as a black man i find kemetian's observations interesting and most certainly validated by my own experience. does she kick some generalizations? yep. but does that invalidates the points she makes? no.

the thing is, where's the line of separation between ordinary, human fears, and those that are a peculiar cultural trait shared by americans?

is it rational to anyone to fear someone walking behind them on a dark street late at night? yes. is it rational for a white woman to damn near have a panic attack when a well-dressed black man (like myself) enters the elevator with them, carrying a f*cking laptop computer? hell naw. clutching their purses and shit. i don't want your damn purse or anything you got.

was it rational for the cops who bucked diallo to mistake a wallet for a gun? overreaction to the perceived threat of black people is a persistent and pervasive problem, one that flies in the face of the fact that is statistically much more likely that a black kid will be killed by a white cop than vice versa. we, on the other hand, have a very logical reason to fear police.

isn't all this just a bunch of individuals acting out their individual fears? the point kemetian is making is that to a large degree, it isn't. white americans most certainly have a group conception of those who they perceive to be 'different' and frequently act (in fear) based upon those group perceptions or misconceptions. the root of it? on the one hand, there's an assumption on their part that they have something of value that's wanted by everyone else, a side effect of relative privilege. sometimes though, that 'something' is merely whiteness, which explains how this rationale can be maintained even when traditional class roles are reversed, like w/ the white ladies on the elevator, or the minimum wage store clerk who's too good to put the freaking change in my hand like he just did for the white customer, and drops my money on the counter (presumably in fear that my blackness can be spread by skin contact).

the other source of the fear is an implied acknowledgement of the treatment of other groups by white people. that's why black folk take on this almost superhuman quality in white fear, to the extent that some of those officers beating rodney kings dumb ass really thought that he could overpower a dozen cops with guns if they didn't actively beat him down. they know the treatment we've been subjected to and what they'd be thinking of doing if the tables were turned.

the instilling of fear among populations has long been a tactic of governments and nations to ease conquest and aid in controlling people. its a valuable means of obtaining/forcing the consent of the governed, and is particularly useful in colonial and other subjugative situations (slavery, etc.). that's all terrorism is, giving a particular act more symbolism and power than it ordinarily would. so when we bombed iraq, we were really saying to all the other nations in that region, don't eff with us or we'll send you back to the stone age and there won't be a damn thing you can do about it.

but what effect do those types of messages and symbolism have on "terrorists"? it makes them feel more justified, more fatalistic, more resolute, and more inclined to resort to drastic measures. the fact that they brought those type of tactics to american soil, and challenged this nation in an unprecedented fashion, signals a fundamental change. evil as it was, the events of 9/11 have succeded in bringing america out of its comfort zone. we are now subject to all the atrocities which happen daily around the world, the same tragedies we used to view with dispassionate detachment now have a new immediacy.

america is lashing out in a way that clearly is influenced by the 'otherness' of the suspects, and our fears of said others. this is why nobody was talking about profiling rednecks and militia nuts following oklahoma, or burning out businesses of white supremacists and beating down nazis. which is precisely why i don't take this current war on terrorism seriously.


for the record, yes, i'm scared of earth quakes. (but not as much as i am of policeman).

peace & blessings,

x.