Bandy Lee: "Racism" is not the primary problem

[Saoirse9]

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“Racism” is not the primary problem, since there are no races but the human race. It is what we associate with “race”, and this is a problem of psychology.

More precisely, it is a narcissistic pathology of the dominant class, of anxieties and insecurities that naturally arise from ill-gotten privilege.

An “invasion of rapists and terrorists,” as you can see, is the projection of a deep-seated consciousness of history. The solution to this is not denial, or to repeat the same aggressions abroad (also a form of denial), but to face and solve the inner problem.

[H2O Man]

1. Recommended.

Thank you for this. Dr. Lee's message here reminds me of what my late friend, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, would tell audiences about "race" when he spoke in public. He believed that the United States, beyond its flaws (historic and current), had the ability to move beyond these fears.

[Biophilic]

2. Exactly and that's what we as a nation need to do; face this problem head on.

Until the former guy came alone we were doing a pretty good job of heading our heads in the sand. Too many people were saying that there was no race problem in this country ie the Chief Justice of the United States and a lot others. I remember having arguments with friends who said they weren't racist and that racism was no longer a problem. I knew better just taking myself for an example. Too many times have I noticed a racist thought speed across my brain or intrude to direct my actions. I, unfortunately, will undoubtable die
with some of those still running around my head. I've learned to hear them instead of following them blindly. Not easy as they are insidious and buried deeply. My job as an individual is to hear them and disempower them. If I don't hear them I can't fight against them. By the way, I was raised in a very liberal, northern city which had very specific and in some cases legally segregated neighborhoods.

[abqtommy]

3. I agree. I avoid using the word "racism" to describe ethnic bigotry. If we can change the

language we might change a few more minds.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. ❤ nt

[erronis]

7. ditto to LMSP. This is the correct way to view the problem. Big problem.

[Saoirse9]

10. Well said

Thank you.

[FakeNoose]

21. Ethnic bigotry is a great term, and so appropriate

Thanks!

[littlemissmartypants]

4. ❤ Kick. nt

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. Racism is actually a problem. Just because something doesn't exist biologically doesn't mean

people can't use it to build systems of oppression.

[Saoirse9]

11. She's not saying racism does not exist as a problem

She is calling it a psychological rather than a physical problem. Racists assume many will agree with them when they say black and brown people are scary because of the color of their skin or where they were born.

My interpretation of what Bandy says is that racism exists within the racist's mind and not within anyone's physical attributes such as skin color. Because every single one of us is part of the human race.

What do you think?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

26. I think it's a shit move to brand racism as a psychological disease.

[Saoirse9]

28. Well she is a forensic psychiatrist

Here's her bio from Amazon:

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., is a faculty member in the Law and Psychiatry Division of Yale School of Medicine. She earned her degrees at Yale, interned at Bellevue, was Chief Resident at Mass. General, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. She was also a Fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health. She worked in several maximum-security prisons, played a key role in Rikers Island reforms, co-founded Yale's Violence and Health Study Group, and leads a violence prevention collaborators group for the World Health Organization. She co-teaches criminal justice clinic and immigration legal services at Yale Law School, and teaches a university-wide course on violence prevention for Yale's Global Health Studies Program. She's written more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, edited eleven academic books, and is author of the textbook, Violence.

[link:https://www.amazon.com/Bandy-X.-Lee/e/B072YQ8TYZ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share|

I like her take on things. While not excusing racism, she specializes in prevention of violence.

I suppose I like to think that there is a treatable disease that causes racism. Otherwise I have to believe that my sister, for example, is just fucking evil.

[Snackshack]

8. She is right of course.

But that realization comes from a desire on her part to have an informed understanding of the species beyond what is seen just on the surface. Racist rarely concern themselves with a deeper understanding.

All Dogs are not Poodles but all Poodles are dogs or as she points out. All Humans are not Asian but all Asians are Humans.

[Saoirse9]

12. Yes very true, and a nice analogy n/t

[qazplm135]

9. racism is a description of a mindset

and it's an accurate one because whomever it applies to DOES think that race is a thing.

[Saoirse9]

14. I agree with you but rather than calling it a mindset

she is labeling it as a psychological disease.

