July 7, 2013 · by Paracelsus · in Uncategorized For a country that endlessly romanticizes a supposed identity as a “melting pot of culture,” the United States seems utterly unable to confront racism in a holistic and rational manner. Not only are current missions to remedy social injustice of questionable or uncertain success, but even questioning the efficacy of such programs is often enough to draw the ire of many individuals. Merely labeling someone as a racist can be incredibly damning — just ask Paula Deen – and as Americans, we’re left to make sense of the numerous social programs that permeate through all facets of our society. Certain words are considered taboo for any respectable individual of a certain ethnicity, and through extensive social persecution we as a society work towards their ultimate elimination. Likewise, through established diversity systems in the workplace which utilize affirmative action and equal opportunity employment, we strive to decrease the established and undeniably shameful pattern of discrimination in the labor market. And yet, while their goal is noble and the logic seems sound, it simply isn’t right. Fundamentally, the idea of racism is built upon the notion that there is a distinction between individuals that should require their division into respective categories. Without the presence of an acknowledged and accepted distinction, racism ceases to function. If so, then the next question must be, “how do these distinctions arise, and when do they become significant?” Consider the classic Robbers Cave Experiment, where young boys were separated into two groups based on no specific criteria and eventually led into conflict over finite resources. Prior to conflict, leaders emerged naturally on the basis of their individual traits. This can be thought of as the ultimate goal of American society: to cultivate an environment where individuals realize their full potential without directly inhibiting the ability of others to do so. And yet, once the groups were forced to compete for a exhaustible supply of resources, the leadership paradigm shifted in favor of more aggressive and radical individuals — the group distinction had become significant. It doesn’t take a great deal of creativity to see the parallels between this experimental condition and historical fact. In fact, it seems almost inevitable that such a change would occur. When individuals or groups feel threatened or must compete, it is instinctual to aggress against the opposing group. What is less readily known is how easily a group is established or how insignificant group distinction can truly be (i.e., the minimal group paradigm). At this point, the quest to create a truly equal society may seem hopeless. Given the human tendency to categorize and distinguish between groups (for better and for worse), it is difficult to conceive of a way to solve this issue. The Robbers Cave Experiment gives a quasi-answer in the form of cooperative effort — group conflict ended once both groups of boys were brought together to work toward a common goal — but this is ultimately impossible within the confines of a capitalist society which, at its very core, subsists on competition and inequality. We wish to preserve the capitalist structure of society even when it seems at odds with our goal as a society to eliminate inequality, and thus we are engaged in an endless balancing act with no end in the foreseeable future. With no defined way to deal with the cognitive dissonance created, society manifests multiple double standards and blatantly contradictory situations; while Paula Deen might not be able to say “the n-word” in any way, a lot of other people are making plenty of money off it. True change will come about when the American people no longer need to doublethink, and frankly, the solution is quite simple and elegant: racial distinctions must be wholly eliminated for racism to truly disappear. Through the creation of diversity programs and social constructions designed to better the situation of minority groups, we ironically reinforce the notion of separation between races. Equality is achieved not through measures of reinforcement or promotion, but of utter annihilation of distinction; as our mothers once said, two wrongs don’t make a right. By never teaching the youth what it means to be of a certain race or distinguish individuals based on ethnicity, the concept of racism can be fully prevented from ever arising and the minimal group paradigm can never be met. As Morgan Freeman so wonderfully put it when asked about how to put an end to racism, Stop talking about it. I`m going to stop calling you a white man. And I`m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace [the interviewer]. You know me as Morgan Freeman. You`re not going to say, “I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.” Hear what I`m saying?
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:43:26 +0000
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