Acting White: Racism Realism

Little boys and girls are spontaneously sexist without prodding. They each think the other is yucky, mostly based on their particular likes and dislikes, snakes, spiders, dolls, and the like. It is less clear that those same children are naturally racist, as societal influence comes early and ugly and shows in adult ways, even from the mouths of babes.

Overtime, children, especially little boys, learn not to be sexist - hopefully. They may learn this from their mothers (fathers) and sisters (brothers), or teachers, or from a future heart-throb in homeroom, but somehow they learn some degree of it if they are lucky. But what about racism? There is no carrot to match the stick for when a kid says something either spontaneous or contrived of a racial nature- and this is the rub.

While sexism hurts us, especially females, as we see in studies, court judgments, and recurring dateless weekends (for men), the accusation still leaves recovery room for the little boy or girl in all of us, who learned or did not learn the right and wrong way to think about and treat those of the other sex. But to be accused of sexism is not close to racism, even though the accumulated loss could be argued as much greater. When we are labeled sexist, we accept it, or reject it, sometimes with punishment, sometimes not. But we always move on with some sort of secret resolve to do better or end up alone, or worse, miserable.

Perhaps sexism can teach us how better to approach racism. Racism too can be spontaneous or premeditated. It can prick us, or it can be fatal. But it has always existed from the time when the earliest Africans said goodbye to their brothers, at the start of their global walk-about, only to return with white skin, an attitude, and superior technology.

With racism (as with sexism) we have laws to forbid its digression, and these laws should be respected and enforced. But perhaps we should consider its organic nature and accept that much of the drama around it is of little benefit, except to make more, or less, of it than is probably deserved.

James C. Collier

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