The true meaning of racism has been lost in our culture. One off-color comment from a black man on international TV and people are to quick to call him a racist. However, the terms racist and racism are being twisted to get a point of view across when actually the correct terminology should be prejudice, or pointing out the fact that there are so few people of African descent participating in the winter game.
Racism is not just using a racial slur. Racism is when a system of people use power and politics to oppress another group of people. When we look at racism we need to see an oppression experienced by black and minority ethnic groups predominantly on the basis of their skin color, and of their culture and identity. Blacks, no matter how hard we try, no matter how many chemical peels or nose jobs, cannot remove the hue from our skin.
We need to also see an oppression that can be a feature of interpersonal relationships and an oppression that can be a feature of institutional practices. We need not look too far into history to see Jim Crow laws, "Colored Only" signs, and lynchings to see signs of judicial, social, and government institutions using their power to oppress a community of people.
Where are the images of Debi Thomas being shown so that minority girls can think they, too, can be in the ice skating world? Or why has no one ever talked about Mabel Fairbanks, who lived in Harlem and was denied the ability to be a professional skater, rejected by Ice Capades because of her skin color? Why has no one spoken about how she broke down the colored doors and trained many skaters and even paired Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner when they were 9 and 11 years old, but only after 20 and more years of racial slurs, doors slammed in her face, and signs being posted up about her not being wanted at the skating rinks?
Racism has become covert and hidden but many people do not want to believe that it still exists. Institutional racism has been defined as ordinary people going about their normal day to day business but producing outcomes that are disadvantageous to black and ethnic minority groups. Race isn't a deck of cards that blacks put on the table; it was handed to us the very beginning when we where brought over to the Americas, and had to fight for equality and social justice.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dawn
I enjoyed your article so much that I took it upon myself to quote you in my article.
Good Stuff!
2 - John Conlin
Where to begin with this one? Much like the Israeli â€" Palestinian conflict, often things get so tangled with very valid grievances that nothing can move forward. Individuals are forever fighting over what happened in the past â€" and since I don’t know how to change the past, nor do I know how to “make up” for past obscenities (ask someone whose spouse has cheated on them if there is anything that will “make it up” â€" they either choose to get over it or they don’t and therefore move on, not really any other choices) this course of thought leads nowhere.
So why not start fresh and attempt to look at facts. From a scientific viewpoint there is no such thing as the black race. Might surprise those who have been classified by this illusion since their birth but I can’t change that â€" the facts are the facts.
The white race, Asian, all an illusion. They don’t exist. Geneticists around the globe will tell you the same thing. When the scientists at the National Institutes of Health announced that they had put together a draft of the entire sequence of the human genome, the researchers unanimously declared that there is only one race -- the human race. Guess what, focusing on an illusion will never solve the problem of racism â€" which is unfortunately widespread and practiced by those of every size, shape, and color.
And the very first step of racism, the one which is the foundation for all other racist thought, is the classification of individuals based on meaningless physical characteristics. By that definition, Gumbel made racist statements and if one makes racist statements doesn’t that make them racist? I don’t say this in any insulting way; read any newspaper, listen to any media and racist speech and thought abounds. We have simply changed the words and now consider it “normal” if it is presented in the “right” way.
Accepting this truth requires a true paradigm shift in our thinking â€" often accepting the truth does. If you really care about promoting “black” individuals (god that is such a racist statement!) perhaps begin by helping ensure ALL poor and disadvantaged individuals have the opportunity to receive a quality education. Perhaps help with crime prevention so that ALL poor and disadvantaged individuals don’t have to live with rampant crime. Perhaps help stop the insanity practiced by many individuals who consider education, marriage and success being “white” and therefore want no part of it. Read Thomas Sowell’s great book “Black Rednecks and White Liberals” if you want to open your eyes.
