Unless you live under a rock, you are probably aware of the BLM movement and the impact that it is making on our culture and nation today. In the past few weeks, I have spoken with many BLM supporters, I have read and listened to numerous debates, talks, articles, and sermons regarding this topic, and, as a result, I have arrived at a few conclusions. First, I have concluded that the premise that many BLM supporters embrace is flawed. Secondly, I believe that this premise is often reinforced by instances that people have been preconditioned to view in a certain light. Let me explain:
When asked, the typical BLM advocate espouses the view that racism is still alive and well, and this is due to a “systemic racism” that is built into our society. To BLM proponents (and many Americans in general, for that matter) this concept of “systemic racism” is accepted as an indisputable fact. To deny its existence, in their minds, would be as foolish as denying that the grass is green or that the earth is round. And, when asked to explain what they mean by “systemic racism,” they typically will give personal accounts of situations in which they themselves were the victim of a form of racism.
All across the nation, Black men, women, and children are now speaking out on their own personal experiences with racism. After listening to many of these conversations and personal accounts, I began to notice a pattern emerging. The accounts can, for the most part, be split into 2 main categories.
The first of these categories consists of accounts (typically told by the older generations) that relay truly blatant acts of racism. One man told of a time when, as a young boy, he and his family crouched behind their couch in their own home as strangers yelled threats and called them the N-word amidst other profanities from their front yard. A woman who refused to be served by her waitress because she was black and did not want her to handle her food. a man who was repeatedly being passed over for promotions despite seniority and years of hard work. And, like every true American that seeks justice and equality for all, I was infuriated by these stories. The injustice and evil behind such actions made my blood boil. The fact that people have endured such treatment based solely on the color of their skin is heart-breaking.
There is a second category, however, of these accounts. This category consists of what is now widely referred to as “microaggressions” as well as accounts of routines and activities that many black people have adopted to avoid racist interactions. For example, many related stories of constantly asking themselves if they were appearing “too black” and having to check their words or actions so as not to be perceived as a threat. A married couple talked about how they had to be extra cautious when planning a road trip across the country because certain areas were unsafe for them—especially after dark. One woman talked about how her mother told her that she couldn’t wear her hair in braids because it would make her look “too black.” And a young man talked about how he was treated differently based upon how he dressed, so his parents told him to dress in a way that appeared as non-threatening as possible. As I listened to more and more of these second type of accounts, I realized that many of these people, if not all, had been preconditioned to believe that specific traits and behaviors will result in racist encounters. Thus, these black men and women choose to act a certain way, wear their hair and clothes a certain way, and only travel through certain places because they have been preconditioned to believe that there is systematic and even blatant racism everywhere in this country. Every glare from a white man, every injustice done by a white man, every single negative interaction with a white man must be racially motivated because they have been preconditioned to think that it is.
Many espouse the belief that black men and women have to live their lives being hyper-aware of their surroundings and interactions in a way that white people simply do not have to do, all because of our systemically racist society. Yet, what white person cannot relate to the stories above. I was often told that my appearance & clothing communicates the kind of person that I am. Are you trying to tell me that a white man wearing a suit and a white man wearing sagging pants with his underwear hanging out are going to be viewed in the same way? And who among us has not had to deal with driving through shady/dangerous areas before? Growing up, there were areas in Los Angeles that my father told me I was to avoid and that I was not allowed to stop in for gas under any circumstances because they were areas that are considered unsafe—especially after dark. For me, a white male, this type of careful awareness is not the result of a racist world, it is the result of a fallen world. The world is full of dangers, and there are certain things that we do purely out of common sense in a dangerous world.
Now, some argue that I am just ignorant to the realities of the world and that I cannot speak because I do not know how life is outside of my own social sphere. This is, in fact, the very argument that was made by Chris Brown, the Pastor of North Coast Church Vista, in an interview with some of his church members on this very topic. He claimed that people here in San Diego country are somewhat ignorant of racism because “only 6% of San Diego county is African America.” The obvious implication here is that we know less about racism because we know and interact with fewer black people in our daily lives than in other areas of the country. Yet, there are a couple of flaws to this reasoning. First, while 6% sounds like a small number, let me add some perspective. Black Americans only make up 13% of the nation’s population to begin with, so 6% is not a shockingly low number. In fact, San Diego, like most large cities and counties in the nation, is known for being more diverse than the average U.S. town. And with this diversity comes more awareness of racial barriers and diverse ideals, not less. Pastor Brown illustrated this very fact without realizing it later in the discussion. He related a story about when he first moved to San Diego from Texas and how he had driven to church in a newly refurbished Baja Bug on which he proudly flew his “Texas Rebel Confederate Flag.” He then related how one of the elders from his Church had to come and give him a lecture on the history of that flag and how inappropriate it was for him to be flying it. He admitted that he was entirely “ignorant” to what it might mean to someone who was not white. If San Diego county is a place that is “ignorant to racism” simply because we only have a 6% Black population, then why is it that it took a San Diegan to point out the racist implications of a confederate flag to a man who grew up in Texas, a state that has a 12% Black population? We cannot be simultaneously ignorant of racism and actively calling it out at the same time. Thus, the claim that San Diegans are simply ignorant of racism is, itself, an ignorant claim.
