Thursday, January 21, 2010
White Basketballs
When does celebrating racial pride become racist behavior? When is it okay for a group to exclude others from their club (and by extension, their activities and their gathering places)? Is it only considered "racist" if the dominant culture is excluding minorities? These questions were touched upon in today's discussion of a new basketball league that we read about online. Apparently the league wants to exclude all athletes who are not American-born and have two Caucasian parents. Most of us scoffed at the absurdity of such a proposal, but the story inspired us to try to articulate why such a proposal is so offensive. I don't think this conversation is over. There is much to say about racism today - its definitions, its boundaries and limitations, its hypocrisies (or perhaps double standards), its manifestations, and its concealments.
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I think it was an episode of Tony Bourdain in San Fransisco that got me thinking about issues of race that, seemingly, are almost taboo to even talk about.
ReplyDeleteHe was in Chinatown and was invited to a restaurant that served, almost exclusively, people from a very specific part of China who spoke a very specific dialect of Chinese.
There was no sign on the door that said "No one allowed except Chinese descendants of X region", but even Tony's host warned him that it was "frowned upon" to allow whites and non-Chinese in the restaurant because the owners didn't want it to become "touristy."
My initial reaction was "that's great, here's a group of people celebrating their own culture. They're keeping it alive with as little influence of White/American/Western culture as possible."
I'm no race scholar, and I've never pretended to be, but why don't we call this Chinese restaurant racist? And it seems this type of racism is not only not frowned upon, but celebrated. So, what exactly is racism then? Is it only racist if a majority or ruling race excludes a minority? Is racism more about power and less about race than people are willing to admit or acknowledge? Can racism ever be a good thing?
I think racism can be a good thing. Like this Chinese restaurant. I still say "Good for you for celebrating your culture. Don't lose your culture. Your culture is beautiful. I don't mind you doing this." I recognize that my comments about the restaurant are coming from my position as a white-male-American. I recognize that those three descriptors give me great privilege in this country. I also recognize that someone could say, "of course you don't care what they do in their little restaurant - you have the rest of the country as your own!" But I think this still demonstrates something about the understated importance of power and privilege when we speak of "racism." And if power and privilege is usually understated, then can that mean that actual skin color is overstated?
Finally, back to this basketball league article. Yes, on first glance it seems ridiculous and racist. But I'll ask the question that will get me the deathly stares and audible gasps from the back row: as the culture of basketball becomes increasingly dominated by blacks, and whites are increasingly becoming the minority (at the very least on the professional male level), then why would it be so ridiculous for a country that promotes the celebration of minority culture to allow a group of whites to form together to celebrate the traditional form of a piece of originally white culture? (For the sake of this discussion, imagine this league is formed in a theoretical USA 75 years from now when blacks and foreigners hold over 99% of professional basketball positions, which might not be far-fetched because this past year only about 12% of the NBA was white-American.)
I'm sure I'm asking questions that have already been asked and studied and theorized about, so maybe some of you who've taken race studies can fill me in on the good stuff. My definition and views on race (specifically "racism") are evolving and I want them to continue evolving.
I have a few comments on your response, though none very thought out.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I do think that something potentially icky is going on in the Chinese restaurant. I like that a group can celebrate its culture without being threatened by others, but this doesn't seem very different from having a "Whites Only" sign hanging above a restaurant's door, or a "Blacks Only" drinking fountain. The owners of the restaurant have every right to serve their kind of food, decorate the restaurant the way they want to, and speak their own language. I would argue, however, that they don't have the right to refuse to serve a person based on their ethnicity. (I know that they did, in fact, serve Tony, but the fact that it was "frowned upon" for him to even try to eat there really rubs me the wrong way... as it should any minority or majority that is discriminated against.)
Second, I absolutely agree that racism is closely tied to power and privilege. Those without power are often much more aware of that lack of power than those who have the power. I think that all races can be seen as racist (or at least take part in racist activities), but it is only when the powerless experience the racism that it becomes a big issue, it seems.
But that doesn't mean that minorities somehow have the upper-hand or that they can take part in racist practices without consequence. As Scott said, the white majority still has the advantage in almost every way, they have "the rest of the country as [their] own." Whites need to realize they have the power, and minorities need to practice the behavior that they would like used on them. (Do unto others...)
And third, I am still disturbed by the all-white basketball team. Perhaps if the team/club/organization was based on culture, then my reaction would not be as harsh. I don't know. I just feel uneasy about a group that discriminates based on skin color. Seems like a big step backward.
I look forward to others' insights.