What's the point of multiculturalism?
Multiculturalism IS America. This country, this experiment in self-government instead of the 'divine right of kings', is ENTIRELY based on the idea that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL...the right of one culture, or more importantly one person of ANY culture, to have equal standing and validity UNDER LAW instead of as subjects to a KING/QUEEN is the central point of America. This idea has rightly been recognized as the greatest achievement in human governance of all-time. It built off of the foundations of the Greeks and Romans and tried to make better a world that is naturally torn apart by fear and scarcity - real or perceived.
All the bullshit and propaganda and scape-goating of the "out group" or the "other" is intended to drive us as a species AWAY from greater inclusiveness and equality and towards greater division and subjugation.
To people legitimately confused by this, the answer is to perform a simple mental experiment and feel how you personally respond when the roles are reversed and YOU (as in the ones questioning the validity of multiculturalism) find yourself on the short thrift of the exchange....when you can truly place yourself in the roll of the subjugated and perceived (falsely) inferior, THEN and only then can you approach the question of 'what is the point' from a valid position.
Why can only black people say the “N” word?
As soon as you are a member of a group of people dehumanized, enslaved, dispossessed of family ties, religious bonds and your own history AND THEN characterized as a vile slur to encompass this and have it used as a cudgel to beat you down with every utterance of such a word...AFTER THAT you can ask the question again.
The mere fact that people seem to be so ignorant of history and still capable of such intentional obtuseness is disturbing. The very act of ASKING such a question belies a complete lack of introspection and a totally privileged point of view. Openly wondering why a member of one race, guilty of crimes against another race that are legion and true (whether we as white people are willing to admit to and confront them or simply wish to pretend they never happened) cannot freely use words that have emotion and historical impact as continued tools of oppression is in and of itself a telltale sign of an ignorant racist. Once someone makes an even cursory effort to understand the history of the slave trade and the founding of America through the Civil War and Reconstruction to Jim Crow era and Civil Rights eras all the way to current events, the answer to this question is not a mystery.
One may as well ask: "Why are boxers allowed to punch each other in the face but I can't just walk up to one of them and punch them?"
How is racism not over when LeBron James and Oprah have huge bank accounts?
This is pure stupidity. It is also a symptom of a very serious disease that has infected America and the world with ample help from advertisers and marketing. The value of a human life is easily dismissed when the measuring stick of that value is expressed in material terms or more to the point in monetary terms. When you evaluate another human being's worth based on the amount of purchasing power the system says they have acquired or have access to use, then you miss the true value of society in the first place.
I love the blessings of modern civilization - electricity, heating and cooling, ample food availability (in MOST 1st world nations....obvious exceptions apply), communications, entertainment and leisure activities, arts and humanities, access to knowledge and information surpassing the greatest scholars of the Earth a mere few centuries ago...but these things are not exclusively the measure of human value. Access to them should not be limited based on the number of pieces of paper one has access to with the right denominations or perceived values....
When you ask why racism is not over if person X has more monetary access than person Y of a different race, what you are really saying is that you are jealous of the exceptions and wish to lash out at the rule to assuage your own feelings of inadequacy. The question reveals as much about the questioner than it does society in general or racism specifically.
How is affirmative action anything other than reverse racism?
Reverse racism is a non-sequitur. To be 'racist' is to oppress. To be the 'reverse' of that would be to relieve or take away oppression...so by THAT understanding, yes...maybe "affirmative action" could be perceived as reversing the effects of racism...but every sentient being that can form coherent thoughts and communicate them effectively KNOWS this is not what they mean...
The reality here is not that people are uncomfortable with 'quotas' or 'mandates' or granting less qualified candidates unearned benefits (they ARE and THAT is a legitimate discussion to have, to question how we can best help alleviate barriers to equality and access to opportunities for those who start from a position of institutionally sanctioned and enforced disadvantage)...the reality is people who talk about 'reverse racism' want an excuse, a cover, an alibi for their own internal attitudes. "THAT" (black/Asian/'other') got what they did at MY expense and its not fair and I want it taken from them and returned to me."
The question of how to adequately improve opportunities for people who have been systemically disadvantaged for generations is a serious one, and these petty complaints about 'reverse racism' belie a lack of seriousness from the questioner. If you are concerned with the problem, then study and understanding its roots require an honest evaluation of the causes and potential cures for inequality... Now, clearly, I cannot provide an answer to such a complex issue in a blurb on the internet...no one can, this is a complex issue and that alone should clue in the inquisitive that a bumper sticker answer is going to be found wanting...but when we allow the wrong questions to dominate the discussions, we move nowhere. (And for anyone wondering why THAT is the case, ask yourself who benefits from the status quo and who profits...the answer to many of these 'why' questions is readily apparent from that perspective...)
Why shouldn't I be proud to be white if someone else is proud to be black?
Anyone can be 'proud' about anything. I am proud of my gaming system and home theater...a trivial thing to be sure, but one that I take pride in and enjoy. Other people take pride in their book collection or art collection or their children or their church or whatever else they enjoy. Nothing at all is wrong with any of those things.
But race? Race is not a true distinction biologically. Homo Sapiens includes all races and all variations of external appearance. There are many horribly misinformed people that truly believe underneath our skin and external appearance that there is something "special" or "better" about lighter skinned people than others. This fundamental misunderstanding has led to enormous evils and horrendous abuses throughout human history. Untold millions lived in bondage throughout history...and sadly, though it is largely a page 12 level story, there are STILL human beings living today in slavery to other humans...some through sexual bondage and abuse, others through outright physical slavery and forced compliance. These are almost always people who simply desire any excuse to hold themselves above others and apply any kind of superficial label to enforce this wish. Some use money, others use gender, still others seek validation through religious labels...but the most prevalent throughout history has been race.
When a white person asks "why can't I be proud of my race?", the answer is "no one says you can't"...BUT we all know that is not what the real question is...the REAL question is "why can those shiftless n-words be 'proud' but I can't yell back at them that they are not worth the same as me?" Viewed from a deeper perspective, they that would ask such things are searching again for external validation of a flawed and disproved hypothesis - that being the inherent superiority of one race above another. Pride in what one is or associates themselves with - whether for family, clan, village, town, city, country or class, religion, denomination, congregation or what have you - is natural and inherently neither good nor evil...but then pride in one's association becomes oppression of others in order to create an unearned and unreal sense of superiority instead of acknowledgment, then trouble begins.
I am neither 'proud' nor 'ashamed' of my skin...well, that's not entirely true...I am sometimes a little ashamed that I have too much skin because underneath it I have acquired more fat than necessary and as a result my belly sticks out further than most and my clothing requirements use more cloth and wider measurements than what is presented as "ideal" or "perfect"...but in terms of pride, I personally don't see such a concept valid when I have no hope of contributing to, changing or advancing it in any way. I can't change the melanin content of my epidermis any more than I can will the sun to stop in the sky. Why should I be "proud" of an inherited trait....unless I want to conflate that which I have had no control over or say in as a reason to say "I am inherently 'better' than you" for it? No, such thinking is, in my opinion and the opinion of millions, invalid, self-serving and wrong.
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