The hate that dare not speak its name Black Racism

The American Enterprise ^ | Ying Ma

[robowombat]

Ms Ying Ma addresses a topic verbotten by the tenets of pc.

[BenLurkin]

A great amount of the 1992 "Rodney King" riots was a race riot: Blacks attacking Koreans. Though reported at the time, this fact has been largely forgotten (or ignored) by later accounts.

Many Asians had invested their life savings into small businesses (mostly liqour stores) in the "minority areas", and were making a profit. The rioters burned them out and killed a few. Others defended themselves and their property with firearms.

(Also "forgotten" is how the liberal West side Angelnos barricaded their neighborhoods and took up guns in self-defense.)

[MoGalahad]

Amen. The racism issue in America will never be completely eliminated until black people, like Jesse Jackson, take their fair share of the blame for its existence. They can be and are every bit as biased as any other ethnic group. Racial harmony is a two way street.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

Why then do we never hear these national activists condemning black racism against Asians in our inner cities?

For the same reason you never hear condemnations of black racism against any other group. Everybody knows it exists, but some are afraid to say it, and the rest don't care. Actually, worse than not caring, they applaud it.

Look, we all know that the leftists in this country have been promoting black racism for years. It has been institutionalized by this point.

[Stultis]

She, or this topic, would make a great segment for 60 Minutes or some other television news magazine. (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

[Texas_Jarhead]

research associate @ the CFR, isn't that nice
I read the article but now feel it a waste of time
the CFR can kiss my a$$

[TopQuark]

They can be and are every bit as biased as any other ethnic group. I think it is worse: black people's hatred against slave-owners is justified and need not be diminished. Instead, black "leadership" formulates everything in terms of color rather than behavior --- and that IS teaching racism.

[winin2000]

Rose Tsai of the San Francisco Neighbors Association was a little more blunt: "Most Asian leaders do not wish to acknowledge that there exists a problem because they do not want the minorities to fight amongst themselves."

This one passage is all the reader needs to understand what the author is so bewildered about!

I feel the pain of abuse that Asians endure from blacks, I really do. But all of these national organizations claiming to speak for Asians got in on the grievance-mongering, "blame Whitey" game a long time ago.

It is a struggle for political power in which race was, and always will be destiny. Simply put, they may loathe one another on a personal level, but they know better than to squabble with another member of the anti-white coalition.

Stanley Mark of the Asian American Legal Defense Fund argues in defense of the national Asian organizations that people hear less from the Asian leaders about black-on-Asian racism than white-on-Asian racism simply because there is less of the former than the latter. Mark insists he knows of no case where an Asian was seriously hurt or killed by a racist black American.

And this is unadulterated malarkey. The black rate of interracial violence is multiple times the white rate and there's no reason to think it's vastly different for black-on-Asian crime as opposed to black-on-white crime.

[CatoRenasci]

Bump! A point should be made that the definition of racism as "prejudice plus power" fits black racism to a T: clearly blacks are prejudiced against Asians and they have the physical power to intimidate the smaller, less martial Asians.

Thugs are thugs, regardless of race.

Someone should inform Asians about the honorable American tradition of self-defense, and that there are ways other than the martial arts to deal with attacking thugs. As the old saying goes God created man, but Sam Colt made them equal. There is nothing like a nice, reliable, single action Army revolver to put paid to thuggish young men who assault the elderly.

[ArrogantBustard]

black people's
What's with this idiotic notion that skin colour = identity? Really. The whole idea of "race" is a fiction conjured up by con-men to divide people from each other (and their money).

hatred against slave-owners
Who happen to be conveniently DEAD. Or are you talking about the slave owners in East Africa?

AB

[Rensselaer]

research associate @ the CFR, isn't that nice I read the article but now feel it a waste of time the CFR can kiss my a$$

Really? I would think it would make sense to judge the argument on the merits.

[dark_lord]

When it came time for college, I left this ugly world for a beautiful school far away.

And undoubtably most of the name callers remained behind - because it was "cool" to be stupid and ignorant.

Ever notice how the kids who are thugs usually end up as adults who have lives that suck? What goes around, comes around.

