How the Idea of "the Center" Is a Form of White Supremacy Indoctrination
Nobody says they're in favor of fascism, yet we've been marching in that direction for decades
Very few people say they are in favor of white supremacy. In fact, most people will agree that white supremacy is abhorrent.
The problem is that immediately after labeling white supremacy as evil, most people will pivot to a discussion about the other problems they see in society today. This allows them to justify voting candidates into power that have very clear affiliations with white supremacy.
“You see,” they exclaim, “those candidates represent more than just the things I disagree with. You have to take the good with the bad. You have to vote for the lesser of two evils.”
At some point you have to stop and ask, “But are they the lesser of two evils? Are they really?”
How is it that the United States has become an authoritarian state? Even as I sit here writing this, government agencies are rounding up people based on the color of their skin, depriving them of their Constitutional due process, and sending them to prisons on foreign soil. These actions are the consequence of conservative votes.
Meanwhile, conservatives are out there saying, “But I didn't vote for that.”
“Didn't you? Didn't you really?”
On top of that, they become offended when they're held accountable for their actions. “We feel you should treat us with respect! You shouldn't disparage us just because we label ourselves conservative.”
To which I reply, “You mean I should emulate the respectful and courteous way that conservatives have always talked about liberals?”
In times of growing frustration, I often have to stop and remind myself that I should forgive those who know not what they do.
The reality is that the United States of America has been up to its eyeballs in white supremacy indoctrination throughout the course of its history. This is just as much a problem today as it has ever been. Therefore, sometimes when people confront you with white supremacist propaganda, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are white supremacists themselves.
It's just the only thing they've ever been exposed to.
If you've lived your whole life in the United States, it might surprise you to go abroad and discover people in other countries wear different clothing, eat different food, and speak different languages. Yes, you might have a hypothetical awareness that diverse lifestyles exist, but it's all theory until you see it in practice.
Culture shock is a real thing. I think that's the moment your brain has to recognize that some behaviors are human nature, and others are cultural.
White supremacy, unfortunately, is a cultural behavior common to the United States. This is a country that brags about its “exceptionalism.” A synonym of “exceptional” is “supreme.” When we send our children to school they're told about “American Supremacy,” and we don't complain because that's all we've ever known.
But maybe, just maybe, that attitude is part of the reason why we've been on this years long collision course with fascism.
Almost nobody says they agree with white supremacy. Almost everybody recognizes that's an unpopular position to take. So, white supremacists have disguised their process of indoctrination.
“Go to the center!” they say.
That's what they say. But what they really mean is to go to the right.
We've been witnessing it for decades in the American political sphere. The establishment Democrats are so terrified of the left that they always aim for the center and end up sliding to the right. The right, on the other hand, unapologetically pushes towards the extreme right with every fiber of its being.
The result is that we've steadily moved to the right. There's no representation towards the left, so there is no progress in that direction.
Unfortunately, that means there is no progress at all.
The center argument is entirely deceptive. You see the same thing among the people who claim they're champions of “free speech.” They'll invite you on for a debate, spend the whole time screaming and yelling about their foul viewpoint, but before the time comes for you to give a retort, the show ends.
The result is that under the guise of giving fair time to all perspectives, we are only treated to a perspective that doesn't merit consideration.
Today, hatred, misogyny, homophobia, racism, and white supremacy are always given endless air time. Meanwhile compassion, empathy, charity, and human dignity are left waiting in the wings. White supremacy ensures that decency never gets its opportunity on the stage.
That's the whole point.
This is the consequence if not the objective of anyone who argues the “centrist” viewpoint. Again, I don't think people are doing this maliciously. After all it sounds reasonable to “meet in the middle.” It sounds reasonable to say, “there are bad people on both sides.”
But we're discussing issues that will impact the course of human history. Yes, there might be examples of wrongdoing on both sides. But if one side steals a loaf of bread to save its family, and the other side commits murder, then those things can't be fairly compared now can they?
Clearly one side is worse than the other.
White supremacy apologists like to divert to a discussion on the dangers of other potential forms of indoctrination. The simple fact is that white supremacy indoctrination isn't hypothetical, it's happening. It's the reason why laws have been passed to outlaw the teaching of Black history. It's why there's been such a hostile response to DEI programs. It's why the political right wants to defund public education entirely.
Meanwhile, those of us on the side of reason and compassion are expected to sit on our hands and say nothing. “You'll get a chance to speak when the white supremacists are done.”
But we never do.
I feel as if the United States is on the cusp of a cultural realization. It's time that we empowered ourselves to demand a better future. We've been hushed into silence through reasonable sounding arguments that don't hold up when subjected to further review.
When it comes to the eternal battle of good versus evil, you have to pick a side. Failing to pick a side is effectively choosing the side of evil.
That's the result we get when anyone attempts to present themselves as rational and reasonable by self-labeling as a centrist. Evil endures because good people elect to do nothing. It's time that the American public recognized that we've all been deceived by the indoctrination of white supremacy. It's time to find our courage.
Either stand on the side of evil, or stand on the side of good. But don't delude yourself into thinking the morally superior position is to abstain from making a choice. Those that chose the center, become the unwitting tools of oppression.
Don’t try to play the opposite ends against each other.
The only way you work for good is by choosing good.
Pick a side.
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You put very eloquently what I have long felt about centrism. To the rest of the world, our leftists are centrist, our centrists are right wing, and our right wing are fascists. And that is the simple truth.
If the Democrats want to both survive and make a difference, they need to move left. WAY left. Today's young voters feel unrepresented by the Dems; I don't know why the party doesn't see that. I'm 67. I want the party to move left.
The idea of going into town on Monday and watching the Memotial Day celebrations, with all that's going on these days, is nausiating. I don't think they can round up any tanks and missle launchers for the parade, but who knows?.
Maybe the Zor Shriners can come up with some mini-tanks to drive around to give out candy like those little T-Birds they used to drive around in. Walter - remember those?
They would look kind of like Michael Dukakus in that army tank - while G H W Bush visited a flag factory.. Optics. Polutical discourse at its finest.