by Elizabeth Wright, a black paleoconservative who edits the online magazine Issues and Views. She has written for The American Conservative and Vdare.
Last year, on a radio talk show, New York City’s former Mayor Ed Kochvoiced a cliche that’s near and dear to the hearts of many blacks. Iwas reminded of this cliche while hearing a version of it from a youngwhite man interviewed in Craig Bodeker’s documentary, “A Conversation About Race.”The man in Bodeker’s film remarked that he had seen his black friends”struggle” with racism. He had no details to offer about the nature ofsaid “racism,” but he expressed dismay over something either perceived,or told to him. [See my review of the Bodeker film here.]
Similarly,Ed Koch had claimed that in this terrible society of America, “allblacks” face racism “every day.” According to Koch, from the minute ablack leaves his home in the morning to go to work, he encounters ugly,persistent racism, which goes on throughout the day.My ears perked up, because I wanted to know in just which city or stateor region were blacks being tormented openly and on a daily basis. Mindyou, he was talking about the year 2008. Of course, he, like the youngman in the Bodeker film, did not offer any examples of this horrendoustreatment.
My instinct was to get intouch with Koch and challenge him to pick any black man, and go off towork with him, spending the entire day on his job, as well as remainingwith him in the evening. I would have liked for Koch to come back onradio and report on the terrible, racist encounters suffered that dayby that black man.
Of course, we know that no such encountersare occurring on a daily basis. The use of the term “racism” does notmean today what it meant to a 1930s black sharecropper, whose choiceswere circumscribed by realities that were out of his hands. Theseblacks cannot pin down specific instances of meaningful, substantivebias, that is, bias that negatively affects their daily livelihood.
Theblack who whines about facing a “struggle” is not prevented from goingabout his business, or living his daily life as he chooses. The societyhe now lives in places no life-threatening obstacles in his path. Thedegree to which he can prosper is determined by the limitations of hisown natural abilities, and vicissitudes of his family, social circle,and upbringing – as is true for everyone else. The very real racismthat prevented that 1930s sharecropper from expanding his choices inlife is the only type of racism that matters.
However, thereare clever blacks who insist on invoking the spirit of that earlierscenario and hyping the “pain of racism,” a disposition that a greatmany whites eagerly buy into. The goal of such blacks is to keep whitespreoccupied forever with the Black Cause, while expanding the scope ofjust what constitutes “racism.” That scope, of course, must encompassthe very thoughts in the heads of others.
Whenever I insist tosome complainer that specific instances of racism be cited, he usuallystammers and talks in generalities. “Well, you know what I mean,” hewill intone, as if I’m supposed to fill in the blanks. What he means isthat he takes offense at any form of rejection. Although all humanbeings face personal rejection at the hands of others, these blackswant exemption from such uncertainties in life. They want no leeway forpersonal discrimination against themselves.
Recently, acommenter on a popular blog expressed that lame black mantra,”until-you-have-walked-in-my-shoes,” by claiming that the whitecommenters in the forum, being people “who have never experienced racism on a daily basis since the time you were a child,” could not understand his anguish. Racism, every day,from childhood right into adulthood? Are we really supposed to buythat? And then he really poured it on, by claiming that this racism”makes your heart start to race, your blood start to boil, and tearsstart to form in your eyes.”
I suspect that if we were toprobe deeper into this man’s grievances, we would discover some stickystuff going on here. Does he cry whenever he finds himself rejectedsocially by a party or parties with whom he wished to engage? Doessocial rejection send him into mourning? Or, as in the case citedbelow, from a black blog, might he harbor a host of insecurities thatonly competent practitioners in the psychological counseling fieldcould deal with adequately?
On the blog, Within the Black Community,black blogger “Constructive Feedback” writes about the black actorBoris Kodjoe, who complained about a delivery man, who made him feel”dirty and black,” at the door of Kodjoe’s mansion in Atlanta. Becauseit appeared from the delivery man’s attitude that he did not believeKodjoe to be the owner of such a grand house, this apparently irkedKodjoe, so much so that he talked about it in public. Is thismillionaire actor admitting that his own self-worth rests on the basisof what he thinks others are thinking about him – even a minimum wagedelivery man? Constructive Feedback observes:
Thiswealthy Black man’s self-worth is still subject to confiscation by thelowliest of service men who ring his door bell … The only thing atplay is the pathology that is resident in the minds of Mr. Kodjoe andother African-Americans who hand over their own self-worth for someoneelse’s blessing. We have people who wear their self-worth on theirshirt collar, expecting everyone to validate them about theirinsecurities. They project these insecurities as “racial assaults” uponour entire race.
It was never put better. This is asubject that blacks discuss all the time, but most whites are fearfulof contemplating. When the approval craved is not forthcoming, the cryof “racism” against the entire race goes out. And when a degree ofdeference cannot be extracted from a white especially, as in ProfessorHenry Louis Gates’s interaction with Officer James Crowley, this isanother “assault” on the black community. Constructive Feedbackcontinues:
It is clear that the expectation was forthe police to show due deference to this accomplished BLACK professorof great stature at this elite White school. The fact that hisoutbursts were responded to by the group of police men, just as theywould have done to those of a less established person, the peanutgallery feels that this Black man was not treated fairly, per hisposition.
The blogger then facetiously asks, about this prestigious Very Important Person,
Whydidn’t they know who Dr. Gates was when they confronted him? Didn’tthey see him on television with Oprah and Chris Rock, as they connectedwith their ancestry in Africa from so long ago?
And,for those who understand the reference to the haughty, 19th centuryHarvard-educated W.E.B. Du Bois, he adds, “I detect some W.E.B.DuBois-esque ‘Talented Tenth’ elitism among the commentators. Prof.Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, appears to have takenon some of the airs of his mentor.”
What a mockery Gates’sbehavior turns out to be, when we look at the pressure put upon blackathletes and entertainers to behave respectfully, so they might be rolemodels to the young. Yet here is this highly touted, prestigiousHarvard Professor, who expels coarse vulgarities to a police officer,even spewing out the “Yo’ Mama” insult, like a common street thug,carrying on like the proverbial “Crazy Nigger.” Are we to believe thatsuch behavior is not characteristic of this black V.I.P., thisDistinguished Scholar?
Constructive Feedback asks just whenwill blacks feel they have enough societal control that they can moveon and finally deal with the pressing realities that “are actuallykilling African-Americans.” The answer to his question was given longago.
Black elites, those who have always had the power and theresources to ameliorate much of the suffering within the blackcommunity, made it clear from as early as the 19th century that theirinterests will always rest outside the group, even as they exploit thetheme of “race” to personally elevate themselves. You need look nofurther than Henry Louis Gates and the entire entourage ofprofessionals and academics, who covet white society’s credentials intheir striving to be socially acceptable. Some of the earliestobservations and commentaries by both blacks and whites about theAmerican Negro personality still hold up (see especially Harold Cruse).
Yet, even in these venues among whites that they have chosen,these elites remain in a combative stance, always pushing the envelopein a need to prove who they are. They have no more concern today aboutthe genuine needs of the black masses than did their fathers andgrandfathers. And, if given the chance, these elites would just aseagerly oppose Booker T. Washington for his temerity in insisting onputting the welfare of the masses first. So, the answer to therhetorical question as to when blacks will move on and deal with thereal stuff is, Never.