With all the talk on racism it is vital to focus on the broader issue and its historic and future agenda.
Across the world, racism exists and is growing. Across Europe, the influx of refugees has contributed to the rise of neo-Nazi activity and the consolidation of right-wing political and social propaganda. Fears of the loss of European identity and culture are the latest cry from the vanguard of the right.
Ironically most Europeans are unable to connect the dots. Example, had Britian, France and the USA etc. not fomented and sustained wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and supported the autocratic Arab royalty and so on, there would have been no refugees or need for the Taliban, Islamic State etc.
Equally the US Presidential elections have exposed people like Donald Trump who demanded a blockade of Muslim access to the USA. He also promised to build a wall to block Mexicans. Oddly he knows exactly what he is doing. For regular people, racism is about colour and hurt feelings which in the grander scheme is deliberate misdirection and serves as a minor part of a much larger agenda.
In essence historic and modern racism is about making profit and how to ensure that few have access while most others are denied prospect. Example, for century’s brown and black people was enslaved and the reasoning was not abstract, philosophical or spiritual but material. A few people did not want to work hard or pay for labor and thus needed to compel others to do the work cheaply. That is how African slaves ended up across the America’s sugar and cotton plantations.
In earlier times white people also enslaved each other. The Roman Empire was built on slavery where conquered white tribes fought and paid tribute to Rome. When Rome conquered Germania, the leading general was a Spaniard in servitude. Likewise the Greek empire that gave birth to democracy ironically kept this democracy for Greek citizens and not for conquered regions. Thus people were historically traded because their bodies had material value much like modern prostitution.
To understand and eradicate racism we need to expose those who benefit from dividing people and creating conflict from which to benefit.
A simple example is the Jerry Springer show which hosts the worst aspects of human actions. That the vast majority of partakers are poor and black advocates a pattern. The purpose of this show is to display degradation and the infinite levels of human suffering in a format packaged as entertainment.
For a free flight and hotel semi-literate mostly black folk are encouraged to reveal the worst of their spouses, partners or family etc. The affluent mostly white audience are then allowed chance to also denigrate the already shamed partakers. This ensues after the partakers have beaten each other.
Why black people partake is possibly the main question. As a result of the relentless black humiliation of themselves, degradation in the media is widely accepted as entertainment. Equally as the roles of wild terrorists are the preserve of Muslims, majority brown and black actors are cast as criminals. So, when the Oscar Awards do not nominate a single person of colour; it merely reflects an industry norm.
The solution to racism lies in a return to beliefs that advocate justice, mutual respect, integrity, dignity and practical spiritual values. We need to see others in the way the God of Abraham want us to see each other and not the way in which Hollywood and Jerry Springer wants us to see each other.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress