- Mar 11, 2015
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What these "conservatives" are calling independent thinking is internalized racism.
“The Boondocks” is an animated TV show about a black grandfather who was charged to take care of his 2 grandchildren. One of the characters in the show was a blue-collar black man named Uncle Ruckus. Uncle Ruckus held white supremacist views and despised everything about being black. In fact, he disliked being black so much, that he claimed to be Caucasian. Uncle Ruckus is an example of a person with internalized racism. Internalized racism is defined as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In a study named “The Psychology of Racism”, Robin Nicole Johnson points out that internalized racism entails both "conscious and unconscious acceptance of a racial hierarchy in which whites are consistently ranked above people of color." Blacks who suffer from internalized racism believe and promote negative stereotypes of their own race. They will adopt white standards and thinking. Doing these things mentally lets them deny that racism exists.
Internalized racism reinforces racism. Internalized racism keeps racism alive. It creates a justification for racism. This acceptance of white supremacy as the norm leads to conclusions that racism is not a problem, or that it does not exist. As this happens, people in racially oppressed groups internalize the validity of their own oppression. Because they have done so they find no reason to question or fight the system.
These types will argue how racism would be no problem if blacks had fewer fatherless children, or that drug use and how a violent criminal culture exist in these communities but can never explain why unless they recite a white centered explanation that comes from a place with no practical understanding of what it is to be black in America. They refuse to argue the implications of racist policies and the damage these policies have created because to do so will not be acceptable in the social circles they desire approval from. This explains a number of blacks who have been allowed into the national discourse on race who are primarily conservatives. These are people who have achieved great success and can make real changes relative to erasing the stain of white racism from this system. But they do not.
These individuals are only accepted by certain groups in the dominant culture because their views can be used to validate white racism. These people are doing far more harm than good to both the black community and to general society. This is the reason why allowing such individuals prominence is so distasteful. They are conferred that status by the dominant culture for it’s own purposes. Internalized racism is a divide and conquer tactic used to create conflicts within and between racially subordinate groups to suppress all attempts at a united effort to combat racism.
“The Boondocks” is an animated TV show about a black grandfather who was charged to take care of his 2 grandchildren. One of the characters in the show was a blue-collar black man named Uncle Ruckus. Uncle Ruckus held white supremacist views and despised everything about being black. In fact, he disliked being black so much, that he claimed to be Caucasian. Uncle Ruckus is an example of a person with internalized racism. Internalized racism is defined as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In a study named “The Psychology of Racism”, Robin Nicole Johnson points out that internalized racism entails both "conscious and unconscious acceptance of a racial hierarchy in which whites are consistently ranked above people of color." Blacks who suffer from internalized racism believe and promote negative stereotypes of their own race. They will adopt white standards and thinking. Doing these things mentally lets them deny that racism exists.
Internalized racism reinforces racism. Internalized racism keeps racism alive. It creates a justification for racism. This acceptance of white supremacy as the norm leads to conclusions that racism is not a problem, or that it does not exist. As this happens, people in racially oppressed groups internalize the validity of their own oppression. Because they have done so they find no reason to question or fight the system.
These types will argue how racism would be no problem if blacks had fewer fatherless children, or that drug use and how a violent criminal culture exist in these communities but can never explain why unless they recite a white centered explanation that comes from a place with no practical understanding of what it is to be black in America. They refuse to argue the implications of racist policies and the damage these policies have created because to do so will not be acceptable in the social circles they desire approval from. This explains a number of blacks who have been allowed into the national discourse on race who are primarily conservatives. These are people who have achieved great success and can make real changes relative to erasing the stain of white racism from this system. But they do not.
These individuals are only accepted by certain groups in the dominant culture because their views can be used to validate white racism. These people are doing far more harm than good to both the black community and to general society. This is the reason why allowing such individuals prominence is so distasteful. They are conferred that status by the dominant culture for it’s own purposes. Internalized racism is a divide and conquer tactic used to create conflicts within and between racially subordinate groups to suppress all attempts at a united effort to combat racism.