I submit that everyone of ethnic African descent (essentially anyone "black"- possibly Latinos as well) should be given areas in which only they can live and work. Whites, Asians, Indians, and anyone else who does not qualify as "black" would be barred from living there and could only enter as tourists, whereas black people, of course, would be able to live and work outside the reserves if they wanted to. My rationale is that it is impossible to integrate black society with WASP society due to the mental barriers preventing us from seeing people from different races as "our own." If one notices that in practice black people live together in black neighborhoods, and almost always marry other black people, this divide becomes more evident.
But what is this solving?
I believe that integration with white society is the root of most problems in the black community. If you've ever thought about it (assuming you are white), it's incredibly easy, with a stretch of the imagination, to view black people as subhuman (as their features are psychological alien to us) and presumably vice-versa. This causes discrimination and fosters division in society (if you need obvious examples, try this convenient
slideshow). I submit that black police officers would have a far easier time enforcing order and mediating conflict in a black community than a white police officer would.
Moreover, when black people collectively organize themselves without legal divisions protecting them as well, it becomes easier to discriminate, as they tend to be poorer and their communities simply aren't invested in. It's a self-feeding cycle.
Of course, one could argue that if a person grew up around a smooth mixture of races, they would develop psychological connections to all of them, but that's just the point- they don't. Blacks gravitate towards each other even in a society where discrimination of any kind is taboo. I, however, see discrimination as a normal and inevitable product of human psychology.
But isn't this racist?
As per
definition, "racism is usually defined as views, practices and actions reflecting the belief that humanity is divided into distinct biological groups called races and that members of a certain race share certain attributes which make that group as a whole less desirable, more desirable, inferior or superior."
My proposal is not predicated on actual biological differences inherent to races that make Africans undesirable, hence my ideas are by definition not racist.
You're wrong about inherent racial divisions! My community is perfectly integrated and race isn't even a factor.
Yeah, and Polish aristocrats spoke French. There always a class which was above national or ethnic divisions and saw themselves as the same people.
What rights will blacks have under this system?
All of them! At least, all of the ones they do now. They will be granted full citizenship of their own territories as well as of the United States, with voting rights and military obligations (although the black communities will have the right to form their own governments, adjudicate legal cases and levy taxes within their borders, and have self-determination and autonomy to a large extent). The federal government will have a responsibility to protect their lands, assets, resources and treaty rights. Blacks will still be able to run for any federal office.
If this still seems quasi-racist to you, I'd like you to point out what the fundamental differences are between this system and a little thing we call
Indian reservations.
And may the flame wars begin.
