The American love affair with racism has been lasting for roughly two and a half centuries now and there is still no end in sight. For the first almost one hundred years of its existence the USA lived with the declaration of human rights in its constitution and a very brutal kind of slavery coexisting happily and hardly anybody really no…
The American love affair with racism has been lasting for roughly two and a half centuries now and there is still no end in sight. For the first almost one hundred years of its existence the USA lived with the declaration of human rights in its constitution and a very brutal kind of slavery coexisting happily and hardly anybody really noticed the lightyears between talk and walk, the mind numbing hypocrisy this simple fact represented. After slavery was abolished the USA, that shining beacon of light for the rest of the world it always has been pretending to be, being the last of civilized western countries to do so, took another century until black Americans were fully emancipated, at least on paper. By the way, did I already mention those lightyears usually lying between talk and walk in the American journey? That's certainly some progress although America is not there yet where it should be and I'm afraid it might not ever get there. Why? Because Americans never seem to quite get it. Even when they decide to become "antiracist" they can't help but continue to emphasize the differences between the races, just in a different way. That might modify the concept of race and racism but it doesn't get rid of it.
To me, a very humble idealist, it is very clear, where You have to get to, what a society without racism has to look like: You have to arrive at a stage, where the colour of Your skin is about as relevant as the colour of Your hair or that of Your eyes. Where nobody really cares about it and doesn't even really notice it, because it is absolutely irrelevant.
But I'm afraid, the approach taken at the moment will never get America there, because Americans can't help but making the colour of one's skin the single most defining feature a person has and that's exactly the wrong direction. Those promoting "identity politics" might not be aware of that, but they do not fight racism, they keep extending it.
Let me end, with what is meant to be a blunt provocation: Can someone please explain to me what's so different with defining Your identity as being black compared to defining Your identity as being white, that You can idealize one and condemn the other? I personally believe both is equally inadequate to define a person and I've always despised white supremacists for that. I rather define myself as a member of the human race, as brother amongst brothers, because that's where we need to get to, not just in the USA but everywhere in the world to enjoy our finally racefree and racismfree shared world together.
And now You can guess what colour my skin is, if You like. I won't tell You, because it is irrelevant to me and it doesn't define me, not even a little bit. I don't let it.
Spain and Portugal are not “civilized Western countries?” Both ended legal slavery after the USA (1873 and 1869, respectively). The Netherlands barely so, 1863. I assume you don’t consider Brazil worth mentioning.
OOOPS! I was wrong here. That slavery continued only in the colonies of Spain and Portugal and not in the motherlands doesn't change the fact that slavery continued in those empires.
I correct: The USA were one of the last civilized western countries to abolish slavery. Thank You for bringing this error of mine to my attention. Doesn't make a big difference for my argument though...
"Civilized Western Countries" lumps Brazil, China, the Ottoman Empire, etc as what - uncivilized? Barbarians?
Having said that, the only other nations that would seem to fit your definition are Great Britain and France who ended slavery in their empires ~1840. It seems rather hard to discern anything relevant from the fact that your selected basket of nations, who had utilized slavery for a few centuries, all ended it within 30-40 years of each other.
I would just summarize as "Slavery existed globally from ancient times. European nations, Brazil and the US had all abolished it by the latter part of the 19th century. Other nations mostly abolished it in the 20th century. Slavery still exists in isolated pockets of Earth."
China and the Ottoman Empire are definitely no western countries. They cannot be considered part of western civilization. They were/are part to other civilizations with a much different cultural history.
It's still an interesting fact of history, that Americans claim their war of independence was about freedom and in fact it meant the continuance of slavery for a significant part of the American people for a significant amount of time. If You were born black in the year of American independence in the USA You were most likely born a slave and You would most likely die a slave too. One way to avoid slavery was to escape from the "free" America into Canada, still part of the British empire, to gain Your freedom. Pretty strange concept of freedom we can still find in American history books. Don't You think?
I believe one reason why racism persistently exists in the USA is that there has never been an honest approach to American history. In order to hold up the myth of American exceptionalism Americans created a whole bunch of other myths to keep the core of the ugly truths about American history securely locked in the closet. Not just racism against blacks and the legacy of slavery, but also racism against the aboriginal inhabitants of US territory and racism against European immigrants like for example Jews, catholics, Italians or Irish.
I believe as long as Americans perpetuate the myth of that "shining city on the hill", which is American exceptionalism, they will be profoundly unable to deal with their past in a rational and reasonable way. Unless Americans admit, that their's is just another normal country on our planet with both strong suits and some ugly flaws, they will continue to have a way to flattering view of their country, overestimate themselves and try to impose their power on other countries for mostly quite selfish reasons. Which constitutes another can of worms, I haven't even opened yet, which is the reason why the US has been much more often at war with the outside world than at peace and still are.
It's about time that the USA starts reflecting about itself in a more realistic and honest way. That has to happen first before America can start defeating flaws like racism. I do not deny that well intended people have been fighting racism throughout the history of the USA and made at least some progress, but these efforts have all been fallen short of ending racism in the US and I have just laid out my opinion about why that is. Americans as a people have no history of being honest to themselves.
