Roots of racism, justifying injustices and oppresion

 

This article, which was first published in The Sun on Dec 18, 2008, is still very relevant today as it explains how racism originated and the difference between racism in the West and racialism in developing countries such as Malaysia.

At the time, this writer started a new column when Barack Obama was elected as the first black president of the USA.

What exactly is racism and what are its origins? And how is racism different from racialism or communalism?

Let’s go back about 500 years to the rise of European colonialism, the rivalry for control among these imperial powers, and the conquest of Africa, the Americas and Asia.

The colonies were plundered and their natural resources were exploited to meet the growing demand for raw materials to drive the emerging Industrial Revolution in the West.

With the demand for labour to work in plantations in the Americas and West Indies, the colonial powers also started the African slave trade during this period.

Former US president Barack Obama

The suffering and torture of these slaves were so brutal that many slaves preferred to die by refusing to be fed or by jumping overboard into the ocean. Entire communities and families in Africa were uprooted, separated, and decimated.

True, slavery existed thousands of years earlier since the emergence of classed society and the conquest for new land but this new slave trade was of a massive scale (more than 10 million Africans were taken by force), highly organised and exclusively targeted black Africans. Yet, Africa was the cradle of mankind where homo sapiens first evolved.

The white colonial powers needed an ideology to justify to their own people and to soothe their “new liberal conscience” that it was fine to treat black people as sub-humans and to plunder their land and that it was their God-given right to force black people to be slaves and serve the interests of the emerging white society.

The ideology of racism was developed to promote stereotyped thinking that black people were soulless, stupid, uncultured, and genetically inferior. Politicians, pseudo-scientists, and even religious leaders propagated such myths about black people.

Racism became a systematic oppression of black people by the whites and it was not simply a mere dislike of someone with a different skin colour and race.

Racism’s most recent manifestation was apartheid in South Africa. And it was hardly 40 years ago that the US society segregated black people and mistreated them as second-class citizens in many ways, for example, not allowing them to share public transport used by white people.

Yet the changes and transformation in the US have been so rapid that it has elected a black person to be its president. Perhaps it says something about the socio-political system in the US (which was originally developed for the benefit of the white society).

Having said this, racism is still deeply embedded in white society. Its old school of thought is so powerful that it still exists, even today, in the subconscious minds of many white people, making them feel a sense of superiority over black people.

Overt racism existed for more than 500 years and it was only in the last 50 years or so, especially after the Second World War, that decolonisation took place and developing countries became more self-reliant and assertive.

But the conflicts, internal feuds, and political instability in many developing countries tend to reinforce the old racist thinking that black and/or coloured people are stupid, uncultured, and incapable of peace, civility, and looking after themselves.

Based on the above definition of racism, black and coloured people cannot be racists even if they want to (but they can be chauvinists) as the privilege of such a tag belongs to white people.

This is why it has been said many times that racism is essentially a “white man’s disease” although, of course, not all white people, are racists. It’s like saying why women cannot be “sexist” as our male-dominated society has discriminated against women and not the other way around.

Racism as a culture

Racialism, on the other hand, is more a dislike (or even hatred) and distrust between the races concerned but it can also lead to violent conflicts.

When both race and religion are involved in strife, we have communalism. (The term communalism is used in a more positive context in Western society to mean the promotion of the community’s interests.)

Racial chauvinism represents an emotional state of a person’s extreme pride in his/her race and can be attributed to either racism or racialism.

Racism still exists in many forms in Western society and needs to be opposed in every way possible, including using philosophical arguments.

Looking from the perspective of anthropology, man is the only creature in the animal kingdom capable of practising racism. (The other unique “trait” of man compared to animals is his ability to inflict harm or kill for leisure.)

That is the irony of mankind as world-renowned geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky once said: “Among the two million or more species now living on Earth, man is the only one who experiences ‘the ultimate concern’. Man needs a faith, a hope, and a purpose to live by and to give meaning and dignity to his existence.”

This has led to the development of “culture” which clearly sets man apart from the other species. Yet the culture of racism makes a mockery of humanity.

Prehistorian David Pilbeam, explained: “Whether we have one or two spouses, wear black or white to a funeral, live in societies that have kings or lack chiefs entirely is a function not of our genes but of learning.”

Clifford Geertz has also stated: “Without men, no culture, certainly but equally, and more significant, without culture, no men.”

Therefore, racism as a culture is not inherent in humankind but was learned from a society which has developed such an ideology to justify injustices and oppression.

The genetics of man

As rich as the biodiversity flourishing on this planet, the racial and cultural diversity of man testifies to his extreme flexibility and his ability to adapt to all kinds of conditions.

Anthropologist Richard Leakey best explained our common identity: “Humans are all derived from a single stock and the physical differences between people in different parts of the world are simply the kind of geographical variation one would expect from a widely distributed species. The differences between people are, in effect skin deep and this is an apt metaphor when one considers the long history of social oppression based on skin colour.”

Beneath our skin, humans are all the same. We are the same biologically and genetically. We have common needs for food, shelter, clothing, education, enjoyment, and the practice of culture and religious faith.

Whatever our racial or cultural differences, they should be looked upon as strengths in our diversity rather than as liabilities to be “tolerated” or as an excuse for inciting hatred or starting a war.

For racial unity to be sustainable, it has to start with the principle that “we are human beings first and everything else next.” - Mkini

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KK TAN was a corporate, social, political, and geopolitical analyst for over 30 years. In 1981, he was the first coloured overseas student at Sheffield University elected to be sabbatical president of the students’ union. He stood on an anti-racism, anti-sexism, and anti-fascism platform. Email: kktan2271@gmail.com

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.