Reflections: Blind Spots on Racism
Ugly tentacles of this affliction are pervasive, and often insidious
In a recent segment of “Tucker Carlson Today,” on April 8, 2022, Amy Wax, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, made disparaging comments about blacks and non-Western immigrants, specifically targeting brown-skinned Indian-Americans. She lamented that these groups have “a tremendous amount of resentment and shame against Western peoples.” Referring to Indian-Americans, she was outraged that they have the audacity to criticize things in the U.S. She continued saying, “their country is a sh*thole” and wanted to ask the “brown faces” at Penn Medicine “why are you here?”
Although ignorance and racism were oozing through every pore of those ugly words—as profusely as sweat pouring through the skin of a person running in the hot sun—neither the speaker nor the host who was fueling the fire are likely to acknowledge the racist component of the conversation. No one ever acknowledges that they are racists, not even after blatantly racist comments or behavior. When caught red-handed, the usual response is vehement denial or half-hearted apology.
Holding certain views on race and ethnicity based on one’s observations or experiences and expressing them doesn’t make one a racist, but it can be a harbinger of racism.
No group is immune to racism and assuming that only majority groups are capable of being racist is ignorance. When Korean businesses were targeted by African-Americans several years ago, an educated and well-positioned African-American colleague did not see a problem. When the President of the United States wanted to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.A., many non-Muslims from minority communities rejoiced. More recently Asian Americans, including our Sikh brethren, are being subjected to hate crimes in many parts of the U.S.A. Some of the perpetrators are from minority communities.
All minorities, irrespective of current privileges or wealth, are vulnerable to mistreatment, discrimination, and hate crimes. When someone or some group we may not like is mistreated, discriminated, or subjected to hate crime, let us not ignore, condone, or rejoice. If we do, one day our turn may come.
The following questionnaire is not a scientific endeavor to identify racists, but a gauge to explore one’s own troubling biases, prejudices, and behaviors. Some may not have the insight to recognize themselves to be harboring or exhibiting racist behaviors. However, many who exhibit such behaviors are quite comfortable with it and even enjoy their rhetoric.
With each YES answer one gives to the following ten questions, the likelihood of harboring racist
feelings with the propensity to exhibit them outwardly rises.
- Do you ever use the phrase “Love it or leave it” referring to another person or group but use the phrase “Let us take our country back” referring to yourself or your group?
- Do you ever use the phrase “Go back to where you came from” referring to a person of a other race or ethnicity?
- Do you ever use derogatory/demeaning words referring to a person of another race or ethnicity?
- Do you ever do anything to mock a person of another race or ethnicity for their appearance, accent, intellect, or mannerisms?
- Do you ever express or act out negative stereotypes about race or ethnicity?
- Do you ever refuse service to, or avoid being served by, a person because of their race or ethnicity?
- Do you ever rationalize violence (or property damage) against a person of one race but not a person of another race in similar situations?
- Do you ever condone or share racist messages and images on social media?
- Do you ever commit any act intended to harm a person of another race or ethnicity or damage their property?
- Do you ever participate in any event intended to harm a person of another race or ethnicity or damage their property?
Self-reflection is a good thing.
I wonder whether non-Western immigrant American citizens would ever be real Americans in the eyes of some. Why should my biracial grandchild, born in the U.S.A. to native-born Americans, even if neither biracial nor born to native-born Americans, be any less American than her white cousins? Is being born in the U.S.A. not good enough to be an American? And what to say about naturalized citizens who were born elsewhere? Do only some Americans have the right to point out the problems in America? Would any criticisms or observations of America by non-Western-looking Americans be only because of resentment? Then, what does freedom of speech mean?
Reflecting on what Professor Amy Wax said, I wonder if Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc., and many hundreds of thousands of successful entrepreneurs, businessmen, Nobel Laureates, educators, doctors, and engineers of Indian origin, who love this great nation of ours, enjoy the fruits of their hard work, and make immense contribution in every walk of life, have time or inclination to resent the successes of any other group of Americans. Or are Amy Wax’s vitriolic comments a reflection of her own resentment of the outsized achievements of these very successful Americans, if not outright racism?
N. Rao Chava is a retired physician and former healthcare executive with interest in sharing views on current political and cultural challenges facing our society.
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