I fell for the term ‘tribalism’. a couple of weeks ago in The Atlantic somebody said it’s racism. it’s not tribalism. i thought about it and totally agree. Tribalism is another one of those cute words somebody made up to sell books. Radical Acceptance is another. But with Tribalism it gave a great way to seemingly understand what’s going on and it minimized the effect that racism played.
I think there are three types of Racists: Overt, Covert, and In Denial.
Overt Racists proudly wear their nazi armbands and are at least honest about their hate.
Covert Racists are smart enough to hide it. The Alt-Right is a great, but extreme example of this. They’re fucking White Nationalists. Don’t let the intellectual reasons and the nice clothes fool you. There are millions of people who admit to themselves that they are racist, but don’t want to get attacked. Or laughed at. So, they look for other like-minded, hidden racists online and use code words to feel you out.
Racists In Denial. I think this is by far the largest group of Racists. They honestly believe they are Not racist, but they think and say racist shit. bear in mind, i’m talking about the whole basket of deplorables. Not just racists, but also, homophobes, islamaphobes, mexicanphobes, anti-semites, etc. I’m using Racist as a cover all and most of them believe in all the other ‘phobes’. Took me a long time to realize how in denial racist this question is, “why do I have to press 1 for English?” They don’t hate gay people, they just believe Marriage is between one man and one woman. The won’t refuse to bake an LGBTQ cake, they just want their Religious Freedoms protected. The don’t hate Mexicans and Hondurans, they just want to secure the border. yeah, right.
So, the Racists in Denial feel perfectly justified and honorable and all that. They’re fighting for a Better America. Don’t be fooled. It’s Make America White Again and the Big Lie about Illegal, Invading Immigrants coming to Rape your White women and hook them on Crack. And a Big Lie about ISIS. It’s Fear turned to Anger and Your Life Sucks, but it’s Not your fault! It’s the blanks. And, I can fix it. I, and only I, will tell you the Truth.
American 2084 