The Blame Black Syndrome

The following is based upon an article at the Black Youth Project.

“I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money; I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money. And provide for themselves and their families. The best way to do that is to get the manufacturing sector of the economy rolling again.”

These were the comments uttered by Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum when asked about foreign aid policies at a campaign stop in Iowa. Now, I think it’s more than obvious to anyone that the response has absolutely nothing to do with the foreign aid. So, why was there a need to bring up black people and the stereotype that (only) they are largely responsible for sponging off government welfare, especially since most people who are on welfare are whites?

There is no logical explanation behind Santorum’s useless, unfounded comment. However, it sounded similar to when this society blamed the drug problem on poor, inner city, young, black males during the 1980′s. It reminds me of the usual condemnation of black youth and their families for social violence. I even started to remember how pundits on the right blamed the black community for the sub prime loan crisis. Let’s not forget the regular drones who point the finger at black people for anything and everything wrong going on in this nation whenever people acknowledge racism against blacks. And don’t get me started on the stories of whites who have committed crimes or made up stories about crimes and blamed phantom black people who never existed.

Already, you’re noticing a pattern here. It’s been going for many years. There is a tendency for people, mostly whites, to blame the ills of society, particularly poverty, crime, onto black people. That same illness may cause whites to go off the deep end “create” black suspects out of thin air.

There’s an inverted side to this that produces the same results. People will blame blacks who are doing well or seem to be doing well because they don’t think they’ve earned it through hard work. Some people believe that the government is helping black communities across this country even though that’s far from the truth. Many white folks think that blacks who are in positions higher than them, or have taken positions they were looking for got there by unfair means (e.g. affirmative action) even though whites as a whole still benefit from the job market. It’s just a way of believing that black people didn’t earn their steady rise to the top, but just got a handout instead.

And, anything created for blacks by blacks is seen as racist. The NAACP is racist. A channel such as BET is racist. Scholarships for blacks are racist.  So, what do they do? You guessed it. Blame black people.

This is a sickness born from suspicion, fear, disdain, jealousy, and conceit. Despite more-than-enough evidence that contradict these claims, most white people will still demonize black people. I call it the Blame Black Syndrome. We’ve seen it in politics (as shown above). We’ve seen it in the news when they over-report report crimes committed by blacks and never the causes of their crimes. We’ve seen it online courtesy of several hate websites and the usual cornball trolls. We’ve seen it everywhere, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.

So, why is the theme always “It’s always black people’s fault”? I believe that it’s a cover-up. Most people who scapegoat blacks refuse to believe that this nation, a nation they love so dearly, is anything but a land of life, liberty, and happiness for all people. This was never the case of black people in the past, and it certainly isn’t a case today. Whites especially don’t want to take any blame for the sins of their fathers let alone be held accountable for today’s inequality and oppression. So, instead of doing the honorable thing, they go into scapegoating mode and find the people they hate the most which is black people.

It’s troubling, not to mention frustrating, that black people are the poster children for all things lousy in a white supremacist nation. It’s ridiculous that many will rather join in on the bandwagon than to blame and fight against those who are truly responsible who are almost all rich, white and men. This syndrome is not born out of intelligence and compassion. It is a way to comfort and justify their inner racist spirits, spirits they seem to be very comfortable having.

About these ads

~ by Brothawolf on January 4, 2012.