Discourse On Colonialism Analysis

In the essay, “A Genealogy of Modern Racism”, the author Dr. Cornel West discusses racism in depth, while conveying why whites feel this sense of superiority. We learn through his discussion that whites have been forced to treat black harshly due to the knowledge that was given to them about the aesthetics of beauty and civility. This knowledge that was bestowed on the whites in the modern West, taught them that they were superior to all races tat did not emulate the norms of whites. According to Dr. West the very idea that blacks were even human beings is a concept that was a “relatively new discovery of the modern West”, and that equality of beauty, culture, and intellect in blacks remains problematic and controversial in intellectual circles

This ideology was the cause of years of mistreatment of the nonwhites, especially Native Americans. Westward expansion was founded on ideas of white supremacy and the treatment of nonwhites during it was seen as an inevitable

Alfred T. Mahan and John Fisk worked together. Mahan pushed for conquering the new frontiers while Fisk wanted to take the newly conquered places and make them one hundred percent english. Frederick Jackson Turner and Herbert Spencer worked together too. Spencer preached about survival of the fittest and that if America wanted to survive she needed to continue to gain territory and power in order to be on top and Turner wanted to continue conquering new frontiers to stay strong and American. All of these philosophers justified imperialism in their own ways.

White man’s burden was a common phrase used to justify European imperialism in the 19th and early 20th century. It was a period of time where westerners had the desire to “save” those who lacked the same freedoms in which the westerners perceived to be necessary to a functioning society.. It was a period where the Middle East was taken advantage of, and the middle easterns had to deal with it, whether they liked it or not. But, the underlying question of the modern era is still up to debate: Is White Man’s Burden on Muslim Women unwelcomed in the Middle East? To answer this, one must not think of their own opinion on the topic, but look through the different perceptions of whites and middle easterns.

This gave rise to belief that there was a “hierarchy” of races and that the Europeans were at the top of the hierarchy. Imperialists used genetics as a justified explanation to why white people were more superior to other races. Darwin believed that animal species was adapting and changing to environments in the process of evolution. Never did Darwin suggest that this was meant to apply to humans and their societies, cultures and races. However although the theory adapted by Herbert Spencer, and originally created by Darwin, contributed towards imperialism and colonisation it was not the sole cause of it.

Drawing from colonialism to debates and theories of racism, white supremacy is an important and under theorized concept. The term white, as applied to human inhabitants of North America, can be dated back into the 17th century. Since then and throughout U.S. history, the term “white” has been associated with preferential treatment. Although artificial, the term served highly political purposes as it separated those who were oppressed on the basis of skin color. For instance, the original Constitution acknowledged both slavery as well as political and economic rights to whites.

Postcolonial literature has been popular for its larger part of the theorist (“Postcolonialism” 225). “ Racial discrimination is a theme that runs throughout postcolonial discourse, as white Europeans consistently emphasized their superiority over darker skinned people,” (“Postcolonialism” 231). Race, language and identity is a main part of Postcolonial. The Postcolonialism was after the countries gained its independence from Great Britain (“Postcolonialism” 225). Cultural difference were one of the main reasons of postcolonial, the separation between two or more ethnic groups.

By stating that all lives matter it negates the message that BLM is trying to make clear. It denies African Americans the recognition that their lives matter by attempting to make them feel foolish, selfish, or silly. If all lives matter, then black lives matter, but if all lives really did matter equally under the rule of law, BLM would not need to exist. Yet here BLM stands, stoically pushing for the legitimacy that it should have been rightfully awarded at its start. BLM’s struggle for legitimacy is based on the power structures of systemic racism created by the country’s unanimously white founders from the start.

Ever get that feeling of zeal towards others? In Lord of the Flies, William Golding illustrates anthropological ideals and man’s experience living with others and the feeling of jealousy. Thomas Hobbes also depicts the nature of man and how they sabotage one another for a chance at power. One of the main characters, Jack Merridew, presents anthropology in his actions which correlate with Hobbes observations and predictions of mankind and how they are jealous, guile and savages when exposed to others. Both authors demonstrate want and zeal In Hobbes works he says “the weakest have strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination or by confederacy with other in the same danger with himself.” (Hobbes) When weak people seek

Caliendo and Mcllwain (2011) have suggested that the historical claims of white supremacy within nations such as the UK and South Africa have created racial conflicts and segregation between ethnic communities. Relating back to Weber’s theory of the caste system, the “authentically white” (Caliendo and Mcllwain, 2011:22) communities are dominant and control the minority communities. Caliendo and Mcllwain argue that the “authentically white” have increased wealth and status which they use to create boundaries and exclude the ethnic groups within the community. An example of this would be the issue of Apartheid in South Africa throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Apartheid can be defined by the New Oxford English Dictionary (1998) as “a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on the grounds of race” (Guelke, 2005:61).

Belived that obtaning western territory was a God given right based on race supremacy, that the white race was chosen by God to dominate and expand to the Pacific Ocean. More on this long term cause which was the Manifest Destiny; its said to be a concept coming back from the Puritans that Americans kept in mind and was ultimately a justification practiced by Southerners to grow slavery which Mexicans tried eliminating in Texas. Finally, the last short term cause that may of caused the American-Mexican war is the simple fact of practice of racism in a uprise and the simple fact of being a very different country. President Polk is said to have despise Mexicans, he did not tolarate or liked them at all. Polk and most of the Americans viewed the Mexican race as worthless and like something Pg.5 out of this world, because they were a mix between Spanish and Indians.