Racism: Where does the blame lie?

Let’s Blame it on the Sun
Cause producing sugar was no fun
We can fight to hold on
But slavery is gone
And even if the capitalism falls
I hope we don’t lose it all
Cause nothing lasts forever
Let’s Blame it on the forefathers

We can’t undo the past, but surely we can make an attempt to understand and learn from it. Take, for instance, the issue of racism. Is it a biological fact? No, it is a social construct. Racism, like other imagined realities—but unlike the Hindu caste system which is of divine origin—is a figment of our collective imagination.

Biology of Racism

Scientifically speaking, there is only one human species with a common ancestor in Africa. The human DNA (unlike other animals) is too similar to split us into subspecies or races. The physical changes were the result of adaptation, over time, to different climates and environments and do not reflect genetic differentiation. For example, skin color is not a ‘racial trait’ but is an adaptation to the amount of Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Dark skins are adaptive in high UV environments and light skins are adaptive in low UV environments.

Ideology of Racism

In the ideology of anti-black racism, black people are inferior to white people and need to be kept in check. Nazi’s racial ideology was also based on the fallacious belief of genetic supremacy of Aryan race over non-Aryans who were viewed as sub-humans to be enslaved and exterminated.

History of Racism

However, the question remains: what is the origin of American racism? The devil lies in our sweet tooth. The emergence of European sweet tooth and the resultant rise in sugar demand created the labor-intensive and unsavory business of white gold. This, in turn, became the engine of the slave trade that brought millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas leading to American slavery and eventually to racism. In fact, slavery was the cause of racism and not vice versa.

It’s more than 400 years since the start of transatlantic triangular trade. If the culprit was sugar, capitalism was the accomplice. No doubt there were many other crops but economically sugar loomed over everything else. The humans were legally treated as commodities with a price tag. The enslaved people were even accepted as collateral for loans.

Would it be wrong to say that agriculture is behind all human miseries? To draw an analogy, if wheat domesticated us, sugarcane made us racist.

The bitter truth remains that while the production of sugar led to slavery, the consumption of sugar is causing obesity, a growing healthcare epidemic. And, it is indeed ironic that this white and deadly substance is killing more blacks than white. Isn’t it a good enough reason to shun sugar and hate capitalism, its long term accomplice?

Psychology of Racism

Despite the death of slavery, racism continues. Why? Unlike slavery, racial bias is more of a psychological trait and is, therefore, an invisible monster deeply ingrained in our minds and beliefs. While India’s social structure is based on the caste system, America’s social system is based on racism. But both are hierarchical and exclusionary. And like coronavirus, only a few of their victims show symptoms while the majority are asymptomatic, oblivious of the infection (let’s call it passive racism/casteism).

And yet another obsession grew out of racism (and casteism): colorism which is based solely upon skin color irrespective of one’s racial or ethnic (or caste) background. The color prejudice where preferential treatment is given to people with lighter skin tone is more universal than racial bias. And the sad thing is, this insidious phenomenon is further reinforced and drilled into our subconscious by the beauty industry. The business brands reframe it as aspirational instead of being demeaning and offensive.

The End of Racism

With the killing of George Floyd and the ignition of the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, a beginning has been made which resonates with a global call to address institutional racism. However, it will be a while before we see some significant social change. For this to succeed, white people first have to become conscious of their racial (willful) ignorance. Till then, let’s accept that we live in a racist and colorist world.

And let’s not forget that between the binary division of black and white there are many beautiful shades of brown. And the wisdom lies in celebrating and embracing life’s multiple colors.

Let me end with the following verse:

Racial Ignorance: Not Anymore!

The Police is happy no more

Cause people won’t take it anymore

The Beauty is business no more

Cause fair isn’t lovely anymore

The Donald will Trump no more

Cause politics can’t divide anymore

The Statue of Columbus is no more

Cause no one can stop them anymore

The White is default no more

Cause psychology can’t trump biology anymore