Now, as I said earlier, black people have been preconditioned to believe that racism is systemic and around every corner. In many cases, this has been done through the older generations who did experience truly horrific acts of racism. Their words of warning to the younger generations based on their own experiences have brought the necessary cautiousness of a different time into our modern world. But we are not living in that world anymore. We no longer have Jim Crow laws. We no longer have the KKK going around and terrorizing people in their homes. Today, we live in a world of integrated schools and workplaces, a world of affirmative action, a world where we elected a Black man to run one of the most powerful countries in the world. Systemic racism no longer exists in our world. It has been defended by a plethora of personal accounts of individual racism, but these accounts only serve to show the racism of a few individuals, not the nation and its systems as a whole. We no longer allow policies, programs, and laws that oppress people based on the color of their skin, in fact, we now have many programs and policies that seek to elevate them. Thus, systemic racism no longer is a thing. And for the individual racists that are left, they are a dying breed.
The easiest way to get rid of racism is by allowing people to be “color blind.” Not only should we be allowing it; we should be encouraging it! Children are not born racist. White children do not see differences between them and black children unless they are told that they are different. My son does not view his black classmate any differently than he views his Polynesian or Hispanic classmate or his classmates with different hair and eye colors. I will not be teaching him that skin color makes a person any different than another. And it is unlikely that racists will be teaching my children that they are different than black children. Sadly, the people who teach them that they are different are people like the BLM movement who will do so to claim victimhood and perpetuate a racist narrative.
Let’s consider natural evolution for a moment here. Over time, certain traits that are more desirable or contribute to better survival are selected over less-desirable traits, and, eventually, all that remains is the superior group of traits. This evolutionary phenomenon is known as the process of natural selection. Our society is trying to evolve…but we are not allowing it to. More and more people have become, and are continuing to become, color blind with regards to race as time progresses. Yet, these “color blind” people are now being criticized and attacked by those who support BLM because they refuse to buy into this false narrative. Now, if everyone were to become “color blind,” then racism would be eliminated completely. This is a fact. Over the past couple of generations, our society has been trying to naturally select “color blindness,” but the BLM supporters are not allowing us to choose this as the dominant trait even though it would, in effect, solve racism. So, ask yourself this: will you help to encourage “color blindness?”
Finally, I have had one argument against systematic racism that I have yet to hear a single intelligent response to. My question is this: How can our country be considered systemically racist if black Americans can be found in every single facet of American society today? Don’t believe me? Here are just a few examples of jobs that are held by black Americans:
- President of the United States
- US Senators
- Congressmen
- Supreme Court Justices
- Judges
- Lawyers
- Police
- Detectives
- Military Servicemen/women
- Musicians
- Movie Stars
- Athletes
- Entrepreneurs
- Sheriffs
- Scientists
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Pilots
- Firemen
- Lifeguards
- Philosophers
- Teachers
- Journalists
- News anchors
- Chefs
- Captains
- Security Guards
- Postmen
- Trash men
- Landscapers
- Billionaires
- Zookeepers
- Disney Stars
- Inventors
- Archeologists
- Pastors
- Worship leaders
- Generals
- Race car drivers
- Astronauts
- Border Patrol Agents
- FBI/CIA Agents
- Designers
- Social Workers
- Governors
- Mayors
- City Councilmen
- Psychiatrists
- Astronomers
- Super Heroes
- Action Figures
- EMTs
- Homeowners
- Property owners
- Business Owners
- Students
In short, you would be hard pressed to find a job/position in our country that has not been held by a Black American. So, how can we have systematic racism when these successful Black Americans prove that success and opportunities are available and possible?
I am not saying that there is no more racism in America today. I am not saying that racism never existed or that slavery and oppression never occurred. But to make the claim that racism is systematic today in our country is to deny reality and perpetuate further racism in our country rather than to continue to distance ourselves from it.
