Racism without Racists

LIBERALISM: UNMASKING REASONABLE RACISM22 Because of the curious way in which liberalism’s principles are used in the post–civil rights era, other analysts label modern racial ideology “laissez-fare racism” or “competitive racism” or argue that modern racism is essentially a combination of the “American Creed” with antiblack resentment.23 The importance of this frame is evident in that whites use it on issues ranging from affirmative action and interracial friendship and marriage to neighborhood and residential segregation. Because of the pivotal role played by this frame in organizing whites’ racial views, I provide numerous examples below. 13_151_Bonilla_Silva. indb 78 6/27/13 4:46 AM The Central Frames of Color-Blind Racism 79 Rationalizing Racial Unfairness in the Name of Equal Opportunity An archetype of how white students use the notion of equal opportunity in an abstract manner to oppose racial fairness is Sue, a student at SU. When asked if minority students should be provided unique opportunities to be admitted into universities, Sue stated: I don’t think that they should be provided with unique opportunities. I think that they should have the same opportunities as everyone else. You know, it’s up to them to meet the standards and whatever that’s required for entrance into universities or whatever. I don’t think that just because they’re a minority that they should, you know, not meet the requirements, you know. Sue, like most whites, ignored the effects of past and contemporary discrimination on the social, economic, and educational status of minorities. Therefore, by supporting equal opportunity for everyone without a concern for the savage inequalities between whites and blacks, Sue’s stance safeguards white privilege. Sue even used the notion of equal opportunity to avoid explaining why blacks tend to perform worse than whites academically: “I don’t know . um, like I said, I don’t see it as a group thing. I see it more as an individual [thing] and I don’t know why as a whole they don’t do better. I mean, as I see it, they have the same opportunity and everything. They should be doing equal. ” College students are not the only ones who use this abstract notion of equal opportunity to justify their racial views. For example, Eric, a corporate auditor in his forties, and a very affable man who seemed more tolerant than most members of his generation (e.g., he had dated a black woman for three years, recognized that discrimination happens “a lot” and identified multiple examples, and even said that “the system is . . . is white”), erupted in anger when asked if reparations were due to blacks for the injuries caused by slavery and Jim Crow: “Oh tell them to shut up, OK! I had nothing to do with the whole situation. The opportunity is there, there is no reparation involved and let’s not dwell on it. I’m very opinionated about that! ” After suggesting that Jews and Japanese are the ones who really deserve reparation, Eric added, “But something that happened three God-damned generations ago, what do you want us to do about it now? Give them opportunity, give them scholarships, but reparations? ” Was Eric just a white with a “principled opposition” to government intervention (see chapter 1 for analysts who make this claim)? This does not seem to be the case since Eric, like most whites, made a distinction between government spending on behalf of victims of child abuse, the homeless, and battered women (whom whites deem as legitimate candidates for assistance) and government spending on blacks (whom whites deem as unworthy candidates for assistance). This finding was consistent 13_151_Bonilla_Silva. indb 79 6/27/13 4:46 AM