"White supremacy is the greatest danger we as Americans face as a source of domestic terrorism, and one of the least recognized", writes Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite at the Washington Post's On Faith Blog. Since Wade Michael Page massacred Sikhs and tried to murder a police officer in Wisconcin, you've probably learned more than you care to know about white supremacist groups in the United States. For those of us who imagined such groups were a thing of the past, or at least no longer a serious concern, Thistlethwaite and others are like the little girl in the Poltergeist movie. "There heeerrrreeee", they warn us.
I find myself ambivalent about the amount of attention such groups are being given in the media right now. Clearly any group representing a threat of domestic terrorism is one that the public needs to be informed about. Also, any information that counters the narcotic of color-blind, post-racial ideology is a good thing. On the other hand, there's a risk that renewed attention to white supremacist groups can reinforce the notion that they represent what a "real racist" looks like, which let's the rest of us off the hook.
As a long time student of the issue, I've come to the conclusion that one of our greatest challenges in understanding racism today is a failure to recognize the way that the problem has changed. While racial animus persists in varied forms, particularly when the levers of anger and anxiety are gleefully pulled for political gain, it is racial indifference that the greater threat. The face of racism today is more likely to resemble a yawn than a snarl and sound like deafening silence more than "hate speech". Racist outcomes, reflecting the systematic concentration of power and privilege among White Americans (largely moneyed elites) at the expense of everyone else, no longer require racist individuals.
It is an axiom of physics that a body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless the body is compelled to change its state. The architects of white supremacy, and their enablers, set the body politic of America in motion in a particular way with particular goals. This involved insane amounts of armed robbery and mental torture, creating a legacy of massive, intergenerational trauma and cognitive disorder that affects us still. To compell the body politic to change its state has alway required a profound degree of energy and commitment. This is still true. Passive acceptance of racial equity as an ideal and professions of "color-blindness" will not be sufficient. 'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), Head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892 to 1921, put it this way:
Article comments
1 - Dan Poole
"Racist outcomes, reflecting the systematic concentration of power and privilege among White Americans"
Phillipe, it's impossible to prevent unequal outcomes without resorting to a Stalinist form of government that steals private property from whites and redistributes it to non-whites. There are dozens of laws on the books (most notably affirmative action, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Fair Housing Act of 1972) designed to equalize whites and non-whites. Yet, listening to people like you, apparently those policies didn't work - or they didn't go nearly far enough.
Well guess what: White Americans like me are increasingly getting sick and tired of all these anti-white laws. 58% of white millennial (that's my generation) think that racism against whites is worse then racism against non-whites. The anti-white rhetoric coming from bigots like you, Phillipe, is not going unnoticed! There is no white privilege. There is no systemic racism. If any systemic racism exists, its against white people.
You claim that you're a long time student of racism. You sound more like a long time student of the Black Panthers.
2 - Oliver Chiapco
Education . . . education is the key. . .
3 - Phillipe Copeland
Dan, I appreciate your candor. It is refreshing. Unfortunately, the evidence does not support what you are saying and one does not have to be a Black Panther to see that. In fact, very few white people that I know, millenials or otherwise would agree with your comments. The notion that people like me are somehow bigots indicates the degree to which people like yourself have been hoodwinked by those whose true agenda is to manipulate you for their own gain. This has been going on since the conquest of this continent. Sadly, it appears to still be highly effective.
4 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
A quality education is the new frontier for The Civil Rights Movement.