Reply #94: misleading [View All]

[Two Americas]

In this country - and this is important if we are to understand racism - no matter how much "white blood" a person has, they are still seen as "Black" by whites, based on superficial physical characteristics. White is seen as something "pure" and "uncontaminated" by "other races" - that notion is a critical and essential component of racism. Sadly, "bi-racial" still does not exist in our culture, unless the person is a descendant of parents from two "non white" races. If a person has superficial physical characteristics that whites associate with "Oriental" and superficial physical characteristics that whites associate with "Black," then they get confused, and that is when the term "bi-racial" is used to help whites keep things clear in their minds, and the reason for the need to keep things clear is to prevent any threats to white privilege. Whites can't "see" Caucasian features in a person who also has Black ancestors, because the power of "seeing" other races - and race is something imaginary that whites think they can "see" - overwhelms that. "White" to whites means no hint of anything associated with the "other" - and historically presumed to be lesser and inferior and subject - races. People are mistreated based upon appearance, and a person can have 90% white ancestors, and still be "seen" as Black by whites, and treated accordingly.

There is no such thing as racism that does not rest on the implicit premise that there is a "standard" or "pure" race by which other races can be contrasted and compared, and without privilege and status for the "superior" race, and without oppression and mistreatment for the less favored race.That is what racism is, and to strip from our understanding those components is to render the concept powerless and meaningless.

There can be no such thing as "reverse racism" and there is also no practical and functional "bi-racial" category that includes white parents or ancestors. Both of those are indicative of denial of racism or a misunderstanding of racism.