Now that the dust raised by John Rocker's comments has begun to settle, it's time we take a close look at racism in our society and realize that we're focusing on the wrong -ism. Although it is an important issue, what we should be focusing on isn't racism, but classism.
The dictionary defines racism as "a scientifically unsound belief in the superiority of a specific race." Racism also encompasses any discrimination derived from such beliefs. This definition is very important, because these days the term racism is one of the most commonly misused and overused terms in the English language. Classism, on the other hand, is defined as discrimination based upon social class membership; conversely, classism is one of the most underused words.
Thus, by its official definition, the only real racists are members of the Ku Klux Klan and other idiots with similar persuasions. I use the term idiots with intent because in this day and age of information, only the most intellectually challenged could still cling to 19th century theories such as social Darwinism or the white man's burden.
Facing a sea of opposing evidence-both scientific and eyewitness-only the most ignorant and backward believe that skin color is a factor in evaluating the content of someone's character. As such, real racists are a distinct minority in our society, but their power is greatly exaggerated by sensationalist members of the media. If you have trouble believing this, I challenge you to name for me an influential person who buys into theories of white supremacy, or tell me the number of times you've witnessed hooded men burn crosses on front lawns.
Thus, an overwhelming majority of us don't deal with or see racism nearly as much as we see classism.
The scenario is well documented in the history of any society: The upper class fears it will somehow lose its accumulated power, while the middle class clings to what little it has in an attempt to avoid falling into the ranks of the lowest class. The lowest class, thoroughly disillusioned and dissatisfied with its substandard living conditions, screams for change.
This conflict between the classes is evident in every person who strives to enter the upper class, or at least escape the lower class. Whether we wish to admit it or not, very few of us would have objections to enjoying lavish possessions and financial security.
Moreover, if we came to possess such luxuries, an even fewer number of us would be willing to exchange them for a $15,000 annual income, a beat-up Chevy and a home of depreciating value located somewhere other than the suburbs.
In this country, it is especially difficult to spot classism because the middle class is huge, the lower class fairly small and the upper class infinitesimal. Nevertheless, classism is certainly present, perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that one rarely sees people of different social classes hanging out together-especially at Duke.
The problem then is that our conceptions of race and class have reached multiple intersection points and started to converge. As a result, stereotypes are unavoidable. Whites are viewed as having a significant presence in all three social classes, Asian Americans are mostly associated with the upper-middle class and blacks are perceived to generally belong to the lower-middle or lower class.
When statistical data is published in USA Today showing that blacks compose 10 percent of the national workforce, 4 percent of doctors, 3 percent of lawyers, 2 percent of architects and a staggering 47 percent of the federal prison population, these beliefs are further entrenched.
Therefore, when a young black man tries to catch a cab after midnight, he is likely to be ignored a number of times before someone finally stops to pick him up. But despite such facts of everyday American life, it is important to understand that what we think is racism is actually an example of classism veiled by race-and this subtle difference is crucial.
A cautious cab driver doesn't pass up a black man because he believes in white supremacy or that blacks do not deserve to ride in cars; he keeps driving because he is afraid. In his mind, the cab driver exercises caution because being black has come to imply membership in a crime-ridden lower class.
This is why we should focus on classism. The crux of the issue is not that Americans believe in racial superiority, but that each race has become inextricably associated with a specific social class. If we wish to solve this problem, we have to take a hard look at either how we can disassociate social class membership from skin color, or how we can end classism altogether.
Marko Djuranovic is a Trinity sophomore and associate Medical Center editor of The Chronicle.
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