Systemic Racism Is Bogus
Starting with Obama and Trayvon Martin, and continuing through the George Floyd Riots and the summer of Black Lives Matter, it has become an article of faith among Democrats in particular, that the US suffers from what they call “systemic racism.”
The concept is often asserted, but rarely with evidence or documentation.
Ironically, much of this started just as the nation elected its first Black President, which on its face, would seem to disprove the theory. Rather than using his half-white/half-black origin, Obama went about making racial matters worse rather than using his position to make things better.
The argument is made that because white citizens have a somewhat higher income than blacks, blacks commit more crime, do worse in school, and have more broken families, this is prima facia evidence of racism, white privilege, and discrimination.
Now it seems, that white suburban housewives pay money to people to make them feel guilty and miserable about themselves as racists. Airlines promise to hire more females and blacks, even if they are not the most qualified. Schools quit giving grades and using standardized tests, or commit grade inflation; just to be sure no one (especially if they are white) can show they can do better than someone else. Schools abandon discipline since more blacks might be involved in disciplinary events. Even on television, the advertising agencies would have you think the black population has grown from roughly 13% to about 95% of the country. Making sure more black women are shown using shampoo is supposed to fix our problems.
Arabs from Gaza can rape and murder their Israeli neighbors, and take them hostage, and it is justified and supported because the Jews have used white privilege to keep Gazans in poverty. It has nothing to do with backward thinking by Gazans who elected terrorists who spent all the aid money digging tunnels.
The media and corporate DEI meatgrinder want to make sure, that all people come out the same, especially if that can only be done by discriminating against white males. Or as one black professor of note has suggested: the cure for past racism is present racism. But then, they redefine the term so that human prejudice can only possessed by whites.
How we got to this mess is a long story. For the moment, we will just explore the basic assumption that disparities in income are caused by white racism. We are not suggesting that racism from some white or other individuals is nonexistent or that things could not be improved. We are asking if racism is such a barrier to overcome that it alone is responsible for disparities in social outcomes. We challenge the idea of systemic racism and white privilege.
Since whites have been the majority population in this nation from its inception, and since they are bigoted and hold the reins of power, white people naturally should have the highest incomes, right?
The first thing you might notice is that whites do not have the highest income, are only slightly above the average, and in fact, lag well behind other “people of color”. If they are exercising “privilege” to rig results favorable to themselves, they appear to be doing a very poor job of doing so.
It is also worth noting that education has something to do with the differences. Wouldn’t that seem logical? If so, race has little to do with it or may not be a factor at all.
Not surprisingly, those with a better education, make more money. Thus, groups that strive for higher skills and education do better, regardless of skin color.
If white Americans were such hateful and bigoted people, how come they let a lot of dark and yellow-skinned people take all the good high-paying jobs and make off with many of the university degrees?
Other factors that impact income, is where you live.
About 45% of the District of Columbia is black and only 4.7% is Asian. If blacks have the lowest income, how can a district dominated by blacks be so wealthy? In Puerto Rico, only about 17% are black, and whites are about 50%, yet they are dirt poor. In West Virginia, 92% of the population is white, yet their income is barely above Mississippi. There have to be some variables other than race at play here, would you not agree?
So where you live, and how well you are educated, are factors much greater in importance than race.
If you had to guess where blacks are doing the best, you might guess areas of California or New York, right? But the city where blacks have the highest overall income is Murfreesboro, Tennesee.
Another major factor is marital status. The median family income for married-couple families with children was about $101,560 in 2021, while their single-father counterparts had a median total family income of $50,942 and single-mother counterparts had just $32,586. Thus, if 70% of black children are raised by a single mother, they live in a household likely to have one-third of the income of a married couple.
Marital status and family stability also factor into education. Children who have parents often do better in school because one or both parents are holding the child responsible, talking with teachers, creating discipline, and helping with homework. Having a father present seems to make a considerable difference. A single mother, exhausted from work and having volatile relationships with a string of men, has difficulty doing as well as an intact couple. That is just a fact, and it is not a matter of race.
Age is another big factor. The average age of a Japanese American is 49, whites, 44, and Hispanics just 30. Is it normal for a 49-year-old to make more than a 30-year-old? Of course, age and experience cause wealth differences. Can those differences be ascribed to Japanese racism towards Hispanics? No, and neither can the differences between whites and blacks, who also have an average age difference of 10 years.
Finally, if blacks suffer because of ignorant white honkeys, how is it that blacks from the Caribbean do so much better than native-born blacks? Do you think white bigots would know the difference or care? On average, black Caribbeans had the highest average income ($52,480) while native-born African Americans had the lowest ($35,281). Analysts speculate this may have something to do with immigration bias (people with higher motivation take the risk to immigrate), better family structure, better family networks for support, and perhaps better basic education. Whatever it is, the difference cannot be because of race, because all those concerned are black.
One variable that rarely shows up in the speculations is that black immigrants from the Caribbean or elsewhere, don’t grow up hearing white people hold them down. Attitude is an underrated variable. If you feel that success comes from within and therefore within your power to achieve, then what people do or say externally makes little or no difference. You persevere until you reach your goals and then set new ones.
In summary, there are a lot of complex factors at play that make up the differences between people. We even hesitate to use racial categories like black, white, and Asian, because there are dozens of subgroups within the term “white” “black”, or “Asian” and there are lots of people of mixed race. It is hard to discuss these issues because the Left so dominates the terminology we use and the ideas expressed in words.
There are variables in family structure, intelligence rankings, ethnic attitudes, age, education, geography, and immeasurable variables such as grit, determination, and sobriety.
Some “people of color” like East Asians are blowing the doors off while native-born blacks, especially those from broken homes, are not doing well. Whatever white privilege is, it does not seem to be a relevant factor. It also has not put whites at the top of the heap.
To boil all this complexity down to the moronically simple position that “it’s because of white privilege” or “systemic racism” is bogus and not supported by data. It likely is a view that could only be maintained in academia and the media. And we would add, it is damaging to the very people that presumably Progressives want to help.
