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Originally written: November 23, 2014
On the term “race relations”
I was in a convenience store this morning and there was a tv with fox news programming going on. There was a segment on “race relations”. The interviewer was white and there were 2 Black guests. Both preachers. A couple of things struck me….
1. It’s so interesting that in a conversation about the state of “race relations”, white people pick preachers as our supposed representatives. Makes sense for them, of course, because you’re not going to get an honest answer when it’s being funneled through channels that “came” to us from/ through genocide/ white racists in the first place.
2. I’ve never seen whites use white preachers as their representatives in conversations about racism.
3. The term “race relations” is so interesting to me. Let’s be honest, the term ‘race relations’ would be irrelevant and nonexistent if nobody was racist. There shouldn’t be a need to be concerned about “race relations” unless somebody is racist. So obviously, “race relations” isn’t merely a reference to the relationship between the “races”, but rather a reference to the relationship between racists and victims of racism.
And when they say they want to have a conversation on the state of “race relations”, they present it as a reasonable facsimile of “Mr. Black Race representative, how are white racists treating you today? Are we treating you better?”.
But in reality, the question for them is “How do you feel about the racist treatment you’re still receiving from white racists today, Mr. Black Race representative? Are you more or less aware today of just how badly we actually treat you?
In other words, the conversations on the state of “race relations” amount to a safe negro check.
And think about this…
When was the last time you saw a conversation centered around running a check on the state of the relationship between jews and nazis? “How’s that relationship? Is it getting better?” Where’s the movement to better the relationship between jews and nazis? When was the last time you were privy to a conversation centered around running a check on the state of the relationship between child molesters and children? “Is the relationship better today than it was 40 years ago?” Where’s that movement at too?
That’s how ridiculous the idea of “race relations” is, but that’s what happens when an oppressive system goes on for so long, is so deeply ingrained that it becomes culture, when the oppressors are victorious over the oppressed and when the oppressed accept defeat as a permanent, irreversible condition.
Once that happens, concepts such as “race relations” begin to seem normal to people.
