Social exclusiveness promotes dividing line

Friday, October 18, 1996

DIVISION:

Learning from other groups’ experiences may reveal
similarities

It all started with a conversation, like these things often do.
I’d been talking to an African-American woman and once the
conversation drifted to race and politics, she said, "you know, you
can never really know what I experience on a daily basis as a black
woman." That got me thinking. No, I don’t know what it’s like to be
African American or a woman, much less both, but does that mean
that I can’t? And what’s more, why haven’t I ever learned?

As each of us go through life, we’re taught that what is around
us and familiar is right and that which is different is somehow
wrong. This tendency cuts across all social groups.

Whether the lines that are drawn are based on race, religion or
national identity, the results are the same. What is mine is right,
what is yours is wrong. Ask yourself how many religions you know
that don’t claim to be the only "true church." Or how many nations
there are that don’t think that they’re the greatest on the
planet.

These socially constructed divisions are so pervasive that they
seem almost natural. But the question is, why do they exist? Why is
our society so separated and compartmentalized that we can’t even
share our experiences with each other?

The answer is simple. It was designed that way.

Our society is built in such a way that individuals of different
racial groups are played off of each other in order to keep us from
facing the real enemy. Whites are fed the line that immigrants are
stealing their jobs. African Americans are told that there is a
huge Jewish conspiracy to keep them down. Asian Americans are told
that white people will never fully accept them into society and
because of this they must work that much harder to achieve any form
of success. The list goes on and on.

But the result is the same. All of us are so busy fuming at the
scapegoats that have been laid before us that we’re blind to the
real threat.

Historian Will Durant put it best when he said, "The political
machine works because it is a united minority acting against a
divided majority." That minority is the corporate CEO that only
cares about how to increase the bottom line. It’s the government
official who feeds off of racial fear and prejudice to get elected.
And yes, it’s the government who uses our fear and hatred of each
other as a means of keeping us pacified. That majority is you and
me, members of all racial groups, all religions, all walks of life,
who are really a lot more the same than they would like us to
believe.

Racism has been around a long time. It probably goes all the way
back to our furry ancestors, taking time out from swinging in the
trees to fight with those of different hair colors. But in the
modern world, race is a means of scapegoating that allows those in
power to maintain their control, while we spend our energy fighting
each other.

And the ultimate irony of all this is that those in power don’t
even really care about race. It’s just another tool they use.

Are some of those in power truly racist? Certainly, but they are
a minority compared to those who simply see race, and the
manipulation of racial hate, as yet another way to gain more power.
All of which brings up an interesting, albeit frightening,
possibility.

Theoretically, it’s possible that Adolph Hitler himself did not
have anything personally against the Jews, but rather used a
historical hatred to solidify power in Germany and carry out his
plans for domination. Of course, this is just a theory, but it
points to the ability of those in power to manipulate socially
constructed boundaries to their own ends.

If you need further proof of this, take another example from the
Nazis. In Auschwitz and other concentration camps, one of the most
effective tactics that camp guards used to keep the prisoners in
line was to pit them against each other. Individuals of different
religions, nationalities, and ethnicities were encouraged to fight
and their hatred was built up in order to make the guards’ jobs
easier.

So here we are in this concentration-nation where our socially
programmed likes and hates are all used against us. The people in
power aren’t stupid. They wouldn’t be there if they were. If they
know how to turn us against each other, what can we do?

We can start by talking to each other. Racial isolation and
exclusive association with one’s own group only leads to further
separation. Blaming individuals for past wrongs committed by
members of their racial group is also pointless. Prejudice exists
and certainly those who practice it must be called on it, but when
it comes to race relations, what’s needed is a little
solidarity.

Every time we adopt the "you just couldn’t understand" attitude,
we are complicit in our own oppression. The lines that divide one
group of people from another are purely social, and as such they
can be changed.

The fact of the matter is that each of us has the capacity to
learn from the experiences of individuals from other groups. Sure
we all have different experiences, but within those differences lie
the similarities that can allow us to share what we know. When we
start to share, we might figure out that there’s really no reason
to hate each other and that maybe we can band together to make our
lives better.

I need to know what it’s like to be African American. I need to
know what it’s like to be Latino. We all need to learn more from
the people around us. Only when we can freely and openly share our
experiences, our dreams and our pain, can we hope to understand
each other and come together to resist those who would exploit
us.

It’s an old strategy. Divide and conquer. If your enemy is busy
fighting themselves, it’s that much easier to take control. We’ve
been divided for far too long. And if we’re not careful, we’ll be
conquered.