It is time that someone said it. And I don’t want it to be me. But here it is, the truth, as I see it. A truth that I believe must be known and understood if we are to save ourselves. The American body politic is suffering from a serious illness…brain damage. I know that just saying something like this will outrage many of us. I regret that. But I believe that a proper diagnosis of an illness leads to proper treatment. I have lived seventy+ years as a Black woman in America. I have seen and experienced the effects and outcomes of America’s brain damage.
I believe the disease appeared in 1619 when 20 Africans were kidnapped and brought to the colonies and enslaved. It was a horrific act that could only be morally supported by adopting a cruel logic; that it is necessary and acceptable to enslave Black people. And they needed to construct a belief that Africans were inferior beings to maintain the horror. That disordered logic, in my opinion, is an example of brain damage. The Enslavement and torture of human beings became an economic strategy that supported the colony’s survival and their prosperity. White supremacy became the mindset and the sacred text of the American colonist. Approximately, 150 years later the colonists gain their independence by declaring that all men are created equal. But it was almost impossible to fully embrace those principles, values and ideas because they had succumbed to the evils of white supremacy.
I define brain damage as the deterioration of brain cells that makes it difficult for the mind to assess and respond to the environment in ways that are life affirming and wholesome. I know that we normally think of brain damage as a purely medical condition. We rarely if ever see it as a factor in spiritual or moral decline or decay. But I believe it can be. If you think about it the practice of brutal, savage or depraved actions designed to oppress humans carried out for centuries teaches the brain to record those practices as acceptable. And over time the colonist came to treat such behavior as normal. The belief that white people matter more than others impaired their ability to experience empathy. compassion, or respect for those who do not look like them.
White supremacists are unable to reflect upon and discern the consequence of their actions and how it impacts others, rendering them morally bankrupt. Their callousness then is a normal response to those who were suffering under the weight of white supremacy. They appreciate the power and privilege they receive because they are on top of the racial hierarchy even when they witnessed the suffering it causes other human beings. Under white supremacy, to preserve their conscience, white people must be silent, feign ignorance, lie, minimize or deny its horrors…brain damage.
The founding fathers, the politicians, the professors, the ministers and pastors in their twisted mindset constructed a lie. And they sold it to everyday Americans. And every day Americans wanted to believe it. They created laws and rules that enshrined the toxic logic of white supremacy in our national identity documents. They taught it to children; they extolled its logic on Sunday as part of their religious practice; They promoted it in books and scholarly journals and in prestigious colleges and universities; Political leaders organized political parties and enshrined it in state legislation and public policy. We have woven the practice of racial inequality and white supremacy into the tapestry of our body politic.
Pretty soon abusing, terrorizing, and killing people the white elite deem inferior becomes as normal as mom and apple pie. Equal justice, freedom for all becomes an existential threat under its rules. White supremacy is anathema to the very principles that founded our country. So, who or what is a patriot? White domination is the cultural norm in a country that claims freedom and equal justice for all. It is a cognitive imperative for many in America that white people are seen as superior beings and Black people see themselves as inferior. And when Blacks and other marginalized group internalize our inferiority by giving up on ourselves, we endorse the lie of white superiority…brain damage.
White Supremacy has survived the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, The Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, Brown vs. Board of Education, the 1964 and 65 Civil Rights Acts, The Bible and the rules and regulations of every federal, state, and local agency charged with the responsibility of achieving equality for all Americans. It is hard to deny white supremacy’s staying power. There is a long list of savage brutal and barbaric treatment perpetrated by white people against Blacks and people of color. Lynching, torture, rape, child trafficking kidnapping, pedophilia, murder, theft, are behaviors that by any moral compass or standard would be considered depraved. And they have all been employed to assure the maintenance and proliferation of white supremacy…brain damage.
Those who suffer from this toxic mind are spiritually and morally vandalized because they are incapable of living in harmony with other people. And we see its tragic consequences all the time. Yes, white supremacy causes suffering to people of color. But it hurts white people, perhaps even more because the legacy of white supremacy upends their humanity. And whether they like it or not it is their legacy. And conscious white people who know the truth suffer under the weight of this knowledge.
Look I know that we all have been trapped in this white supremacy mind warp. And I know that there are a lot of good hearted, loving white people who are committed to interrupting the crazy. And I recognize that People of Color are also subject to brain damage. We are all at risk and reduced to a way of being under white supremacy that undermines our efficacy as human beings. Creating a civil society in America then is almost impossible unless and until we interrupt white supremacy’s hold on the mind of our body politic. We must release our attitudes, beliefs, perceptions from the mental slavery of white supremacy. We need to flip the script.
Our recent election for president of the United States is a prime example of white supremacy’s power to kill us all. We see in this election the brain damage that is now ascendant in our body politic. While we may disagree with the policies of the Democratic nominee; It is difficult to deny this Black woman’s out sized qualifications, her competence, her love for this country, her grace, her dignity, her integrity, her commitment to the rule of law. And her deep concern for the wellbeing of all Americans.
It is also difficult to deny the depraved, unhinged, narcissistic, immoral behavior of the white male Republican nominee who has demonstrated concern only for himself and has stated his indifference to protecting our democracy. But most Americans chose him a liar, convicted felon, sexual predator, adulterer and grifter to be our president. And I hear statements like… “I didn’t know who to believe so I didn’t vote.” “They look the same to me.” “He’s not gon’ do what he says.” “I can’t believe anything coming from the media.” “Eggs cost too much.” “He is chosen by God” And, I say brain damage. I believe that we are in this moment, unable as a society to protect ourselves from fascists predators who are primed to destroy our democracy. Has the brain damage turned to a cancer? Is it inoperable? Has it metastasized? Can we come to our senses? I don’t know. What do you think?
See you at our next EBAOO Hear and Now conversation. Dec.17 6:30-8p
Lutricia