Wording – Systemic Racism

Tweeted this, to remind myself:

I have to write an exploratory about the phrase “systemic racism,” you know, my way, about how using the term works for THEM more than for us. Not sure it’s true, gotta work through it.

OK. I tried, on Twitter yesterday, started with “well, the system isn’t racist, racists infiltrate and corrupt and . . . ” and it didn’t work, because I realized that there is no political party that pledges to destroy the system that people can infiltrate and disrupt, so, I give up, that’s systemic alright. Bothers me, and I guess what bugs me is it’s another one of those two step sorts of bullshit.

In theory, a non-racist faction could take over, the system could spend time without racism, and simply process law (or pick on someone else, for some other prejudice) and so it’s not always a “racist system,” but the problem is it is always an “authoritarian system.” Race being only one vector, only one excuse to persecute, perhaps we cover it all by fighting the systemic authoritarianism. Authority has this awful trait of obliterating the lines between business and personal, between home and work, and the judge who rules the courtroom for legal matters is somehow madly gifted with the power to give false, illicit orders, like silencing a legit defense and allowing a deeply flawed prosecution, clearly going beyond the guidelines of a ‘rational’ legal system.

I mean, when a boss abuses his power to coerce sexual favours, that isn’t necessarily systemic racism, that’s “systemic sexism,” but again, I guess “systemic” means by a person with authority? With, I daresay, more authority than is necessary for their jobs – that, I am feeling right now, is the crux of the matter, that authority in human affairs is an absolute, a binary matter, and it’s “systemic,” because there’s no bloody way out of it.

I mean . . . I mean, we build these things, institutions, businesses and they all have clear, ostensible plans and goals, I find authority to be unnecessary and harmful, mostly because it’s irrelevant, the product is not usually unfocussed submission but some real product or service that can be accomplished without a push. I mean, that’s what your salary is for, to get you to do the job, and it usually works. Again, the way I see everything – for the rational business, authority is an unnecessary evil, rationality would run these businesses and institutions just fine (I mean, ‘rational businesses’ might mean paying living wages and such).

So then the point of the authority is a social, meaning unconscious, goal, the abuse at work isn’t to get the work done, it’s to affect you, for ‘social’ reasons, and that means group conflict reasons. I mean, this is dismally clear, if you see the date, and the racist trials happening in America as I write these complaints.

Does “systemic” simply mean authoritarian?

As always, I’m useless, I have no solutions, for me, every problem is all problems, and you can’t just change one cog in a clock, you have to start all over. Are we planning to petition the authoritarians not to be racist? They are to be above everyone, but “equal” about it?

Useless. I’m sorry.

Jeff

Nov. 20th., 2021

5 thoughts on “Wording – Systemic Racism

  1. SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ November 20, 2021 / 8:51 pm

    Dear Jeff,

    I have perused your post entitled “Wording – Systemic Racism” and wanted to comment on your post. Here I am to communicate with you as follows.

    How compelling and thoughtful an essay you have composed here! I commend you for your effort in highlighting the various outstanding issues and ramifications surrounding systemic racism, or rather, systemic inequality, systemic discrimination and systemic corruption.

    It is going to be a very tall order for the Biden presidency (or any presidency for that matter) to turn things around.

    The best and most dedicated amongst the likes of us are also inveterate teachers of everlasting, transcendental wisdom to save humans from themselves, their self-interests and their destructive ways. I often even have to coin new words to do so. The latest examples are my three neologisms “Misquotation Pandemic“, “Disinformation Polemic” and “Viral Falsity“, as discussed in my extensive and analytical post entitled “💬 Misquotation Pandemic and Disinformation Polemic: 🧠 Mind Pollution by Viral Falsity 🦠“.

    I have attempted to sum up and reflect deeply the state of affairs in the said post, particularly in the last section named “Denouement: Democracy, Education, Legislation & Sustainability“.

