Critical Race Theory and You

     Critical Race Theory initially began as both an intellectual movement and a framework of legal analysis in the 1960’s known as critical legal studies.   Critical legal studies (CLS) was an effort to apply Marxist “critical theory” to legal issues. “Critical theory” was inspired by Marx’s criticisms of economy and society, and focused on how power and domination work to give those in power the advantages they need to stay in power.  Marx believed strongly that the primary goal of philosophy was to assist in identifying and overthrowing the social structures that worked to keep people oppressed.  CRT practitioners held the first Critical Race Theory workshop in 1989, and believe strongly that race is a cultural invention used to oppress people of color. They also insist the legal institutions of the US are inherently racist and designed to maintain inequalities in social, political and economic opportunities between whites and nonwhites.  CRT proponents often use “equity” as one of their goals, but they reject completely the term “equality” as used in the 14th and 15th constitutional amendments. Equality, they state, simply means non-discrimination, and is a code word for white supremacy and discrimination.  Equity, on the other hand, means to them the end of private property and freedom of speech, replaced by a redistribution of property and wealth based entirely on race as determined by the federal Department of Antiracism.  This agency would, according to Ibram X Kendi, have the power to veto any law at any level of government and restrict the speech of political leaders it determines are not sufficiently antiracist.  Dr. Kendi further states “In order to be truly antiracist, you also have to truly be anti-capitalist.”  

     Mandatory CRT training in Federal agencies teaches employees that almost all whites contribute to racism, and that being against racism is not enough; they must be actively anti-racist. Dr. Kendi states that “everyone is either racist or anti-racist; there is no such thing as a nonracist”.  “Anti-racism is a “white problem” states author Robin DiAngelo, and that personal accountability and aggressive corrective action is required for being an anti-racist. Anti-racist “training” includes renouncing “white male privilege”, understanding that straight, white, Christian males are the “oppressor class” and whites must atone and apologize for their privilege and covert white supremacy.

     They also believe that the civil rights advancements of the last half of the 20th century were small victories that did little to correct the racism inherent in social and legal systems, and that reform was in itself not enough to correct what they see as systemic problems.  Derrick Bell, for example, the first Black tenured law professor at Harvard, stated that the separate but equal education policy was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1954 by what he described as “interest convergence”.  “Interest convergence” occurs when the elitist whites believed it was in their best interests to do so in order to improve America’s “racist image” abroad and to appease black service members returning to civilian life after WWII and Korea.

     He may have had a valid point in this instance. For example, there were over 16 million Americans who served in the military in WWII.  901,896 were Black (a little under 18%). In Korea, 4.9 million Americans saw military service, and 339,400 (a little over 14%). President Truman began the end of segregation in the US military in 1948 with Executive Order 9981, and the last all black unit was finally disbanded in 1954.  Many believe Harry issued the order because black leaders assured him blacks would never serve in the armed forces again as long as they felt like second class citizens. That’s a pretty powerful incentive to do what amounted to the right thing even if for the wrong reasons, and Harry the politician also needed the black vote for the 1948 presidential election. One of the primary differences between capitalism and communism is that capitalism can adjust to changing social mores; communism adjusts by using its power to oppress to an even greater degree. That’s a distinction worth remembering.

      Anyone that denies racism exists is denying reality. Racism is not the exclusive purview of any race or nationality, but I do not think it can be the basis for any set of laws or circumstances whose purpose is the welfare and provision of opportunities for growth, opportunity and extended success on personal, regional and national levels.

     Research in social mores often yields ambiguous results, due mostly to the reality that variables cannot be as strictly controlled or accounted for as they might be in a lab or facility.  One of those uncontrolled variables is confirmation bias.  Confirmation bias is “the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s belief or attitudes.” In other words, you will usually find that which you seek, especially if you look hard enough in the right places.

