This essay was written as a response to the Quillette Article “Are Activists Protecting Asians from Hate—or Protecting Their Narrative of White Supremacy from Criticism?”
I would really like to know what activists mean when they talk about white supremacy in this context? Because their definition isn’t the same as the one most grew up with- the belief of an ever-shrinking minority who actively believe some races are inherently superior to others. Perhaps they mean some unconscious or implicit bias which drives people to judge others purely on the basis of stereotypes, ignoring the age old adage “never judge a book by its cover”.
The problem is casting a broader net in these circumstances, increasing the situations in which the term white supremacy can be claimed, invariably devalues the currency of the word- making its use less potent when applied. Of course, for the committed few, the word retains its value, but for most a kneejerk irritation or exasperation sets in, a collective rolling of the eyes. We saw it with the more liberal application of the word racism, which perhaps explains why white supremacy is making a comeback, at least as far as how often the word is used.
It may well be that one of the many reasons why Trump was elected, was because of political correctness fatigue- a passive aggressive poke in the eye for those who deign to lecture all those unwilling or unable to keep up with the latest jargon. Love him or hate him the accusation of racism should have scuppered his chances of success at the ballot box. I won’t address the charge, everybody has their own particular take- their stack of evidence, one way or the other- with just over half the country believing he was a racist, the other half adamant he wasn’t. It’s politics, after all- a field which is invariably guaranteed to muddy the waters, so one can no longer discern truth.
What we know from research from the less politically partisan region of the UK, is that far from repelling voters from voting for a particular candidate, the accusation of racism rebounds spectacularly- driving precious independent and undecided voters towards the recipient of the accusation. Why is this? Well, because they take it personally- even if they were only tinkering with the idea of voting for the candidate, they will take the suggestion they were even considering voting for a racist politician as a insult. They will automatically reject the premise out of hand and double-down, shifting what was previously an undecided vote to the other column.
Of course, it’s not that simple. Nothing ever is. There is a political expediency to levelling the accusation, just as there is a calculus to accusing the other side of socialism. Simply put, it fires up the base. But the problem with this particular accusation is that it can leave one half of the country believing a substantial portion of the other half of the country are racist, and the other half indignant at their supposed racism by association. It turns a once admittedly fractious political divide into a gaping chasm, lowering trust and damaging the country.
I won’t cite the figures on racism because it only fuels contention, although they are quite low- one only has to look at the most recent figures by Pew on views on Interracial Marriage to see that racism by the standard definition continues to decline, with two-thirds of all racism confined to the over 65s. But what we need to find is a new definition to explain the hurt and the harm which exists because of the appearance of racism, for even though we may not hold racism in our hearts, it can manifest itself externally in effect, without deliberate animus. All it takes is the appearance of a different standard to exist, for those who experience the lesser portion of justice to feel its oppressive weight.
Because real racism still does exist, pernicious as ever. And it does operate through constituency, though not in the way people think. It’s the proximal failure of empathy which occurs at a distance which causes all the hurt, all the pain. The inability to feel empathy because we feel secure, and unrelated to the problems others face. Worse still, if we put race aside for just a second, we’ve all experienced this singular lack of empathy in being unable to put ourselves in another man’s shoes.
Have you never walked past a homeless man, dirty and dishevelled, stinking of piss and hooch? Patted your pockets with an apologetic look of on your face, or perhaps wondered whether the less unappealing variety of homeless person, in possession of props to pull at the heartstrings, aren’t scam artists who return to plush apartments after a hard day’s work holding a sign and looking pathetic? Do you ever wonder at this irritated or afraid lack of empathy we’ve all felt?
Now let’s bring race back into resolution, and at least acknowledge the glaring double standard. Because when the crack epidemic was at its heights our empathy was nowhere to be found. If we did have a fear, it was that of the potential to be an innocent bystander, the victim of a home invasion or a mugging, or worst of all, the fear that our own children might get caught up in it all, through falling under the influence of the wrong friends.
Now fast forward a few decades to the opioid epidemic, to an era where our empathy was most definitely to be found, for the simple reason that it was a different type of fear which drove us, one altogether closer and more intimate- that of “There but for the Grace of God go I”. Now, the emphasis is on treatment over incarceration. We still still fear just as much for our children’s possible addiction, but now our fear also encompasses whether they will be treated fairly when they face the Criminal Justice system- will the courts decision be appropriate and humane. Such considerations were not made manifest when we were separated by distance and empathy.
