Racism is a system of oppression, not a series of bloopers

[Adam White]

I thought this was a very thought-provoking article and one of the most sensible things I've read in a while. I thought I'd share it here, given the discussions we've had about micro aggressions, etc.

As someone who, as an adult, has been stupid enough to ask gay men about their girlfriends and Jews how they enjoyed Christmas, I believe everyone has the right to misspeak, be set right, apologise and then carry on about their business. If that whole process is conducted in a spirit of generosity, then who knows? We might even learn something.

But if it's not, all we have is an almighty game of gotcha with considerable collateral damage. This is not a new problem. In 2004 the football pundit Ron Atkinson was heard, when he thought the mic was off, referring to the Chelsea player Marcel Desailly thus: "He's what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger." It was a reprehensible thing to say. He apologised, offered his resignation to ITV, which was accepted, and left his column in this newspaper by mutual agreement.

That's as it should be. It is also the case that when it mattered he was one of the few coaches in British football who nurtured black talent, bringing on the likes of Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham – both going on to play for England – and Brendon Batson. That excuses nothing that he said; but it makes a difference to how one chooses to describe, deride or disparage him in the wake of his awful comments.



http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/04/racism-gerry-adams-n-word-fetishise-bloopers-cumberbatch?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[I-10east]

I'm gonna quote (or paraphrase) Painlessrisen on youtube (because I'm not plagiarizing). "Racism is a byproduct of multiculturalism; Anytime you have a groups of people in a confined space, many people are all gonna vie for their piece of the pie; politically, resources etc" Contrary to US leftist, racism wasn't invented by US white people. It's a phenomenon all over the world. 

[Adam White]

I'm gonna quote (or paraphrase) Painlessrisen on youtube (because I'm not plagiarizing). "Racism is a byproduct of multiculturalism; Anytime you have a groups of people in a confined space, many people are all gonna vie for their piece of the pie; politically, resources etc" Contrary to US leftist, racism wasn't invented by US white people. It's a phenomenon all over the world.

The left wouldn't argue that racism was created by white people. A leftist critique of racism would likely focus on the relations of production and societal superstructure. Racism against black people in the US was created by white people - this particular form of racism is a legacy of slavery.

But racism exists in many societies. I wouldn't agree that it is a byproduct of multiculturalism. In fact, it can exist without multiculturalism. Look at Japan, for example. Japan was a very homogenous society prior to the Second World War, yet followed a fundamentally racist ideology which painted themselves as superior to all other Asian peoples, particularly the Chinese. Japan still has issues with racism. Over 98% of the population of Japan is ethnically Japanese. I wouldn't consider that a multicultural society.