[MrB]

kids who are thugs usually end up as adults who have lives that suck

And their preferred targets are those who end up succeeding through perserverence and hard work.

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[Nate505]

A fantastic article. Having grown up in the Bay Area, I can say she is spot on here. Some blacks there (but not all) could say just as much racist garbage as a Klansman, but would hide behind a Malcolm X hat to make themselves feel justified about it.

[Tired of Taxes]

Black racism does exist and it is more open. However, there's another side to the story of Asian storeowners in black neighborhoods. Some storeowners don't live in the neighborhood, and they don't care about it. Example: We lived in a largely quote-unquote "minority" (mostly black) neighborhood, and there were Asian storeowners on our block. One was a hardworking couple who were robbed at gunpoint and eventually had to sell their family business. They DID care about the neighborhood. The other ran a sandwich and beer shop around the corner, and he DIDN'T care about it. In addition to attracting drunkards and people hanging around begging for money for liquor, the guy had a burglar alarm that was nothing more than a very loud bell. One night it went off, and, even after we called 911 several times, the owner refused to come out and turn it off. He didn't live in the neighborhood, so he took his time and came out to turn it off around 8 a.m. Imagine a loud alarm ringing nonstop from 1 a.m. to early morning through your back window when you have work and school the next morning. We got no sleep. About 4 a.m. we tried to stop it by throwing a brick at the bell. By the morning, we were ready to wring the guy's neck. But his only response was that he doesn't speak English very well. Same went for other storeowners there from outside the neighborhood. One family (I think they were Jewish) were caught trading drugs for food stamps over the counter. It was well-known in the neighborhood, but you never heard that one in the news.

[white trash redneck]

The Asian leaders who ignore black violence against Asians are no more hypocritical than the white "leaders" (now there's a concept - a white leader??!!) who ignore black violence against white Americans.

[robowombat]

Your comments are right on target. However, in the politically correct land of left wing university scribblers it is not seen that way. Surprise-surprise. This is proff of Orwell's dictum that only an intellectual could be so stupid.

White Racism: The Basics, Joe R. Feagin and Hernan Vera, Routledge, 1995, 230 pages, £12.99 paperback.

White Racism is a bold and provocative book, that argues against those contemporary social critics, who claim that the significance of 'race' is declining in American society. Feagin and Vera's theoretical starting point is the belief that black racism does not exist. For them, arguments pertaining to black racism or 'reverse discrimination' are meaningless, as whites have not been subject to the same historical and political forces that blacks have, i.e. blacks lack institutional and social power in being able to reinforce their personal prejudices:

`Racism is more than a matter of individual prejudice and scattered episodes of discrimination. There is no black racism because there is no centuries-old system of racialized subordination and discrimination designed by African Americans to exclude white Americans from full participation in the rights, privileges, and benefits of this society' (p.ix)
Feagin and Vera argue that the 'declining significance of race' theorists are at odds with the empirical evidence, which underscores their argument that racism is alive and well in America. Compelling evidence is presented, showing the racial inequalities in education, health, employment and income, which result in the fact that blacks are three times as likely as whites to be living in poverty. For Feagin and Vera the primary factor lying behind the social condition of blacks in America is white racism, defined as the 'socially organized set of attitudes, ideas, and practices that deny African Americans and other people of color the dignity, opportunities, freedoms, and rewards that this nation offers white Americans' (p.7, emphasis in original).

Feagin and Vera use a number of diverse case studies to illustrate how embedded racist ideologies still are within mainstream American society. These range from detailed examinations of incidents of racial discrimination against blacks in educational settings and employment practices, to an analysis of police racism, via a sophisticated and persuasive reading of the police beating of Rodney King and the subsequent media coverage of the 'Los Angeles riots', or what Feagin and Vera prefer to describe as 'the largest urban rebellion by black and Latino Americans in the twentieth century' (p.97). There is also a comprehensive analysis of how 'racial icons' have been used in Presidential campaigns, in seeking to appeal to racist sentiments within white America. Here the 'Willie Horton' advertisement used by George Bush in his 1988 campaign, and Bill Clinton's denouncement of the supposedly racist remarks made by the rapper and activist Sister Soulijah, are perceptively examined.