Since these words black and white are thrown around constantly I’d like someone to explain to me what they actually mean. If they are real in any scientific sense, what do they mean? Do you know that the average “black” American population is an African-European hybrid, with about 70% of the genes having come from Africa and 30% from Europe? If that is the case, then I guess individuals like Halle Berry and Barack Obama (both had “white” mothers and “black” fathers) are really “white” since over 50% of their genetic make-up is “white”. Or is it 40% “black” and then you are “black”? Or 25% or just a drop? I don’t know much about this racist way of thinking, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
It is way past time to throw the whole concept of race in the trash can. Only then can we even begin to hope to address the very real problem of racism.
Check out my blog
http://johnconlin.typepad.com
3 - Brad
If Bryant Gumbel had put his emphasis on the financial barriers that exist to have more Black athletes in winter sports, I'd have supported him 100%. In the US, the costs to train in skiing, skating, hockey, even snowboarding is exorbitant at best, making it a sport of the rich, or the fortunate. However, by saying the worlds best athletes are not in the Olympics based purely on skin color IS racist. By comparing the Winter games to a GOP convention IS political. A white commentator saying the same things in reverse would, and should, be lambasted in the press. Gumbel has not yet faced the outrage of CNN, ESPN and the other MSM outlets. THAT is what makes this a story for the bloggers. That is why you are seeing people call him a racist. If you go for shock, you get shocked back. Is it right? Absolutely not. Is it fair? Absolutely yes. And I wish it wasn't so.
4 - RedTard
"From a scientific viewpoint there is no such thing as the black race."
Actually, that is not quite true. Geneticists have actually found the gene that switches of the melanin in the skin. All whites share this genetic difference and it has been theorized that they we may have all descended from one individual with that mutation. Asians also have their pigmentation turned off, but by a different gene. There are also genetic tests that can determine the racial ancestries a person has.
5 - John Conlin
We are biologic creatures - every physical trait we have is the result of genes. This is not rocket science. And we are more like our more recent ancestors than our more distant ones. Again not rocket science. That there are genes that do this or that in no way proves the concept of the black or white or Asian races. In fact it is race-based thinking which does this.
If one were to look at genetics without any concept of race, one would not “create” the black and white races â€" they are simply an overlay that some people put on the basic data. The genetics are much more complicated than that. Even with medicine, some drugs work better on “blacks” than on white, the brush stoke is too broad. We can all see that there are physical differences between each individual (even identical twins); it’s just that these differences have no real meaning in any real physical sense.
I’m also still waiting for anyone out there to define these races for me (and please let’s not start talking about the finer points of genetics). When this poster and Gumbel and thousands every day talk about “black” this and “white” that, they are talking about a WHOLE LOT MORE than genetic markers. If it is real, please define it for me. I claim it is simply the continuation of a failed scientific theory from a couple of hundred years ago and it is time to throw it in the dust bin of history.
6 - Dyrkness
I'm with John Conlin on this. There IS NO SUCH THING as race. It's just different genetics caused by environmental conditions millions of years ago."Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny."As my high school biology teacher liked to say.We are more alike than different except in our treatment of each other.Look at dogs. They all get along and they all look COMPLETELY different from one another.We don't speak of different races of Canines,do we?It's The Human Race.At least that is my feeling about the whole issue.
7 - RedTard
Every word that comes out of your mouth is just an overlay of some discernable pattern you see on the outside. I could say that the color orange doesn't exist because there are multiple shades and some people would disagree whether the fringes are really orange or red, etc. That does not mean that the color does not exist.
Race exists because we invented it to describe a characteristic just like every other word in the thing we decided to call language.
It is only in a PC crazy world where people will jump all over themselves to see who can disavow the meaning fo the word race the fastest. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
8 - RedTard
"We don't speak of different races of Canines,do we?"
We call them breeds last time I checked. Please try and argue how there really are not breeds of dogs, the word shouldn't exist, and it is really some bad middle aged science that makes us think that poodles and rottweiler's are different. Besides, they are more the same than they are different.