It’s also easy to find post hoc justifications for our biases. To argue that my daughter had a sports injury, a torn ACL and it was all the doctors fault. Or my husband lost his lumberjacking job permanently and that’s the reason why he keeps turning up at the local hospital as an overdose, to numb the pain. Because even if we are strong and resolute against the cruel winds of fate, the fact that it can and does happen to people in our own communities, forces empathy upon us, causes us the recite the by now familiar mantra “There but for the Grace of God go I”.
And just as time and distance separate us now from that awful, horrible sin of a failure of empathy, so did individual affect, the way the young dressed back then, the rap music, and yes- even the transitory and superficial division of having a different colour skin. How can we we ever explain to our children the sheer stupidly, the fear, the vengeful moral judgements of those times, and claim that a nebulous vortex of destructive prejudice didn’t exist back then? Empathy is to be found in shared stories and common obstacles and their stories simply didn’t tally with our own experiences. How can we explain the singular failure of those times, in ways that are possible for the young to understand?
Well, we can point to the fact that the decision was society-wide. An attitude of moral condemnation just as likely to be found ushering from the lips of community leaders and Black residents in neighbourhoods struggling against a wave of endemic crime. We can claim with some truth to it that we honestly believed the small numbers of bad kids would separate themselves from the good kids, like the wheat separating itself from the chaff, instead of the conveyor belt of human degradation which would soon become apparent, as drug gangs simply groomed the next generation to replace those so recently incarcerated or dead.
What we didn’t understand, couldn’t comprehend, were the insane incentives which came into play when a low-level street dealer could make a thousand dollars a day, set against a backdrop of urban decay, hopelessness and lack of options for gainful employment. What we didn’t understand back then, but perhaps know more now, is that although most of us are born with an innate streak of good within us, it is an incredibly weak force when set against the subversive pull of group dynamics, the ascendancy of peer group or the mob.
How can we ever explain it to our kids? The mistake piled upon mistake in a different time, creating a mountain of human misery. No wonder they fall prey to the deliberate airbrushing of history which forgets complicity with the system was a madness which overwhelmed an entire society. To them, it must seem monstrous and clear evidence of an unbroken line of white supremacy stretching all the way back to 1619.
You see, now we are the ones in the dock, those for whom no empathy can be found, for the simple reason that time and distance, a lack of empathy, stands in the way of the expiation of our crimes. They didn’t live through through those times, so they wouldn’t know- especially given that they might find themselves making exactly the same mistakes. And its pointless trying to point out that often we have no choice- for the simple reason that when the bodies start piling up, a collective hysteria sets in which forces us to give away whatever liberty and volition we possess to anyone who promises, quite falsely, to fix it all.
Perhaps our only defence is to point out that they are making exactly the same mistake we did, now it their turn. In their headlong rush to find white supremacy to punish, they see Trump supporters as racists who must be fought- instead of desperate people who have seen their living standard diminish, time and again, despite the repeated promises of the Washington establishment- they are failing to demonstrate the very empathy that was found lacking in us.
They put their trust the self-same government and media institutions which stoked all the mistrust, fear, loathing and anger in the first place, that plied their wares of simply solutions for complex and deeply rooted problems, like the miracle tonic salesmen of yesteryear. And they believe it, the gullible fools, just like we did. And all the while the voice of empathy wails in the wilderness, it’s voice buried by the wind, imploring “when will you finally listen to me?”.
They should have more sympathy for their fellow man and less for their political leaders. because although there are good leaders in virtually every field of human endeavour, this simply cannot be said of politics. Oh sure, politics can draw in fine people, accomplished and personally charismatic. But it’s in the nature of the beast to make sacrifices to narrative and sometimes those sacrifices have names, or can be entire classes of people.
The war on others can be found inside all of us. We are deeply tribal by nature, and love to feel the moral vindication which comes from trouncing our political opponents, winning the precarious few open to persuasion over with more emotive, but not necessarily superior arguments- arguments which also have the unintentional, yet entirely predictable quality of causing intolerable human harms. Every war has its casualties- whether its some Black kid who stupidly bought slightly over the legal limit for possession so he and his friends could get high, or a disabled grandfather at a grocery who lost his job because he shared a dated joke about the stupidity of terrorists, which these days can be seen as Islamophobia.
