Clear as Mud

I recently read an op-ed column that began: “It is clear we have real racial problems in this country….”

Now, as a writer myself I understand that sometimes we begin with phrases like this, often called “throat clearing” phrases, that are simply a way to get us started.  But, that being said, my immediate reaction to this was “No, it is not clear and by the way, do we really have real racial problems in this country?” 

My next thought is, “No, I don’t think so.”  What we do have is a lot of people who don’t have the life that they would like to have and/or who are jealous of some of the lives of others.   We have people who like to blame others for their own discontent.  Those things are, of course, part of human nature.

But what we also have are people who use the discontent of others to agitate and create anger and hate which they then use not to remedy the discontented but to further their own gain.  Indeed, this is the classic tactic of Marxism and Socialism and even of community organizing. Rather than encouraging self-examination or reminding that life is not fair, they will encourage seeing individual dissatisfactions as resulting from a larger, group oppression of some sort. 

Find a common dissatisfaction, find someone to blame, agitate the dissatisfied to attack the one who has been assigned the blame.  The result may improve the lives of the dissatisfied temporarily, but its real goal is to make the dissatisfied indebted to the agitator.

The Democrats have become masters at this.  They create identity groups and then use them until they are no longer useful.  We had the pussy-hat marches a couple of years ago, we had the many LGBTQ protests and demands.  Now we have the BLM organization, pushed by progressives and other Leftists who, seeing an opportunity in George Floyd’s death, have fomented anti-white, anti-law enforcement, anti-rule of law and Constitution, anti-American sentiment, leading to the devastation of many cities in this country.  Their goal is not to end racism but to end the presidency of Donald Trump and to push this country ever closer to a complete restructuring into socialism.

This is not racism.  This is not a racial problem.  This is a political problem created by very skillful politicians.  Now before you come to send me to a reeducation camp, I am not saying that racism does not exist.  It does, it always has, and it always will.  It is human nature to be wary of those different from us, whether in behavior or skin color or dress or any number of things.  Sometimes that wariness will cross the line and become racist.  But that does not mean that the country has a racial problem. 

It does mean that we have fallen into the divisive tribalism of identity politics.  And, if the agitated identity group is a particular race, then that group will see its oppression as racist.  And if their blame target is a governmental system, then they will assert that the system is racist.  But that does not make it so. 

Racism is not just being aware that someone is in some way different from oneself.  Racism is “the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another.”  There was a time in this country, as well as in much of the world, when Black people were considered in some way less than human or at least inferior enough to justify slave-holding.  There was a time when Blacks could not mix with Whites in any way, not even at the drinking fountain. 

In large part due to our form of democracy and our Constitution we were able to move through and forward from those times.  We acknowledged the errors and did what we could to make the way forward better.  We passed civil rights legislation.  We created things like affirmative action.  We integrated schools.  Some people did better with these new opportunities than did others.

But one group who has always found something to their own advantage in Black issues is the Democrats.  As the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s presented Blacks with opportunities to move forward, the Democrats also saw an opportunity to create a permanent underclass of supportive voters. 

By creating entitlements and encouraging Blacks to become permanently dependent on those entitlements the Democrats were able to keep them “in their place.”  That is, entitlement dependence has a way of destroying motivation and independence.  It becomes necessary to keep the benefactor in power so as not to lose one’s benefits.  And, coexistent with this loss of self is the belief that one is somehow “less than” and not able to do as well as others.  One comes to accept one’s fate as somehow second class.

With that second class feeling comes discontent.  Discontent that is ripe to be agitated into anger and a belief that one has been and is being discriminated against.  And that, I think, is what we are really seeing when we say that “it is clear we have racial problems.”

But that is not a racial problem.  Those who have been enticed into becoming an underclass are now grouped into an identity class and directed toward a target to blame for their discontent.  That target is “racism”, now asserted to be systemic and hence anything or anyone associated with or supportive of traditional American institutions.

