Remember how all the nice people in Seattle were excited because a black man got beat up ? But then it turned out the assailant was some kind of Exotic-American named Julian Pailate Tuimauga, which was a bummer?

In the Seattle Times, a columnist attempts to square the circle and, you’ll be amazed to learn, proves that white people are to blame.

Jerry Large / Columnist

Originally published February 4, 2018 at 12:00 pm

Anyone can commit a racist hate crime because anyone can be tainted by the ideology that defines people by race.

Someone stopped by my desk to see if I had a thought about the fact that Julian Pailate Tuimauga, who is charged with committing a hate crime against a black man in Auburn, isn’t white.

What I wish everyone would realize is the racism sprouting from white-supremacist ideology is so pervasive that just about everyone is exposed to it. Anyone can act in ways that support white supremacy or that reflect the view of the world it perpetuates.

When the justice system’s workings lead to a Latino, Asian or black cop fatally shooting someone without just cause, that person is just as dead as if a white officer fired the shot.

Tuimauga is accused of beating DaShawn Horne with a baseball bat on Jan. 20 because he thought Horne had had sex with Tuimauga’s sister. Sex with a black guy is one of the most basic sins against racial purity, if you think like a racist. …

The error of classifying people into so-called races was compounded because the idea came along at a time when Europeans found themselves in a position to exploit other peoples on a large scale, and in need of a way to justify enslaving some people, while stealing the land and resources of others.

… It’s a sneaky ideology that’s always adapting to new circumstances.

I read an interesting article about the praise Asian Americans get for their hard work and character. It said that, for a long time, Asians were referred to in mostly negative ways, but that began to change as black Americans intensified their fight for civil rights. … When I was growing up in New Mexico, many people there preferred to be called Spanish rather than Mexican American to emphasize their European roots. …

It’s hard to untangle all that.

It’s an illusion to believe that there is a unified front among people who are not white. The idea scares some people and leads to some of the backlash we see today among people who fear they are losing their place in America. Brown people aren’t ganging up on white folks.