9 - steve Bryan
Times in races don't lie. Is it racism that most of the best basketball players are black? No. African Americans grow up playing a lot of basketball, and, even if us whiteys played just as much, the blacks seem to be better. Most are, some not. End of that story. Winter sports? Maybe they are not as good. Some are, most, not. Get a grip.
10 - sr
Racism will continue to exist in the US because thats were the money is for Jesse Jackson and the Al Sharpton types.
Steve, when you say, maybe they are not as good. Some are, most, not. Please explain to me why most would not.
11 - J Carson
I think Gumbel is right that the winter olympians aren't the greatest athletes in the world if your're including all sports. Yet in their individual sports these people are the best. One other myth that people like to believe is that skiing and the other winter sports are not reachable by minorities because of the cost. Number one, that is a predjudiced belief, and two - a lot of these athletes are bricklayers, construction workers, and what not. I have been snowboarding for 15 years. I had to get a job up at the resorts serving sandwiches to start being decent at the sport. I would ride on my breaks and every other opportunity I got because I loved the sport. Minorities aren't the only ones who dont have money... In case you haven't guessed, I'm white. I didnt have the money, yet I was able to enjoy my chosen sport.
Bryant Gumbel may not be a racist, but he is slow. He seems to believe that their are no white athletes worth mentioning. Does that apply to Lance Armstrong who is also in a sport that is mostly white. What is the excuse for not participating and dominating that sport? Can't afford a bicycle? Morgan Freeman said it best, "The only way we will get rid of racism is to stop talking about it." It needs to be a non-issue.
I am happy for Shani Davis, as he just got Gold and he will probably win more by the end of these olympics. It also makes me think of how unfair and mean-spirited Bryant Gumbel's remarks were, especially to him. Gumbel sounds just like the bullies and ignorant peers that shani said he had to grow up with, and tolerate. Making fun of his tights and his white sport.
Giving Gumbel a pass because he's black is racisit. If a white anchor said the same thing, just reversed he would be fired, and rightly so. Freedom of speech is precious, and Gumbel should be able to say anything he wants, but if I'm CEO of HBO, I dont want an anchor sitting in there making racist, ignorant, moronic remarks whenever he feels like it. Fair is fair. Rush Limbaugh made a dumb comment about Donovan, and Gumbel made a dumb comment about all white athletes.
And by the way Greasy, arguing about definitions of the word predjudiced and racism is the most boring and inconsequential part of this story. I'm sure you are right about the real definition of racism, but uhhhh who cares. You know what I'm talking about, right?
12 - Greasy Guide
again a lot of ya'll are missing the point. Racism is different from prejudice, which is different from bigotry. Until Bryant Gumbel can put a bill, public policy, or judicial act in place that will oppress one group of people he can never be a racist. Racism is about the commanding powers that be using their power to oppress. And even if it's boring it's THE TRUTH but many people are still ignorant to the truths of the world
13 - Bing
You're the only ignorant one Greasy. You don't have to have power over an entire group of people to be racist. That's just a definition used by racial inciters to enable them to be racist while claiming that they can't possibly be racist.
What makes a person racist is when thier behavior toward members of a certain race is based on preconcieved stereotypes of that race as a whole which do not take into account the reality that not all members of a single race are alike in every way.
As I have already said, it is a myth perpetrated by those who would seek to incite racial tensions to advance thier own agendas that only whitye people can be racist. You can be black and racist, you can be asian and racist, hispanic or any other race and be a racist.
So please spare us your false definitions invented to suit your point of view Greasy.
14 - uao
John Conlin is absolutely, 100% right. The concept of race is a fallacy. It has its roots in fairly recent days, culturally speaking; the 16th century.
RedTard: assuming for a moment race did exist, it is not the same as a "breed" A Grate Dane and a chihuaua standing side by side ought to demonstrate this.
