Re: RE: Naders Big Chance

On Wed, 10 Jan 2001, Greg Konig wrote:

> I don't understand what you mean by "the most damaging...  the more
> important criterion."  Help me here...

I think what Bijan is asking is saying that even if Al Sharpton is
bigoted, what does more harm?  White or black bigotry?  Given the obvious
power differential, I think its safe to say white bigotry.  This is why
the idea of black racism is so silly, since racism is bigotry with power.
Whites have power, and thus their bigotry is accompanied by oppression.
Blacks have relatively little power, and there really isn't much they can
do to oppress white people, whether they want to or not.

Its a point worth making but it implies to me that there are two choices:
Denounce white racism or denounce black bigotry.  I would suggest that
both are valuable, though the former should take priority.  I am concerned
at the type of world we would end up with if we removed the first entirely
without ever addressing the second.

Of course, then there's the issue of having limited resources and deciding
how they're best spent.

Anyway, I don't propose that I have an answer to these questions, but I am
concerned when bigotry unaccompanied by oppression is allowed to pass
without comment.  OTOH, I'm also concerned when attacking that bigotry is
used as an excuse to avoid working against oppression.  There is no easy
answer here, at least for me.


-dave

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