The American love affair with racism has been lasting for roughly two and a half centuries now and there is still no end in sight. For the first almost one hundred years of its existence the USA lived with the declaration of human rights in its constitution and a very brutal kind of slavery coexisting happily and hardly anybody really noticed the lightyears between talk and walk, the mind numbing hypocrisy this simple fact represented. After slavery was abolished the USA, that shining beacon of light for the rest of the world it always has been pretending to be, being the last of civilized western countries to do so, took another century until black Americans were fully emancipated, at least on paper. By the way, did I already mention those lightyears usually lying between talk and walk in the American journey? That's certainly some progress although America is not there yet where it should be and I'm afraid it might not ever get there. Why? Because Americans never seem to quite get it. Even when they decide to become "antiracist" they can't help but continue to emphasize the differences between the races, just in a different way. That might modify the concept of race and racism but it doesn't get rid of it.
To me, a very humble idealist, it is very clear, where You have to get to, what a society without racism has to look like: You have to arrive at a stage, where the colour of Your skin is about as relevant as the colour of Your hair or that of Your eyes. Where nobody really cares about it and doesn't even really notice it, because it is absolutely irrelevant.
But I'm afraid, the approach taken at the moment will never get America there, because Americans can't help but making the colour of one's skin the single most defining feature a person has and that's exactly the wrong direction. Those promoting "identity politics" might not be aware of that, but they do not fight racism, they keep extending it.
Let me end, with what is meant to be a blunt provocation: Can someone please explain to me what's so different with defining Your identity as being black compared to defining Your identity as being white, that You can idealize one and condemn the other? I personally believe both is equally inadequate to define a person and I've always despised white supremacists for that. I rather define myself as a member of the human race, as brother amongst brothers, because that's where we need to get to, not just in the USA but everywhere in the world to enjoy our finally racefree and racismfree shared world together.
And now You can guess what colour my skin is, if You like. I won't tell You, because it is irrelevant to me and it doesn't define me, not even a little bit. I don't let it.
"Those promoting "identity politics" ... keep extending it."
This is a feature; not a bug
Spain and Portugal are not “civilized Western countries?” Both ended legal slavery after the USA (1873 and 1869, respectively). The Netherlands barely so, 1863. I assume you don’t consider Brazil worth mentioning.
OOOPS! I was wrong here. That slavery continued only in the colonies of Spain and Portugal and not in the motherlands doesn't change the fact that slavery continued in those empires.
I correct: The USA were one of the last civilized western countries to abolish slavery. Thank You for bringing this error of mine to my attention. Doesn't make a big difference for my argument though...
"Civilized Western Countries" lumps Brazil, China, the Ottoman Empire, etc as what - uncivilized? Barbarians?
Having said that, the only other nations that would seem to fit your definition are Great Britain and France who ended slavery in their empires ~1840. It seems rather hard to discern anything relevant from the fact that your selected basket of nations, who had utilized slavery for a few centuries, all ended it within 30-40 years of each other.
I would just summarize as "Slavery existed globally from ancient times. European nations, Brazil and the US had all abolished it by the latter part of the 19th century. Other nations mostly abolished it in the 20th century. Slavery still exists in isolated pockets of Earth."
China and the Ottoman Empire are definitely no western countries. They cannot be considered part of western civilization. They were/are part to other civilizations with a much different cultural history.
It's still an interesting fact of history, that Americans claim their war of independence was about freedom and in fact it meant the continuance of slavery for a significant part of the American people for a significant amount of time. If You were born black in the year of American independence in the USA You were most likely born a slave and You would most likely die a slave too. One way to avoid slavery was to escape from the "free" America into Canada, still part of the British empire, to gain Your freedom. Pretty strange concept of freedom we can still find in American history books. Don't You think?
I believe one reason why racism persistently exists in the USA is that there has never been an honest approach to American history. In order to hold up the myth of American exceptionalism Americans created a whole bunch of other myths to keep the core of the ugly truths about American history securely locked in the closet. Not just racism against blacks and the legacy of slavery, but also racism against the aboriginal inhabitants of US territory and racism against European immigrants like for example Jews, catholics, Italians or Irish.
I believe as long as Americans perpetuate the myth of that "shining city on the hill", which is American exceptionalism, they will be profoundly unable to deal with their past in a rational and reasonable way. Unless Americans admit, that their's is just another normal country on our planet with both strong suits and some ugly flaws, they will continue to have a way to flattering view of their country, overestimate themselves and try to impose their power on other countries for mostly quite selfish reasons. Which constitutes another can of worms, I haven't even opened yet, which is the reason why the US has been much more often at war with the outside world than at peace and still are.
It's about time that the USA starts reflecting about itself in a more realistic and honest way. That has to happen first before America can start defeating flaws like racism. I do not deny that well intended people have been fighting racism throughout the history of the USA and made at least some progress, but these efforts have all been fallen short of ending racism in the US and I have just laid out my opinion about why that is. Americans as a people have no history of being honest to themselves.
Virtue signal much, Hans?
Did I hurt Your patriotic pride, Bill? I'm sooo sorry.
Nope, it's immutable. Good to be American. Sorry, Hans.