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@freemo @TruthSandwich @shuttersparks And this racism now has, with Musk, a platform with global reach, and the alacrity with which people in very many places swallow white supremacist ideas tells us that white supremacist thinking is hardly confined to any one society.
@wdlindsy @freemo @TruthSandwich "and the alacrity with which people in very many places swallow white supremacist ideas" -- Here in the West, the focus these days is on white supremacy. But I think this is a general "feature" of humans that can be exploited by bad actors and has been for thousands of years.
This has been said many times by various smart people. I like Lyndon Johnson's version: "Give a man someone to look down on and he'll empty his pockets for you."
It's one of the easiest ways to rile up a crowd and get them to love and follow you: give them someone to look down on.
@wdlindsy @freemo @TruthSandwich Yes, race isn't actually a thing. It's not even a category in science.
My point goes beyond race. You can use any aspect of humans to rile up a crowd. It can be race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, whatever. You can use anything you like to divide people and it's a really strong reaction that often lasts for generations. For example, here in West Virginia, the old hatreds between Irish and Italians still runs strong in certain families. It's a hot button that creates instant "hot under the collar" anger that can flash to violence in an instant. The whole thing is silly to me but not to those who were raised that way.
@shuttersparks @freemo @TruthSandwich I think that, instead of being rooted in human nature, white supremacy is clearly socially constructed — as is the very notion of race. I'm revisiting Isabel Wilkerson's outstanding book Caste these days. She's quite clear — and accurate — about this point.