     Another unique process that adds to the confusion is known as Bayesian integration.  This process is believed to influence our perceptions, thoughts and actions.  MIT neuroscientists have discovered that our brains encode our prior experiences and use them to make decisions when faced with new or uncertain situations.  In other words, when our brain encounters uncertainty, it uses prior experiences to help choose the appropriate response behavior. When faced with a new or unique situation where you can’t tell what the appropriate action is, your brain automatically uses past experiences to guide your judgment and response. 

     Then there’s the Law of Attraction, which says that what we think attracts events into our lives.  This is also known as “magical thinking”, and the idea that what we expect is what we will receive and is one of the key postulates in universal karma.  When those thoughts do not materialize into what we had hoped would happen, especially when those expectations involve others, expectations often turn into what amounts to premeditated resentments of shock and irrational anger.

     So what do these effects have to do with critical race theory?  I believe that those that look for racism in all things are going to find exactly what they seek. If you look at the world through blue lenses, it’s difficult to see anything that doesn't appear blue. If you review history looking to find evidence of racism, there’s a strong possibility that is exactly what you will find. If you believe that immigrants left Europe in order to establish racist policies in (to them) a new world, then racism is what you will see, but only if you overlook every single word they wrote about those experiences and why they actually left their home countries. It would take a suspension of rational thought and behavior to believe those that arrived here spent the majority of their time thinking about what they could do to establish and further the cause of racism rather than concerning themselves with food, clothing, safety for themselves and their families and working to improve their own lives.  

     To follow the beliefs of the supporters of CRT, would we believe those that founded other societies - Japanese, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian or Kenyan - were primarily concerned with racism as a founding principle, or is it just the United States simply because the founders were primarily white?  No, it has little to do with race, but everything to do with capitalism. Marx and his little Manifestian friends despised capitalism above all things, and developed theories and plans and ideas and methodologies galore to allow the glorious Proletariat to rise up and defeat the evil Bourgeoisie and establish a society where everyone works together, and nobody owns anything and everyone gets their fair share - especially the guys in charge. The only catch there is that someone has to tell everyone else what they can and cannot have and…you know how the story goes. 

     The goal of CRT, like every other Marxist idea, is division.  Since we can’t really drum up divisions between classes in the US, race has become the device for that division. Without going into the details of all the successes socialist/communist governments have experienced, let me just mention a few communist highlights from the 20th century:

73, 237,000 murders - Communist China (Mao, et al, 1949 - Present)

58,627,000 murders - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922 - 1991

3,284,000 murders - Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (1918 - 1922) Does not include those killed in the Russian Civil War

3,163,000 murders - Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (1948 - Present)

2,627,000 murders - Cambodia (1975 - 1987) 

     These are just the top 5 most egregious. There are more. Understand also that these deaths were not a result of wars but were murders of the communist government's own citizens for any and all that practiced dissent, disagreement, subversion, forbidden speech and almost any other reason the government decides, no matter how trivial.  What I find difficult to believe is that there are still people who convince themselves that THIS time it will work because… (insert self- delusional excuse here).

     I will not apologize for being white because I had no voice in the matter. I will not apologize for my ancestors or anyone else’s because, again, I had no input in their actions. I am disappointed that slavery was ever an issue in the United States, and I am even more disappointed that it continues today in many places and more often than not involves children. I am disappointed that Benedict Arnold chose to involve himself in traitorous acts but will again point out that he didn’t ask me before or after they occurred, so while his significance as a historical figure might be my concern but his lack of judgment is not, so, again, no apology is forthcoming.  Judging people from history by the standards of today is simply another divisive tool designed for exactly the same reasons and is an ineffable effrontery to both history and common sense.  

     There are more examples of good and bad governments if you simply study history, not with a focus on finding racism but with the goal of discovering that we are one race with disparate branches.

     In our present version of capitalism (aka constitutional republic), the ideals begin with the belief that all men are created equal. Because of human shortcomings, we often come woefully short of those ideals. In spite of our foibles and in spite of the weakness of all men, we have certainly made progress, and I thank God for that and pray daily that progress continues but remembering the caveat I learned at an early age from Yosimite Sam; “People is dumber than anybody.”