Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fwd : RACISM

The SO CALLED concept of race = a BIG fallacy BUT (unfortunately de facto RACISM, especially the CLEVER kind, still persists though MUCH less so today in THE USofA, and hence millions in almost the whole wide wild world still don’t mind coming “HERE” by any means necessary just to get into the USA. As one great British leader once put it, capitalism is the worst form of government, BUT SHOW me a better one. Meanwhile, THE American DREAM still largely the ONLY dream for better or worse —- and millions still risk their lives to be a part of it some of the time or much of the time or even ALL the time. If “black” America were a country, it would be one of the richest countries in the world. But coming to USA JUST to make money can be a dangerous thing. Some of the world’s best educational system breathes here. As the great Alexander Pope would say Drink DEEP on NOT AT ALL of the Pieran spring. Our Uncle Sam sill has much water to give all the thirsty of the world. Good and evil exist in all monumental or consequential societies of the past and the present. Yes, the Atlantic Slave Trade — BUT also THE Trans Sahara slave trade. Slavery and slave trade still exist even in OUR post-“Enlightened” and post-modernist worlds. Remember, As Heidegger reminds us, thoughts do not come from us — they come THROUGH us. Apparently, Nietzsche (the great affirmer of life “HERE” sums it up: Amor Fati!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. But why NeverTHERE?????!!!!! Oohay

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

On Friday, May 29, 2026, 5:51 AM, Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelberg@gmail.com> wrote:

https://bernardjporter.com/

Racism

Posted on May 26, 2026 by bernardporter2013

(Sorry to be away so long.)

Racial prejudice is not ‘natural’. If it were we would expect children to have it from birth. Masses of research, however, establishes that this is not so. So does the experience of most of us who have observed young children at play together outdoors. It’s as if they don’t even see racial differences, but only their common childishness. Racism is acquired, in later life, and through other forces acting on us: parents, school, the media, and a host of other influences; analysed for example here: https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-children-acquire-racial-biases/.

I was lucky to escape most of these when I was young, growing up in a part of Essex (now Greater London) where I never remember seeing a black or brown face, or being exposed to (for instance) the BUF’s racist propaganda. The only ‘alien’ I knew at school was a single (white) American. The same was true at university, although I did become acquainted there – but only at second hand – with racism; through my participation, at a distance, in the movement against apartheid in South Africa.

That was until I became a post-graduate student, working on British imperial history, in a college and university community that largely consisted of ‘black’, brown and other-coloured foreigners; most of whom of course originally came from countries that used to be – many still were – colonies of Britain: Africa and the Indian sub-continent in particular. Some of them became close friends; one of them – who sadly died recently – the Best Man at my wedding. Our social circle was hugely ‘multi-racial’, and, I felt, all the better, closer and certainly more interesting for it.

Of course we were all ‘intellectuals’, which was what melded us together; in much the same way as their common identity as ‘children’ unites the young kids we see playing together multi-racially in school yards. This undoubtedly made a difference. But shouldn’t that apply equally to middle and working-class people in our British towns and cities, doing the same jobs and facing the same problems as their ‘white’ neighbours?

I recently heard and read of a number of communities in and around London –  Peckham, to name one – where years of immigration had had this outcome, with the effect of reducing the appeal of ‘nativists’ like Nigel Farage, and the parties he leads or has led. Indeed I understand – although I must check this – that the British constituencies that have scored lowest for parties like Farage’s are some of those that have the highest proportion of immigrants; and vice-versa: the constituencies that are most anti-immigration were those that haven’t experienced it themselves. If so, then the best way to counter racism may be to let more (selected?) immigrants in.

And by God, we’ll need them soon, if the ‘native’ birth-rate continues falling as it has been doing in recent years.  In Sweden too, incidentally: https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/grim-figures-swedish-birth-rates-reach-new-record-lows/. Kajsa is currently helping to organise a movement here with the slogan utan invandrarer stanner Sverige (‘without immigrants Sweden stops’). Britain – and perhaps the USA – might do worse than adopt a version of that. So far in Britain, Scotland is the only country that seems to be taking this to heart, with immigrants actually welcomed there (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2484nmm2e3o).

In any case, Britain has always been a multicultural society, as we should know. (See chapter 1 of my British Imperial: What the Empire Wasn’t, 2016.) It’s one of her glowing virtues, and great advantages.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/01ce3e97-7391-4cc7-add1-506719f32581n%40googlegroups.com.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/2088927267.6511547.1780057553516%40mail.yahoo.com.