Racism and the Race Industry: Why America Should Stay in the Race Business

It is apparent that America misunderstands the nature of racism. First, America regards racism as an evil or ill that deserves its own war. Just like the war against crime, the war on drugs, the war against hunger, the war on poverty, and of course the war on terror. America believes that given enough munitions and time the nation can and will win the war against racism. We should at least admire the audacity of the dream. (Whisper: all the other wars have proven to be never-ending cash holes.)

Secondly, America regards racism as an evil that undermines American principles and values. In fact, racism has actually served America well, in the same way that corpses bless funeral homes and the careers of undertakers, in the same way that sickness and disease benefit hospitals, doctors and nurses. Racism helped build America, including its ships, railroads, farms, roads, bridges, cities, and yes, the White House.

America needs to realize that racism is an industry. What is an industry? Among other meanings, The Free Dictionary defines "industry" as...

• "Commercial production and sale of goods." Race produces much commerce and sales for many Americans, from certain talk show hosts, news organizations, authors, and politicians to skin head organizations, Black Panthers, and the NAACP. Not that all these players are racists, but that's not the only way to earn from this industry; you can gain as much status and income opposing racism as you can cultivating it.
  
  
• "The sector of an economy made up of manufacturing enterprises." Issues of race continue to fuel some of the enterprises listed above. Again entire institutions or organizations or branches within those entities are devoted to fighting or fueling racism. Either way, race is a profitable enterprise. Some politicians would have never sought or won elected office were it not for their anti-racism platform, while others have sought or won high office to keep certain colors in check.
  
  
• "Energetic devotion to a task or an endeavor". Some Americans invest enormous energy into matters relating to race, whether for or against. Race or racism is almost always emotionally charged. Sparks fly when and where race is the subject. Won't wiping out racism from the American landscape make many of our discussions in politics, in schools, or in the news pretty dull and boring? Don't we like or want that high energy level intrinsic to conversations or arguments about race?
  
  

Racism is evil, but it is an industry that generates income for many American institutions (schools), organizations (churches, political parties), and let's not forget, families. And during this Great Recession, is this the time to chop off this vibrant leg of America's economy? The race industry is not that different from the crime industry which includes drug abuse and drug arrests, the criminal justice system, and the prison industry. How many police officers, lawyers, judges, jailers and prison guards in America really want a crime-free country? Talk about losing millions of jobs for American families! Crimes = jobs.

How about the war industry? Do we want an end to all wars too? There go multimillion dollars worth of manufacturing jobs, sales, stocks, military salaries, defense contractors' pay, etc. The war on terror is the latest cash cow of the war industry.

Frankly, I am not so sure America really wants to win the war against racism. In a way, racism has been one of the only ills that has kept America humble and on its toes. Racism is a deserving butt of America … I'm not sure whether that butt is black, brown or white … but every time it is exposed to the public eye, as it recently did in the Shirley Sherrod debacle involving the USDA, the White House and the NAACP, the world sees America's nakedness, what we've been trying so hard to hide.

These race blunders remind America that we are basically like other nations with their own backsides to conceal (tribalism, religious intolerance, casualties of communism, socialism, and the caste system, etc), which they very much want to keep covered over with flashy masquerades that are bound to come unglued at the most embarrassing times. Like America having its first "black president" but yet seeing some of the ugliest and most heated exchanges on racism. That's kinda amusing, isn't it? So much for "post-racial America", notwithstanding the strides America has made in race relations. ~mogama~