This is false racism, and it is a problem.  Those who are against the traditional American system of government are using the cover of racism to further their own anti-American agenda.  “Racism” is the smoke screen; it is the weapon that is being aimed at America.  But America, while it does have racists, is not itself racist.  And, if anyone would read its history and the words of its founders (before those books are all burned along with the statues), they would see that this country’s founding ideals were not racist.  Even if the racism that accompanied the acceptance of slavery was once a part of the system, it is not now. 

I think the better statement would be, “It is clear we have a real anti-American problem within this country.”  That is, we have a significant group who do not believe in or support our form of government and our Constitution.  Their goal is to entirely dismantle it, in essence destroy the soul that is America, and then remake it into something else.  The “racial problems” are asserted and then encouraged; they are a part of the identity politics which are a key tool in the attacks designed to deconstruct America.

So, while there may be individual acts of racism against which we should all speak out, the bigger and more pervasive problem is the misuse of a manufactured and false “institutionalized” racism to attack America.  And, in a way, that is the real racism – the methods used by Democrats to first create a dependent underclass and then to agitate that group into an identity political battalion being used to further the Left’s quest for power and domination.

 

Co-opting George Floyd – Never let a crisis go to waste.

George Floyd, like so many Blacks and their legitimate grievances before, has become nothing more than a pawn – a tool to be used by others for their own political power agenda.

After my blog post yesterday (LINK)  suggesting more “conversations on race” are not going to change anything and perhaps make things worse, someone asked me “well then, how do we change the system?”  Therein lies a large part of the problem.

I don’t want to, do not think we need to “change the system.”  Improve it, yes – always – but change it? NO.

Change the system to what?  Socialism?  That seems to be the choice of the day.  That would not do anything to address or improve the legitimate grievances of people of color.

And what "system," exactly what aspect of the "system" needs to be changed to such extent that it merits total destruction?

George Floyd was murdered by a police officer.  That officer was arrested and charged with murder.  He will be tried and likely convicted.  Seems to me the system is working.  Yes, Floyd was murdered and that was clearly wrong and a seemingly completely evil act on the part of his murderer.  The system did not kill George Floyd, one man did.  That man will face judgement for his crime.

Not to diminish the horror of Floyd’s murder or the sincere pain it has caused, on the same day he was murdered others across America of all background and color were also murdered.  Some were murdered by friends or family or those of the same race.  Others were murdered by strangers and those of a different race.  Some murders were random; some were personal.  Some may have been committed by individuals wearing uniforms.  The “system” will address these murders too.  There will be investigations, people will be charged and tried.  Our justice system seems to be alive and well.  (Not perfect, there will be errors, but the system is working albeit always open for improvement).

Black Lives Matter demands defunding of the police.  I read this demand as asking for the end of police as we know that term, for if the police are defunded then they will cease to exist.  The BLM petition reads:

Enough is enough. Our pain, our cries, and our need to be seen and heard resonate throughout this entire country. We demand acknowledgment and accountability for the devaluation and dehumanization of Black life at the hands of the police. We call for radical, sustainable solutions that affirm the prosperity of Black lives.

The rhetoric sounds good, but what does it mean, is there really a foundation for this demand, and is it really connected to George Floyd’s death?  Clearly, the pain of Floyd’s death legitimately gives rise to cries of anguish that can and should resonate with us all.  But, the murder by one man who happened to be and should not have been a police officer does not indicate a “devaluation and dehumanization of Black life” at the hands of all police.  That “devaluation and dehumanization” occurred at the hands of one man.  To paint all law enforcement with such an overbroad brush does nothing to improve a system that indeed has allowed a variety of bad actors into its fold.  It simply furthers the hatred toward and implicitly the destruction of the entire system.   This is not going to fix any legitimate grievances that might exist toward that system.

