I’ve read a few of your posts now, and I am starting to observe your on a deep journey to do better. To craft yourself into a true man of God. I can’t wait to hear more about your findings.
In this context, I take your deeper question with this thread to be: we’ve all heard it said systemic racism is the root of a lot of evils and correcting it can make society better. How can we do better in that light.
To respond to that in the American context, I would first like to clarify some history, which is rarely contextualize in regards to this subject.
In the Dixie south, who were the ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’? The establishment was who one might call good-southern boys and belles, by contrast to the north this was an aristocratic sort preferring a democratized old European style court to that of the more humble stuffy puritan-quaker built north. They valued being clever and politically connected. Appearance was everything. Being an outsider often worse than anything. Unlike the north, the Military was a huge institution. In this way, militaristic ideas and solutions were more prevalent.
The common folk(outsiders) to whom this establishment was disconnected one might call hillbillies(Cajun french canadians, southern Irish, cowboys, farm boys, mountain folk) this group cared little about politics. Their culture was the tribe.They wanted to be left alone. Be independent. But they have all the culture, the songs, the stories, the grit, the fighting spirit that made the army strong. So don't think they are not visible or influential.
The civil war despite affecting everyone was between southern and northern elites. It was not a southern slave revolt. It was just another call to arms for the southern hillbillies. Because of that, the deeper wound for those ex-slave blacks was being cast out without warning, ritual, preparation, political power or organization. Millions made homeless/destitute without community leaders, meaningful suffrage or support. A wise America would have given them a state and assistance to grow instead resentment and prejudice over a costly war done in their name.
American blacks are an industrious community despite many barriers they began to build up and make a culture of their own. Their strongest allies in the south, the hillbillies were embraced making a parallel culture due to a politically enforced racial segregation which spread nation-wide. Not all though were so unpolitical, hardened by war with the racist southern establishment another culture emerged in the black south: racial identitarians, who rally against two groups black hillbillies(who make them look bad) and the white establishment(their natural opponent). Others blacks more industrialist than hillbilly culture allows but not interested in the racial black identitarians moved west/north. This culture of this mostly middle-class blacks marked by facing a lie they were told as children about their journey out of the black enclaves into other white-majority cultures: when racism isn’t in the open, it's often still done with a smile.
Meanwhile, the southern power balance began to shift. The old southern democrats were about to get wiped out by the new power bases which rising up from the hillbillies, black identitarians and non-southern immigrates (who embraced southern culture but not her politics - also sometimes deemed the looming republican majority).
Southern democrats are a pragmatic bunch, so they changed their coalition to try and keep power bringing in the black identitarians and shifting their target audience to disaffected middle-classes like the formerly mentioned blacks living white majority-culture. It was easy, republican leadership were dominated by an out-of-touch industrialist class and far from nimble and politically savvy. This is also why you see the democratic swing in the black vote even before the democratic party embraced civil rights and dropped it’s anti-black positions and why you saw republican black support disappear as they ignore even basic poltical concerns from the black community.
Today, people are still having to deal with the trauma their ancestors went through. I have been told that they can still feel it in their blood. I was talking to a black girl once and it was as if I had a vision where I could see shackles on her ankles. I did not say anything to her. So I am not aware of if she noticed anything or not.
God can go back in time and bring about the healing that people want and need. These are the sort of things that people need to work out because there is no unforgiveness in Heaven. We all abide in love for one another in Heaven and we need to prepare ourself for that now here in this life.
God works all things together for God. So there must be something in all of this that He will cause good to come out of it. That is His promise to us.
So…
You see ‘white guilt’ is actually designed to enforce racial divisions.
Systemic racism is very much real, but is as much about expectations as any racist action. Outsiders aren’t trusted like insiders and so we have systemic racism which will happen anytime your a racial minority. It something to learn, but it really only requires simple awareness the correction is good social skills not being a werido about it, which unfortunately we’re very bad at teaching and doing.
In terms of feeling it in their blood. I doubt that is a historic wound. It’s the fact black children are vividly told they are hunted down by white people on a daily basis. Any child would feel race anger if they were told all the crazy visual and vivild violent things blacks are told about whites on the daily by tv, internet and conversation. In terms of your feelings, your told those same stories bur identify with a different character.
In terms, of the problems of black majority cities. It all steams from that terrible democratic coalition mixed with a feckless and useless republican opposition which makes no effort to incorporate black communities. Single party administration is always terrible be it left/right, black/white, woman/man etc etc.
Problems with American blacks in statistics. Hillbilly culture espeically when moved into an urban environment. You move any hillbilly to any city, they don't thrive. The sad thing is this culture isn't even a majority(just more culturally relevant), most middle-class blacks just get painted with that brush by embracing their blackness no different from any middle-class white southerner who embraces their southren-ness.
And btw, I love hillbillies and just as I can easily live in the rural south by showing respect and keeping to my own business. I can thrive in those urban environments with the same norms. Race has nothing to do with it.
Anyway, hopefully you or someone else finds somthing useful in my too long overly analytical post. I look forward to this no unforgiveness.
