this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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Immediately after this she also says that short-term gains & geopolitical power (ie USA).
She just says that racism allows such a system to even exist.
What is her reasoning that racism allows the system to exist? It seems like a desire for geopolitical power could easily create the same situation without racism.
My understanding (with by words - just bcs I find it obvious):
Few people create & maintain the system actively, the rest of them/us just feed it money & don't do anything when it's killing children or exploiting the poorest countries on Earth.
Racism, lack of compassion, the general idea that we (developed countries measured by GDP?) are automatically somehow something more just bcs we were born here & entitled to nice lives supported by a greater number of lives elsewhere, etc.
(To clarify, racism isn't just the thing towards black people in USA, every nation has it's own forms, and they are rarely based on color, usually it's nationality. So it's easier to say X country should have lower wages bcs it's providing us cheap goods.)
Right. My point is that the first is independent of the second two. You can lack compassion and only care about yourself while also not being racist.
... so compassionate racists too??
Yeah, I don't think so, not really, the least thinking pleb.
Hm, not really in practice - the argument is valid only on theoretical, isolated personal level.
But that's is not how racism works/exist, racism is a systemic issue.
If you are "not racist" (~don't have those prejudices) but people around you are ... and you are selfish & without compassion then it is in your best personal/economic/social interest to act just as racist as the rest, so "not racists act racists and participate in racist activities" (and especially not speaking against racism, at least not unless/until you can monetise it).
because all things equal it’s easier to get your country to support funding genocide of the other
Sure. But does this additional ease move the needle from impossible to possible? My intuition is that it does not.
I mean yea, that’s usually how it goes. You start with the racism first to build an enemy. Use that as an excuse to gather power and manufacture consent. The genocide is just an after thought to the people in power but it’s part of the whole shebang.
My default position is that the average person is okay with genocide regardless of who is being genocided as long as those people are far away and don't impact their lives. Caring about people you have never met is not a default human response.
that’s true until they see it on tv / in person
they are only far away if they are out of mind
but if you precondition your population to see them as vermin fist it softens the horror