Racism No Longer Exists Because We Say So.

EVer noticed how the the political blogosphere serves as a kind of vaccine for the dimmer class of ideologues?

When their cozy worldview is threatened by inconvenient Reality, they draw comfort from knowing that they can drop by a favourite dispensary and pick up whatever bromide they need in order not to think. This is, I think, a large part of the appeal of sites like Small Dead Animals or Relapsed Catholics. They are not forums for the discussion of ideas, nor do they pretend to be: they’re sedation stations, where anxious bloggers threatened by an uncomfortable truth can immediately be sedated with a reassuring rationale du jour, an innoculation against critical
thought.

The latest defensive cliché to bubble up out of the cesspoll has to do with racism, and it can best be summarized as follows:

Because “the left” accuses “the right” of racism at the least provocation, the word no longer has any meaning: therefore no defense against any accusation of racism is necessary.

That’s a pretty cool trick. It’s like a cross between Godwin’s Law (also used to shut down legitimate criticism) and the strategy used by Jean Chretien’s government when they dramatically reduced “child poverty” by redefining it, setting the bar lower. Hey, we’ve eliminated racism by declaring it no longer exists! That was easy, wasn’t it?

Leaden irony aside, there’s a grain of truth in this position. I get tired of being accused of being anti-American, Communist, anti-Christian, a Chinese spy, anti-Western Canada, or anti-Israel by people too lazy to read or stupid to understand what I’ve actually written. So I can understand why some would get annoyed at being accused of being “racist” when it’s not warranted.

But anyone not living in a hermetically sealed bank vault with no media input except the Wiggles knows that racism remains a part of culture. I’ve had the shit kicked out of me for being the wrong colour at the wrong place and time. I served on a selection committee that tried to dismiss a clearly superior candidate because of her race. I participated in a two year project that acquainted me first hand with the institutional racism built right into the structure of a major Ottawa-region public organization. I’ve lived and worked abroad and on reserves.

Racism is “meaningless”? Who the fuck are you trying to kid?

The folks who are trying to define it out of existence are engaging in a particularly dangerous sophistry. It’s easy - and delightfully self exculpatory - to blame the inherent laziness of “Indians” for Canada’s failure to implement land claims, or to blame “Jamaicans” as a whole for gun violence in Toronto, or to blame “the Chinese” for one’s own unemployment. Real consideration of those issues is harder, and may necessitate some action beyond a little self congratulatory blogging. Thus, this most recent meme to defuse criticism.

Well, kiddie-winks…nice try. But…no. I don’t want reflexive contempt for others, based on their race (or their religion, or their class) to become an accepted part of my country’s culture. Writers and sites that express or promote the belief that there’s something inherently inferior about any “race” (with the comforting corollary of one’s own innate superiority, of course) need to be dragged squirming out from under their rocks and exposed to scrutiny.

It’s unfortunate, and true, that accusations of racism are tossed out too quickly. And it’s also true that reflexively labeling someone as “racist”, like labelling them a “fascist”, tends to devalue rhetorical currence needed for the occasions when the Real Thing comes along. It’s not an accusation that anyone should make lightly, and I don’t.

But sorry, Shaidle et al…the magic “get out of jail free” card you’re trying to deploy for yourselves just won’t cut it. You’ve grown used to living with your own stench; but you won’t be persuading the rest of the world that it’s Chanel.

Thanks to the invaluable Dr. Dawg, who started this train of thought.