Cracking the psychological codes and cues to racism / white supremacy

Pan-African Strategy and Policy Research Group Cracking The Psychological Codes and Cues to Racism/White Supremacy by Asar Imhotep Amen,Ph.D. Racism/White Supremacy is the generalization,institutionalization, and assignment of values to real or imagionary differences between people in order to justify a state of privilege,aggression,and/or violence. Involving more than the cognitive or affective content of prejudice,racism/white supremacy is expressed behaviorally,instit- tionally,and culturally. The ideas or actions of a person,the goals or practices of an institution,and the symbols,myths,or structure of a society are racist if (a) imaginary or real differences of " a are accentuated; (b) these differences are assumed absolute and considered in terms of superior and inferior; and (c) these are used to justify inequity,exclusion,or domination. Key Questions That Must Be Asked: 1) What is racism/white supremacy? 2) Why is there racism/white supremcy? 3) How does racism/white supremacy work? 4) How do we dismantle and neutralize racism/white supremacy? 5) Why is it that most white people have absolutely no capacity to see themselves as others see them? 6) From an historical perspective why are Europeans so predatory, rapacious,and violent? * It should be noted that the Western (code word for white) conception of the world's cultures see the world from a very weird way. Liberation is a Question of Consciousness 2 This is due in part to the tendency of Western conceptualizations to ignore all cultural perspectives but the Eurocentric world-view. Said another way,racism/white supremacy is a world wide system. It 4s also an individual character flaw,a personal moral failing,and in some cases an exxtreme psychological disorder. However ,most of all it is a system (consisting of structures, policies,practices,and norms) that structures opportunities and assigns value based on phenotype,or the way people look. And what: are the impacts of this most abnormal system? It unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities. When we talk about racism/white supremacy at all in this country,it is usually discussed in this context. But at the same time that system is unfairly disadvantaging some individuals and communities,it is also unfairly advantaging other individuals and communities. This issue of white privilege is much less frequently discussed in this country. Yet even more profoundly,the system of racism/white supremacy undermines realization of the full potential of our whole society because of the waste of human resources. Be- cause we do not value the potential contributions of the children living in “our" ghettos,barrios,or reservations,because we feel that we can get along "very well thank you" without them,we do not invest in developing their genius and it is lost. Just imagine where "our" nation would be if we truly valued all of our people as precious resources,and allowed each the opportunity to know and develop to their full potential. So,racism/white supremacy is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on phenotype ("race"), that 1) unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities; (2) unfairly advantages other individuals and communities; (3) undermines realization of the full potential of the whole society through the waste of human resources. I firmly believe that the emphasis on racism/white supremacy as the only "operational and primary racism" is a most critical com- ponent to my theory and is a prerequisite to comprehending the deep psychological dynamics of racism/white supremacy ; (1) white supremacy is the only operating and primary racism; (2) all First World people (people of color) are victims of it and (3) there are social theories and systems that support and maintain the perpetuation of white supremacy in all areas of life. In other words,my analysis of white supremacy incorporates individual,cultural and institutional defini- tions of racism/white supremacy into a comprehensive whole. I also believe in the importance of power in the implementation and elimina- tion of racism/white supremacy. In addition,I firmly believe that people who have the ability and the means (power) to eradicate racism do not have any intention/will (desire) to end it and the people who have the need/want (desire) to end racism/white supremacy ,do not have the ability (power). It is here that my theory deviates from traditional approaches to understanding racism/white supremacy. Traditional approaches view the prejudices associated with individual and cultural racism as universal traits that can be manifested in any group,at any time and in any given social situation. However, when I state that white supremacy is the only operational and primary racism and that all people of color are the victims of.it, 1 am arguing that white people in power have control over the institutions that impact the lives of the world's majority (Black,Red,Brown and Yellow people) and fully put into practice a system of domination 3 based on the blatant absurdity of so-called "racial superiority". I (we) clearly recognize the reciprocal relationship between white’ supremacy