Racism is a symptom of psychological disorder. It is a sign of a lack of self-esteem and insecurity. People who are psychologically healthy have a stable sense of self and have no need to bolster their sense of self through group identity. They have no need to define themselves in contrast to and in conflict with others. America’s racist structure is no accident. It was deliberately created to gain power and keep power.
Racial inequality is the refusal among many white people to commit to an equitable distribution of resources. White people can live their entire lives without really considering how Black people live theirs. Before we can merge Black and white with truth and respect, and even before we can change our Constitution to reflect “a more perfect union,” we must first challenge, change and quit lying to ourselves.
In the end, racism is ignorance. It is an ignorance that becomes fear, and that fear becomes hatred. It is evil. White Americans are not only ignorant of racism, but are also ignorant of their own ignorance. They don’t know that they don’t know. They have no idea why ghettos still remain and are indifferent to them. They are ignorant of the tenacity of racism because this ignorance serves their psychological and material interests.
Dennis Kostecki
Sausalito, California