Yesterday I was sent an article from a friend. The article was from National Review, this is a right wing (right of right) news/commentary outlet that I’ve never seen before. The article, very well written, uses data in a way to convince the reader that racism is not institutionalized in the police and justice system in our country. He asked what I think. The word institutionalized is critical. Per Merriam-Webster dictionary, the applicable definition is: established as a common and accepted part of a system or culture… So, we can examine if the “system” has features that promotes or allows racism and or a “culture” that promotes or allows racism? Also, we could ask if other systems that interact with the system at question has a way of influencing the Institutions of law enforcement and judicial or criminal system. For example, education, economic, and even healthcare systems.
There is a classic argument those on the left make vs. those on the right. The right says, if you have equal opportunity, there is no racism. The left says, if the results on a large sample size show great disparity, then there is not equal opportunity, and therefore there is racism. As measuring opportunity and how it’s presented to people is extraordinarily difficult, requiring sampling through control groups, the statistical results associated with outcomes are more indicative of assessing if there is racism. But even if the numbers show extraordinary bias, such as 3x the number of blacks died from COVID-19, 2x die from interacting with police, 3x are unemployed, and 3x more likely large company “C” positions are white, 3x blacks over whites are incarcerated, etc. This does not mean the racism is systemic, it can mean that the system is designed to be fair, but the people in the system that make the day-to-day decisions are racists, i.e. it is part of the culture that allows it to be accepted.
The issue is complex, but the data is overwhelming that there is a problem. My theory is that in all cases except maybe professional sports (NFL, NBA) the numbers indicate a profound racism is prevalent in our society. As I have witnessed it myself, and so many others have testified to it and are protesting it, I know it is there. I believe there are also changes in the system that could be made to better hold racists that operate in our systems accountable. Remove them before they do harm, or hold them accountable per the law in a way that is just and timely. Given the low rate of conviction for police that kill civilians (black as well as white) I believe that the criminal justice system is too cozy with law enforcement, and there is insufficient oversight. Within such a system, racists cannot just exist, but do outsized damage to our society. I’m confident that most police are good and are not racists, but if there is limited oversight, and a too cozy relationship with prosecutors then racists can operate with relative impunity within the context of this system.
I also think that we who have lived with the privilege of being white should help move the understanding and conversation toward resolving the issue of racism and grievances of 13% of the population that are black, as well as the approximately 17% of the population that are brown, because it is right and Christian to do so, and because it is in our best interest to have a society that lives and functions in harmony rather than discord. Destruction of property, destruction of our economy, threats to our infrastructure, are all the things that can and will happen as a society tumbles into chaos because we cannot see, hear and empathize with those that are hurting. We can help leave the world a better place or make it worse, this is the choice of this time and this generation. I know what my choice is.
With regard to the article I read, I felt as if it was using data and clever encapsulation of the issue into narrow enough bounds to make a case that racism is not the problem that “the liberal media” is making it… the article and approach is misleading, and can even be dangerous.
