I don't think so - what about you...?
John Maynard Keynes once said that "Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assaults of thoughts on the unthinking." Know what? I tend to agree with that, so this post is sure to do at least one of two things - possibly even both. It will either greatly offend some people who will want to give me a piece of their mind (particularly those who can't really spare it), or it will cause others to ignore it on the grounds that "Oh, he just wants to argue!"
While I readily confess that I love a good discussion - mainly because it can generate illuminating light (though sadly often accompanied by less-welcome heat) and give my brain some much-needed exercise into the bargain - I wouldn't say that I love to argue. And while I don't believe that I ever start an argument, I'll certainly never run away from one. Bloggerland is a funny place, filled with people who use it to state their opinion on any given subject, but who seem reluctant to explain the reasons for their point of view or defend their beliefs. "I have said, therefore 'tis true" appears to be their motto. Ask them why they think as they do, however, for no other reason than to understand them better, and they do a runner.
So racism has been a lot in the news in recent times, and what a bunch of bastards white people are for all the ills they have bestowed upon the world. George Floyd was killed and shouldn't have been, but was it really because he was black? Has that been established beyond all reasonable doubt? I'm only asking because I don't know either way. Cops shoot or beat white people too, but colour is never mentioned in the news reports in those instances. And white people never stand up and accuse the police of racism because they shot a white guy, even if one (or more) of the policemen happens to be black.
It just seems to be that the people who shout racism whenever something happens are black people - or other ethnic minorities - never white people. Black people (and I mean some, not all) ask why aren't there more black actors being awarded Oscars, as if they're specifically not being given them because they're black. Here's something a lot of you will already know. Centuries ago, when some black tribes conquered others in neighbouring villages, not only did they kill their rivals, they made those they didn't murder their slaves. The point being that it wasn't only white people who took slaves. We were the first to gave it up though.
Not good enough, cry our critics. So we're supposed to ignore all the white people who died in the fight to abolish slavery because it doesn't fit in with the 'white people are trash' mantra that some people want to propagate. There are no black people alive today who have ever been slaves in the way we think of slaves - as unpaid servants or butlers. Sure, there are people of all colours - and ages - who are what are called sex slaves, or are made to work against their will in factories by crooks who smuggled them into the country (take your pick) with the promise of a better life, then did the dirty on them. Those kind of 'slaves' exist, but like I said, they're not restricted to any one colour or ethnicity so they're not the ones I'm discussing here.
Black people are slaves though - slaves to the idea that they're slaves who are victimised or oppressed purely because of the colour of their skin. It's only when they realise that they can't claim the wrongs done to their ancestors as their own, or pin the crimes of white people's ancestors on their descendants, that they'll ever truly be free from their own prejudices. Black people prejudiced? (Some, not all, remember.) You betcha! Let's say you're a white celebrity and you see a news report about starving children in war-ravaged or disease-ridden countries and decide to front an appeal to assist them (out of a genuine desire to help, not to rejuvenate your flagging career by raising your profile) - well, now you shouldn't - because you're white.
Why? Well, apparently because you're presenting whites as 'saviours' rescuing poor little black babies, and in doing so you're being a racist. Run that past me again. Surely the reverse is true?! You're trying to help disadvantaged people with no thought as to what colour or ethnicity they are, but you're being told you shouldn't lead from the forefront because you're white and it gives the wrong impression to the world? Your skin colour is being held against you! Surely that's where the racism lies?
It seems obvious that there are those within the black community who have a vested interest in perpetuating the notion of blacks being oppressed by whites. (And I'm not saying it never happens, probably more than I'm aware of, but I don't believe it occurs as often as they imagine.) There are some blacks who hate white people and are looking to demonise them, the better to present themselves as champions for black rights. If there's no conflict they have no purpose, so they stoke the fires of conflict at every opportunity. From their point of view, anytime anything bad happens to a black person, it's for no other reason than the fact he's black. That's one helluva chip they're carrying on their shoulder.
Then there's Lenny Henry, who used to be an ordinary British guy before he decided to be a leader to 'his' people. Willingly took the wages for being part of The Black & White Minstrels Show, but now says he was just a kid who didn't know what he was doing and was just trying to provide for his family. Now he's ashamed of it, you see. Well, there's certainly a convoluted and controversial history to white people 'blacking up', and some sources say some of it was malicious and racist and others say it wasn't necessarily so, but one thing's for sure, and it's this.
At the time the show was on TV, it didn't make fun of black people, didn't try to demean them, and wasn't negative about black people in any way. The British public loved the Minstrels and took them to their hearts, and the show perhaps even helped alleviate any latent or overt racism in this country at the time. But no, it was wrong and evil cries Sir Lenny, conveniently ignoring the fact that he 'whited up' in his one and only (that I know of) Hollywood movie, which did sod all for his career. They say converted former smokers are the worst, and that seemingly also goes for duff British comedians (allegedly) who are trying to reinvent themselves as relevant, when their 'best' work was nearly 40-odd years ago. And no, I don't say that because he's black.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is that the section of our community who is subject to racism more than any other is white people. They get it from all sides. Want to have an Afro hairstyle? Can't, that's cultural appropriation. Want to wear something that is (or resembles) the traditional garb of some ethnic minority? Can't, that's cultural appropriation - in short, racism. Yet for decades, many black women straightened their hair to match their white colleagues or neighbours, some of them even applying skin lightening lotions in an attempt to appear less black. And not necessarily, as some will claim, because they were made to feel ashamed or embarrassed about being black, but only because they wanted to appear more like their favourite actresses or pop stars, who - by a sheer accident of birth - happened to be white. Surely it should also work in reverse. Don't wear jeans and a tee-shirt if you're black - that's cultural appropriation.
Yes, of course that's a stupid thing to say, but that's the point! It's every bit as stupid when said from the other side of the fence too. Any excuse to beat whitey over the head though, eh?
What you have to remember if you're white, my friends, is that, according to some, white people were and are responsible for every evil ever inflicted on the globe, back in the past and also today - and no doubt tomorrow as well. You should be ashamed at your ancestors for merely living in a time when things weren't as they are now, even though there was little chance they could do anything about it even if they'd wanted to. No other 'race' ever did everything even remotely wrong and were the epitome of goodness and light, so they have nothing to be ashamed of. Everything is whitey's fault.
Black Lives Matter? Why even bring skin colour into it? Surely all lives matter?
What's your view?
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(Update:) And here's the very thing that proves my point. There's currently an ad on Scottish telly where a black guy is talking about racism and says that a sign of it is when he's followed around a supermarket by a security guard because of the colour of his skin. Excuse me? How could he know that? Marvel at the ease with which he readily assumes he gets followed because he's black. Hey, it's happened to me, and thousands of other white people, due mainly to the fact that it's a security guard's job to be suspicious, it's nothing to do with colour.
Am I carrying a shopping bag from another store into which I might be stuffing items, or do I just look like a dodgy character who's up to no good? Might it be because I've already been in the store and gone back because I forgot something and that's attracted attention? Nah, it's nothing to do with that, it's just because I'm white! See how paranoid it sounds when I say it? You see, that's part of the problem: Too many black people are far too quick to attribute every problem they encounter as being simply because they're black. Lose the chip, fellas - it's wrong and it's boring. Look for racism and you'll see it everywhere, even when it's not there.
