I should have known that it would happen sooner or later. We live in complicated times; and it does not take much for it to be true that one is a racist. Being black, and all, I naturally thought that I had a certain immunity here; for the word on the street is that blacks can’t be racist. That was the old racism. This is the new racism. And by the standards of the new racism, I fear that I am a racist. I must acknowledge this. Otherwise, there is no hope of me ever overcoming my racist ways.
We should be careful to distinguish the new racism from the old racism. The old racism was about making unwarranted claims regarding the moral or intellectual inferiority of a people. Jews are evil; blacks are dumb; and so on. The upright Jew or intellectually gifted black was the exception that proved the rule. At least, by the old standards it turns out that I am not a racist. I actually think that there are smart and dumb people of every hue and ethnicity. But I digress.
The new racism, however, is quite different. For according to the new racism, I am a racist simply in virtue of criticizing you (if you belong to the right group), no matter how warranted my criticism might be. Or, any statistical generalization of a negative kind is held to be unwarranted, no matter how appropriate the generalization might be. The new idea of racism is very complicated; and having just discovered that, according to it, I am also a racist, I trust that you will bear with me for not having the clarity that I should have regarding what I am.
For you see, it seems to be quite all right to say that “All whites are racist”, based upon some weak statistical inference regarding whites. That is called simply telling the truth. But the strongest statistical inference regarding a non-white that speaks to a negative feature is immediately hailed as racist. As I have already indicated, I do not quite grasp this. But you must remember that I am new at being a racist. There is much to be learnt regarding my racist ways.
Speaking of statistical generalizations of a negative kind, there is the issue of terrorism. Is every terrorist apt to be a Muslim? Absolutely not. But, and this is where my racism comes in, the probability of a terrorist being a Muslim seems mighty high (especially when it comes to acting against the interests of the United States). Of course, we all know that Jews are exceedingly shrewd. It is logically possible that Jews all over the world are engaging in one plot or the another to blow up American planes. Worse, still: they could be manipulating Muslims. But let us not go there.
I do not think for a moment that all Muslims are bad people. It is quite silly for anyone to think that. My neighbor in Paris is an Arabic Muslim; and I love him dearly; and there are lots and lots of things about which we disagree. I have taught Muslim Arabic students. In fact, one such student, now a professor, is thanked and acknowledged in some of my scholarship.
As I have said: I do not for a moment think that all Muslims are bad. However, and here is where my racism comes in: I unequivocally think that the probability of a terrorist being a Muslim is incredibly high (especially when it is a matter of acting against the interests of the United States). Can anyone be a terrorist? Absolutely? Anyone can commit suicide or be a sexual predator, too. However, I do not go around acting as if every person whom I might meet is apt to commit suicide or is apt to be a sexual predator. There are often tell-tale signs that a person is suicidal. But not always. Nonetheless, no one thinks to argue that it is rational to act as if everyone is going to commit suicide. The same argument holds for sexual predators.
Alas, many people think, including many Muslims, that it is wrong to assert that a terrorist is more likely to be a Muslim than not (given the proviso mentioned). I do not see this for the life for me. And therein lies my racism. For I think it is imminently rational to hold precisely the view tht a terrorist is more likely to be a Muslim than not.
Islamic fascists are recruiting people who would serve as would-be suicide bombers. Muslim mothers have expressed delight that even their young children might die as a “martyrs”. You know the story. I do not know any other people or any group (religious or otherwise) behaving thusly.
The Oklahoma bombers, of course, are a reminder that not all acts of terrorism against the United States (say) are committed by Muslims. Those guys are unquestionably white. But once again, my racism gets the best of me: This is because to my mind they are the exceptions who prove the rule. They behoove us not to be close-minded about matters. However, they do not change the probability of things.
Here is neutral example. For most Americans who were born and raised in the United States, it is highly unlikely that they are fluent in foreign language. That there should some who are does not change the probability of things in this regard. Thus, I have noticed that if you present an American passport at airport security in a foreign country (where English is not spoken), the agent will not even bother speaking to you to the language of that country. For with rare exception that turns out to be a futile gesture and an enormous waste of time.
It seems to me that we have an analogous situation when it comes to Muslims being terrorists. Accordingly, it seems to me that there is nothing at all racist in thinking that a Muslim is more likely to be a terrorist than not (especially as it pertains acting contrary to the interests of the United States).
This brings me to the frightening part. As it turns out, it is not just that I am racist, but it would appear that I am a die-hard racist. Why? Because I have no intentions whatsoever of rejecting the view that (when it comes to acting against the interests of the United States) a terrorist is much more likely to be a Muslim than not.
Lest, there be any misunderstanding, let me reiterate that it would be foolish to suspect only Muslims. We must be vigilante; and that means we have to be mindful of the fact that anyone can be a terrorist. But there is no way around the probabilities here. Certainly no rational way. But perhaps this is my racism surfacing and masquerading as rational thought. I understand that racists are prone to that sort of behavior. So the proof of my racism might lie in the very manifestations that come forth from my very own gray matter.
I have written this blog-entry without mentioning the words: racial profiling. I have always supposed that there can be malicious racial profiling and virtuous racial profiling. We have the former when, for example, officials suspect that murder was committed by a person of kind K, when there is not a shred of evidence that points to that. We have virtuous profiling when there is an abundance of evidence that suggests that the murder was committed by a person of kind K and so that is the kind of person whom the officials seek to find (without supposing that all persons of kind K are murderers or evil or some such silly thing).
And now to make it personal, which is what racists always do: Surely no one has any reason think that I might be a terrorist. And the reason for this is not just that I am not Muslim, but because if anyone followed my behavior either in Syracuse or in Paris, it is rather straight-up both where I go and what the people with whom I have ties are like in terms of their moral character.
I am making a point about profile. And if it makes me racist, then so be it. Anyone can do anything morally obnoxious. But with some profiles, some morally obnoxious behaviors are less likely than others. There is a fit, albeit not an absolutely iron-clad fit, between a person’s profile and a person’s moral character. This is precisely why middle-aged black man, say, in a suit and tie thinks it absurd that any white woman would suppose that he is out to steal her pocketbook. I do not see how we can have it both ways.
Alas, many Muslims insists that it is racist to assume that (when it comes to acting against the interests of the United States) a terrorist is most likely to be Muslim. Since that is precisely what I think, you now know how and why it is that I came to see myself as a racist.
