We need to begin a conversation about what will happen to the people among us who hold racist beliefs, once we vote in leaders of intelligence and empathy. The question is important. Everyone needs to belong.
When people feel left out of anything, they become angry and turn to the behaviors of gang members and mobsters. The more people with anti-racist views proclaim loud and clear, “Hate has no place here,” the more people with racist beliefs feel left out, left behind, and angry. They do not want to go be part of the anti-racist society. How do we respond to that mental-emotional way of living in our society?
I have been deep in thought about this issue this morning. Some are already beginning to fear a backlash from people with racist views if we do not re-elect Trump: riots, military presence in the streets, militias disrupting government offices, etc. The fear is that those who hold racist beliefs will push back violently against a more democratic leader.
Here is the answer I envision. It has three parts. They are so radical they will be dismissed out of hand, but that’s OK. Creative thought is a good thing at this “inflection point.” Maybe after you see my ideas you will come up with a few of your own.
First, each community needs to commit to becoming an “Intentional Community of Diversity” (ICD). Being ICD means including people of color, indigenous people, people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds, handicapped people, and people whose economic circumstances range from minimum wage to executive salaries. An ICD community goes about the business of daily living just like people everywhere, with the additional charge of actively demonstrating the process of living as equals in their everyday affairs: employment, housing, shopping, entertainment, governance, school curricula, etc.
The purpose of being an intentionally diverse community is first and foremost to improve the mental health of everyone involved. Our White-centric culture full of prejudices and racism has made White people sick in so many ways. It has made people of color carry great fears for their physical and emotional well-being. It’s long past time to work on our health.
When a person with racist beliefs is living in this community, the community has two options. The first is to levy a hefty fine for racist behavior or remarks. The other is to make the person the following offer: Go and live in co-housing with an ICD family for 2 years. Keep working at your job. Take care of your family. All that we ask is that you live the experience of diversity for 2 years. Your children will go to school with their children, your elders will congregate with their elders, you will shop and go to church among the other members of the community. At the end of the two years, you can go back to your own home, or you can relocate.
Part two has to do with how to get the money for such an endeavor. To get the answer, I needed to turn something about our society on its head. We often talk about whether private corporations should be taking over government functions. Witness the recent news stories about privatizing the Post Office, or privatizing schools. Perhaps we should also be having conversations about when and whether private endeavors are sucking the life out of society and need to be transformed into community-owned and regional enterprises.
The healthcare industry is a case in point. Efforts have been underway since Obama to make health care a federal issue, rather than the mess it has become as a private enterprise. The cost of health care as a private industry is far too high for any of us to afford on our own. When such a thing happens in the private sector, it’s time to turn the enterprise over to our federal system of government – which means we, the people.
Amazon is another case in point. It is a fabulous business idea, one that serves us well. But as a private corporation, it is based on poorly treating the people who make it run: the thousands of warehouse workers and drivers who earn low wages. While the workers sweat and toil, while the country offers the roadways and postal service to make it happen, Bezos rakes in billion after billion. It is time to turn that enterprise over to the people of this country.
We need to break Amazon up into regional businesses run by regional leaders who use the profits for regional needs. Instead of profits flowing to one person only, profits would be poured back into the community: jobs, wages, housing, public transportation, schools, health care and so on.
Which leads to the third idea. How do you get a private company to agree that it is time for the nation to take over their enterprise? My answer: You make it criminal to return less than X percent of your profits to the people and communities that are doing the work that is making you rich. You make it criminal to not be investing heavily in the national infrastructure that allows you to operate your business. You make it criminal to increase your own income without increasing the income of every person who is working for you by the same percentage.
So that’s where I ended up, folks, The answers have to have something to do with finding ways to help people with racist views figure out their place in an anti-racist society. We can’t just push back with lessons on politically correct language or by force-feeding them anti-racist rhetoric. They need to live the experience of anti-racism among people with anti-racist views and experiences, people who can help them navigate daily life in an anti-racist environment. And while they are learning, their children need to be growing up in an anti-racist context.
I hope this gets you thinking about what to do with them – the people who will continue to hold onto racist beliefs, no matter who we elect. I’d love to hear your ideas.
