Racism and Power

Racism seems to be a bit of a hot topic these days among the Democratic party post election and from minorities that fear the outcomes of a Trump Presidency. Some folks that would say that racism doesn't really exist today. I find that kind of hard to believe, however, I do believe things have evidently improved. So that leads one to ask, what sort of racism do we encounter today? Those who would believe that racism doesn't exist would say that people are not being discriminated on the basis of their race. That seems like a very basic definition racial discrimination.

So I thought of it today, and wondered, how far In the progress for racial equality are we? It's fairly obvious that we don't segregate as a matter of law. By law we do not treat votes from different races as having different values. So then we have to figure out what areas in our society do we have racism. Where do we look to find examples of racism? I think the obvious places to look at are where people have or lack power based on race.

Power is the key to understanding whether or not racism exists in a particular environment. I wondered what does it matter if someone called me or someone else a racist term? Are we not big enough to handle it or just see that the person calling us that is weak and lashing out? We can exercise our power to feel sad for the other person when they label people so as to demean them for some reason or another. But the issue becomes sensitive and troubling when actual or perceived power to truly affect the victim's life is behind a racist statement or label.

Let's look at rape for example. Rape is mostly about power. Power of the criminal to exercise their desires on the unwilling. A loss of power for the victimized. Can you imagine what the victim goes through, such a tragic loss of power? I remember a dear friend of mine who was sexually assaulted. She felt so shocked and distraught from the assault, in my belief, from the loss of power of her choice to keep her physical intimacy from someone who felt they could take it and violate her very being. Imagine someone taking what they want from you and getting away with it. Maybe you can now see where I'm going with this.

A victim of racism does not have to be labeled by an attacker. A victim of racism just has to have their power taken away because of their race. Power exists in government, corporations, at work, in money, status, house, education, relationships and our interactions with other people. You may be able to think of ways that these powers can be very overt,  and in ways that they can be very subtle.

At the very least, racism can be thought to prevalently exist by and in communities that feel oppressed, or disenfranchised. Communities that are poor and racially homogenous (consisting of just black or hispanic) can easily feel racially segregated even though it is not the law. The segregation comes about from a historical loss of power translated to a loss in earnings potential forced to live in certain areas which can lead to a loss of esteem, or at least a perception of justice not being quite right for themselves and their community.

It is important that the above statement is not understood to mean that income means power and this is is a topic where the worlds of materialism and spirituality or communality come together. However, it is a simpler statement to make and true enough in the material world. In this world we seek equality so that we can achieve what we would like. Many children grow up feeling oppressed because they do not have the family or safe community that others have because they are poor. Then they notice that they are in a poor and crime ridden neighborhood and rightly think that because of their race they are historically disenfranchised. It is obvious that there are numerous minority success stories and it is encouraging to hear so that we can be a more just society for all. Yet we still have many poor communities where historical racism can at the very least explain why families live among hot beds of crime, lack of actual grocery stores, poor education, proliferation of drug use, and a lack of opportunity. If racism did not exist, then funding would exist to fix the problem rather than thrown hands in the air and money budgeted for other purposes. Yet the problem still exists and, like in the case of Flint Michigan's water quality, attempts to save money at the expense of the poor and black are still carried out.

These communities are oppressed because the powerful have chosen to make it so. Rich people don't like to live near poorer or even some middle class folks, because of fear of crime or racial prejudices, and yes, the fear of loss of power by association. Yet if society allowed and encouraged sparse dispersion of low income housing through city planning efforts, equality of power may be better dispersed. Yet the powerful have not historically encouraged this, usually illustrated by NIMBY opposition to low income housing developments.

Racism still exists, because at the very least it has created disenfranchised communities based on race and historical treatment of race to this day with little effort to allow poorer folks, still disproportionately of color, to experience the stability of safer streets, education among more stable students, open park space, and less overall fear and thus more power in their lives. Yet we continue to allow the status quo because those in power prefer it so.