Why People of Color Can't be Racist

(This is an expansion on an earlier post, and is an attempt to reach out to the many white firefighters who want a better-run, more just Fire Department. E.R.A.S.E. does not support the abuse of black or white/male or female firefighters or of the good name of the DC Fire Department or firefighters.)

E.R.A.S.E. is not racist. What is racism? E.R.A.S.E. understands that racism is an unscientific, unfounded, irrational view – by, in this case, white supremacists who feel that some people are wiser, smarter and have superior moral judgment to people of color in general, and, specifically, African Americans, as laid out in a book by Dr. A. Smedley, Ph.D, on the origins of racism. The practice has its origins in Europe, partly given/developed to justify its non-religious and biased view; to rationalize taking the land from the Indians, kidnapping and importing Africans to build the Americas, for example, and similar expansion into other lands – Asia, Africa, Central/South and North America, and Australia, just to name a few. From its colonial-based institutions and system, carried over into modern-day society, in short, almost all of our institutions in the United States have a racist foundation; and, in fact, racism affects everybody.

This fact is established by studying the history of our human need for housing, education, health care, food distribution, judicial and other systems of justice. On the question of racism, the deciding factor is who has control of the mode of production and the points of distribution, because it is there that decisions are made and public policy is decided, including how you are treated by U.S. capitalism.

We must not forget that these policies were originally decided by rich white males of property, the Founding Fathers. Working class white men who then and even today have no say so, are left, forced to relish in one fact - “I might not have power, I might not have money, but I am NOT one of them.” Our Fire Department, our Police Department, our schools, are run NOT by whites who are rich and have property, but by whites who are just glad to be NOT ONE OF THEM [the “N” Word]! Most white people are not racist; but in racist America there are only two kinds of people: those who are white and those who are not.

Historically speaking, in a book entitled, “The Creation of the White Race,” the author talks about a slave revolt of black and white slaves in the 1700s that was aborted; because the white wealthy class convinced the white slaves that their lives could be made better by abandoning their class brothers’ causes and joining theirs [rich, white land/slaveowners. Two more modern examples include the Tilden Hayes compromise, where the Presidential election was decided by a compromise involving Tilden giving his support to [Rutherford B.] Hayes in exchange for an agreement to end Reconstruction in the South, by pulling the Union troops out and opening the door for Jim Crow; the second was the formation of the Dixiecrat Party, the Angry White Men movement that undercut the Democratic Party’s strength in the Congress and Presidency, and set back the efforts of organized labor, emphasizing the divisions between black and white workers, mirroring the earlier example of the slave revolt. These ideas and practices have made it almost impossible to develop a humane, just society – because those whose exploitation is forged in wretched, unbridled capitalism has destroyed all attempts of the working class to defend itself and create a just, democratic environment, where there is social, economic equality enough for all men and women. This understanding has been distorted to proclaim that if a person of color sees whites in a negative light, then that person is practicing racism. This is as insane as racism itself. This disdain of some whites is a scientific observation, proven after 500 years of study, not some maniacal notion that God told Noah that one of his sons and his children would turn black and forever be servants because they saw him naked in some distorted Biblical translations. This explains the plight of people of color, or that some of us – white people – are God’s favorites, and as special people should rule the earth.

No…No… NO!!! We are all God’s children, there are no favorites. White supremacy is a bad idea whose time as come. People of this wonderful earth, let all of us join hands and send the Devil where he or she belongs. This earth, this country, this city, this neighborhood is to be enjoyed by all! This Fire Department belongs to the taxpayers, who pay for equipment and salaries; even the EEOC violation payments to abused victims of supremacists’ indiscretions and ignorant forays, like firefighters gone wild! Let us bring respect and the honor that has been earned by firefighters before us. It is all up to us, black and white, men and women, to clean up our city agencies, including our Fire Department. Together, we can, we must, we will do this! God bless ALL Americans!