One of the hallmarks of a white supremacist mindset is the assumption that African Americans constitute a undifferentiated, monolithic mass. It is measure of how much such assumptions permeate our society that even "white" progressives stumble over them.
There is a diary and a discussion you won't likely see unless you are a trusted user on dKos. That's because it was buried under an avalanche of Hrs.
The main reason for this appears to be that the diarist posed critical questions about the existence of Black Kos. He didn't mince his words either. The substance of his criticism was that the need for a special category for Black issues on dKos indicated that such issues didn't receive the attention they deserved as a matter of course. This would naturally raise the question as to why this would be so on a reputedly progressive forum.
Now one can agree or disagree with that view. I think it was clear that the diarist was inviting a real discussion of the question which, had it taken place, could have led to searching inquiry into related questions. Foremost among these being what is the actual content of the terms white supremacist and white supremacy.
Unfortunately this didn't occur. Instead there was a massive pile on with the flood of Hr's previously mentioned.
No doubt there are various reasons for this response. The one that concerns me here is the widely expressed assumption that anyone who would raise such questions had to be a white racist troll.
Why would so many jump to such a conclusion?
The irony is that nothing could be further from the truth. He is, in fact, African American.
Full disclosure. The diarist is a personal friend of mine. He is neither a racist nor a bigot. I don't think that he would describe himself as a separatist either. He is a well known activist in the left progressive community in Atlanta and has collaborated in numerous inter-racial initiatives.
His perspective is a radical one, which doesn't frighten me but evidently does frighten a lot of folks here. He is passionate in his opposition to the cancers of racism and white supremacy and understandably impatient with empty liberal platitudes which substitute for concrete action.
Obviously, since I post on dKos and Black Kos, I don't share his skepticism about their value. However, I think he is absolutely correct to bring his questions to the source and I am perplexed when I see some of those who have chosen to hide rate him into oblivion.
He isn't simply being provocative. He's bringing a perspective to the table that is by no means limited to himself alone. He is a member of the rising generation of activists and I find it disheartening that so many would prefer to silence him rather than engage and explore the questions he raises.
It's particularly depressing to realize that so many who imagine themselves sensitive to the issues of race and white racism are apparently so uninformed as to the history of the African American struggle for liberation. They were clearly unaware that the diarist was coming from a well established perspective within that community. As one might expect, if one casts certain assumptions aside, there are a variety of opinions and viewpoints within the African American community just as there are within any large group of human beings.
The reality is that while so many folks were having a good time slapping themselves on the back for squelching a "racist troll", what was actually achieved was the squelching of a dissenting African American perspective. That this could be so is itself a vindication of some of the concerns the diarist was trying to raise.
If we are ever going to achieve real progress on the issues of white supremacy and white racism it isn't going to be accomplished from a position of complacent ignorance about the diversity within the African American community. It will only be accomplished when that community is perceived in all its rich complexity and contradiction. That is, in its full humanity. Such knowledge is a necessary prerequisite for seeing one another as fully human.
We do not have to love one another. We do not have to always agree with one another. It isn't even necessary that we like each other. It would be better if we did but it isn't necessary. What is necessary is that we respect one another, because we must share this world we live in. To accomplish this much, we must be able to look into the eyes of others and see ourselves.