Whiteness & Racism
I am absolutely fascinated by Christian Cooper, the Central Park birdwatcher, and his response to his racist attack. His demeanor throughout the whole situation from the initial incident to his dealings with the press has been a sight to behold. He could give a master class in clarity and calm. He does not back down from the seriousness of the situation, he knows he could have been killed but at the same time his compassion for Amy Cooper, the white woman who tried to get him arrested, is a principled one. Really his compassion is just shy of pity. In the face of being asked to do what she was legally obliged to do she loses her shit and retaliates like a petulant brat. He sees her racial posturing for what it is a pathetic power grab. He allows us to see it through his video which would be embarrassing were it not deadly. It also exposes the way some white people are quick to enforce the existing and as yet unresolved US racial hierarchy when they feel threatened. Facilitated by a social structure organized for Black racial oppression Amy Cooper´s actions had life or death consequences. US structural racism facilitated the incident by providing a vehicle for her to successfully carry out her threats. And yet one white person’s feelings of superiority set the spark. Thus revealing another equally important problem, how easily a white person will choose their ego over a Black person’s life.
When will we have an honest discussion about this fundamental flaw? What will it take to fix this problem?
While every victim of these racist attacks must be given the space to do what they think is best, these attacks do not just target a person but an entire community. We live in a society where white people are empowered to terrorize Black people. A society where white people are choosing to do so on an alarmingly regular basis. Black people rightfully fear for their lives. Any excuse for or dismissal of these racist attacks reads as not only a refusal to admit to that racial violence continues to run our society but most importantly that Black people´s lives are endangered.
Forgiveness may come down to degrees. This incident was “minor”, the psychological toll of having to face down this bullshit notwithstanding. Christian Cooper is alive and his lifetime of Blackness has helped him develop some clarity around these racist incidents. His position in life, his education does not leave him immune to the specter of white supremacy but it does give him some space to process. I believe this, along with a generous spirit allowed him to make such principled, honest, and thoughtful comments. His clarity opened up the possibility for a different kind of discussion. One that focuses more on the white person who chooses to brandish their whiteness like a sword to unleash the wrath of a racist system. White supremacy at its core is extreme narcissism, one that prioritizes all things white including something as elusive and untrustworthy as white feelings over Black people’s lives. US structural and social racism is based on an ideology that allows white people to make choices that divorce them from their own humanity. Until white people are able to take a long hard look at how white supremacy has impacted them, especially the ways it gets used when white people feel threatened, we will never be rid of it. Racial identity, itself a fiction, has never been fixed. If the nightmare of white supremacy is to end white people will need to step up and change what it means to be white.
