Race in America: Mythical Racial Profiling
The recent racial profiling of Santa Claus by Megyn Kelly on Faux News has exposed an interesting aspect of race relations in the land of slavery and drone power. There is little doubt that the mythical arctic industrialist was invented in a melanin challenged milieu. If American children could read the fine print on the toy boxes under the tree they might get the idea that the elven slave driver and caribou exploiting task master is of East Asian origin. Given the way his shop is run I wonder why anyone would hold him up as a virtuous ethnic representative. I suppose it helps to settle the minds of the kiddies that someone of a different skin color is not invading their safe home on a cold winter night.
A number of years ago Martin Bernal published a fascinating essay on Egyptian influence in Greek culture. Mary Lefkowitz and Guy Rogers responded with a critique denigrating the idea that Egyptians were dark skinned while taking a slap at Egyptian medicine for its magical component. The attempt to lighten the skin color of Egyptians is similar to the attempt to put an African on the North Pole. It does not stand up under closer scrutiny. Herodotus, for example, described the dark color of Egyptian skin. Lefkowitz and Rogers also derided the notion that Socrates may have been of African origin as if that would change anything.
One of the ironies of this silly endeavor is that the ancient Mediterranean world viewed both arctic and tropical domains as homes of primitive savagery. Skin color mattered far less than manners. A diet heavy in meat was considered the mark of poverty. Bread was the staff of life, not game. Middle Earthers considered human sacrifice to be barbaric, even criminal. (This despite the obvious sacrifices committed in the name of martial virtue.)
What about the attempt to darken the skin color of mythical and legendary characters such as Santa Claus and Jesus? (The latter makes more sense given the proximity of Nazareth to the tropics.) I suppose a similar tendency would be to lighten the skins of figures such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. I have heard remarks about Obama not being black because of his mother's skin color. This reminded me of the way that Frederick Douglass was considered unexamplary of African slaves due to a belief that he was of mixed race.
The fact that people obsess over skin color in the US shows that we have yet to transcend racism. Americans of all hues are trapped in a prison of ethnic segregation. When we focus on skin color we ignore what really matters. It keeps us divided and subject to exploitation.
On the other side of the pond, a British business man, Neil Phillips from Rugeley, Staffordshire, was arrested for hate speech against Muslims. The Daily Mail claimed it was because of jokes he made about Mandela.
Was that a heavy handed tactic on the part of British authorities or a snow job by the Daily Mail? Are you optimistic or pesimistic about race relations in the US and elsewhere?
Links: Martin Bernal on Egyptian influence in ancient Greece. Lefkowitz and Rogers respond to Martin Bernal. James Bloodworth on the Phillips story.
A number of years ago Martin Bernal published a fascinating essay on Egyptian influence in Greek culture. Mary Lefkowitz and Guy Rogers responded with a critique denigrating the idea that Egyptians were dark skinned while taking a slap at Egyptian medicine for its magical component. The attempt to lighten the skin color of Egyptians is similar to the attempt to put an African on the North Pole. It does not stand up under closer scrutiny. Herodotus, for example, described the dark color of Egyptian skin. Lefkowitz and Rogers also derided the notion that Socrates may have been of African origin as if that would change anything.
One of the ironies of this silly endeavor is that the ancient Mediterranean world viewed both arctic and tropical domains as homes of primitive savagery. Skin color mattered far less than manners. A diet heavy in meat was considered the mark of poverty. Bread was the staff of life, not game. Middle Earthers considered human sacrifice to be barbaric, even criminal. (This despite the obvious sacrifices committed in the name of martial virtue.)
What about the attempt to darken the skin color of mythical and legendary characters such as Santa Claus and Jesus? (The latter makes more sense given the proximity of Nazareth to the tropics.) I suppose a similar tendency would be to lighten the skins of figures such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. I have heard remarks about Obama not being black because of his mother's skin color. This reminded me of the way that Frederick Douglass was considered unexamplary of African slaves due to a belief that he was of mixed race.
The fact that people obsess over skin color in the US shows that we have yet to transcend racism. Americans of all hues are trapped in a prison of ethnic segregation. When we focus on skin color we ignore what really matters. It keeps us divided and subject to exploitation.
On the other side of the pond, a British business man, Neil Phillips from Rugeley, Staffordshire, was arrested for hate speech against Muslims. The Daily Mail claimed it was because of jokes he made about Mandela.
Was that a heavy handed tactic on the part of British authorities or a snow job by the Daily Mail? Are you optimistic or pesimistic about race relations in the US and elsewhere?
Links: Martin Bernal on Egyptian influence in ancient Greece. Lefkowitz and Rogers respond to Martin Bernal. James Bloodworth on the Phillips story.