Re: Nader's Big Chance

On Fri, 15 Dec 2000, Bijan Parsia wrote:

>    he wants to help bridge the gap between (white, often racist when
>    not "merely" racially insensitive) Greens and Blacks, he needs to

I know its terribly fashionable in progressive circles to call all white
people racist whenever possible.  Its doubly fashionable when you yourself
are white (or of a race/background that is fairly oppression-free).

Now, fashionable or not, I will agree that there is much truth to this.
Many (most? all?) progressives believe that racism is more than just the
use of the N word or other such things.  Its a fundamental element of many
of our instutitions such as government, the police, etc.  White folks are
generally not victimized by these institutions and are generally given
preferred treatment by them, leading to an imbalance in power whether it
is wanted or not.

But, what value is there in throwing out off-handed comments alleging that
the Greens are racist?  You certainly offer no proof.  There's not even
any allegations.  If you honestly believe that the Greens, in their
capacity as a political party and an activist movement, are racist, then
support your claims.  If its just the fact that the Greens are mostly
white, and thus benefit from the current system, is this even worth
saying?

It often seems to me that people adopt this style of rhetoric as a way to
establish themselves as "real progressives".  As if to say, "look at how
progressive I am.  I can off-handedly call people, including myself,
racist.  I am _so_ damn progressive."  Bijan, I am not saying this is your
motivation.  This is just what goes through _my_ head when I see things
like this.

And also let's consider the possible negative consequences of this.  Some
people feel offended when they are labelled as racist (or sexist, or
homophobic, or whatever).  Their taking offense may seem quite silly.
After all, if the shoe fits, right?  Actually, wrong.  That's irrelevant.

This is an issue of tactics, not truth.  If you want to convince someone
that they are acting a racist manner, you will not achieve this simply by
calling them racist.  Far better would be to point out some action or
actions that they did that were racist, explain the negative impact it
had, and let them draw their own conclusions.  If its a matter of inaction
(complicity with a racist system) then explain that with a specific
example.  Don't bludgeon them over the head with your righteousness as
this only leads to defensiveness.  Rather, engage them as individual human
beings with failings and gently lead them to see how they contribute to
racism.  Share with them how you've acted in the same way in the past (and
may continue to do so), thus showing that you're not judging them more
harshly than you've judged yourself.  This creates a feeling of
solidarity, which is better than righteousness any day.


Now if I can only practice what I preach ...


-dave

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