Neo-Racism

One of the "constants" of growing up in America is exposure to racism, in one or more of its many forms. No matter what decade one was born in -- from the 1930's through the 2000's, no matter the gender of the person, his class or her race -- racism is an inevitable part of social life, like fast food, movies and the highschool prom. Racism doesn't go away, even though the specific issues change -- voting rights, access to public facilities, school admission policies, hiring practices, police vs the black community. America never seems to make progress on this issue: the rhetoric and riots remain, as does front-page coverage of the latest racial issues:  we are forever in a time of crisis.

As a benefit to long-suffering ordinary citizens who may have become weary of the 100 Year Wars of Social Justice, and confused by the rise of new generations of antagonists, we hereby offer a handy-dandy fieldguide whereby one can discriminate (excuse the poor choice of words) between Classical Racism and new-fangled Neo-Racism.  By comparing the attributes of the old time racists with those of the new crop, you will be able to swiftly and accurately determine which strain of racists is protesting on your main street or on your favorite evening news program.

Classical Racists:

--  believe there is something intrinsically unique and valuable about their gene pool --  and by extension, believe every other gene pool is flawed or common --  believe that history is on the side of "my people".  Also, so is religion, the future, sanity, etc. --  claim to be acting in accord with morality and justice --  blame all personal and homegroup failures and shortcomings on outsiders --  demand preferential treatment before the law, or cite their own gene pool as a mitigating factor in malfeasance --  demand preferential hiring, school admissions, public benefits --  actively recruit judges, legislators, university admins and corporate honchos to their cause --  parade prominent clergy as spokespersons for the movement --  have unique symbols, slogans, flags or tattoos to identify themselves --  hold mass meetings and marches --  insist on their right to be heard whenever and however they choose --  insist that no other opinion has any right to be expressed --  categorize all opponents and neutral parties as racists --  use extreme rhetoric, namecalling and insults --  add tactics of oppression, intimidation and violence --  demand opponents be fired, imprisoned, deported, or killed --  wear ill-fitting white sheets as robes and pillowcases as hoods

Neo-Racists --  believe there is something intrinsically unique and valuable about their gene pool --  and by extension, believe every other gene pool is flawed or common --  believe that history is on the side of "my people".  Also, so is religion, the future, sanity, etc. --  claim to be acting in accord with morality and justice --  blame all personal and homegroup failures and shortcomings on outsiders --  demand preferential treatment before the law, or cite their own gene pool as a mitigating factor in malfeasance --  demand preferential hiring, school admissions, public benefits --  actively recruit judges, legislators, university admins and corporate honchos to their cause --  parade prominent clergy as spokespersons for the movement --  have unique symbols, slogans, flags or tattoos to identify themselves --  hold mass meetings and marches --  insist on their right to be heard whenever and however they choose --  insist that no other opinion has any right to be expressed --  categorize all opponents and neutral parties as racists --  use extreme rhetoric, namecalling and insults --  add tactics of oppression, intimidation and violence --  demand opponents be fired, imprisoned, deported, or killed

These two lists are pretty similar.  This is why it often takes a trained social pathologist to diagnose a given strain of racism.  But wait! the last item on the classical list is missing from the Neo list.  That makes it possible for even an amateur to tell who it was who threw that brick:  look for those white robes and pillowcases.