Institutional Racism

On the Automatic Preference blog, I went off on a fella I considered institutionally racist. Having dealt with this form of racism my whole life and undoubtedly to my death, it has a tendency to get on my nerves as people who are immersed in it will defend it to the death.

I am often recommending to said people that they read Inga Muscio's wonderful book, "Autobiography of a Blue Eyed Devil." It is an excellent piece on institutional racism.

The overt stuff, like the Skinheads, etc., is easier to handle for me because it is honest. These folks are racist and proud of it and in some cases, change their hearts and fight against racism. The institutional shit doesn't die, won't die, and no one to the best of my knowledge and in my experience has even come close to changing their hearts on the stuff. I have a tendency to react to this racism the most because this type of racism is the most damaging. It allows things like:

Reservations where Indian lives are controlled and oppressed by the state.

The Jena Six.

Garbage dumps on Indian reservations and brown fields in black neighborhoods.

It is allowing the sexual abuse of aboriginal children by John Howard.

It allowed and seeks no justice for the systematic sexual abuse of Indian children in boarding schools.

It allows lung cancer on reservations where uranium was mined.

It allows the war in Iraq to continue.

It allows George Bush to take us to war with Iran (and he WILL take us to war with Iran).

There is so much complicity in institutional racism that people of color don't have a chance and what is allowed is just way too long to list. Can't fight it with kindness, can't fight it with education, can't fight it with verbal attacks. No one immersed in it has changed their hearts. No one ever will. It's an insidious monster that allows many horrible things to happen, even to white folks.

Now, if you also want to talk about institutional sexism, Inga wrote another wonderful book that ALL MEN should read as well, not that you will since you all already know everything. It is called, "Cunt: A Declaration of Independence." Inga, awesome human being and one of many of you wonderful folks out there struggling for a better world for us all.