We've all seen it. On Facebook. On news sites. So many dark corners of the Internet where the cockroaches scurry about on the periphery of civility. Hateful, vile posts filled with dog-whistle code speak and/or overt racist remarks. So often, people feel safe to belch their hate while using anonymous user names and sock puppet Facebook accounts.
The number of Facebook pages/groups created that pertain to the death of Michael Brown has grown steadily since the tragedy. Some of the groups are for support of Michael Brown. Some are for Darren Wilson. Some say Wilson should be prosecuted. Some seek justice for Brown. Regardless of the position, a number of users are increasingly comfortable embracing their racism--or at least spamming it on Facebook as they troll.
So many people out there say the tragedy is not about race and anybody that says otherwise is "race baiting". This view, of course, comes from the FauxNews, racially resentful, conservative crowd. I thought I would consider the Michael Brown tragedy through the lens of the ethnocentrism and racism posted on Facebook. Some of the comments are simply from a White Privilege perspective. If you want to rile up a conservative, use that sociological term. They think it is made up, and it does not exist--just fabricated by angry minorities. But these "non racist" souls know what it is like to be a person of color, let me tell you. They are the first to tell us that everyone is equal under the law, if you aren't doing something illegal you should have no fears, if you just work hard enough. You get the idea.
There are a number of behaviors and attitudes that racists exhibit, and you have probably seen them a number of times:
1. I'm colorblind.
2. Rugged individualism/bootstraps/level playing field.
3. Cry reverse racism.
4. Blame the victim.
5. Get over it/lighten up.
6. Don't blame me. I don't own slaves. (comes up regardless if blame is mentioned when talking about race).
7. I'm oppressed too.
8. There is no longer racism. That was in the 60s.
9. Deflection (What about.. sexism, bias against Christians in Iraq, etc.).
10. We are all equal under the law.
11. I'm not racist because (has black friend, Asian neighbor, etc.).
12. Whitewashing racist behaviors of others (He's really a nice person).
13. We don't have that problem here (school, town, country, wherever).
14. "Othering" of people.
There are others, I am sure, but those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.
Now, into the Facebook comments...
This first comment is rather bland, but the author clearly resents African Americans for the burden that white people must shoulder. He blames the victim.
This next post combines a number of racist attitudes into this tidy tirade. He applies the rugged individualism/bootstrap theory that conservatives are so found of when they want to marginalize a group. He also applies the blame the victim technique.
In the next post, Kim bemoans how white people don't have their own TV network, history month, etc. She doesn't realize that prior to BET, all television was white. The only characters/shows with people of color portrayed them with stereotypes. Fred Sanford was a junk salesman. In "Good Times", the Evans family was in public housing. In "What's Happening", we had a single black mother. As far as the no white history month, everything accomplishment highlighted was white history prior to black history month. At any rate, Kim uses deflection, I'm oppressed too, blame the victim, and a bit of reverse racism. Whew!
The next comment is an interesting one. It utilizes a common technique that is found on the Internet: pretend that you are part of a group so that your racist BS will sound more credible. Donna is white and female, but we will address that in a moment. In the comment she pretends to be a black man and then blames the victim and uses the bootstrap technique. She also uses a number of unsavory stereotypes.
In later post, Donna goes back to being a white female, but claims to have a black boy friend and "mixed" grandkids. Somebody should tell her boyfriend that she has been cheating because her Facebook albums show her with her arms around a white guy. Ironically, both were wearing wedding rings. Further, any photos of children were of white children.
Stephen does nothing to hide his racism. He is very open about it in wishing that more people like Brown would be killed. He also uses the blame the victim tactic. He also tries to deflect by discrediting Michael Brown...as if he almost deserved it. This seething hatred occasionally flares out into the open.
Ron tries to keep his hatred under raps, but it boils over a bit in the form of sarcasm and the use of stereotypical Eubonics. He also blames the victim and "others" him.
Charlie uses the "I'm not racist because" technique in an attempt to cover himself. He makes it clear that he is glad that black Obama is a lame duck and that a black man will never run the country again. Wait?! He not racist, so why would he not want another black man to be president?? He also blatantly invokes the blame the victim technique by declaring that Michael Brown got what he deserved. Wow, you can almost feel the hate radiating off that comment. If only all conservatives were as honest as Charlie about the true reasons they dislike Obama...
Paul. Well, Paul hides nothing with his words. He simply dehumanizes African- Americans. I suppose this would be an example of "othering".
Paul blames the victim in this next comment. He continues with his "othering" of black people--making them into vermin. This is a technique that was used by the Nazis.
And, in this last post, we have a double bonus play: an exchange between Ron and Charlie. Ron continues with blaming the victim and "othering". Charlie continues with blaming the victim.
I could go on and on with this. These were just some examples of racist attitudes/behaviors that I selected. But, the next time you run into racist, try and figure out which of the 14 attitudes/behaviors they are using.