Black:
Another black child killed
for no reason by the police.
When will this stop?
White:
OK now hold on there.
We’re gonna need to see his GPA first
and any extra-curricular activities
and sports
he may have been involved in
before we’re comfortable
assigning his life any worth.
I’ve come to the unnerving conclusion that lots of white people are comfortable with a certain amount of societal racism and are actually *in favor of it* (not that they would ever admit it) so long as they feel it reinforces what they feel is “the way things should be.”
And what I mean by this is that there are a lot of whites who really believe that they are not prejudiced toward blacks, but this is only so long as
/Important!/
the blacks ‘behave themselves’ in a way that appeals to white society
/Important!/
Thus,
racism against ‘good blacks’ is bad and racism against ‘bad blacks’ is necessary to enforce proper (read: white) behavioral norms.
I think this more than anything allows a lot of whites to feel that racism doesn’t exist. After all, there are lots of black people that they like. Those are the blacks that act white enough for their blackness to not be a bother.
Excuse me if this reads a bit incoherent. I wrote it in a bubble bath.
—jason malmberg
Flommist Jason Malmberg is a simple man who believes in brown liquor and small dogs. He also makes art sometimes. Copyright © 2017 Jason Malmberg.
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