    The age of Anthropocene could indeed be a very short one, as humanity seems to be plunging headlong into creating and facing a ghastly future, as explicated in my said post, which you can easily locate at the Home page of my website, which is best viewed on a desktop or laptop computer with a large screen.

    The various issues that you have highlighted aside, there is a great deal that can be said regarding the vulnerability and fragility of democracy. The final section of this extensive and analytical post, named “Denouement: Democracy, Education, Legislation & Sustainability“, specifically discusses this vulnerability and fragility.

    I look forward to your much esteemed input.

    Wishing you a productive weekend doing or enjoying whatever that satisfies you the most!

    Yours sincerely,
    SoundEagle

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jeff/neighsayer November 20, 2021 / 8:59 pm

      SE, thank you, I found the Follow button on your page this time. I have to warn you, I’m at a weird point where writing is easier than reading, it may take me some time to get through those, but I’ll certainly have a look soon. You like coining terms, please spread mine, I know you’ve been following me long enough to have heard it a few times. Cheers.

      Liked by 1 person

      • SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ November 20, 2021 / 9:06 pm

        Dear Jeff,

        You are very welcome. This post of mine has twelve major sections (plus a detailed annotated gallery) instantly accessible from a navigational menu. Therefore, using the menu, you can freely pace yourself and jump to where you were on your preceding perusal.

        Overall, there has been worsening inequality, rendered all the more acute and dire by the rich and powerful via various overt and covert impositions. Social and economic polarizations can further exacerbate the issues of education and wealth, and such polarizations are increasing for the following reason: The USA is very much plagued in varying degrees by misinformation, disinformation, post-truth politics, demagoguery, plutocracy, oligarchy, ochlocracy, kleptocracy, kakistocracy, narcissistic leadership, neoliberalism and globalization, as discussed and analyzed in great detail in my said post.

        I look forward to your visiting the post and reading your thoughts and feedback on the various issues broached there. By the way, whenever you visit my blog, I would like to recommend using a desktop or laptop computer with a large screen to view the rich multimedia contents available for heightening your multisensory enjoyment at my blog, which could be too powerful and feature-rich for iPad, iPhone, tablet or other portable devices to handle properly or adequately.

        Furthermore, since my intricate blog contains advanced styling and multimedia components plus animations, it is advisable to avoid viewing the contents of my blog using the WordPress Reader, which cannot show many of the advanced features in my posts and pages. It is advisable to read the posts and pages directly in my blog so that you will be able to savour and relish all of the refined and glorious details.

        In any case, it is going to be an arduous task to solve these outstanding issues, because saving and rehabilitating the USA aside, we also need the political economy of saving the planet. Yet the entrenched and insidious issues of systemic inequality, systemic discrimination and systemic corruption as well as plutocracy have loomed even larger, thus continuing to thwart many efforts mounted to save the nation and the planet.

        Thank you again for composing such a timely post. Let’s hope that reason and compassion can and will prevail.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

        • Jeff/neighsayer November 20, 2021 / 9:17 pm

          yeah, I got a desktop still – and even so, wow, that is colourful, for sure. I keep vaguely thinking about trying to organize my blogs into a sort of map or tree, and maybe this current series will turn into that. Thank you too.

          Liked by 1 person

          • SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ November 20, 2021 / 9:31 pm

            Dear Jeff,

            It is surprising or even disconcerting that many folks try to do everything or most things on their small portable devices such as smart phones. Sometimes I feel that the smart phones are somewhat overrated, considering that portable computer devices are especially plagued with unresolved limitation in functionality, rapid obsolescence and problems of disposal, resulting in billions of these portable devices going to landfills and poisoning the environment every year, plus a whole host of other issues, including labour exploitation and workplace health and safety.

            If you like, for your orientation to becoming more familiar with my blog, I highly recommend reading the User Guide at

            https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/about/user-guide/

            I look forward to seeing new implementations and organizations on your blogs.

            What other blog(s) do you have?

            Yours sincerely,
            SoundEagle

            Like

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