What we should all really wonder, is whether the rhetoric and delusion caused by politics, the weaponisation and deliberate misportrayal of reality for political end is really all worth it, all things considered? Winning at any cost may seem important to the more partisan amongst us, those who are convinced of the existential threat which the other side poses- to them, it may seem as though it’s worth it. Sadly, more and more of us find ourselves in this camp, as the political wars escalate, as does the delusion on both sides. But it’s just an illusion. Nothing ever changes. It all remains the same and the quiet desperation of most people continues unabated.
Because what really changed under Trump? Not a lot really, all things considered. Sure, he botched COVID from start to finish, but the claims of the deaths his irresponsible messaging caused are doubtless exaggerated by at an order of magnitude, the foolish calculus of hypotheticals based upon highly suspect and unproven assumptions. Yes, having him in the White House felt terrible for half the country, but objectionable as some of his rhetoric was for a lot of people, most of his presidency can best be described as a salesman’s flimflam, designed mainly to appeal to innate narcissism.
And the best bit is, his most enduring legacy (at least domestically) is that politicians have woken up to the potential of running tight labour markets. Despite the fact that his blue collar boom is disputed, they now know that trying to run an economy which creates minor labour shortages is likely to be a sure fire vote winner at the ballot box, which easily surmounts the political gain to be had from rich donors with deep pockets, who make their money through unassailable negotiating power over their workforce. An extra dollar an hour for a Latino roofer may not seem like much, but psychologically it’s hugely symbolic, because it’s the first time a boss has asked him to get down the ladder and come work for him in their entire life.
Of course, they had to learn this lesson at the worst possible time, when the supply side of the global economy is sclerotic to the say the least, with people spending money on physical goods in short supply instead of services and when we are thus most vulnerable to hyperinflation. There is real potential that in the coming months and year we might learn entirely the wrong lessons, economically speaking. But one to wonder at all the bodies which keep piling up by the side of the road, the very human casualties caused by our politicians unquenchable desire to win.
What we should really worry about is not so much that the first casualty of political warfare is the truth, but rather that its second victim is empathy. Because what it often overlooked about this so often misplaced quality, is that it is the only thing which redeems us.
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Musings on White Supremacy
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This essay was written as a response to the Quillette Article “Are Activists Protecting Asians from Hate—or Protecting Their Narrative of White Supremacy from Criticism?”
I would really like to know what activists mean when they talk about white supremacy in this context? Because their definition isn’t the same as the one most grew up with- the belief of an ever-shrinking minority who actively believe some races are inherently superior to others. Perhaps they mean some unconscious or implicit bias which drives people to judge others purely on the basis of stereotypes, ignoring the age old adage “never judge a book by its cover”.
The problem is casting a broader net in these circumstances, increasing the situations in which the term white supremacy can be claimed, invariably devalues the currency of the word- making its use less potent when applied. Of course, for the committed few, the word retains its value, but for most a kneejerk irritation or exasperation sets in, a collective rolling of the eyes. We saw it with the more liberal application of the word racism, which perhaps explains why white supremacy is making a comeback, at least as far as how often the word is used.
It may well be that one of the many reasons why Trump was elected, was because of political correctness fatigue- a passive aggressive poke in the eye for those who deign to lecture all those unwilling or unable to keep up with the latest jargon. Love him or hate him the accusation of racism should have scuppered his chances of success at the ballot box. I won’t address the charge, everybody has their own particular take- their stack of evidence, one way or the other- with just over half the country believing he was a racist, the other half adamant he wasn’t. It’s politics, after all- a field which is invariably guaranteed to muddy the waters, so one can no longer discern truth.
What we know from research from the less politically partisan region of the UK, is that far from repelling voters from voting for a particular candidate, the accusation of racism rebounds spectacularly- driving precious independent and undecided voters towards the recipient of the accusation. Why is this? Well, because they take it personally- even if they were only tinkering with the idea of voting for the candidate, they will take the suggestion they were even considering voting for a racist politician as a insult. They will automatically reject the premise out of hand and double-down, shifting what was previously an undecided vote to the other column.
Of course, it’s not that simple. Nothing ever is. There is a political expediency to levelling the accusation, just as there is a calculus to accusing the other side of socialism. Simply put, it fires up the base. But the problem with this particular accusation is that it can leave one half of the country believing a substantial portion of the other half of the country are racist, and the other half indignant at their supposed racism by association. It turns a once admittedly fractious political divide into a gaping chasm, lowering trust and damaging the country.
