Introduction: The “White Like Me” series will include the observations and opinions of an aging White male lawyer and some statistics and opinions of others relative to race relations in these troubled times. In the Introduction to the CLB written nearly five years ago, I announced that race relations would be a likely topic. In keeping with that declaration, I have written about the Dred Scott case, “Driving While Black,” “Driving While White,” and the infamy of Jussie Smollett. Recent events call for more, particularly with respect to race relations with the police. Part I will present some fundamental principles that will guide my analysis in future installments of this series, probably ending with Part III. For good or ill, here we go . . .
Principle One: As you can read in the CLB Introduction, I am an enthusiastic “little d” democrat and a somewhat less enthused “big D” democrat. Consistent with my “little d” affinity, I am an egalitarian committed to the equality of rights among all of us. One expression of my egalitarianism is that there should be one set of rules applicable to everyone, all the time. This is not to say that I should have Secret Service Protection and the unfettered use of Air Force One like the President. Such perks are there for everyone who happens to be a sitting president.
Principle Two: Every encounter between a citizen and police entails the potential for a bad ending. Accordingly, how the citizen (or non-citizen) behaves both before and during such encounters is of great importance. In those cases where things end badly it is likely (though less than certain) that police reacted to a suspect’s actions that evoked excitement, fear, or anger from the police.
Principle Three: There is a difference between prejudice and stereotyping. Here is a fair example of the point. If you complain that most of the teenagers you know tend toward being lazy and disrespectful¹ (of adults like you), then what about the teenager that you meet for the first time? Your general opinion of teenagers based upon actual experience is not a prejudice (or pre-judgment). But when you assume that the new teenager that you’re about to meet will also be lazy and disrespectful, you commit the lesser social offense of stereotyping. This social offense of stereotyping is mitigated when the offender affords the teenager the opportunity to prove that he is neither lazy nor disrespectful. Such mitigation tends to require much more time than the first impression.
Principle Four: Birds of a feather flock together. The concept of “separate but equal” as an excuse for racial segregation no longer carries weight.² The law no longer authorizes or tolerates segregation in public schools, public accommodations, housing, or employment. Still, there is racial clustering or grouping all around. Some of that is economic, such as the case of some affluent areas with very expensive housing. But most of the racial grouping around us is voluntary. I have read that the most segregated time of the week is Sunday morning when churchgoers gravitate toward those halls of worship where they are most at ease. There certainly are integrated churches, and it would be damnable for a church to exclude worshipers on the basis of race. Still, there is nothing wrong legally or morally in voluntary segregation.
Principle Five: Great Presidents may not have been great men. I’ll start with Thomas Jefferson (icon of the Democratic party) and his “self-evident” truth “that all men are created equal.” If truth mattered in 1776, Jefferson should have written what he meant: that all White men are created equal. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both Virginians and both slaveholders. While some allowances must be made for historical figures who exhibited the prejudices of their time and place, there is no excuse for any man to claim ownership of another man.³ I read that Washington freed his slaves in his Will. That was mighty White of him in my view. In American History 101 I read Jefferson’s analysis of the economics of slavery and the breeding of slaves to produce more and more of such valuable assets. I am thankful that Washington and Jefferson were there. They were great patriots (a/k/a treasonous rebels from another point of view). They risked everything. Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Washington warned us (to no avail) to beware of foreign entanglements. During the Revolutionary War Washington was not quite a great general but was good enough to persist until victory was at hand. Washington and Jefferson had great accomplishments but were not great men.
Principle Six: “Playing the race card” automatically, prematurely, or falsely is racist, the same as an overt act of discrimination. In my Featured Article of February 21, 2019 titled “Jussie, Justice, and Race Relations” I described the delicate fabric of race relations that is damaged (to the detriment of others) by actions and fabrications of the Jussie Smollett incident in Chicago. A tangent of this principle is that “playing the race card” falsely becomes like the boy who cried wolf, eroding the credibility of future reports.
Principle Seven: All lives matter. No explanation is needed.
Principle Eight: We need to be civil in any dialogue over race relations. Shouting a claim or argument does not make it any more persuasive. The slogan “No Justice, No Peace” is a threat. I do not respond well to threats.
Principle Nine: We may all have blind spots in our racial perception. There is value in listening to opinions and observations of others expressed in a civil fashion. Though voluntary segregation is not wrong legally or morally, we need to embrace some measure of integration or diversity to at least hear the opinions or observations of others.
Part II of this series will transition from the fundamental, guiding principles to some relevant statistics, personal experiences and observations, and opinions of others.
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¹ For an historical example of adult complaints about lazy, disrespectful teens see my Quotable Socrates in the CLB’s Random Quotes.
² As for racial segregation in public schools see Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) for the explicit rejection of “separate but equal.”
³ I don’t care about the remarkable tolerance of slavery in the Old Testament. Once Eve and Adam tasted that forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil, mankind had to know that slavery was on the evil side.
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