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capable of hating people of another race, purely based on approval or
disapproval of skin colour? I don't think so.
Beneath the surface of anything racist, or any kind of prejudice is
not hatred, but a feeling of superiority. Maybe we should call it
"superiorism".
The Nazis felt that way towards Jews, white people in South Africa
felt that way towards black people, and the history of humanity is
lavishly painted with examples where one group felt superior to
another and treated the lower group just so. This doesn't have to do
with judging on appearance alone, it has to do with feeling superior
to people of a certain collective, in this case, appearance.
It is very unlikely that a homeless smelly white man would really be
able to offend a suave, well to do black man by being racist towards
him. It would just be absurd. But a rich white man who calls a
homeless black man a "filthy nigger" would come off looking very
racist indeed. Where is the question of race here, when the
predominant perception comes from economic status?
Just like dogs evaluate other dogs, and humans, as either "top dog" or
"bottom dog", humans do to a certain extent, understand who is on top.
When we perceive ourselves to be the bottom dog, we're highly
unlikely to be "racist" towards another group that is clearly on top.
From the times of slavery to the modern day racially sensitive issues,
it isn't that hard to see the element of superiority expressing
itself. To fight against "racism" without confronting the perception
of superiority would be naive and fruitless.
It is no secret that white people in the USA perceive themselves as
being superior to black people in that country. After all, white
people are the dominant race in any social context in the USA. They
own the most wealth, control most political affairs, and are clearly
in the driver's seat.
Black people on the other hand, are disproportionately represented in
jails! If Rodney King had been white, it was very unlikely that the
Los Angeles Police Department would have thought it wise to whack him
like they did. If Barack Obama had been fully white, he would have
breezed through the nomination and election process to become
President.
Some feeling of superiority is bound to be natural. After all, there
are arguably NO wealthy people in the USA who are not white. There
are indeed several rich black and brown people, but all the truly
"wealthy" people who have no worries at all about their material
empires for generations to come are invariably white. Nobody needs to
offer any excuses or apologies for this. It is just the way things
panned out and it is just the way things stand now.
Black people were initiated to life in the USA through slavery -
that's very unlike people from India getting masters degrees in
Harvard and Kellog's business schools and joining Wall Street
companies with six figure salaries. It is socially and culturally
ingrained in white people to see black people as inferior beings. Why
is it so hard for people to understand this?
It isn't as if black people need to feel victimized for history
playing such a cruel part in the way they are perceived. But they
need to be cognizant of the fact that they are not fighting against
anyone hating them, but indeed, perhaps, against others genuinely
thinking of them as inferior beings! What is to stop people from
simply using a yardstick that puts one group over the other?
If we're watching sports, we all know most white people can't do much
against most black competitors in most sports, and this is
particularly obvious in basketball, track and field, and American
football. The only reason white guys are so good at ice hockey is
because black people haven't taken to it yet. Are we being racist
here? Of course not! From race to race we do carry genes in us that
make some us better at some things.
Most Asians are very good at racquet games, with their supple bodies
and fast hands. Watch Leander Paes play incredibly close to the net,
right in front of his body and you will know that is a special ability
when he connects with the ball and is able to place it accurately,
just because his hands are bloody fast. No wonder he dominates in
doubles tennis.
This is not to say that a person of a certain race can never be good
at something traditionally dominated by people of another race, but
statistically evidence clearly shows Kenyans and Ethiopians are far
better than Swedes and Germans when it comes to running marathons!
This has very little to do with India not finding representation in
the Winter Olympics, but on a race vs race level, there isn't much one
can do except admire the traits of a certain race in what they are
really good at.
On the street, the weaker you are, the more are the chances of being
beaten. Young Australian males probably feel very superior to brown
skinned Indian males there, who aren't physically capable of defending
themselves, stick to themselves and look like good candidates to get a
bit of bashing. What fun it must be to intimidate them and get some
money in the bargain! Is this racism? Not quite. If the Australian
government had different laws for Indians, if Indians had no right to
complain, that would be superiorist, racist or discriminatory. But
these attacks are just attacks on brown skinned vulnerable targets,
and beyond the point of identifying the victims, race doesn't have
much of a role. The same Indians would have got robbed by hoodlums in
Jamaica as well, and I'm not sure if Jamaicans care what colour your
skin is.
I love the fact that some Indian students in Australia have turned
vigilantes. They are forcing a correction of perception, nothing
more. If they can change the perception that they are easy targets,
good for them! What kind of morons sitting in air conditioned offices
are busy telling them that is a wrong thing! And how dare they?
There was this rather aggressive street dog that would bare its teeth
at me every now and then. One day it was in the way when I rode past
it on my motorcycle and kicked him square in the face when he showed
his teeth. He tucks his tail between his legs and makes the most
apologetic noises when he sees me these days, and usually gives me
atleast a hundred feet.
Instead of fighting againt superiorism, let's try and acknowledge that
it exists, and just like in the animal world, let's figure out
survival tactics, instead of yelling ourselves hoarse about
eradicating something as natural as our instinctive weighing of who is
boss. (I am!).
- BSK
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