A "breed" is a creature that has been bred; it is the result of human animal husbandry.
I'd say more, but Conlin did such a good job in post #2, I'll just refer people back to that one.
15 - John Conlin
OK Greasy â€" please define in real terms what are the black and white races. Please don’t attempt to give me the finer points of genetics for two reasons:
1 â€" the geneticists already have this one settled â€" there is only one race, the human race. Of course there are differences (both external and internal) based on various breeding groups that have existed in relatively recent time (I’m an ex-geologist so I look at time from a more realistic viewpoint, i.e. from about 3.5 billion years ago when the first pulse of life began on this planet). These differences show themselves in many areas â€" but they do not “create” the existence of the black and white races. This idea is a failed scientific theory about 200 years old.
2 â€" when you and thousands like you use the term black this, and white that, you are not talking about the finer points of genetics â€" you are talking about a whole lot more than that.
So please â€" if it is real and not a social construct (i.e. it is made up by societies) then please enlighten all of us as to its definition. I certainly don’t seem to get it.
Anyone else please jump in and feel free to enlighten me, I’m a little slow (must be my race ;-)
16 - I say we hang tobi
This is so stupid..the only reason there aren't blacks in the olympics is because they are pussies when it comes to cold climate. Where in the world do you see black people and snow? Bryant gumble is a pissy little racist just like Spike lee.
17 - RedTard
"So please - if it is real and not a social construct (i.e. it is made up by societies) then please enlighten all of us as to its definition. I certainly don't seem to get it."
That is because you have demonstrated the inability to consider or grasp simple concepts. Race, like all words, is a human construct just like my example of the color orange. People argue about exactly what shades of orange exist but that does not make orange any less of a valid construct. Race has meaning because we gave it that. Also as I have stated before scientists can genetically determine whites from blacks from Asians. (kind of convenient that corresponds to the old caucasoid, negroid, and mongoloid terms)
There is a genetic scientific definition, there is also the generally laymen's definition based on certain phenotypes, skin color, nose, and certain eye characteristics.
This is the argument of a PC nut gone mad. Instead of denying the obvious truth that races, as we have defined them, exist your time could better be spent fightng real racism.
Of course, you may not believe in racism either because it has race, a false concept in your mind, as it's root word.
18 - dyrkness
Where in the world do you see black people and snow? New York,Chicago, Detroit,London,Montreal,Minneapolis,and let's not forget ooooh Europe?
19 - Johnny BigLeagues
BRAVO! This has been a pet peeve of mine for many years. I'd like to see the news media better challenge public figures when they levy charges of racism, when if fact they are guilty of prejudice or bigotry.
20 - sr
Dyrkness#18, I agree, lets not forget Europe. However you have allowed an opening for #16. For me, I think bryant gum-e-bear is crap.
21 - larry
a black man just won a speed skating gold. explain that gumbel.
22 - Scott Butki
While Davis' win is a nice rebuttal to Gumbel it is also a nice rebuttal to the racist at #16
23 - John Conlin
Oh Greasy (and RedTard), where are you? I'm still waiting for the definition. Here's some help - Do you know that the average “black” American population is an African-European hybrid, with about 70% of the genes having come from Africa and 30% from Europe? If that is the case, then I guess individuals like Halle Berry and Barack Obama (both had “white” mothers and “black” fathers) are really “white” since over 50% of their genetic make-up is “white”. Or is it 40% “black” and then you are “black”? Or 25% or just a drop? I don’t know much about this racist way of thinking, perhaps you can explain it to me. I'm kind of slow (it must be my race ;-)
24 - Andy Marsh
You bring up Hally Berry and I may have to start arguing about intelligent design again...how could there not be a higher being making stuff like that???
25 - John Conlin
Couldn't agree more. She has talked about when she was young and moved quite a bit. When she was in a "black" community she was given grief for being "white". When she lived in a "white" community she was given grief for being "black". But is seems to have worked out well!