A reader contributes a very reasonable and astute take on race, racism and ultimately classism in today's Bermuda:
The whole concept that racism requires power has grown in popularity primarily in the US, where not only are blacks disadvantaged socially, economically, etc. but also where they are an overwhelming minority.Attempting to use paradigms from the US and its problems with race makes little sense in Bermuda to me, where we currently have a black government and a population that is predominantly black.
The biggest problem I see in Bermuda is that white people are unable to comprehend institutional racism and the legacy that slavery has left. Many white people will say "Why should I be sorry for something that happened 300 years ago," or some such nonsense. The painful truth is that segregation was not so long ago, and to think that the cumulative effects of slavery/segregation, etc can be nullified in a couple of generations is disingenuous. Real measures need to be taken to make sure all people are on a level playing ground.
On the flip side, it seems the black community is taking it to heart that they can not be held accountable for racist behaviour because they have suffered in the past, and have an exemption based on the "racism requires power" card. This thinking may be correct at a large systemic level, but doesn't account for what can happen on an individual level. If a black person is beaten by five white people in a dark alley because of his colour, that is racism. The same holds true if the tables are turned, period.
All the squabbling takes away from the real "ism" that we face today, which is classism. Rich black Bermudians golfing at the Mid-Ocean club have a lot more in common with other rich folks, regardless of their colour. Poorer working white folks have more in common with their fellow black workers than with the CEOs of the island. Now, the wealthy have power, and they're looking out for themselves and each other, while the rest of us are focused by this "conversation" on race. Rather than the big conversation, I'd call it the "big distraction."