and so-called "Black inferiority". Whiteness exist as superior only because the status of inferiority is imposed on people of color. For me,without the faulty assumption of inferiority being projected on people of color and imposed through actual systems of white supremacy in all major areas of life,whiteness would cease to exist. I seek to locate the root ,form and function of Black people's oppression by focusing on the deep-seated racial pathology of whites.” The author is fully aware of the danger in exposing the human per0 sonality to threatening emotional stimuli which endangers its existence. However, there comes a time when the risk of exposure is insignificant when compared to the alternative. All of the worlds people of color must dissect and deeply analyze these dynamics to the core. We are quite cognizant of the fact that such an inquiry will expose an unthinkable depth of psychopathology. Notes on Critical Studies of Whiteness Critical white studies is an intellectual space that has,with few exceptions;been populated by white scholars. This theoretical and conceptual domination of an intellectual project that seeks to study. whiteness has extreme limitations. At a fundamental level,the white domination of the world makes logical sense. It provides a space for white people to critically observe themselves relative to the concept of whiteness that whites created and examine the institutions that were constructed to maintain and support white supremacy. On the other hand,it also has the tendency to marginalize and silence the voices of people who have direct contact with the overt and covert mani- festations of white supremacy. Conspicuously absent from many of the conversations are Black people,who through their history of direct contact with and thus intimate knowledge of whiteness and its impact on their lived experiences,arein a unique position to know white people better than white people know themselves. In other words, white people should never assume they know everythingwe know about them. It should be carefully noted that white people can choose to maintain and perpetuate white supremacy or they can attempt to become active in dismantling and deconstructing systems of white supremacy. In addition,white people can make a conscious decision to reject and not accept whiteness and the social,political,economic and psychological privileges that accompany it. However,whites that do engage in attempting to address these issues are called "race traitors"(and once upon a time were also called "nigger lovers") in that they are traitors to the belief held by most white people that there is something inherently good about whiteness,and that based solely on perceiving themselves as white, are entitled to rights and privileges denied to other cultural groups. Thus, they seek to abolish rather than reconstruct whiteness since the concept of whiteness cannot be separated from white supremacy thought and behavior. Personally, I think this act of "race treason" should be considered an anomaly 4 since white people have so much invested in the psychological wages of whiteness. Yet I think it is important to note that I came to this understanding prior to the current use in popular culture of the buzz-word "white privilege" and the vernacular associated with "identifying" as a member of a particular group. For example the late Dr.Frances Cress-Welsing's roadmap, she consistently and purposely utilized the phrasing "people who classify themselves as white". While not explicit,implicit in this phrasing is the idea that people who classify themselves as white choose to identify and align themselves with and continue to accept the guidelines and standards defined and established by white supremacy. Again, the reciprocal relationship between white supremacy and Black inferiority is put forth to cover up a deep sense of white inferiority. Whiteness exists as superior only because the status of inferiority is imposed on people of color. For me,without the faulty assumption of inferiority being projected on people of color and imposed through actual systems of white supremacy in all major areas of life,whiteness would cease to exist. As Africentric scholars we must change the shape of scholarly discourse by making white supremacy the primary subject of discussion and intense research. In other words, we must demonstrate how to transition from victimization studies (or "Black Pathology Careerism") and/or the dehumanizing impact of racism/white supremacy on oppressed Black people, to the study of the psyche of white people who are doing the oppressing throughout the world and throughout time and history as any world history textbook.will attest to. By placing whiteness under the microscope to be critically interrogated as the subject by Africentrically located scholars (or scholars of color in general throughout the world). We must reverse the one dimensional flow and direction of scholarly inquiry where white academics are considered experts onthemselves as well as everybody else on the planet. Indeed, racism/white supremacy is the witchcraft of the 21st Century. Feedback Most Welcome Troy T. Thomas,[ID number] (aka Asar Imhotep Amen, Ph.D.) [address]