Critical Race Theory and the Decline in American Civility

Today’s radical wing of Critical Race Theory (CRT) wants to reimagine our society in the image of its own paradoxical disdain towards racism. Simultaneously it is embracing misanthropic hatred towards its critics thereby erasing all of the historical accomplishments to cultivate racial harmony.

How is it therefore that apologizing for one’s Caucasian ancestors or the White race in its entirety will purge society from crimes committed against Blacks in the past?

Is that not similar to standing up and taking full credit for achievements that were never earned? Although we can fully acknowledge the abundance of racial crimes against people of color, beginning with native indigenous cultures, how can any single person accept 100 percent of the collective guilt? It is foolish to claim that racism is the status quo of all Caucasian cultures. Yet this is in fact the conclusion of the radical wing of racial justice warriors such as Robin DiAngeloIbram X. Kendi, and Ta-Nehisi Coates and institutions such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, Equal Justice Initiative and NAACP.

Indeed there is a moral obligation to repudiate those who commit acts of violence, physical and psychological, against any minority group. There is deep irrationality behind the barely coherent ideological antiracist manifestos such as White Fragility and How to Be an Antiracist. Take for example a recent image of four elderly women showing their forearms engraved with numbers from the Nazi concentration camps. The callousness of RCT race hustlers would categorically indict these lucky survivors of the Holocaust simply for their privilege of being born White. Of course, the majority of Caucasians are not born with any particularly unique privileges. Ask any disenfranchised Appalachian resident in West Virginia and Kentucky how privileged they feel or the later generations of indentured Irish slaves from the 17th century. When RCT’s leaders conflate the privilege of power gained by moguls like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg with the tens of millions of American Whites who are unable to write a check for $500 or who are homeless with no guarantee of a meal or shelter, are these faux intellectuals saying they all warrant equal contempt for keeping racism alive because of skin color?

The authoritative powers of government and institutional bureaucracy are delighted with the efforts of RCT’s race warriors to infiltrate and influence our leading institutions. The fools who elevate racism to the apex of the nation’s troubles serve as functional decoys to distract the public’s attention away from the far more insidious actions targeted against them. America has become a nation of a new breed of peasants who are increasingly condemned for a variety of reasons regarding power they do not possess. They are the dispossessed as millions face astronomical debt, no promising future and are burdened by fears of the lurking potential of being replaced eventually by artificial intelligence and new technologies that outperform human productivity. 

The notion that all white people are individually responsible for today’s racism due to the actions of their ancestors falls flat on social, political, psychological, and scientific grounds. Simply on social and cultural issues, not everyone’s White ancestors participated in slavery or racism. Caucasians encompass a diverse array of cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds. Millions of European immigrants arrived in the United States after the abolition of slavery and have no direct connection with America’s past historical injustices whatsoever. Blanket statements about the culpability of all Caucasians ignore this diversity and oversimplify historical complexities. Equally it ignores the long history of individuals and White communities that actively opposed racism and worked towards social justice throughout American history. 

Holding all Caucasians responsible for the action of their ancestors also undermines individual agency and personal responsibility. This view is deeply adolescent because it suggests that people bear collective guilt. Taking this skewed view of human nature to its full conclusion, this would be like having a legal system that charges individuals with a crime committed by a distant relative living in another part of the planet. It contradicts the essential principles of equality under the law and due process. 

The very idea of collective guilt overlooks other factors such as socioeconomic status, education, and geographic location, which can significantly influence individual attitudes and actions regarding racism. Those who charge the Caucasian race with inherent systemic racism are fond to point out the intersectionality of multiple forms of oppression, privilege and discrimination based upon race with other aspects of identity such as gender, class, disability, religion, etc. This doctrine of intersectionality tries to emphasize the interconnectedness of various systems of power and oppression and highlights the need to consider multiple dimensions of identity and social inequality when analyzing and addressing issues of racial justice and equity. It underscores the importance of recognizing and addressing the complexity of every individual’s lived experiences and the intersecting forms of privilege and marginalization they may face. Despite the elements of truth in the power of interlocking structures, imposing collective guilt has detrimental psychological effects. It fosters false feelings of shame, resentment and defensiveness among Whites and various ethnic groups who do not personally identify with or condone racism. Collective guilt, furthermore, promotes a narrative that disempowers individuals by reinforcing a sense of victimhood and perpetuates and endless cycle of blame. 

Critics of the social constructionist perspective argue that racism exists across diverse cultures and historical contexts, suggesting that it may be a universal aspect of human behavior rather than a socially constructed phenomenon. However, while manifestations of prejudice and discrimination vary, the underlying mechanisms and social dynamics of racism are shaped by specific historical, cultural, and structural factors.

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Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

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