Issues & Views:Anti-racism

July 9, 2001

Wisdom of the week

Anti-racism

What I objected to about racism was the treatment of individual members of a class (in this case racial minorities) as if they were responsible for all other members of that class, that because they were alike in some respects they were alike in all respects, and that race or ethnic identity was a basis for the granting or denying rights and privileges. I worked hard lobbying on behalf of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which effectively opened the door for black people in employment, housing and many other areas. I still feel this way today.

What I did not realize at that time was the peculiar attraction of "anti-racism" as an ideology that could explain all things and justify almost any course of action. In the thirty years since the civil rights advances of the 1960s the voices of "anti-racism" have become progressively more shrill and demanding as market forces have influenced the movement. Simply said, there are careers, status, jobs, and influence to be had as long as "racism" exists. As specific problems are solved new problems are defined and created to keep the movement alive. Indeed, there is an "anti-racist" industry afoot in the United States that has attracted bullying, moralizing fanatics, whose identity and livelihood depend upon growth and expansion.

"Anti-racism" is particularly problematic because it's one of those terms that sets off "feel good" emotions among sympathetic individuals. It's like rescuing puppies, feeding the starving, protecting children, or helping old people across the street. It overflows with "better than" messages and invokes images of fairness, decency, caring, altruism, and moral superiority--this last a commodity in high demand among individuals who need to define themselves in terms of their goodness and humanitarianism in contrast to the badness and selfishness of others.

A great many sins disappear when one becomes an "anti-racist" activist. Lives that would ordinarily be insignificant become important; hostility, contempt and hatred becomes reframed as moral outrage; and one has a delicious repertoire of epithets to use against critics and skeptics. As an "anti-racist" crusader, one can do things and say things to other human beings that would be out of the question otherwise and not only get away with them, but receive praise for them as well.

-- Laird Wilcox, excerpted from The Watchdogs: A Close Look at Anti-racist "Watchdog" Groups. Also author of Crying Wolf: Hate Crime Hoaxes in America. These are important monographs for all who are concerned about the growing abuse of power by self-styled "human rights" groups. See Editorial Research Service