Systemic racism has grown in popularity as a pet cause on the hard left. Among progressives, it has been a favorite issue to exploit in the cause of furthering their political agenda. This reality became even more apparent in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, which resulted in yet another conversation on racial bigotry in policing and other areas of government.
In their quest to make it appear as if they value the concerns of black and brown Americans, progressives in government and the activist media have used the issue of systemic racism to not only score cheap political points against their opposition, but to appeal to those who believe it is time for the nation to rectify the wrongs it has done to racial minorities. However, while positioning themselves as champions of equality, progressives have unwittingly placed themselves in a bit of a rhetorical contradiction.
The far left routinely decries the bigotry inherent in America’s supposedly white supremacist system of government. Yet, nearly all of the solutions they present to rectify the issue involves granting more power to a state they claim is systemically racist, which indicates they may not be as gung-ho about addressing the problem as they would have us believe.
American Attitudes on Systemic Racism
Americans have a variety of different opinions on race relations in the US. Those perspectives run the gamut from buying into the progressive narrative, which tends to hyper-exaggerate the impact of racial bigotry to adopting the approach of those conservatives who contend that racism has almost no impact, existing only in groups like the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. Most Americans appear to fall somewhere between these two extremes.
The findings of a Pew Research poll released in November 2022 revealed:
“Overall, about two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say that, when it comes to racism against Black people in our country today, racism by individual people is a bigger problem than racism in our laws. Around a quarter (23%) say that racism in our laws is the bigger problem, while another 10% say that there is no discrimination against Black people in the country today.”
When it comes to the views of black Americans, specifically, the results are quite different, with most believing racial prejudice in the government is a more pressing issue than individual bigotry:
“Among Black Americans, views on this question are very different. About half of Black adults (52%) say that racism in U.S. laws is the bigger problem for Black people in the country, while 43% say the greater issue is racism by individuals. And just 3% of Black adults say that there is no discrimination against Black people in the U.S. today.”
How Is More Government the Solution?
The issues that black voters prioritize the most are the economy, healthcare, education, and crime. With the possible exception of crime, these are all areas in which progressives push for greater government involvement in solving the problem.
Democrats used the inflation issue to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which has little to do with decreasing climbing grocery and gas prices, but everything to do with giving the government an opportunity to meddle in the energy industry. They prefer state control over healthcare, deciding when, how, and where people can open medical facilities and ensuring that only a handful of insurance companies dominate the market. Far-leftists are opposing school choice initiatives tooth and nail to prevent parents from having the right to determine where and how their children are educated.
(Photo by: Joan Slatkin/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Each of these issues has a disproportionately deleterious impact on the black community. Leftist policies have failed to address these concerns in a way that has improved life for African Americans. Indeed, they have only made things worse.
So if America has a white supremacist government intent on oppressing black people, as progressives claim, why would they only want to strengthen such an entity? What is the reason for wanting to supply the racist state with more taxpayer funding and pass laws allowing it to become even more intrusive? Is this not akin to trying to win a war by providing your enemy with more tanks, guns, and ammunition?
It seems there are only two possibilities when one draws this out to its logical conclusion. Either progressives don’t actually believe the government is racist, or they are just fine with the state abusing black Americans. Even if these individuals believed they could somehow make the governing authorities less racist, would it not make sense to minimize the level of damage they could do with their bigotry in the meantime?
Regardless of what one believes about the amount of systemic racism inherent in America’s governing system, it makes little sense to advocate for measures that would only give it more power to commit injustices against any Americans. No one, regardless of skin color, benefits from the irrational notion that more government is the solution to the problems caused by government. Nevertheless, the left continues to push this line of propaganda. After all, why should they stop when this particular con has worked so well?
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