I won’t cite the figures on racism because it only fuels contention, although they are quite low- one only has to look at the most recent figures by Pew on views on Interracial Marriage to see that racism by the standard definition continues to decline, with two-thirds of all racism confined to the over 65s. But what we need to find is a new definition to explain the hurt and the harm which exists because of the appearance of racism, for even though we may not hold racism in our hearts, it can manifest itself externally in effect, without deliberate animus. All it takes is the appearance of a different standard to exist, for those who experience the lesser portion of justice to feel its oppressive weight.
Because real racism still does exist, pernicious as ever. And it does operate through constituency, though not in the way people think. It’s the proximal failure of empathy which occurs at a distance which causes all the hurt, all the pain. The inability to feel empathy because we feel secure, and unrelated to the problems others face. Worse still, if we put race aside for just a second, we’ve all experienced this singular lack of empathy in being unable to put ourselves in another man’s shoes.
Have you never walked past a homeless man, dirty and dishevelled, stinking of piss and hooch? Patted your pockets with an apologetic look of on your face, or perhaps wondered whether the less unappealing variety of homeless person, in possession of props to pull at the heartstrings, aren’t scam artists who return to plush apartments after a hard day’s work holding a sign and looking pathetic? Do you ever wonder at this irritated or afraid lack of empathy we’ve all felt?
Now let’s bring race back into resolution, and at least acknowledge the glaring double standard. Because when the crack epidemic was at its heights our empathy was nowhere to be found. If we did have a fear, it was that of the potential to be an innocent bystander, the victim of a home invasion or a mugging, or worst of all, the fear that our own children might get caught up in it all, through falling under the influence of the wrong friends.
Now fast forward a few decades to the opioid epidemic, to an era where our empathy was most definitely to be found, for the simple reason that it was a different type of fear which drove us, one altogether closer and more intimate- that of “There but for the Grace of God go I”. Now, the emphasis is on treatment over incarceration. We still still fear just as much for our children’s possible addiction, but now our fear also encompasses whether they will be treated fairly when they face the Criminal Justice system- will the courts decision be appropriate and humane. Such considerations were not made manifest when we were separated by distance and empathy.
It’s also easy to find post hoc justifications for our biases. To argue that my daughter had a sports injury, a torn ACL and it was all the doctors fault. Or my husband lost his lumberjacking job permanently and that’s the reason why he keeps turning up at the local hospital as an overdose, to numb the pain. Because even if we are strong and resolute against the cruel winds of fate, the fact that it can and does happen to people in our own communities, forces empathy upon us, causes us the recite the by now familiar mantra “There but for the Grace of God go I”.
And just as time and distance separate us now from that awful, horrible sin of a failure of empathy, so did individual affect, the way the young dressed back then, the rap music, and yes- even the transitory and superficial division of having a different colour skin. How can we we ever explain to our children the sheer stupidly, the fear, the vengeful moral judgements of those times, and claim that a nebulous vortex of destructive prejudice didn’t exist back then? Empathy is to be found in shared stories and common obstacles and their stories simply didn’t tally with our own experiences. How can we explain the singular failure of those times, in ways that are possible for the young to understand?
Well, we can point to the fact that the decision was society-wide. An attitude of moral condemnation just as likely to be found ushering from the lips of community leaders and Black residents in neighbourhoods struggling against a wave of endemic crime. We can claim with some truth to it that we honestly believed the small numbers of bad kids would separate themselves from the good kids, like the wheat separating itself from the chaff, instead of the conveyor belt of human degradation which would soon become apparent, as drug gangs simply groomed the next generation to replace those so recently incarcerated or dead.
What we didn’t understand, couldn’t comprehend, were the insane incentives which came into play when a low-level street dealer could make a thousand dollars a day, set against a backdrop of urban decay, hopelessness and lack of options for gainful employment. What we didn’t understand back then, but perhaps know more now, is that although most of us are born with an innate streak of good within us, it is an incredibly weak force when set against the subversive pull of group dynamics, the ascendancy of peer group or the mob.
How can we ever explain it to our kids? The mistake piled upon mistake in a different time, creating a mountain of human misery. No wonder they fall prey to the deliberate airbrushing of history which forgets complicity with the system was a madness which overwhelmed an entire society. To them, it must seem monstrous and clear evidence of an unbroken line of white supremacy stretching all the way back to 1619.
