Being a Smartass to Undecided Voters Over Genocide Isn’t a Flex

There are countless tone-deaf posts on social media admonishing undecided voters over the slaughter of innocent civilians in Palestine

Photo by Ernie Journeys on Unsplash

When it comes to race relations in the U.S., tone-deafness isn’t uncommon even when it comes from so-called experts in anti-racism efforts. Since 2001 and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Islamophobia and anti-Arab animus have grown in prominence infecting all aspects of U.S. society. It was an era where liberals and conservatives alike agreed to launch wars that would kill and displace millions of people in Arab countries under the guise of a war on terror.

It’s become so prominent that there are now dozens of Islamophobic institutions funded by some of the wealthiest people in the West and anti-Arab sentiments are foundational to false accusations of antisemitism, terrorism and so much more. As a lifelong anti-racist and racial justice advocacy journalist, these are issues I’ve covered in great detail.

Background

Throughout history in the United States race was seen as simply a Black and White issue. It wasn’t until the 20th century and the broader expansion of the Western U.S. that racists began to see flaws in this mentality. Jim Crow laws passed to keep Black people oppressed were being challenged by Asians whose exploited labor helped facilitate Western expansion alongside Mexicans who were here long before the U.S. border with Mexico was established.

Because neither were Black, they tried to claim whiteness due to no other choice offered by the oppressive laws that were put in place. If race were determined by skin color alone, Asians would be white and since an abundant number of Latinos are white, they would be as well. But neither has direct connections to Europe so white supremacist leaders didn’t and still don’t see it that way. Even in the modern era, most of the U.S. operates in this fashion.

To the racist, Latinos are mixed-race mutts who can’t be white. To the average U.S. citizen, we are not white no matter how pale we may be. While racists from the birth of the U.S. to the Jim Crow era were caught off guard by this blatant blind spot, they simply altered laws to oppress other nonwhite groups alongside Black people.

Most U.S. citizens still see Latinos as outsiders next to white people.

Tone-Deaf Activism

So it comes with some distress to see an anti-racism educator act much like the white people of yesteryear. Addressing race issues requires listening and attempting to address those issues accordingly. Considering the oppressive nature of domestic U.S. policy toward nonwhite groups, racial equity is not something to be taken lightly. And despite a blatant racist running against a Black woman for president, belittling non-white groups for being undecided is a step backward.

 Anti-racism educator Tim Wise exposes his tone deafness about Palestinians

What Tim Wise does should be admired especially by white people but non-white people have often found blind spots in his commentary. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing until of course, those blind spots are exposed to the public domain such as social media posts. Admonishing mostly non-white people for being undecided sends a signal that such behaviors are okay.

This suggests that non-white groups should not have the ability to think or act for themselves and that they should obey the white man and his views.

Sorry, but no.