The Opposite of Racism
We are discussing this article by Jonathan Kay in the National Post on the Sooey's forum:
JKAsksWhyPeopleThinkHe'sRacist
It was written in response to a conference he attended called: "Combating Hatred" in which he was featured as a guest star due to this article:
Now, even the most cursory of glances at the article will reveal Mr. Kay to have one of those points of view that, well, there's really no point in arguing with him because right at the outset he says this:
Many aboriginal advocates claim that racism is the main barrier facing natives. I would say it's the opposite: We somehow have convinced ourselves that native societies have the collective, superhuman ability to resist the gravitational socioeconomic forces governing every other society on Earth. Like all utopian experiments, this one has led to disaster and heartache -- played out in everything from water contamination to glue-sniffing to abused children.
Okay. I don't know what the opposite of racism is, either, I guess - but I know it's not that. And since his leap off point is that the reservation system is a utopian experiment gone awry, I'm not sure there's much point in reading further. (I'm just being kind - there's not - although some of the other people at the conference sound like assholes, too - not that they make JK seem like any less of one - so yeah - there's not much point in reading further.)
Anyway, the whole thing got me to thinking about how pointless it is to argue with rightwingers about what's racism and what's not - which I do a lot of because I have a really hard time letting things drop - and to thinking about why that is.
Well, Dear Reader, it's because rightwingers really do believe, essentially, that:
1) Arabs = Predisposition to terrorism
2) Blacks = Predisposition to crime
3) Natives = Predisposition to alcohol abuse
4) Whites = Predisposition to political correctness that must be countered at every turn
And number 4, I believe, is what rightwingers think is the opposite of racism.
