The state of race relations in the United States has been going downhill since the Ferguson shooting. And it seems like people from every background are pulling for minorities. But what originally was well intentioned empathy has turned into blind zealotry.
Reihan Salam, in his article writes "I was surprised that people would be willing to openly state that they had strong same-race preferences." Why? Why is it so shocking for Mr. Salam that people might prefer their own race? We as humans are creatures of comfort. There's a reason why we have comfort zones and comfort food. And yes, some people who staunchly prefer their own race may indeed be racist, but to vilify everyone for the actions of a few is just throwing the baby out with the bath water. Or perhaps Mr. Salam is just shocked at how honest people are on their profiles. But again, is this a bad thing? The author obviously thinks so. But he's not a completely intolerant man, if you do have a preference, Mr. Salam has proposed a solution: "One assumes that many people who do have such preferences would either choose not to disclose them publicly, or choose to skip the question entirely."' So if you prefer to date others of your race, just keep it to yourself. If this sounds familiar, it's the same way society has treated homosexuals for generations. And that obviously has worked out well. He further goes onto say that "I’m disinclined to judge those who do have strong same-race preferences too harshly. Nevertheless, I do feel comfortable judging them guilty of being clueless". So Salam believes that the only way someone could possibly prefer dating others of their own race and not be racist is that they are idiots. And obviously, idiots should keep their idiot love to themselves.
The logic behind Salam's statements baffle the mind. What he hypothesizes is that if someone only dates within their own race, they are racist. Following this logic, a straight male who has never dated another male is therefore homophobic. Or that a "gold star" lesbian is the epitome of the man-hating bull dyke. This is the same fear-mongering mindset that has kept minorities of all kinds oppressed for generations. And now Mr. Salam wants to turn it around and use it against white people. Bravo! In your crusade for equality and understanding, you have managed to achieve the opposite.
Nowadays however, it's not just minorities crying foul. Some of the loudest proponents of oppressed minorities it seems, are white people. More recently Jon Stewart announced that he was going to quit The Daily Show and the internet went crazy with proposals for his successor. One name mentioned was the extremely talented, smart, and beautiful Jessica Williams. Williams has been a correspondent on the show since 2012. Her segments are witty, thought provoking, and hilarious. An obvious choice right? Well, Williams herself, didn't think so. She tweeted “I'm not hosting. Thank you but I am extremely under-qualified for the job!" She goes on to say "That being said I am super not right for it, but there are quite a few people who are! Can't wait to stick around & see what happens." Alright. Fair enough. It sounds like she doesn't feel like it's the right fit for her. She's an intelligent woman, so she probably knows what's right for her right? Well, according to white columnist Ester Bloom (2), wrong! Bloom writes "How modest! How self-effacing! You can almost hear all the old white people who benefit from the status quo nodding their approval." That's right, Williams' refusal of a job she deemed not right for herself, was evidently playing right into the hands of her white overlords. While other members of the press were fine with letting the issue rest, seeing as how Williams herself seemed like she wanted to pursue other ventures Bloom couldn't. She goes on to say "And how insulting that so many press outlets took her tweets at face value despite the fact that they were displaying clear symptoms of Impostor Syndrome, a well-documented phenomenon in which men look at their abilities vs the requirements of a job posting and round up, whereas women do the same and round down, calling themselves “unqualified.” Bullshit." So not only is she playing into the status quo of the white overlords, but also her male oppressors as well. So this woman, whom, Bloom herself so respects, is obviously not as smart as Bloom. Because to Bloom, the ONLY reason that someone like Williams could turn down such a lucrative job is because they are somehow subconsciously pandering to her white, male overlords. It couldn't possibly be that a composed, talented, intelligent black female could want her own things out of life. It couldn't possibly be that Williams would want to take her own path. No, it MUST be because she feels she must kowtow down to the establishment.
The best solution to solve all of this, according to Bloom, is to get Williams her own Lean In group so she can muster the courage to take on the job. Williams' colleague from The Daily Show, Wyatt Cenac (a black male) had the perfect response (3) to Bloom: "@TheBillfold because @msjwilly doesn't do what you want she's appeasing 'old white people?' As opposed to young ones like you?". Williams herself responded (4) quite simply "No offense, but Lean the Fuck away from me for the next couple of days. I need a minute." Well that can't be, having a young white woman telling her how she should choose her career path makes Ms. Williams feel suffocated? No, that's just what her white patriarchy wants her to feel. And she's playing right into their hands.
For those who are like Ms. Bloom out there, on behalf of all intelligent, successful minorities: fuck off! Stop making an issue out of things that quite simply aren't. IF we need the help of the overempathetic majority, we'll ask for it. For all of your kiss ass words of calling us intelligent, you don't seem to actually believe it. We can fight our own battles. But we're also smart enough to ask for help when WE feel we need it. We're not idiots. No, we don't always fight against certain systems or people that YOU feel is oppressing us. That's because we're smart enough to choose our battles. And sometimes, the choice we make, even if it is in line with "the white patriarchy" is a choice we want to make. It should not be taken as a sign of "giving in" or playing into their hands. If two people vie for a job and the white person gets it over the minority, the first thing that pops into my head isn't that the company is racist. And that thought process is NOT a sign that I have been brainwashed by my white overlords. Because as Wyatt Cenac pointed out, while we are not here to serve the old, white patriarchy, we are certainly not here to serve the young, white matriarchy either.
- http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/04/okcupid_and_race_is_it_racist_to_date_only_people_of_your_own_race.2.html
- http://thebillfold.com/2015/02/on-the-daily-shows-jessica-williams-the-latest-high-profile-victim-of-impostor-syndrome/
- https://twitter.com/wyattcenac/status/567753814263214081
- https://twitter.com/msjwilly
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