Finally, in a chapter entitled 'The Souls of White Folk', Feagin and Vera examine the extent to which racist attitudes and views are held by white Americans and how this affects their beliefs about African Americans, by conducting ninety exploratory interviews with female and male whites across America. A vivid picture is portrayed of widespread racial stereotyping and even outright hostility towards blacks by white Americans, despite often denouncing racism as being morally wrong and not considering themselves to be racist. Feagin and Vera argue that the costs of white racism are not born solely by blacks but that whites too pay a moral, psychological, and sometimes financial, cost for their anti-humanist beliefs, regardless of whether they actively participate in racist actions or not:

`At an individual level white racism indicates a massive breakdown in empathy across the color line. Whites who discriminate against blacks, or who stand by while other whites discriminate, reveal they have given up the ability to take the black person's place, to imagine what it would be like to be in his or her situation. The lack of empathy on the part of whites entails a denial of others' humanity - and thus of their own' (p.174)
In a welcome contrast to most sociological analyses of racism, which are often happy to just describe racism and its effects, without offering any remedial solutions to the problem, the authors prescribe a number of steps for overcoming racism. These range from the more 'liberal' solutions of arguing for increased multicultural training and education and the inclusion of 'new courses on the oneness of all humankind' (p.184) in all the U.S. educational programs, to the more radical proposals calling for major reparations to be paid to African Americans, which would `mark a collective recognition by white Americans of the severity and consequences of racial oppression' (p.187). Feagin and Vera also argue for a new constitution, and thus a new constitutional convention, which would include:
`...representatives, in proportional numbers, of all racial, ethnic, religious, class, and gender groups. Such a broadbased assembly would ensure for the first time in history that the white majority encounters a discussion of and pressure for the constitutional interests and rights of all minorities' (p.191)
White Racism has a number of failings that are related, in part, to its strengths. The book provides illuminating and unequivocal evidence of the continuing racism in American society. However, the force of the argument, and the evidence presented, is at times so overwhelming, that you are left wondering at the end if any measures could ever eliminate such deep seated racial sentiments. The proposals that are suggested also highlight some of the deficiencies of the book. For example in calling for reparations to African Americans, no attempt is made to acknowledge that that other social relations, such as class, need to be considered. Simply giving money to the African American population may have the desired symbolic effect, but in terms of challenging the underlying economic and social structures that produce and reproduce black America's current position, such measures would do nothing. How, for example, could one argue for the likes of Michael Jordan or Oprah Wimphrey being given money simply on the basis of being black? And what of the effect on those white working class, who are committed to an anti-racist society, who would see money going to their next door neighbours on the basis of her or his skin colour? As well as unintentionally reinforcing the common-sense racist assumption that blacks are a problem, such measures would not address any of the structural constraints affecting the working class, black or white. Thus because Feagin and Vera fail to show how racism interrelates with questions of class and gender, they are then left to make recommendations that treat 'race' as if it were an independent variable unrelated to these other social structures, which it clearly is not.

Despite these drawbacks the book does put such debates more clearly onto the agenda and forces the reader to confront the pervasiveness of racism in America, which is sometimes underplayed in more liberal and conservative accounts. The book's relevance to the British context could not be more obvious. The avoidable deaths of Stephen Lawrence, Joy Gardner, and Brian Douglas, to name just three, and the continuing high rates of black unemployment and low educational attainment, make Feagin and Vera's arguments all the more compelling for the British reader, especially if we are to avoid their almost apocalyptic analysis of future 'racial relations': `In our view U.S. society cannot afford white racism in the long run, for it may well destroy this society as we know it sometime in the next century' (p.xiii).

Ben Carrington
Leeds Metropolitan University

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Copyright Ben Carrington 1997

[Snuffington]

But what about the growing cadre of Asian activists? ... organizations like the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, the National Asian-Pacific American Legal Consortium, the Organization for Chinese Americans

I'll hazard a guess that all of these organizations are Democratic Party front groups. They will not seriously engage in confrontation with groups seen as necessary to the success of the Democratic political coalition. Their mission is to attack to "white right," and leave the left - especially minorities - alone.

[Texas_Jarhead]

you are correct. but I'm no fan of the CFR and typically would not waste my time reading their bunk