The long, dark shadow.

I just finished reading King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. It is a book about the colonization and exploitation of the Congo by the Belgian monarch during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The atrocities that were committed under the drive for profits would make anyone cringe. There is evidence that ten million Congolese people died of abuse or outright murder during the ivory and rubber frenzies.

It has me thinking about racism. The West was able to overlook the Congo because questioning the abuses there would mean reevaluating the entire colonial system that fueled Western economies. The exploitation required the participation of individuals at every level of government, military, finance and even religion. Every one had a role to keep the system going.

Hindsight is of course twenty-twenty. Hochschild gives a full and awful picture of how the system mutilated bodies and ultimately destroyed entire societies. But no one saw the whole picture- not even the greedy king. Everyone was shielded just enough to justify their own actions, to pass the blame up or down without missing a paycheck. That seems to be how systems of injustice work. They build on small concessions to injustice- not always starting with the assumption that some life is less valuable, just considering other (read: monetary) factors as more immediately important.

So then it seems that the core of racism ultimately becomes about self-interest, not hating others. My needs justify my actions, even if they affect you. (Not to say that it doesn't become externally focused, destructive and evil, but the root comes from prioritizing the self.)

Now let's consider the most recent context of race and economics brought up because of Hurricane Katrina. Many have argued that if the evacuees had been white they would have received more help and quicker aid. What we clearly saw was a lack of resources for the thousands of New Orleans' residents that were stranded in their city. In this case, race highlights the economic divide that we see throughout the nation.

So perhaps this is how the racism comes to light: those in power had means of escape. As far as I know, it wasn't that anyone intentionally neglected those resources for the poor, black minority. Instead, the need was never even on the minds of those in charge. Not to say that Katrina could have been entirely anticipated by anyone, but I would argue that the wealthy have means to deal with catastrophes just by default. Those left behind are the glaring testimony of the needs that have been overlooked. The visible powerless define the invisible powerful.

The story of the Congo is just one example of the extent to which neglect and self interest can become monstrous. Every culture, every nation has overdue blame to acknowledge. It is just such a slippery slope.

I've been trying to imagine who would be left behind in Portland if a disaster with effects as devastating as Katrina should hit our city. I think that I am slowly forming an idea. So now I have to ask myself hard questions: how do I anticipate the needs of the powerless? How do I overturn my own assumptions and become an active participant in supporting equal human rights? And how, how do I weed out those small concessions to injustice in my life that feed the larger beast?