The Resurgence of Racism

Is Being Anti Woke Overt Racism?

To be "woke" politically in the Black community means that someone is informed, educated and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality, Merriam-Webster Dictionary states.

In the LGBTQ community it is a movement advocating for the equal treatment and elimination of discriminatory policies hurting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, according to Britannica.

Disability Studies emphasizes that disability is not solely a medical condition but a social construct influenced by the environment and societal attitudes. This perspective focuses on removing barriers and promoting inclusivity.

Woke feminism is a movement against the oppressive patriarchy and not against the community of men. Later on, as people from around the world modified and molded this term and its motto in their own convenient ways, it became a worldwide rage against men. But please, do not ignore issues of women's health, the glass ceiling, the right to vote, and abuse.

And what does the civil right act say? The act that Trump is trying to dismantle?

In simple terms, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended discrimination in the US based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited discrimination in public places, employment, and voting, and also outlawed segregation in schools. This landmark legislation aimed to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all Americans, according to the National Archives (.gov).

The Definition

Racism is the belief that one race is superior, or inferior, to another, and that certain social and intellectual traits – such as personality, behavior, intelligence, and morals – are pre-determined based on one’s race or biological characteristics. These biases may be conscious or unconscious.

In the workplace, racism can take on many forms. It can manifest as deliberate, subtle, or even unintentional acts of discrimination because of a person’s race. These acts may take the form of stereotyping, “othering,” or avoidance.

Hiring or promoting someone based on the assumption they are better at math because they are Asian.

Complimenting a US-born Latino on how well she speaks English.

Asking a black person how he got promoted, implying he was selected based on his race – and not his intelligence, experience, or competency.

Assuming someone is not trustworthy because of their race.

Racism should never be tolerated or ignored. You have a responsibility to prevent and speak up against racism and maintain a workplace free from any form of racism, harassment, or discrimination.

The Civil Rights Act has the noblest of intentions. It's an attempt to put the institutions of slavery and Jim Crow behind us. It is there to stop and say, "no wait, bias is wrong." Those who oppose the act would take away the rights from large groups of Americans. Freedoms of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and petition. Additionally, the right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to a fair trial are fundamental, and they are codified in the Constitution. The Meritocracy will only award those rights to those they say qualify, white men who think like they do.

Don't believe it?

After the mid air collision between the Army helicopter and airliner in January, president Donald Trump suggested without evidence that the deadly midair collision of two aircraft in Washington was the result of the Federal Aviation Administration's efforts to hire a more diverse workforce, according to Reuters.

Trump leveled the accusation at a White House press conference called to update Americans on the Wednesday night crash in which a passenger jet about to land at Reagan National Airport collided with an Army helicopter on a training flight.

The implication is that women, people of color, and people with different cultural heritages are inherently inferior to white men, and anybody in any of those groups are the proximate cause of this tragedy or any other in this country.

Epilog

“As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.' We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except negroes.' When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”
― Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Letters

We hold the future in our hands

Despite the Chaos

This morning I choose to share some hopeful words from David Brooks in an article written for the Atlantic, I Should Have Seen This Coming.

 "I have thought of America as a deeply flawed nation that is nonetheless a force for tremendous good in the world. From Abraham Lincoln to Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan and beyond, Americans fought for freedom and human dignity and against tyranny; we promoted democracy, funded the Marshall Plan, and saved millions of people across Africa from HIV and AIDS. When we caused harm—Vietnam, Iraq—it was because of our overconfidence and naivete, not evil intentions."

Included in the message is a call to action to stand up for a hopeful future that lifts all of us up. There are signs of movement, people are beginning to push back against the authoritarian rule of the Trump administration. 

Cory Booker's speech on the Senate floor. 

The lawyer in Michigan who is taking on cases defending the civil rights of foreign students despite being detained by immigration and customs officials. They wanted access to his cellphone.

The protests last Saturday. 

Sermons on the dignity of humankind. 

Richard Blumenthal's hold on nominations of Trump's appointees should be a starting point.

Brooks Says...

 "In the long term, Trumpism is doomed. Power without prudence and humility invariably fails. Nations, like people, change not when times are good but in response to pain. At a moment when Trumpism seems to be devouring everything, the temptation is to believe that this time is different." 

"But history doesn’t stop moving. Even now, as I travel around the country, I see the forces of repair gathering in neighborhoods and communities. If you’re part of an organization that builds trust across class, you’re fighting Trumpism. If you’re a Democrat jettisoning insular faculty-lounge progressivism in favor of a Whig-like working-class abundance agenda, you’re fighting Trumpism. If you are standing up for a moral code of tolerance and pluralism that can hold America together, you’re fighting Trumpism."

"Over time, changes in values lead to changes in relationships, which lead to changes in civic life, which eventually lead to changes in policy and then in the general trajectory of the nation. It starts slow, but as the Book of Job says, the sparks will fly upward."

Dignity

It isn't my imagination that we used to be able to talk to one another. Cultish tribalism was on the fringes. Lincoln was right when he spoke about a house divided. The issue he was speaking about was slavery. The issue today is about raw power, and brutish acts aimed at denying human dignity to all that might stand in the way of attainment of that power.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."