So Let’s Talk About Race

I grew up in Los Angeles as a white European mutt. I've got English, French, German, Czech and Polish blood in my veins. When I was in high school, I took four years of Spanish and came fairly close to being fluent. My high school Spanish teacher suggested that I join her advanced Spanish class, which was conducted in Spanish only. I visited the class, which turned out to be filled with Hispanics. I was the only white student in the classroom. When the class ended, a dozen-or-so of the students surrounded me and let me know in no uncertain terms that this was “their” class and that I was not welcome.

Now let’s be clear — one anecdote from my past doesn't mean that there’s entrenched anti-white prejudice everywhere you look. It does mean, however, that there is racism on all sides — white against black, black against white, brown against white, white against brown.

The CEO of Starbucks wants a conversation about race. Problem is, we’re not going to have a “real” conversation about race without dealing with some very touchy issues. Issues like the fact that 80% of violence against blacks is perpetrated by other blacks. Issues like the fact that slavery wasn’t a white-on-black thing. Whites enslaved blacks, blacks enslaved whites, whites enslaved whites, blacks enslaved blacks, Christians enslaved Muslims, Muslims enslaved Christians, and so it goes. To bring these things up in conversation however is to be immediately deemed racist because one isn’t presenting the “right” information for the discussion to continue. Those aren’t comfortable opinions, so we force those who would raise them into silence with a scowl and a stern warning to pipe down. In no uncertain terms, we are informed that our inconvenient truths aren’t welcome in their discussion.

We can have a discussion about race relations when we’re all willing to come to the table for an honest conversation. Instead, we’re invited to a table where “social justice” and “economic equality” are already established as end goals. Just a bit of research will show that “social justice” is really socialism, and that “economic equality” has never been (nor should it be) the goal of the United States. Instead a goal of equal economic opportunity should be the target. I’ll join the conversation when we’re ready to stop defining terms and the limits on the conversation have been removed. Until then, I’m not even welcome to the table, so why should I bother joining the conversation?