There is No Racism

Let’s tell the truth. We (I) have been using the term “racism” incorrectly all along. By using this term, we are deluding ourselves by assuming that there black, brown, yellow, and white races when, in fact, there is but one human race. There are no variations, or subcategories. By constructing subcategories, we mistakenly identify each one as being significantly different such as: better, worse, superior, smarter, defective, or inferior. But not the same.

My late, great friend, Tony Delgado, recognized this long ago when he would refer people as having dark or light color skin, not black, white, or brown.  I prefer to describe our human differences in terms of “tribes.”

What most of us have meant by racism, is, in fact, “tribalism.” Yes, we all belong to or are associated with being part of various and sundry “tribes.” I am a member of the tribe of: Catholics; Irish/German/Dutch; the United States; a political party; old white men.  

My emotional affiliation with each one of the tribes actually could vary from enthusiastic, active, or nominal. Over the last 30 years, I have evolved from the stage of “active” to being “nominally” affiliated with my tribes. The more that I have learned about both my own tribes and other tribes that exist among the world has produced a new understanding and respect for those other groups that were previously unknown to me.

It is  comfortable to associate with the familiar parts of our society. Our language, customs, and experiences are all elements within my own self. They reflect me, a mirror of myself. Because of our similar backgrounds and experiences, there is an ease of being with them. I am able to see the world through their eyes.

On the other hand, there might be an uneasy feeling of being around groups, or tribes, that are different from my own tribes. They can easily become the “other,” those who not only speak in a foreign (to me) language but also have strange customs and praise a supreme being (or none at all) unlike my own.  Capitalizing on my competitive nature, I can easily cast a dark shadow over them and declare that they obviously are lesser, potentially evil, and need to be  shunned or denigrated or eliminated.

We humans cannot avoid being part of tribes. It might be difficult and challenging to see the commonality in all people. It is all about the degree of tribal relationships: the range between nominal to extreme tribalism is all that separates love and hate, good and evil.