Diversity and Racism
By Jan Larson (04/10/06)
The recent demonstrations regarding immigration legislation and the Cynthia McKinney incident have shown that a lot of people really don’t know what racism is.
As defined by dictionary.com [1], racism is “the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” A second definition is “discrimination or prejudice based on race.”
McKinney, physically restrained by a white Capitol police officer and then hitting him after she bypassed a security checkpoint, immediately claimed she was a victim of racism. It is impossible for McKinney to know whether that officer believed that his race was superior to hers given that there has been no evidence to that effect and she can certainly make no claim that she was discriminated against since she was the only person at the time to attempt to bypass security. It can reasonably be assumed that anyone attempting to bypass security in such a manner would be similarly detained.
McKinney’s claim of racism in this case was clearly nothing more than an attempt to deflect the blame for the incident from where it belongs – with herself.
Similarly, the claims by opponents of strengthening or enforcing immigration laws that proponents are racist is simply not based on fact given that there is no point of reference for that claim. I suggest that the outcry against illegal immigration would be just as strong if there were hundreds of thousands of poor Greenlanders, Bahamians or Danes streaming into the country and having the same effects.
The conventional wisdom is that race continues to be a problem in America today. The fact is it wouldn’t be as much of a problem if we didn’t denounce racial generalizations on one hand yet focus on differences with the notion that generalized “diversity” is a good thing. When people are “diverse” you get the good with the bad, that is, generalizations are made for better or worse.
It isn’t surprising that many people cannot make the distinction between racism to be reviled versus diversity to be embraced. One on hand, we must appreciate our differences to be diverse, but on the other hand, we must all be alike to avoid racism. While diversity is not something to be avoided, it cannot be forced, as with affirmative action programs, or it leads to division, resentment and yes, racism.
Racism paints with a broad brush. Any sweeping generalization of a particular race or ethnic group not factually based and derogatory is racist.
A statement that the Dinkas of the Sudan are taller than the Japanese might sound derogatory to the Japanese (assuming taller is better), but it is factually based and therefore is not racist. On the other hand, if I say Mexicans are lazy, it is first of all derogatory and second it is not based on measurable data.
To apply broad generalizations to a particular individual in the absence of any confirming evidence, such as McKinney’s assertion about the police officer, is despicable and in fact, suggests that McKinney is herself a racist.
While it is easy to jump on McKinney for her actions in the incident and her statements following, we must also remember that racism is a learned behavior. Unfortunately, there are still far too many people that use race as a basis for assigning blame for every bad thing that befalls them and, as a result, they not only “teach” the next generation to be racists, but to also use racism or perceived racism as an excuse for their own failures.
Racial and cultural polarization is detrimental to a society, but diversity for the sake of diversity really serves no good purpose. People associate with those that are most like themselves and often that association has more to do with factors such as economics or a shared experiences than with race or ethnicity.
Maybe one day, Americans from all racial, ethnic and cultural groups will stop focusing on what makes us different and will focus on what makes us the same. Unfortunately, that day will never come as long as there are those that continually focus on the differences.
[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=racism
Copyright ©2006 Jan A. Larson All rights reserved.
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