Today I read a blog post (article) that many of my Facebook friends have shared. It is called “I am a racist” written by a woman who writes on the blog “The Frida Factor.” For some reason, it hasn’t been sitting easy with me since I’ve read it. It’s been bothering me so much that I have decided to write about it.
She starts off by saying:
“A South African artist called Brett Murray has been causing a huge stir since his painting of South Africa’s President titled 'The Spear' was put up in a local gallery. The ANC have worked themselves up into a total frothy about the painting and their biggest issue with it - It’s racist. ???????”
Now, racism has been a hot topic over the last few weeks and she is by no means the first person to bring it up. I just feel that she uses the big issue of the moment to launch into a tirade of, well, rants really. Good for her, her message is out there. I’m not going to even consider talking about the painting and the saga around it because that could go on forever. I would, however, like to address what follows in the article.
A lot of what she says I agree with. Like the fact that the terms “racist” and “racism” are brought out far too easily at times. The classic “race card” that some people use to get the upper-hand in a situation where there seems to be no other way of coming out tops. However, it goes a lot deeper than one person calling another person a racist. Unfortunately, it does become a race issue when the white kid who lives 2km away arrives at university in the new car he’s just received from his parents for his 21st, while the black kid has been awake for several hours commuting from the outskirts of Cape Town. It becomes a race issue because that is how the apartheid government structured the living areas and income opportunities. When someone calls you a racist, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you use the k-word and own slaves. What people see is the vast difference in the quality of life afforded to them.
Already there’s a certain feeling towards somebody who has more than you and is in a higher social standing than you are. Bitterness comes out. Then there’s the feeling of “why do I not have all of this?” Sometimes what you experience when being called “a racist” is all sorts of built up emotions and the end product is resentment, bitterness and anger. Yes, apartheid is over, but if you look at the townships, who is still suffering? Many white people maintain that they did not fight for apartheid and that they cannot be held responsible for the actions of the previous government. True. But look at what you have and look at what the black people in the townships have. Not one white person I know can come up to me and tell me that they have not benefitted from apartheid. Whether directly or indirectly, the majority of white people in this country are reasonably well off because of the regime that was in place back then. I’m not saying that it is your fault, I’m just stating facts. It’s convenient to forget that.
Already there’s a certain feeling towards somebody who has more than you and is in a higher social standing than you are. Bitterness comes out. Then there’s the feeling of “why do I not have all of this?” Sometimes what you experience when being called “a racist” is all sorts of built up emotions and the end product is resentment, bitterness and anger. Yes, apartheid is over, but if you look at the townships, who is still suffering? Many white people maintain that they did not fight for apartheid and that they cannot be held responsible for the actions of the previous government. True. But look at what you have and look at what the black people in the townships have. Not one white person I know can come up to me and tell me that they have not benefitted from apartheid. Whether directly or indirectly, the majority of white people in this country are reasonably well off because of the regime that was in place back then. I’m not saying that it is your fault, I’m just stating facts. It’s convenient to forget that.
This is probably the part where I say: “I’m not racist, I’ve got white friends…” True. I’ve got white friends, black friends, “coloured” friends. “I don’t see colour…” Bullshit. We all see colour. Unless you’re colourblind. Even then, you can tell who’s black and who’s white. I get along with people because they are people. On a human level. The writer she says that she’s not reacting to things because the person is black, but because they are doing something that she disagrees with. I think that that is perfectly acceptable. I don’t suffer fools gladly either.
None of the readers were around when any of the events took place, so we are in no position to be the jury. What does need to be taken into account, however, is the way the situations were handled. There are many people who walk around with a perceived superiority complex and seem to rub people up the wrong way. The example of the husband confronting the woman about throwing the fast food packaging “less than 10cm from a dustbin,” could be interpreted in so many different ways. Here’s a black woman who decides she wants to get rid of her packaging and does so by littering, which is wrong. A white man (I presume) walks up to her and confronts her about her littering. From what I gather, the man is not a law enforcement officer, just a passerby. She then proceeds to call him a racist.
Now, from this woman’s perspective, she is “reprimanded” by a white man – two levels of power in the past, white and male – and she is expected to be okay with this? Can you even imagine the thoughts that are going through this woman’s mind at that particular moment? Possibly all the things that I described earlier: resentment, bitterness, anger. I’m not saying that she was correct in calling him a racist, but the outrage about the words have taken away the reason she felt she could say that in that moment. These are the things that are not being addressed in our society. Until it is, white people are going to do things that black people don’t like and they will be called racist, and vice versa.
None of the readers were around when any of the events took place, so we are in no position to be the jury. What does need to be taken into account, however, is the way the situations were handled. There are many people who walk around with a perceived superiority complex and seem to rub people up the wrong way. The example of the husband confronting the woman about throwing the fast food packaging “less than 10cm from a dustbin,” could be interpreted in so many different ways. Here’s a black woman who decides she wants to get rid of her packaging and does so by littering, which is wrong. A white man (I presume) walks up to her and confronts her about her littering. From what I gather, the man is not a law enforcement officer, just a passerby. She then proceeds to call him a racist.
Now, from this woman’s perspective, she is “reprimanded” by a white man – two levels of power in the past, white and male – and she is expected to be okay with this? Can you even imagine the thoughts that are going through this woman’s mind at that particular moment? Possibly all the things that I described earlier: resentment, bitterness, anger. I’m not saying that she was correct in calling him a racist, but the outrage about the words have taken away the reason she felt she could say that in that moment. These are the things that are not being addressed in our society. Until it is, white people are going to do things that black people don’t like and they will be called racist, and vice versa.
“I swear being a white person in this country can be very bloody exasperating at times”
I don’t think that it was necessary to include this line in the text. To be honest, it’s exasperating to be any person in this country at times. I’m not convinced by this “we are victims” crap that some people seem to repeat as a mantra. Taking on the label “I am a racist” is not helping anyone either. The writer feels like she is hard done by and is therefore going to take on a new persona as a racist. Sarcasm doesn’t solve problems! Come to the table with solutions instead of coming across as a drama queen that's throwing a tantrum. I have seen so many attacks in the text, with no suggestions on how to move forward. I think that this is the problem that we have. We are all so outraged, and the next day we go about our lives in the exact same way. The writer has had her rant, and I presume that tomorrow she will go back to her normal posting.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that we need to be open to learn about each other in order to have a chance at understanding each other. Let’s communicate on a human level – enough of this “us and them” mentality.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that we need to be open to learn about each other in order to have a chance at understanding each other. Let’s communicate on a human level – enough of this “us and them” mentality.
