I agree about the desired end state (race becoming irrelevant). That doesn’t mean that pretending that we are already there is an efficient way to actually get there. Perhaps it could, if all people agreed to do that, starting now. But that is not going to happen.
To put it bluntly, imagine being a black guy, and whenever you meet a white guy, there is a 1⁄3 chance he will call his friends to beat you up, and a 2⁄3 chance he will smile at you and say “race is completely irrelevant in real life, right?” Speaking for myself, this (including those friendly whites) would drive me crazy.
On the other hand… be the change you want to see in the world, right? How can we get the society of racial irrelevance, if we are not allowed to create even tiny spaces of racial irrelevance without being rebuked for somehow supporting white supremacy by doing so? Is it even possible to be a friend with someone, if you are never allowed to disagree? (Wouldn’t black people benefit from having networks of white friends, instead of mere “allies”? Friends = near mode; allies = far mode. Allies support you verbally if your situation pattern-matches their political beliefs; friends actually help you in your specific situation.)
If the alternative is being a black guy who has a 1⁄3 chance of being beaten up, and a 2⁄3 chance of meeting white people who are super nervous in his presence, never laugh, and immediately profoundly apologize for expressing any different opinion… how much of an improvement is that?
Thank you for a thoughtful response. I agree that the current situation in the US is very far from the desired end state and I don’t want to deny the real problems that exist. I’m just deeply concerned that the proposed ‘cure’ is a new permutation of the same disease.
Edited to add: I would also argue that proposing a direction of travel toward the ideal world is not the same as pretending we’re already there.
This is… complicated.
I agree about the desired end state (race becoming irrelevant). That doesn’t mean that pretending that we are already there is an efficient way to actually get there. Perhaps it could, if all people agreed to do that, starting now. But that is not going to happen.
To put it bluntly, imagine being a black guy, and whenever you meet a white guy, there is a 1⁄3 chance he will call his friends to beat you up, and a 2⁄3 chance he will smile at you and say “race is completely irrelevant in real life, right?” Speaking for myself, this (including those friendly whites) would drive me crazy.
On the other hand… be the change you want to see in the world, right? How can we get the society of racial irrelevance, if we are not allowed to create even tiny spaces of racial irrelevance without being rebuked for somehow supporting white supremacy by doing so? Is it even possible to be a friend with someone, if you are never allowed to disagree? (Wouldn’t black people benefit from having networks of white friends, instead of mere “allies”? Friends = near mode; allies = far mode. Allies support you verbally if your situation pattern-matches their political beliefs; friends actually help you in your specific situation.)
If the alternative is being a black guy who has a 1⁄3 chance of being beaten up, and a 2⁄3 chance of meeting white people who are super nervous in his presence, never laugh, and immediately profoundly apologize for expressing any different opinion… how much of an improvement is that?
Thank you for a thoughtful response. I agree that the current situation in the US is very far from the desired end state and I don’t want to deny the real problems that exist. I’m just deeply concerned that the proposed ‘cure’ is a new permutation of the same disease.
Edited to add: I would also argue that proposing a direction of travel toward the ideal world is not the same as pretending we’re already there.