Intersection of Racism and Politics

Newt Gingrich is in Poland filming "9 Days that Changed the World" about Pope John Paul II's trip to Poland in 1979. I refuse to go into any more detail or discussion about anything Newt is promoting or to appear as if I am promoting him. If interested, Google him. What I find exceptionally disturbing is that Newt is in Poland to do a documentary about one of the leading religious figures of the 20th century. He is touring Auschwitz today (perhaps as he discusses the Pope's boyhood in Nazi Poland, he should include a chapter on the Catholic Church's complicity in the rise of the Nazi Party? just sayin).

Anyway. At Auschwitz, the ultimate expression of racism, Newt is twittering away and sends out this tweet:

"We just went through a gas chamber & crematorium at auschwitz. Everyone should see it and think of the evil which stalks the world today ..."

and a bit later:

"Imagine a judicial nominee said "my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman" new racism is no better than old racism..."

and then:

"White man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw..."

This man calls himself an educator. He writes books. He needs to educate himself about racism, although, I think it's not a matter of education, I think it's a matter of politics. Discrimination is when one group oppresses another group because they can, and they can because of their position of power. Systemic, institutionalized racism occurs when the group in power oppresses and marginalizes those without power. Although there may be minor shifts in power over time, the overarching power is held by the dominant group - in this case, white men. Therefore, accusations of racism and/or discrimination by white men towards those who are historically oppressed, i.e., African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, women, etc., are disingenuous.

Certainly African-Americans or Hispanics may say they don't like whites, but rather than being a form of racism, it is instead, a response to hundreds of years of systemic oppression and is not because of race per se, but because of the oppression and treatment received because of the oppressed individuals' membership in the oppressed group. See the distinction? There is one.

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k