Not Again, CNN! Pt. 2

CNN is a favorite whipping boy of mine, not merely because it is often a terrible news organization (which it is) but also because it is a reflection of a certain segment of society.  So it is fair to say that many criticisms I make against CNN, I do so only to address a wider audience, and they know who they are.

Today we have the umpteenth article on Race.  This one entitled  "What it means to be black"and the article goes on to describe the "black experience" through the lens of a handful of people of varying degrees of skin tone who had participated in a project called "(1)ne Drop" about non-obvious black identity by "Scholar" Yaba Blay.   Scholar of what?  The article does not say.   The article begins; 

"What is black? Race. Culture. Consciousness. History. Heritage.
A shade darker than brown? The opposite of white?
Who is black? In America, being black has meant having African ancestry.
But not everyone fits neatly into a prototypical model of "blackness."

 First of all, this is factually incorrect.  Typical North Africans, such as Egyptians, Tunisians and Berbers are not "black".   Secondly, everyone is descended from Africa since that is where mankind evolved.  Thirdly, Australian Aboriginals and East Indians, living in America can often have a very dark complexion and can self-identify as "black", but not of more recent Sub-Saharan heritage.  This might be uncommon, but it is nevertheless true. 

The rest of the piece is meaningless drivel about how, and to some degree why, the people in question choose to self-identify as black.    Of course, no two people are going to be alike and everyone is going to have a different perspective, but that isn't really the problem.  

The problem with the piece is that it is racist.  What is racism?  Holding one race to a different set of standards as another.  

Now imagine for a moment, CNN put out an article on "What it means to be white".   Imagine the furor this would provoke.   Imagine the outrage if there was a project called "Wh1te Nation; Opening a dialog about being white in America" on which the article was based.      Or simply imagine an article about those who are of mixed race, but for whatever reason want to be identified as something other than black.   One of the testimonies touches on this;

California author Kathleen Cross, 50, remembers taking a public bus ride with her father when she was 8. Her father was noticeably uncomfortable that black kids in the back were acting rowdy. He muttered under his breath: "Making us look bad."  She understood her father was ashamed of those black kids, that he fancied himself not one of them. "My father was escaping blackness," she says. "He didn’t like for me to have dark-skinned friends. He never said it. But I know."

She asked him once if she had ancestors from Africa. He got quiet. Then, he said: "Maybe, Northern Africa.   He wasn't proud of being black," she says.

Note the subtle casting of the father as being ignorant at best or a self-hating villain at worst.  But if the story is reported accurately, he was not escaping "blackness", (a term which is impossible to universally define), it is clear from the context that he was escaping from unpleasant elements. Namely, rowdy kids.   Of course we cannot read his mind, but I would wager he wouldn't want his daughter to have light-skinned friends who acted rowdy either.   But even if that wasn't the case and he really did harbor some exclusively bad feelings about his own race, then that too is part of the "black experience"; his own.  No more or less valid than anyone else.   But such would not make good press.  At CNN and in popular culture, only white Americans are allowed to be disgusted with their own race and only non-whites are allowed to take pride in their race.  Black especially.  Asians, Aleuts, Pacific Islanders...meh...not so much.  Of course black people can joke about killing white people...that's funny.  The reverse?  That's racism...according to the zeitgeist.

There is another problem about this style of "racial dialog".  Very often, when discussing racial identity in anything other than a purely clinical sense, the specter of racism and racial discrimination is raised with great emotional fire.  This is not without some justification; racism is an ugly and real thing and it causes real problems, sometimes deadly serious problems.  But the testimonies given imply that identifying as black, for whatever reason, is part of being a strong, confident person who has overcome the stereotypes imposed by society.   But herein lies the rub; one cannot escape racial stereotypes if one constantly harps on and on about their own racial experience (not to mention creating a whole project dedicated to the matter), because not letting the subject go is a racial stereotype, and in my opinion, one of weakness.  That is to say, someone who is supremely confident doesn't need to identify their race, they simply let their own individual accomplishments and virtues speak for themselves.     Besides, no one is ever going to accept another as "an equal", if they never shut up about not being equal, or for being misunderstood, or being unfairly categorized.  One cannot have it both ways; to be seen as misunderstood victims in one sense or another and as political equals at the same time.   One or the other. Pick one and move on. 

Lastly, apart from some medical considerations, racial heritage shouldn't matter.    Dr. King said that that he dreamed of a world where people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.  I cannot be 100% certain, but I am pretty sure "content of character" does not mean the entire past history of one's race, but rather refers to the individual and their own feelings and actions.  

One might object, "You don't understand!  You don't know what it's like to be black!"  True, I'm not black (African descended, yes.  If one traces back far enough, but not black in any classic definitions) But the reverse is also true;  most black people in America don't know or understand what it is like to be a black in Africa.  They don't know what it's like to be me, either. They don't know what it feels like to be held accountable for crimes that occurred before my great grand parents were born, or to be accused of racism when I advocate for individualism instead of largely nebulous, collectivist and intentionally provocative labels.     CNN should stop putting out articles on racial identity (again, something no one can fully agree upon anyway) and focus on individuals.