[lit-ideas] Re: How to Draw a Crowd

Frankie Boyle: And have you seen the difference in the way he's treated compared to Bush and the others? Big bullet-proof glass surrounding him whenever he speaks. America is so racist. Just because he's black doesn't mean he's going to pull a gun on everyone...
I too think America is more racist than ever, but not for the reasons Boyle expounds. Rather, I think our refusal to act as if all people were equal right *now* is the racist symptom. By dissecting the differences of every tribal subgroup, we thereby glory in the fragmentation of class, race, politics. There's an imaginary KKK guy (bloated, stupid, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt) in the back of everyone's mind, and he is holding a sign reading "THE ENEMY." That Boyle (whoever he is) would strain to find any difference in how the security of a black President is handled is itself a symptom of racism.
Whereas if we all insisted on being treated equally (as individuals rather than members of a subgroup), "the progress" (Rosa Park's term) would already be here, Maybe that transformation would involve ignoring all the self-appointed, professional tribal subgroup leaders. These "leaders" and "activists" do make their living by seeing that "the progress" is never realized, else they put themselves out of business. And business right now is booming! 
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