Permanent Fail: Race Relations in America

by Irene Daniel

The other day I got a permanent fail message from an email I had sent to a friend, which was rejected and sent back to me with a message informing me that any attempts to use that particular email address would only end in permanent failure. And I started thinking about those words: permanent fail. Sounds depressing, doesn't it?

And I started to think about how those words, "permanent fail" can be applied to race relations in the United States of America. We can't seem to get past it here in the land of the free and the home of the brave. What a shame. What a waste of human resources.

What keeps getting in the way? It would be easy to convict all white American males and blame it all on them. And it's not as though they bear no blame. At the risk of sounding like a little kid, "they started it!" But who is "they" really. Isn't "they" all of us, in a way. How do "they" keep getting away with something that, supposedly, everybody else is against?

Don't get me wrong. I think white privilege is at the root of our racial issues. In saying this, I do not suggest that whiteness is inherently bad. Nor is it inherently good. It's just whiteness. It is the priority that has been legally attached to whiteness for centuries that is the problem, and to white maleness in particular, that have led us to the racial unrest we are still experiencing in the 21st century.

But one class of person cannot completely dominate another without at least some whisper of consent from the dominated. Women who are taught to subordinate themselves to men, for whatever reason, have largely enabled this white male domination; especially white women. For they have accepted this social structure for generation upon generation; and in so doing strengthened it, to the detriment of all women, especially non-white women. Not all of us believe that we are in any way "less than" any man. And yet, we have to combat this subliminal bias every day, especially professional women.

Non-whites complain about race relations and how unfairly they are treated by the society at large, and especially by our criminal justice system. And they are not wrong. I have witnessed suspects, as well as victims, being treated very differently, depending upon their sex and skin color. But how come they only show up to the polls to vote in presidential election years? How often do they show up to vote for local elections, which probably affect them the most? Or show up for jury duty? How many eligible voters don't even bother to register to vote? Refusing to help ourselves by the only real means available out of a resentment of white privilege, or -- even worse -- an ignorance thereof, is only a self-defeating act.

Our system of governance and justice are woefully imperfect. President Lincoln did not reference a perfect Union, only a "more perfect" one, because he knew that perfection in governance is simply not attainable. Moreover, he understood history and the evolution of a people, and that we must always strive to improve ourselves, our communities and our nation. And this evolution cannot happen without the participation of an informed electorate.

I cannot use this page to denounce white people in general, nor white men in particular. While I find it difficult to understand the reticence of white conservatives to accept the fact of white privilege, for it is so very obvious to the rest of us; I am not as interested in changing their minds as I am in changing the leadership of our land. I want to see more people who are not white and not male in positions of leadership; not because I hate white men, but because I think fresh perspectives are necessary in order to move forward as a people. And this can only be done, at this time, by revolution at the ballot box, or revolution in the streets. Revolution by ballot is what has served this nation for over 200 years and, in my opinion, beats armed insurrection all to hell!

So what of this "permanent fail"? We cannot wait for the enlightenment of white conservative leadership on this matter. It is rare indeed to see one group voluntarily give up an advantage over another, whether that advantage was earned or not. I have discussed this matter with a number of my white conservative friends (yes, I do have them), and many of them have been able to appreciate their unjust enrichment at the expense of "the other." However, they are usually outnumbered by those who reject the notion of white privilege outright.

Therefore, it is up to us -- the non-white, the non-male, the non-heterosexual, the non-wealthy -- to change things. Women, Latinos and millenialls are the fastest growing demographic groups in this nation. And a million votes trumps a million dollars any day! However, they don't always show up at the polls.

Are you disillusioned with the "permanent fail" state of race relations in this country? Are you ready to do something about it besides point fingers and call names? Then here's 3 things you can do, starting now:
                         1.  Register to vote;
                         2.  Vote;
                         3.  Show up for jury duty.

If you can think of something better, I'm all ears.

                                                                                                         Copyright 2015, Irene Daniel, All rights reserved.