GERALD HORNE
By now you kind of know me, and you know I would never miss the opportunity to talk about race and racism in America. Oh, yes, I'm THAT boy. Besides, it's Black History Month, so why not talk about White Supremacy? It's always a good time to talk about White Supremacy.
I am not going to distill the short video I'm posting here (it's just five minutes). What called my attention were the comments on that video. The lengths to which people will go to excuse, misinterpret, try to explain, deflect, and blame on slaves (!!) the fact that America profited from the idea of White Supremacy and slavery are mind-blowing to anybody with a rudimentary knowledge of history. But history is not something many people in the United States are really fond of. Especially if it brings to the forefront the way that racism made this country what it is today.
Gerald Horne is a well-known scholar who specializes on issues of racism, especially when related to issues of labor, politics, civil rights, international relations and war. He knows what he's talking about. But the commenters try still to refute what he says with arguments not inherently related to the discussion or because he 'left something out'. Never mind that the video clearly states that this is an outtake of a longer talk, people keep bringing the lack of this or the lack of that in the argument. Is Gerald Horne the end-all and say-all source of information about racism in Amerikkka? Absolutely not.
But he gives a good primer. Hope this video makes you think and will spark conversations surrounding the current state of racial relations in the United States. Because after all, racism is not something that Black people need to explain. It is something that White people need to understand. But I’m preaching to the choir here, no?
XOXO
I don't think they're mind blowing since slavery was popular for thousands and thousands of years. You might want to blame it on all those pictures of a white Jesus, but a certain segment of white people do believe they were chosen. At some point, as the evolutionary process continues, these individuals will begin migrating to areas they consider safe, hopefully North Dakota.
ReplyDeletePopular does not make it right.
DeleteAnd that's their excuse. And white Jesus is just another example of white supremacy. Haha oh, I think they'll migrate to Michigan instead.
XOXO
White people need to own what white people have done to POC in this country, from stealing Native American lands to stealing Africans FROM their land and bringing them here to do the grunt work. When white people own what was done in our name, maybe then white people can understand the anger in POC and Indigenous peoples about us. But first we need to get over what we were taught in schools: that we helped Native Peoples, we were friends with Native Peoples, and that we freed the slaves, though we found new manacles to place on People of Color like Jim Crow, and Segregation.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
DeleteBut that's why you see white people running around and complaining about everybody being 'woke' and about the discomfort that teaching history has on their kids (on them, mostly). Some white people think that because the US had a Black president we are post-racial. Go figure.
XOXO
For decades white people subjugated POC. As they continued to move westward, they forced the native tribes off their land. And as THAT land became more valuable, they took that land and forced the tribes onto wastelands.
ReplyDeleteWith the slave trade and abolition, once freed, the former slaves were still subjected to cruel working conditions. The opportunities were not there for them, and in many cases, still aren’t.
As the POC population increases and the white population declines, they’re scared. The forthcoming election cycle is crucial for the continued rise of POC political strength. We have to make sure that voice is heard, and the GQP continues to stifle it every way they can.
XOXO 👨🏼❤️💋👨🏽
Oh, the Repugs have made sure to gerrymander and suppress the votes of those communities.
DeleteWherever you look, it's the communities with high population of POC that have suffered the most in what concerns voter suppression. The Repugs do not want POC voicing their concerns. That is part of the white supremacy problem the US has.
The idea that the white man is 'better than' is not going to go away easily.
XOXO
It's all pretty disgusting, really. Every "great" civilization (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Roman, etc) has captured and enslaved people. All in the name of monetary gain and power. Like every other conquering peoples, we trampled on the Indigenous. To quote a line from "Yellowstone," "If we knew how to fight them, there wouldn't be reservations."
ReplyDeleteSlavery was practiced everywhere around the globe by every government in power. What (I think) makes the issue in this country stand out is the fact that 1. We are still a young (though declining) nation, 2. We don't seem to be able to shed the idea that WASPS are the end all and be all of civilization, and 3, the white folks are afraid that, should the POC gain political power, they will end up the downtrodden. They are already - in the name of the GQP - they are already claiming to be just that. They're whining, complaining, accusing. And they don't know the half of what it was like to be in chains, to be whipped, to be raped, to be hung, to be LITERALLY owned, bought and sold like a piece of farm equipment.
All we can do to help is vote to get the Evilgelicals, KKK, and QNUTS out of office and keep them out. XOXO
It's a combo of 2 and 3.
DeleteHolding the WASP dream high and the fear that POC have a voice are the driving force behind white supremacy in America. The thin-skinned conservatives complain about anything and everything that makes them think of others as equals.
It's up to white people to make white people understand their bias.
XOXO
the world is full of ignorant and stupid people . There are people who deny the extermination of Jews in concentration camps. You cannot think that there are no people who minimize slavery.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Xersex.
DeleteAnd all those people who deny atrocities do it because they don't want to recognize the humanity of the people that have been brutalized. It makes them recognize their privilege.
XOXO
they cannot recognize their privilege, because they are TOO ignorant.
DeleteCorrect.
DeleteAnd they wallow in their ignorance because it does not disturb the status quo. It's a vicious circle.
XOXO
Colonialism, imperialism and white supremacy all went hand-in-hand. It was the doctrine by which Europeans justified to themselves their "right" to rape, enslave, steal from and exploit the peoples of every non-European place. It's what let them sleep at night. It still serves that purpose for many ignorant people today.
ReplyDeleteAbsofuckinglutely.
DeleteAnd THAT is Horne's point and the point that people in the comments try to minimize. Which means that he's most probably right. The idea that European is right and everything else is wrong is the root of white supremacy.
XOXO
We still have so far to go. So very far to go.
ReplyDeleteSad but true.
DeleteBut we can still make sure there IS change.
XOXO
Oh, dear, that last meme speaks volumes. Yes... the knee jerk reaction is to blame someone else or deflect the truth... guilt is powerful. Fortunately, truth wins out because facts are facts and you can argue with them, but you can't do away with them, can't explain them away, can't make them fit your narrative... spin all you like, what happened, happened. Deal with it. Make amends. Accept it. Make it better. Be better. Kizzes.
ReplyDeleteIt does, doesn't it?
DeleteAvoiding the truth is their fav strategy because they don't want to recognize who they actually are: the children of privilege. That's why they ban books and try to steer the conversation away from historical facts. They'll never deal with it.
XOXO