Ask The Wrong Question, Get The Wrong Answer

Over the past few months I have encountered a...phenomenon isn't the correct word. Dichotomy, perhaps? in the thinking and expressed views of several people: I have listened to self-proclaimed liberals and/or socialists espousing racist beliefs. I will not lie; this has troubled me immensely, not so much because in this day and age racism exists and continues to run rampant through the minds of the ignorant (especially here in the south), but because it exists among those students with whom I interact on an almost daily basis. Aren't we--those seeking higher education--supposed to be of open minds and tolerance? Apparently not. A socialist who is a racist. I cannot fathom this. I spoke with my psychology and sociology instructors concerning this, and both agreed something was wrong in the thought process of the individual(s) who adheres to such pabulum. With the SOC instructor, the reality that racism will never truly die was countered by the telling of her former instructor's prophecy: "By the year 2100, everyone will be a bi-sexual mullato." This, of course, was said in jest, but does such a reality await us all? My PSYCH instructor, on the other hand, stated that he believed a socialist could be exclusive in to whom the proleteriat should benefit. I did not accept this. I COULD not accept this, because by definition, the proleteriat seeks the equality of the working class as a whole, not "rationalized" factions of said. This was really beginning to bug the hell out of me. I didn't lose sleep over it, but it irked me that I could not get past this hurdle of how a socialist or liberal could be a racist. Then it dawned on me: The reason my PSYCH instructor's answer made no sense to me is because I asked the wrong question. I thought back to the end of the Civil War: Blacks were given their freedom from enslavement, but their inclusion into the newly-formed Socialist Party as well as the many worker unions that sprang up was nil, even though by definition they eventually became eager and willing candidates (and for the record, all blacks were Republicans initially, as they paid an homage to Abraham Lincoln for his efforts in setting them free [and for the record, the Civil War was never about ending slavery {The Emancipation Proclamation took care of that}, it was about "...preserving the Union.]. Was it not the Republicans who facillitated the change from oppression of the black man to making him an economically viable citizen in the south in the aftermath of the war? But this is not meant to be a history lesson). This brings me to today, and my poorly-phrased question. How can a socialist be a racist? (S)he cannot. It is impossible for such an entity to exist. We, as human beings, tend to define ourselves by grouping. There are many groups, some more important than others, that we latch onto in our quest to identify ourselves. I am analytically driven, I am a conservative, I am open-minded, and I am athiest. At any point, these and the host of other traits and qualities I exhibit can become my primary group, with the others falling into secondary groups. I like to think that what defines me best is that I am analytically driven, but the others are equally important as well. I have already shown how a socialist racist cannot exist. The proper question, then, is: Can a racist exhibit socialist tendencies? Undoubtedly. The person in question must be grouped according to their strongest belief, or that which best defines them. In this case, they must be racist above all else (inclusion of the specific group) with a feeling of entitlement toward (the exclusion of others in matters of) socialist doctrine. So there you have it. I have hypothecized, theorized, and formed a cognitive, logical explanation to this most perplexing enigma, no doubt given power by the fact that I asked the wrong question to begin with.