Racism : knowing our enemies [1985]

Only natural?

Racism, that set of dogmatic, cruel and derogatory attitudes that claims one ‘race’ is somehow superior to another, is a huge con worked by the ruling class on the rest of us. There’s nothing natural about it, it’s an artificial attitude that we are taught, and we are taught it for a reason.

Everywhere in the world, society is divided into classes. While the rich enjoy luxury and privilege, the workers suffer deprivation, repression and degradation. Inevitably, the strains and pressures caused by this system lead to frustration and anger. What better way for the rich to safeguard their system of exploitation than to make sure we take these feelings out on each other instead of our rulers?

Divide and rule

Racists instead of attacking the real enemies prefer to blame other workers who happen to be black or speak a different language. In this way we are always disorganised to fight the real enemy and win the final overthrow of this chaotic system imposed by capitalism.

Sources of infection

Like so many other harmful attitudes, racism starts early, in the home, with ideas we may pick up from our parents and other adults who influence us.

Next comes school, where many racist attitudes are fostered, both openly and implicitly. Books and comics seem to be only about white people – when blacks and asians do appear they have stereotyped images as slaves, servants, street-sweepers, etc. Their behaviour is uncivilised, dirty, aggressive, stupid and sly.

One step on from comics, the gutter press is just as bad, with frequent hysterical outbursts portraying black immigrants, for example, as a life-threatening invasion of colossal magnitude.

People easily absorb these opinions and ideas, forgetting that they benefit only the ruling class.

Proud to be a patriot?

What about patriotism and national pride? Surely a love of country and our national culture are positive feelings? Maybe not. Our simple enjoyment of our own land and language are easily twisted into an attitude that we’re superior to anyone who isn’t white and BRITISH.

But every country feels that they are best and everyone else second-rate. This is simply another form of racism, whipped up to hysterical levels when it suits our rulers economic interests to go to war.

Then we are sent off to murder people of our own class while the bosses – in each country – laugh all the way to the bank.

Good for business

Racism protects the bosses by acting as a safety valve at times of ‘economic crisis’. It’s always the colour of peoples’ skin that gets the blame for unemployment, for example, or crime on the street. Blame the blacks, not the bosses, we’re told. But this lie is easily exposed – just consider Northern Ireland, one of the UK’s worst areas of unemployment. Not exactly overrun with Asian immigrants, is it?

Historically, racism was a justification for the slave trade and later colonialism. The pretence was that black people were fit for nothing better, or in some way benefited from these things.

The real enemy

We must combat racism at all times. We know that NO-ONE is racially superior or more important. The real enemy are the bosses and their police.

The working class has no country. Our interests lie with our class, and the struggle between the rulers and the ruled will only be solved in solidarity, with the downtrodden of the world breaking through the boundaries of nationalism and racism.

Remember, regardless of the petty differences of skin colour and nationality, we are in the same boat. Let’s organise as a class for the chance to run our own lives.

LIVERPOOL DAM

Direct Action No.26 (July 1985) https://libcom.org/article/direct-action-26-july-1985