Saturday, July 26, 2008

Why Racism Is a Problem for White Folks

Here's the thing.

Racism keeps black people out of the economic mainstream. I know the new line for some white feminists is that sexism is the most pervasive form of oppression. That's just not true. Not simply because a battle of oppressions is never wise and the only ones who wins these battles are the oppressors. But because it overlooks reality.

Black men make less than white women. Black women make less than them both.

Now, politically, white males have been supporting conservatives since prior to the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the mid1960s. And while they try to deny their racism and sexism in voting for Republicans, that's basically the reason they're voting for "lower taxes" and "smaller government." They're voting against social programs and affirmative action because they don't want to spend their precious tax dollars on lazy "welfare queens" and they don't want men of color or women of any race competing equally in the labor market.

So what have lower taxes and smaller government done for white men? Well, they have prevented affirmative action and social programs from being as effective as they could be. Score one for John P Redneck. But lower taxes and smaller government have also kept the government from looking out for all but the wealthiest few. So take two points away from John P Redneck. His racism and sexism has put us all in danger.

Wondering why the government took so long to get a handle on the recent salmonella outbreak? Lower taxes and smaller government, Idiot.

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This isn't too complicated. If you disagree with me, I'm more than happy to have an honest discussion. I'm quite open to learning new facts and ideas. I'm dying for a conservative to explain their ideas in a sensible way.

But, I do have rules, and they also apply to those who agree with me. They just get the benefit of my already knowing the fact they'll be referring to.

So, here're the comment thread rules:

1 - Use facts.
2 - Refer to policy.
3 - Don't rely on theories and conjectures. Show me how, for example, a public health insurance option will lead to "rationing" of health care.
4 - No unfounded attacks on any entity.

If you break those rules, I will edit your comment to my own whimsical satisfaction.

Lastly, perhaps most importantly, I'm not going to entertain too much pro-white/racism-denying discussion. I want this to be a space to discuss strategies to fight racism, not space where I have to fight racism. I want anti-racists to be able to come here for a mental respite. If what you're interested in doing is attempting to demonstrate the fallacy of anti-racism by repeating the same ole comments and questions and accusations we hear all the time, please do that somewhere else.

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But Don't Jack My Genuis