In my hometown of Waterloo, our city’s Human Rights Commission “held a press conference Tuesday responding to flyers distributed in Waterloo and Evansdale earlier this month asking people to join a neo-Nazi group” according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
“Papers from the Aryan Freedom Network were placed on doorsteps by disguised individuals around 1 a.m. on Nov. 11th.” I was aware of this and noticed that several people posted their outrage and surprise that this could happen in our relatively small community.
I asserted this is a byproduct of Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric and is a subtext behind returning America to greatness as it is perceived by racists as a return to white dominance. The “Great Replacement Theory,” which has been forwarded by well known right-wing pundits, contends there is a plan by left-wing conspirators to replace white America with non-whites, and has been a call to white supremacists to spring into action. The populist movement of Donald Trump has emboldened them.
Racism is like a novel virus, it spreads most prolifically when its existence is denied. It is only from calling attention to it, isolating its carriers, that it can be contained.
Who are the carriers?
Ignorance and inattention to the virus are the carriers. I’m a white male in America and I’ve benefited from policies that favor white males in America. I have no trouble buying a home, getting a loan, or being allowed to stay in my car when pulled over. At least not because of the color of my skin.
Pew Research reveals it’s harder for minorities to get approved for conventional mortgages and often pay higher interest rates.
The Prison Policy Initiative reveals disparities in our criminal justice system between black and white Americans.
Or we can just look at how injustice is systematically realized in the myriad cases where extreme prejudice is applied toward Blacks in situations where a White suspect generally walks free or at least is processed without life threatening consequences.
I carry that systemic virus and pass it on unless I’m working to bring attention and to change those conditions. Antidotes to unequal justice make progress at times, such as the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, but that is progress in the rear-view mirror. We have to wonder what America was, and is, if we need amendments and laws to protect Americans from Americans who don’t understand basic human rights.
The undercurrent of prejudice runs deep and the current rise of populist-nationalism, favoring white ethnic history, denies the existence of such systemic racial issues.
President-elect Trump pointed out during his previous presidency that “employment is up for African-Americans,” and his supporters called him a “culturalist,” meaning he acknowledges and accepts cultural differences.
However…
Trump categorizes races so subtly even he may not be aware of how his white-privilege shows. That was illustrated when he said the “kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.” He refers to “the” Blacks and “the” Mexicans. That may seem benign, but it isn’t. “The” is a determiner to generalize a reference.
Harmless? No. It places people into categories that stereotype; it is the foundation of prejudice. It is another dog whistle to racists.
Why, it must be asked, do racist groups support Trump and view him as their champion? That doesn’t mean Trump necessarily shares their beliefs or directly condones their actions, but it does mean they identify with his.
“They aren’t sending their best” and feverish rhetoric to cast immigrants into suspicion is candy to those who are prejudiced. So was calling COVID-19 the “Chinese” virus.
Donald Trump does not openly consider himself a racist, yet he promotes, consciously or otherwise, what and who is racist.
Racism is a scourge; a disease; a virus carried by ignorance to the body of extreme nationalism. To fight it we must be hyper-aware of its existence and adhere to the principles of protection: Freedom and equality.
And welcoming justice and freedom for ALL is what will determine how healthy we are.
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