The Heart of the Matter, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

August 20, 2015 Victor El-Khouri 3 Comments

If there’s anything equally as annoying as “mansplaining” feminism, it must be a middle-aged white person like myself “white-splaining” racism.  I’m going to try very hard not to do that.  At least not here, out in public.

Please call me on it if I do.

The group, Black Lives Matter, formed after a series of murders of unarmed black people by police officers.  The group’s name alone incited white animosity.  “All lives matter,” muttered Caucasians who felt as if the name was some kind of reverse racism.

It isn’t.  The name means, “Black Lives Matter AS MUCH AS WHITE LIVES!”  Duh.

Another way white people often deflect the very serious issues raised by Black Lives Matter is to point out that most black people are murdered, not by police, but by other black people.  And this is true.  Most people are murdered by someone they know, so it isn’t surprising that almost every murder victim is killed by someone of his own race.  The issue isn’t that murder is bad (which it is), but that police officers are not supposed to shoot unarmed African-Americans for any reason, especially not for non-violent misdemeanors.

Previously, the group had disrupted a campaign speech by Senator Bernie Sanders.  This week, a video surfaced of a meeting Hillary Clinton had with representatives of the group. The activists plan to show up at events for every candidate running for president.

Bernie Sanders is, at this moment, my candidate.  I like his campaign, the way he focuses on economic inequality and the needs of working families.  Having said that, I was disappointed in the way he initially responded to the women who interrupted his speech.  He seemed miffed, which I understand, but it’s not helpful.

His supporters were, often, even worse.  They dismissed the concerns of the activists, lamenting instead that Bernie was too good a guy to be charged with racism.  He marched with Dr. King!

Which is great, of course.  I very much admire Martin Luther King, and wish I had been old enough to march with him.  But that was 50 years ago, and marching didn’t solve all the problems.  It brought them into the light.  People who oppose racism need to fight it every single day to the best of our abilities.

Hillary, in the video, responds better than Bernie, I think.  Of course, she had the benefit of some warning, having already seen what happened to Sanders.  She listens, she’s responsive, and if she doesn’t always give the answers I would consider to be correct, it’s clear that she cares deeply about the subject, and has the same goals (if not the same tactics) as the activists.

There was an interesting discussion about this on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.  Really, go watch it.

Here’s what’s interesting to me about the exchange between Hillary and the activists.  She is initially a bit defensive, which I understand.  If a black person tells me about institutional racism, my gut reaction is to immediately announce that I don’t do that.  Which might be true, but isn’t helpful.  The bad part about racism is that it exists and oppresses people of color.  My personal guilt and/or discomfort is not the point.

When Hillary suggests legal and policy solutions to the problems, the activists (as I understand it, which might be wrong) say it is more important to change what is in people’s hearts.  I think they are both right.  There have to be people pushing for changes in the racist culture in great, arching gestures, and there have to be people changing the minutiae of the laws.

(And there have to be people demanding that the police, whom we charge with upholding those laws, are not fearful, violent, racist thugs.  They are supposed to behave better than criminals.  Otherwise, they are just another street gang.)

I look forward to more discussions about these issues over the course of the campaign, especially as they involve more candidates.

I promise to try to stifle my guilt in an attempt to make this all about me.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, finds that her racism is like an onion.  There’s always another layer to peel off.