Wednesday, January 2, 2013

The Thing About White Supremacy


The thing about white seupremacy is that it is  much farther reaching than most of us are willing to accept. In fact, it wrecks our brains to even fathom the possibilities, the outcomes, and the history of white supremacy. This could be a book, yeah there are many books on the subject already; books that go mostly untouched and unheard of from most people, especially my generation Xers, Yers and millinias.  

White Supremacy got Black people so twisted in the game that we think the most lowly insult ever attributed to our people is a term of endearment: nigga. White Supremacy got Muslim men the world over requesting “a fair-skinned wife.” White Supremacy got Indians spending $450 million per year on skin bleaching cream. It got women the world over praying that their child is light so that they may have a better life.

White Supremacy got us talking about how black is evil and white is pure – yes we still thinking and talking like this in 2013! Got little black girls who used to love their fluffy cottony hair looking at it with sudden disdain because their mommas complain and gripe while combing out their nappy hair, “Dang girl, your hair is too thick, too tight. I can’t wait to run a straightening comb through this stuff. You ain’t get this from my side of the family!”  Then she looks up at the television and sees Beyonce rocking that long blonde wig, swinging it in circles while the crowd ooohs and ahhhs. Then the little girl bows her head in shame as her stomach turns, feeling the seeds of self-hatred sprouting within her.

The thing about white supremacy is that is ain’t just about White people. It’s an ideology; a thought process. If a Mexican refuses service to a black man because of his skin color, can we call it white supremacy? Hell yeah! The most successful thing white supremacy has done is that it trained us to hate ourselves and hate anyone else who is different; different from white.

Since September 11, 2001, Muslims have really been feeling the heat. Especially immigrant Muslims. Before 9/11 they did quite fine just blending into the backdrop of our multicultural country. But after 9/11 white supremacy reared it’s ugly head. You see, the blueprint for hate has already been written, so all we need to do is dig it up whenever we feel fearful. Because that’s what it’s all about right? You heard the Tea Party loud and clear, “WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!” They are scared as hell, and they should be. If total domination and supremacy over all is their sole goal, then yes, they can foresee their enevitable demise in a country and world that is becoming more Hispanic, more Asian, more Black, more Muslim, and more accepting of peoples differences.

But they still got that good ole' white supremacy blueprint to fall back on. And as long as a black woman only thinks she’s beautiful with her hair straight, and refer’s to herslf as “Celie” and “a slave” when her hair is in her natural God-given state.  As long as nigga is a term of endearment. As long as we are fearful of black men- especially the dark ones - especially the ones who are in groups - especially the ones who don’t say “how high?” when the master says “jump.” Yes… as long as all of that is still ingrained in us, white supremacy is still running the show.
As Celie from The Colored Purple said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

 Arm yourselves with knowledge.... The truth shall set us free!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

as salam alaykum: Great blog, white supremacy will continue to dominate the mental makeup of society until we permit our scriptures to define human excellence. Until then white supremacy will show itself through
elevated their ideas, thoughts, definition of whats pretty or ugly, whats success and whats failure on the rest of the world. They have made themselves the sole qualifier for good and bad. Fateen

Anonymous said...

As-salaamu alaikum. Great points. They remain relatively small in numbers, but their voice is as loud as a majority when it is not dealt with. Inshallah we see as time passes they will become insignificant, as the population in this country becomes more and more diverse in nature. But silencing this message is the goal. We can't change all people, but education is the key, a fair approach to education at best. Alhamdulillah. I will tell you, I was raised in a quite racist state against Hispanic people and in a Republican home, you hear things. Each individual must decide for themselves and pull themselves out of a self destructing mentality. Allah sees all, He is the Most Just and the Good and the Evil will get their reward. Injustice prevails on Earth, but Allah's Word in Final.