Another “system” that is attacked is the “criminal justice system” which, as the claims go, treats Blacks or people of color differently and worse than Whites.  Clearly, many prisons contain a greater number of people of color.  But it does not necessarily follow from that fact that those people of color are treated less fairly or differently than are Whites.  Life is far more complex than making such a simple jump to such a conclusion.  There are many possible reasons behind the numbers, some of which probably do stem from some sort of unfair or biased treatment but also many others that do not. 

The further implication is that these are “mass incarcerations.”  They are not.  Each was the result of an individual trial that called many “systems” into play.  Not just race, but economics, education, and individual choices are but a few of the many factors that likely affected each of these individual trials.

However, making such simplistic jumps from just one data point – number incarcerated - serves well the purposes of those who do indeed wish to destroy (not simply improve) our systems.  It is a good, strong starting point for fomenting hate from one identity group against another.  That hate does not serve the identity group, but rather the one fomenting the hate, the ones who are not letting this personal crisis go to waste.

Thinking about prison reform, let’s remember that the Left demanded that, told people of color they had to elect them in order to have this problem rectified.  They got the votes but did not make the changes.  It was their hated President Trump who enacted prison reform, something which they fail to note or if they do then they simply argue it was not enough and not soon enough and continue to focus on the problems and destroy the system rather than work toward further improvements to the existing system.

Really the “system” that needs to be changed in the eyes of those who have co-opted Floyd’s murder to their own ends is the system of America itself – its government – its form of Democratic Republic.  Why?  Loss of the freedoms we now hold, loss of the systems that allow us to speak out and to work to improve our society will be destroyed.  That does not help those demanding “change.”  The people that it helps are those who would hold absolute power for themselves.

A former member of Antifa notes that the group uses its anti-fascist name to hide the fact that it is really a conduit for far-Left activism.  This violent group is fighting for Socialism and a part of that fight includes the destruction of America as we know it.  There are other groups and individuals on the far edges of political ideology who believe that America as we know it – the “system” – must be destroyed.  They are more than happy to use moments of racial tension and identity divides to further their cause.  But, be very clear, their cause is not the cause of Black civil rights.  It is not the cause of George Floyd’s family.  It is not the cause of Americans of any color.

The problem here is that we have people who are not thinking.  The Left, the Democrats, the anti-Trumpers, the media all condemn our President for simply enforcing the laws of our country – for supporting our system and our way of life.  Indeed, many would destroy him along with the buildings and the “system.” 

There have always been people who hate America.  There always will be.  But this group, with the help of the media and a lack of solid education in critical thinking (yes, our education system could definitely use improvement), this group of people bent on the very real destruction of America seems to have gained a critical mass.  Using George Floyd’s murder as their match, these people have begun to set America on fire.  They are co-opting the legitimate grievances of sincere people and groups and using them to fan the flames of that fire.  And many, out of lack of understanding about what is going on, are letting themselves be used and are indeed standing by if not encouraging the destruction of our country. 

Some will cheer and say this is a good thing.  I will not.  I do not know which side will win.  But I do know that this hatred, this destructiveness, this lack of respect for all that is not you, this need to have every hurt one suffers blamed upon another who then becomes a target for hatred, revenge, and retribution, this is in large part the result of identity politics. 

It does not look like it today, but we are indeed one America with far more in common than not.  We all know that our form of government is great but not perfect and if we were not urged to perpetuate our hatred we could work together to improve rather than destroy our “system.”  But first we must see people as people.  We must see individuals and not mere cardboard cutout representatives of some group we have been taught to hate. 

And that is the long answer to how I would “change the system.”  I would not.  And I would not let individual issues with our “system” be co-opted for its destruction.  

In essence we need to reset ourselves.  We need to say NO I am not and you are not simply a one dimensional label of one or another identity group.  You are a human being and I am a human being and we each may fit within any number of identity labels, but we are yet more beyond that.  And we will not judge and hate because of some label that is placed upon you or me.  

More importantly, we must not allow others to co-opt our identity and our individuality to fuel the fires of hatred started to further someone else’s power.  We must all proclaim:  I will not destroy but I will work to improve – my life, your life, and the “system.”