You see, now we are the ones in the dock, those for whom no empathy can be found, for the simple reason that time and distance, a lack of empathy, stands in the way of the expiation of our crimes. They didn’t live through through those times, so they wouldn’t know- especially given that they might find themselves making exactly the same mistakes. And its pointless trying to point out that often we have no choice- for the simple reason that when the bodies start piling up, a collective hysteria sets in which forces us to give away whatever liberty and volition we possess to anyone who promises, quite falsely, to fix it all.
Perhaps our only defence is to point out that they are making exactly the same mistake we did, now it their turn. In their headlong rush to find white supremacy to punish, they see Trump supporters as racists who must be fought- instead of desperate people who have seen their living standard diminish, time and again, despite the repeated promises of the Washington establishment- they are failing to demonstrate the very empathy that was found lacking in us.
They put their trust the self-same government and media institutions which stoked all the mistrust, fear, loathing and anger in the first place, that plied their wares of simply solutions for complex and deeply rooted problems, like the miracle tonic salesmen of yesteryear. And they believe it, the gullible fools, just like we did. And all the while the voice of empathy wails in the wilderness, it’s voice buried by the wind, imploring “when will you finally listen to me?”.
They should have more sympathy for their fellow man and less for their political leaders. because although there are good leaders in virtually every field of human endeavour, this simply cannot be said of politics. Oh sure, politics can draw in fine people, accomplished and personally charismatic. But it’s in the nature of the beast to make sacrifices to narrative and sometimes those sacrifices have names, or can be entire classes of people.
The war on others can be found inside all of us. We are deeply tribal by nature, and love to feel the moral vindication which comes from trouncing our political opponents, winning the precarious few open to persuasion over with more emotive, but not necessarily superior arguments- arguments which also have the unintentional, yet entirely predictable quality of causing intolerable human harms. Every war has its casualties- whether its some Black kid who stupidly bought slightly over the legal limit for possession so he and his friends could get high, or a disabled grandfather at a grocery who lost his job because he shared a dated joke about the stupidity of terrorists, which these days can be seen as Islamophobia.
What we should all really wonder, is whether the rhetoric and delusion caused by politics, the weaponisation and deliberate misportrayal of reality for political end is really all worth it, all things considered? Winning at any cost may seem important to the more partisan amongst us, those who are convinced of the existential threat which the other side poses- to them, it may seem as though it’s worth it. Sadly, more and more of us find ourselves in this camp, as the political wars escalate, as does the delusion on both sides. But it’s just an illusion. Nothing ever changes. It all remains the same and the quiet desperation of most people continues unabated.
Because what really changed under Trump? Not a lot really, all things considered. Sure, he botched COVID from start to finish, but the claims of the deaths his irresponsible messaging caused are doubtless exaggerated by at an order of magnitude, the foolish calculus of hypotheticals based upon highly suspect and unproven assumptions. Yes, having him in the White House felt terrible for half the country, but objectionable as some of his rhetoric was for a lot of people, most of his presidency can best be described as a salesman’s flimflam, designed mainly to appeal to innate narcissism.
And the best bit is, his most enduring legacy (at least domestically) is that politicians have woken up to the potential of running tight labour markets. Despite the fact that his blue collar boom is disputed, they now know that trying to run an economy which creates minor labour shortages is likely to be a sure fire vote winner at the ballot box, which easily surmounts the political gain to be had from rich donors with deep pockets, who make their money through unassailable negotiating power over their workforce. An extra dollar an hour for a Latino roofer may not seem like much, but psychologically it’s hugely symbolic, because it’s the first time a boss has asked him to get down the ladder and come work for him in their entire life.
Of course, they had to learn this lesson at the worst possible time, when the supply side of the global economy is sclerotic to the say the least, with people spending money on physical goods in short supply instead of services and when we are thus most vulnerable to hyperinflation. There is real potential that in the coming months and year we might learn entirely the wrong lessons, economically speaking. But one to wonder at all the bodies which keep piling up by the side of the road, the very human casualties caused by our politicians unquenchable desire to win.
What we should really worry about is not so much that the first casualty of political warfare is the truth, but rather that its second victim is empathy. Because what it often overlooked about this so often misplaced quality, is that it is the only thing which redeems us.
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