yellows and reds get the shaft from everyone else. It’s there, and it needs to be acknowledged on a daily basis. We must always be individually, and societally vigilant that we don’t let out genes and our instincts rules our heads.
Ok, off my high horse. I’ll leave the podium for others.
But don’t forget: We are all members of one race – the human race. DNA proves that. It’s downright silly in this day and age , with a global environment, to keep thinking of ourselves as blacks, whites or any other race.
Spanish, you make some very good points. I do think we all possess some level of racism, but many of us have evolved and we don’t just make judgment simply based on instinct. I also agree with your assertion that many religions could be characterized as cult-like. I just believe when you use the word clut there is some level of human deception afoot and I don’t feel that is a factor within Christiainity, but since I am a Christian I would feel that way. I actually spoke with a former member of the LDS and she said the rituals and teachings of that faith were in fact cult-like. I have more of an issue with their racist past.
Yes, the LDS does now try to minimize the fact that they excluded blacks until fairly recently. They also have a lot of strange rituals and beliefs, (like baptizing dead people, magic underwear etc.). But as religions go, they are no more crazy than people who believe that their cult leader walked on water, changed water into wine, created food from almost nothing and rose from the dead. We know all of that is physically impossible, but billions believe it. There is strength in numbers, but say only 200 people in the world believed it. Those Christians would be considered no different than the Heavens Gate guy that believed a spaceship was coming to get him and his followers, from the perspective of people who don’t believe. Like they say: The difference between a religion and a cult is the size of the membership.
Do you believe that Mohammed rode to heaven on a horse? Doubtful, but consider your perspective. Muslims think you’re beliefs are nuts. It’s all relative, and there’s little evidence of any truth in any of it.
But you and I agree on one thing. We all have racist tendencies, and it’s only our internal ability to reason them away, by not giving into those instincts, that sets us apart from those bigots who don’t or can’t.
At least, I like to think that I can do that. I’ve found myself in situations I’m not proud of, however, thinking racist thoughts. It can be a real effort when I’m in the “wrong” part of town, and see a black youth decked out in gangsta regalia, vocally muh’fuckin this and muh’fuckin that, to not be somewhat standoffish and avoidant of the guy. Does that sound racist? I think it does.Though I gotta admit, if his skin color was white, but everything else was the same, I’d still prejudge him.
Sometimes we DO judge the book by the cover.
Spanish, You are correct that all religions believe their religion is supreme and the idea of a human walking on water does sound crazy, but I believe it happened. so some would call me crazy, but I am a Christian and I believe in Christ. I respect other religions but they are not for me and fortunately for us in this country we do have a right to choose to believe or not believe and that is the beauty of our country. As far as your fear of someone looking like a thug i share that fear. I would be fearful of black guys seemingly looking like gangbangers and I would have the same fear of white boys looking like good ole boys. Either group could have the potential to do harm.
S.I., you have obviously put a great deal of work into your treatise, and I respect that your post is thoughtful. Perhaps you can help me with just ONE thing?
If racism is “genetically and evolutionarily built into our genes”, then why is it that you can take a group of unconditioned infants and toddlers and put them together, and they intermingle with each other with the greatest of ease? Why don’t they instinctively cluster into like-minded groups, working together to keep the others from taking the toys? “Instinctive” means everyone does it, like blinking when a bright light is shown in one’s face or smiling when happy or pleased. I maintain that racism is a LEARNED behavior. Mistrust in “other” tribes is a conditioned reaction that is taught from experience or from respected elders. An example of a conditioned behavior is clapping to show approval or standing to show respect when an elder or guest approaches. We do those things because we are TAUGHT to do them and they become second nature. I’d be more inclined to put racism into that specific category of behavior.
That’s a good question. I think it goes back to the nature/nurture dichotomy. Frankly, we are a result of both, in my opinion. So what we learn at the side of our parents and what is genetically built into us tend to be complemented and reinforced, or in some cases suppressed, as needed.
I think our ability to recognize patterns and suspicious things in nature is hard wired. I would bet you any money that those children’s brains register the difference between themselves and those of other races at a very basic level. They have not developed enough to analyze and react yet, and part of child rearing is what actually develops their ability to filter the good from the bad that their brains receive from external stimuli. We teach them what is negative and positive, so yes, they do learn racism.
If they are raised by a bigot, their analysis of the differences in races is geared toward the negative. If they are not raised by a bigot, it might be more neutral or even favorable.
Then there are tons of other interacting influences as they grow that play some part in how they react, for example, their own experiences with other races as they grow, TV, peers, school, and other outside stimuli. I think parents (or a parental substitute) has the single biggest influence on how a child turns out, but you really can’t discount other influence. It’s a complicated long term process, with no single influence. We are really in the infancy of understanding neurobiology, or how and why the brain does what it does, so it’s still a bit early to say with any certitude.
So, to that extent, I agree with you, partially, that racism is a LEARNED behavior. Nothing I said above contradicts that. But the learning is a process of reinforcing that which our ancestors “learned” and passed on to us, or, on the other side, training ourselves to suppress it. We are rational beings, and what we learn we can unlearn. No, that’s not right. What we learn we can modify in accordance with reason. Racism is not rational.
BTW, what I wrote was not a treatise, unless you were being sarcastic. I have been accused of verbal diarrhea at times, so maybe it looks like a treatise, but it’s just my opinion after a short lifetime of observing human behavior. It’s an occupational hazard and a cross to bear, but mine alone.