Racism is a social cancer that is difficult to eradicate in the United States

Author: Liang Yabin (Professor, Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Central Party School [National Academy of Administration])

On May 14, local time, a shooting case broke out in Buffalo, New York, usa, killing 10 people and injuring 3 people, of whom 11 were black. President Biden declared the incident a "domestic terrorism" sparked by "the supremacy of white race that runs through our political system." There is no doubt that this is yet another social tragedy triggered by racism. Biden said "white racial supremacy is poison", the latter "should not exist in the United States", and vowed that "evil will not win, hatred will not win." However, looking at the history of the United States, racism has followed, causing social tragedies one after another, and even intensifying.

Racism is deeply rooted in the United States

Needless to say, racism is an anti-scientific system of thought that artificially shapes and justifies inequalities between different peoples based on anti-intellectual doctrines. The emergence of racism originated from national oppression and legitimized and rationalized this oppressive practice. As the world's largest immigrant nation, racism has deep-rooted historical traditions and realities in the United States. Stanford University psychologist Steve Robert points out that "people often define racism as dislike or abuse of others for racial reasons." This definition is wrong. Racism is a system of superiority based on race, a hierarchy, an epidemic. Racism is so embedded in American thought and society that it is almost impossible to escape. ”

More than two hundred years ago, whites who came to the New World from Europe built a dominant white political system and a slave economy based on racism by virtue of their strong economic and military superiority. This political and economic system divides people into different groups according to skin color, strengthens loyalty within groups and competitive relations between different groups, thereby further shaping racist ideas, preferences and beliefs, which in turn supports racial division and segregation in American society at the spiritual level and has become the logical starting point of racism that has been harmful to this day. Legal and political slavery was abolished with the promulgation of the 13th Constitutional Amendment in 1865, but the racism behind slavery did not disappear. Even, racism began to internalize into the psychological state of some individuals or groups in the United States. Racial discrimination and the externalization of superiority are manifestations of antagonism and even hatred between different groups.

Legally, slavery was abolished, but in fact, apartheid persisted. This de facto system of segregation has been subtly shaping racist-based group identities and even encouraging people to think and act in a racist way. Studies have shown that people, both adults and children, tend to feel more positively about people they think are similar to themselves and people in "inner groups." This means that they may be less friendly to people outside of their social circle. For many white Americans, their "inner group" does not include black Americans. The reason for this is related to the long-standing racial segregation measures in the United States that separate white and colored communities.

According to the New York Times, more than half of U.S. students live in highly racially divided communities. This has led to a highly polarized student demographic in the district's schools, with either more than 75 percent white or more than 75 percent of colored people. Consistent with common perceptions, studies have also shown that children are more likely to adapt to the faces of mainstream racial groups, and that early exposure to other racial groups affects their perceptions and behaviors towards these groups as adults, resulting in black children being more able to recognize white faces than white children. Such differences can have tragic consequences in the real world, such as reinforcing white prejudices and beliefs about black people and increasing the probability that innocent black suspects will be misjudged as criminals. This "racial stereotype" exists in the minds of U.S. law enforcement. Law enforcement officials tend to preconceived notions about specific ethnic groups as criminals. Reports suggest that U.S. police officers are more likely to stop African-American drivers when patrolling the roads, and that African-Americans are three times more likely to be searched after stopping than whites.

Stubbornly reject the legal effect of international conventions

If the historical system of slavery has made the United States inherently inadequate in its fight against racism, then the stubborn rejection of the legal validity of international conventions is its practical obstacle. Racism has caused great harm to mankind, and has even become one of the important reasons for the outbreak of the Second World War, and has caused horrific genocide in some countries and regions. As a profound reflection on the war, the fight against racism has become one of the mainstream political concepts for the development and progress of international law after World War II. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which defines genocide as an international crime. On 12 December 1960, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 1510 (XV), condemning all forms of racial, religious and ethnic hatred. On December 21, 1965, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which entered into force on January 4, 1969, becoming the most authoritative source of law against racism in all countries in the world today.

Regrettably, however, such an important international convention has not been able to serve the United States as it should. The U.S. government ratified the Convention with too many "reservations": "The Constitution and laws of the United States provide broad protections for the freedom of expression, expression and association of individuals. Accordingly, the United States does not accept any obligation under the Convention, in particular the obligations set forth in articles 4 and 7, to limit these rights through legislation or any other measure, to the extent protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States. "The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination certainly imposes obligations on States, which is the value and significance of its existence. Articles 4 and 7, which are of particular focus to the United States government, are the core provisions of the Convention and create legal weapons against racial discrimination. Article 4 provides: "The State party condemns all propaganda and all organizations, those who base their ideas or theories on the superiority of a certain race or a group of persons of a certain colour or ethnic origin, or who attempt to defend or promote any form of racial hatred and discrimination, and undertake to take immediate and positive measures aimed at eradicating all acts of incitement or discrimination against such discrimination." These measures include "the commission of acts of rape or incitement to any person of another color or ethnic origin, as well as any assistance, including fund-raising, to the activities of racists, which are criminal offences and punishable by law", and punish those who promote and incite racial discrimination. Article 7 provides: "States Parties undertake to take immediate and effective measures, in particular in the areas of teaching, education, culture and public information, to combat prejudices that lead to racial discrimination and to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among Nations and racial or ethnic groups, while promoting the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the present Convention." ”

The reservation made by the United States Government on the grounds of the so-called "freedom of expression" on the one hand shows the arrogance of the United States Government, and on the other hand, it is equivalent to substantially disintegrating the legal effect of the Convention, leaving the United States with soil and legal space for racism. In today's international community, any speech that promotes racism is taken for granted as a violation of fundamental human rights, but in the United States it is a protected freedom of expression. This bizarre phenomenon has become a key factor in the long-standing undercurrent of racism in the United States and the continuous creation of racial hatred.

Racism is a cancer on American society, hurting not only the United States, but also the world. Alexander Winter believed that identity is constructed by both internal and external structures. From a biological point of view, the differences between the different races are completely negligible. So, racial differences are also, to a large extent, imagined differences, constructed from internal and external identities. As the number one capitalist power, the proliferation of racism in the United States is certainly a self-inflicted consequence, but what cannot be ignored is that the huge negative example set by the United States in the world has long misled, connived at and even encouraged the racist acts of some groups in some regions, which has caused continuous tragedies in the world.

White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre issued a statement after the Buffalo shooting: President Biden has been briefed on the situation, and he and the first lady pray for the victims and their loved ones. Some netizens commented on this that they hoped that the US government would face up to the problem of racism in the country at an early date and take practical measures to eliminate racial discrimination, not just pray.

Guangming Daily (2022.05.23. 12th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily