I have always hated the term “reverse racism.”
Racism is racism.
Even when that racism is focused upon the majority, it is
still racism.
Consider the following:
“Reverse racism is a phenomenon in which discrimination,
sometimes officially sanctioned, against a dominant or formerly dominant racial
or other group representative of the majority in a particular society takes
place, for a variety of reasons, often initially as an attempt at redressing past
wrongs.”
Not sometimes, Webster.
All too often.
I first encountered this “phenomenon” during my days as a
public school teacher. At the time, I
applied to transfer into an opening at another school within the same large
public school district. I was informed I
would be granted an interview and that the hiring committee would interview three
candidates. This all sounded perfectly
logical to me. Then they dropped the bomb. One of those three candidates had to be
African American. Not a minority, mind
you. That would have made a lot more
sense. No, the system required one of
the candidates to be a very specific minority: African American.
Ok, so I’ve still got a one in three shot right?
Wrong.
The district policy required that if that particular school
was under a certain percentage African American staff that the hiring committee
HAD TO HIRE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHER.
Let that sink in for a moment.
The committee was required to interview 3 candidates, but 2
of the 3 had NO SHOT AT THE JOB.
None whatsoever.
Then why go through the process of even interviewing the
other two, you might ask?
“Fairness,” I was told.
Are you dizzy yet?
Mildly irritated? Or just flat
out pissed off?
I believe all three are suitable responses to what you’ve
just read.
But that was just the beginning.
A few years later I had given up the teaching profession and
was working for the federal government. I
interviewed for a job and was hired by a personnel director that was African
American, a very kind and personable lady of which I have the utmost respect, who
retired soon afterward. The director’s
replacement was also a friendly, pleasant African American woman. No problem so far.
Then I began to notice a disturbing trend. Ninety percent of the new hires under the new
personnel director were all of the same race.
Now before I specify the race let me point out that if the new personnel
director were a white man who hired ninety percent white employees there would
literally be a federal case opened about it.
But it wasn’t.
It was an African American woman who hired ninety percent
African American employees.
And not a word was spoken in protest. Not by her superiors. Not by the local media. Not by anyone.
And this has continued for several years.
And is still the case today.
Let us reconsider our definition.
“An attempt at redressing past wrongs.”
At this point most would assume that the personnel director
was showing her own preference in hiring mostly people of her own race.
But what if this wasn’t the case?
What if she was simply following orders?
Allow me to state very firmly that both scenarios are
equally WRONG.
It’s difficult to get sympathy as a college educated white
man. Everyone assumes that the path is
paved for you and that your life has been so much easier than theirs.
Many people are surprised to learn that there are more white
people on welfare than any other racial category. Not exactly a perpetuation of common racial
stereotypes is it?
My point is that there are a lot of white people in this
country that are having trouble finding good jobs that will allow them to
support their families. But no one wants
to do anything to help them. Most
government sponsored job programs are aimed at helping minorities.
I’m not suggesting that should stop…far from it.
But it’s time that we as a nation put an end to this trend
known as “reverse racism.”
It’s time that we stop letting the sins of past generations
cloud our judgement and lead to feelings of hatred and resentment that lead to
inequality.
In order for this country to truly move forward we have to
stop seeing race as an obstacle not only in the workplace but in every aspect
of our day to day lives.