A mindset might suggest it has a basis in rational thought.

A psychological problem is often irrational, if not always irrational.

[qazplm135]

15. racism isn't irrational

it's evil, but it isn't irrational.

[Saoirse9]

16. I'm going to respectfully disagree with you

I can find nothing rational in the mind of a racist. It's fear mixed with hate mixed with misplaced superiority.

[qazplm135]

17. being wrong doesn't make it irrational

thinking the Earth revolved around the sun in the middle ages was wrong...it wasn't irrational.

[Saoirse9]

18. I feel this is quite a bit different than mistaken belief

But I can see your point.

[qazplm135]

19. sure, you add in evil

or selfish.

[malaise]

13. K & R

Hate is taught

[spanone]

20. K&R...

[TreasonousBastard]

22. I have long believed that "racism" has as its root fear of "the other." This is primordial and...

goes back to the fear that the denizens of Cave #3 over that hill are going to invade us and take our food, women, children and enslave or kill us.

Throughout history, pacific societies have been regularly overtaken by aggressive empires. We celebrate, or at least admire, Persians, Romans, Mongols and other empire builders. In the New World, Aztecs, Comanches, and others were known for their warfare and raiding. Africa the same. Tribalism and warfare are as old as history, and make up much of history.

So, what we call "racism" is a fundamental condition of humanity, or perhaps of life itself. If a strange chimpanzee shows up at a troop, not a chance they will welcome and feed it. They will at the least chase it off, and may just as well kill and eat it. A male lion shows up at an established pride-- often he will fight the current male and if he wins, will kill any cubs to mate with the female. Feral cats will do this, too!

So, it's not simply yelling at those nasty racists-- it's how do we evolve ourselves, and society, into accepting those who differ from us.

We are so close to great civilizations, and yet so far.

[Saoirse9]

23. Throughout history there has been racism

I'm of Irish descent, and when the Irish first came to this country there were signs up saying "Irish need not apply" same as there were for blacks in the fifties. Eventually they became cops and politicians and were accepted.

The Italians were called wops and the same thing happened to them in turn.

Every "new" and strange group of immigrants goes through the same thing.

But blacks have been here in this country since when? The 1700s?

So IMO the same does not apply to them in quite the same way. No for them there is this ridiculous irrational fear and hatred that doesn't go away. Before 45 became president I thought it was somewhat under control, at least as far as the law is concerned. It isn't. It was just hidden. I fucking hate it.

And I think people who indulge in it are their own special kind of crazy.

But I do NOT believe as you do that it is primordial, although there is certainly an element of that. I agree 100% that we need to evolve as a country. I used to think we were well on our path of evolution. Many of us are. But we're so much further than we were 5 years ago. We were on the brink of becoming a Nazi Germany until 45 was forced out of office. I don't despair but I am incredibly frustrated that it isn't happening fast enough.

[TreasonousBastard]

24. Certainly there are crucial differences between black bigotry and bigotry overall...

and a lot of it has to do with 300-400 years of indoctrination about inferiority. But, a lot of it has to do simply with appearance. And this goes right to Asian bigotry, too-- that's two sets of humans who are visually immediately identifiable as "different."

We still have a lot of buried instincts that we either do no fully understand, or prefer not to understand. The effects of them can cause trouble until we do, and do something about them.

[Saoirse9]

25. Okay. Where do we start?

Not being facetious. I'm very interested in your answer.

[TreasonousBastard]

27. I don't know. Really. One more problem I can identify, but not solve.

[Saoirse9]

29. Well its worth considering

In my own family I've considered an intervention. But half of them are fucking racist so . . . it would be half of us against the other half.

[andym]

30. There was at one time this controversial song that is relevant

which bears on the acquired psychological basis of racism and ethnic bigotry.
"You've got to be taught" was offensive to some at the time of its introduction and they tried to have it removed from South Pacific. It was later used in public service announcements on television.

Presumably, any "perspective" that is acquired can be unacquired, BUT the early timing of the acquisition, typically during childhood, makes overcoming racism and ethnic bigotry more difficult, but still possible.