The "R" word

Racism....what's with this word? For some people, this word has become a taboo. Some put this out there as if everything comes down to this one common denominator. And for some, it doesn't mean anything. Recent events, especially former President Jimmy Carter's interview where he said, "I think overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African American..." has brought this issue into the spotlight again. But before I say anything, I want to make it clear that whatever I say in here is based on my experience and knowledge, so feel free to disagree.

Does racism exist? I'll be damned if it doesn't!! One thing that drives humankind is power. Every single one of us wants to have power...being powerless is scary!! Throughout the history, we have seen people use different techniques to gain power. We have had wars because of that, we have raped, pillaged, and plundered for power. Our history shows that we can go to any lengths for that power....and unfortunately, we don't learn from our mistakes. Discrimination is one of the ways in which we maintain power and control. When I talk about discrimination, I not only mean in terms of race but also in terms of religion, caste, class, gender, and sexuality. Racism is just one of them...

I come from a country where we do not have racism. There, we 'only' discriminate people on the basis of their caste, creed, education, and culture (part of the country they're from). Fortunately, I had always belonged in the majority group in my country and felt safe. Although I had traveled to other countries, I had never stayed in those places long enough to be pushed aside. It wasn't until I came here that I realized the privileges I had back home. Would things have been different had a been a White alien? Probably. I have known other White non-citizens who had heavy accents not being asked whether they were US citizens or if they understood English. This has happened to me a few times....being asked if I understood English...among other absurd things.

That was in the Wonder Bread land, the Midwest. The other day, a couple of my friends asked me to acompany them to a bar that I had never been to in Philly. But when I went in there, I felt like I was the only minority in that place....and people were looking at me funny. No, they didn't ask me to leave.....not verbally at least. But their looks said it all! Unfortunately, there have been a lot of other times when I have encountered similar behavior. Is it because I'm a non-thin person? No, I see several people fatter than me. Is it because of my clothes? I don't think so, I see others wearing similar clothes. Is it because of my accent? Could be, but I hear a guy in suit with a German accent. Is it my ethnicity? Bingo!! No non-white person around! I feel like an animal in a zoo, so I have an overpriced beer and leave the bar 10 minutes after I entered.

Yes, racism exists....at least from where I stand...like it or not. But then someone says, "show me the racism, I cannot see it!". Of course you cannot....we don't have segregated drinking ountains anymore, do we? What we have now is covert racism, not overt racism. An African American driving in a White neighborhood gets pulled over for no apparent reason...that's racism. A White American says he is "colorblind", that's racism. Hah...you can still see shades of gray, can't you? This is one issue that gets me really mad...colorblind!! How does that work? Because when I meet someone different than me, I don't ignore the fact that they're different. I don't look at them and say, "oh you're White? I didn't know that!". Ignoring a person's racial/ethnic background and putting him or her in the "White norm" is wrong because you're stripping her off of her individuality, of her very culture the moment you do this.

I could go on and on about it but I'm going to stop at that for now. As for the minorities, everything isn't racism. Every single blow that you encounter isn't racism, regardless of how racism permeates into the society. Saying everything is the fault of racism makes you helpless and powerless....something you don't want. At the same time, take a stand. Just because you're the President belonging to a minority group does not mean you have to change your ways to fit into the majority group. Saying it wasn't racism but you thought it was isn't going to make people like you. Just because there is a minority President doesn't mean racism doesn't exist...tokenism, anyone? Riddle me this...if the current president wasn't so "White", would he have been elected? This question came from my 16 y/o African American client.

There is nothing worse than a racist who doesn't know he is one!