The Root of the Problem
There's one thing the original Star Trek did better than any of its successors. It reflected and commented on the times in which it was made. That's not to say the other Treks never did social commentary - certainly they did. But it was more generic commentary about less time-specific issues. You watch the original series, and there can be no doubt that it came from the sixties. I don't think any of the more recent shows were that clearly a product of their times until the post-911 Xindi storyline on Enterprise.
I mean really, when else would a scene like this one have been made?
I remember the sixties. I remember when everyone talked about peace and love and brotherhood. What the heck happened? If you could go back in time and tell the young people of the sixties what kind of a country they'd be living in - what kind of a country they'd create... Well, they'd think either you'd been doing too many drugs or maybe not enough.
Surveys and studies of the presidential election show that racial anxiety influenced the people who voted Republican more than any other factor that was considered. More than economic status, more than receptiveness to authoritarianism, more than anything. Note that the studies do NOT say, "All Republicans are racist." I'm well-versed in statistics myself, and I know the importance of precise language when stating a conclusion. Of course not all Republicans are racist, but race played a bigger role than anything else. By a lot.
How did that happen? This from the country with the black-and-white Star Trek aliens fifty years ago? Did everyone forget the last fifty years? Did everyone decide they want to take all that back?
Okay, not "everyone" (there's that statistical insistence on precise language again), but closer to "everyone" than we should be.
White supremacy is America's Original Sin, That's a hard concept to talk about - "sin." The word has been weaponized over the centuries, used by the self-righteous or the just plain manipulative to persecute others or set themselves up as superior. "Original Sin" is a statement of fact, not of condemnation. We are all human, which means we all mess up. Some of us choose to be more deliberately willful or hateful or selfish, but we're all capable of it. Saying so doesn't require sackcloth and ashes and wallowing in guilt. Admitting our faults clears the way for us to do better.
As for America's Original Sin, there are indeed plenty of people who embrace white supremacy and practice it willfully - but even us white folks who strive for equality still benefit from a system that has always been rigged in our favor. Even us white folks who strive for equality have been taught certain attitudes and carefully trained to respond to the racial dog whistles politicians use. Saying so doesn't require histrionics and a torrent of "white guilt." Admitting the problem clears the way for us to do better.
If only it was that easy. Admitting a problem can be hard and scary. When you've seen the idea of "sin" lobbed back and forth as an instrument of blaming and shaming all your life, it's hard to open yourself up and make yourself vulnerable. "I can't be one of those people! How dare you think that about me?" And off we go, running to the nearest strongman promising to make us all Great Again.
But if there's to be any hope for us, that's what we have to do. We have to admit our faults and our problems, not so we can go on a big, useless guilt trip but so we can start to do better. Some people won't admit to it. Others won't think the system we have is even a problem. But most of us must take that step - before we all go over the edge.
I mean really, when else would a scene like this one have been made?
I remember the sixties. I remember when everyone talked about peace and love and brotherhood. What the heck happened? If you could go back in time and tell the young people of the sixties what kind of a country they'd be living in - what kind of a country they'd create... Well, they'd think either you'd been doing too many drugs or maybe not enough.
Surveys and studies of the presidential election show that racial anxiety influenced the people who voted Republican more than any other factor that was considered. More than economic status, more than receptiveness to authoritarianism, more than anything. Note that the studies do NOT say, "All Republicans are racist." I'm well-versed in statistics myself, and I know the importance of precise language when stating a conclusion. Of course not all Republicans are racist, but race played a bigger role than anything else. By a lot.
How did that happen? This from the country with the black-and-white Star Trek aliens fifty years ago? Did everyone forget the last fifty years? Did everyone decide they want to take all that back?
Okay, not "everyone" (there's that statistical insistence on precise language again), but closer to "everyone" than we should be.
White supremacy is America's Original Sin, That's a hard concept to talk about - "sin." The word has been weaponized over the centuries, used by the self-righteous or the just plain manipulative to persecute others or set themselves up as superior. "Original Sin" is a statement of fact, not of condemnation. We are all human, which means we all mess up. Some of us choose to be more deliberately willful or hateful or selfish, but we're all capable of it. Saying so doesn't require sackcloth and ashes and wallowing in guilt. Admitting our faults clears the way for us to do better.
As for America's Original Sin, there are indeed plenty of people who embrace white supremacy and practice it willfully - but even us white folks who strive for equality still benefit from a system that has always been rigged in our favor. Even us white folks who strive for equality have been taught certain attitudes and carefully trained to respond to the racial dog whistles politicians use. Saying so doesn't require histrionics and a torrent of "white guilt." Admitting the problem clears the way for us to do better.
If only it was that easy. Admitting a problem can be hard and scary. When you've seen the idea of "sin" lobbed back and forth as an instrument of blaming and shaming all your life, it's hard to open yourself up and make yourself vulnerable. "I can't be one of those people! How dare you think that about me?" And off we go, running to the nearest strongman promising to make us all Great Again.
But if there's to be any hope for us, that's what we have to do. We have to admit our faults and our problems, not so we can go on a big, useless guilt trip but so we can start to do better. Some people won't admit to it. Others won't think the system we have is even a problem. But most of us must take that step - before we all go over the edge.
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