The race baiting argument says that racism is pretty much dead but that people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson keep it alive by talking about race, by getting blacks angry about imagined cases of racism. They are “race hustlers” who “inflame racial passions”.

Examples:

In the Zimmerman case, some whites used this argument to make sense of (and dismiss) black opinion.

some whites used this argument to make sense of (and dismiss) black opinion. Rush Limbaugh speaks of a “race industry”.

speaks of a “race industry”. Booker T. Washington in 1911:

Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.

The terminology goes back Jim Crow times:

1921: inflame racial passions

inflame racial passions 1925: race industry

race industry 1935: race baiters

race baiters 1949: race hustlers

The argument:

Racism is dead. Race baiters know this but keep Negro Grievances alive for personal gain – money, votes, even blog hits! Most blacks are overgrown children: they cannot think for themselves and must be told what to think.

Yet another racist argument that assumes racism is dead!

As an accused race baiter, I can offer some insight:

The personal gain thing: I make no money from this blog. And even in terms of blog hits, it is far easier to get hits by doing posts on, say, swimsuit models. And then there is the white demographic. It is at least five times bigger than the black demographic. If hits were what mattered to me, I would do nothing to turn off whites. I would at least make what I say acceptable to them. Or, better/worse yet, like a Rented Negro, I would tell them what they want to hear. I know that racism is dead, right? No. The rank racist inequality in New York is burned into my brain forever. And the older I get the clearer it becomes how deeply ingrained racism is in white people, more than I ever expected or “imagined”.

Al Sharpton. He has held protests for Trayvon Martin. But he has held tons of protests for plenty of people over the years. Only on occasion do they catch fire or go anywhere. If he had the kind of power over 40 million black people that some seem to think he has, he would not be freely drawing breath on American soil.

Trayvon Martin. Look at the timeline:

February 26th 2012: Trayvon Martin shot dead.

Trayvon Martin shot dead. March 9th 2012: first comment on Trayvon Martin on this blog, by lifelearner, who called it “walking while Black” (racial profiling).

first comment on Trayvon Martin on this blog, by lifelearner, who called it “walking while Black” (racial profiling). March 12th 2012: first post on Trayvon Martin on this blog.

first post on Trayvon Martin on this blog. March 21st 2012: Million Hoodie March

Million Hoodie March March 22nd 2012: First Sharpton protest

Sharpton was hardly leading on this issue.

This whole race baiter thing is made up to discredit black claims of racism. It is a way to account for black anger about racism while preserving the idea that racism is dead.

The far simpler way to account for events is to say that racism is far from dead – hardly surprising given American history – and that black claims about racism are more or less right. Just as they were in 1911, 1921, 1925, 1935 and 1949.

See also: