dehistoricising racism

[Kenneth Mostern]

What I've been trying to say is that this is simply not an either/or proposition - not only because racial ideology is so slippery, but because racism has always been differentiated in a continual, not a discreet, hierarchy.  There was (and to a small extent still is) racism against Eastern and Southern Europeans; it was not the same as racism against blacks because racism was internally differentiated.  This is not a complicated point.

Kenneth Mostern
Department of English
University of Tennessee

"Talent is perhaps nothing other than successfully sublimated rage."

	Theodor Adorno

-----Original Message-----
From:	Mathew Forstater [SMTP:forstate at levy.org]
Sent:	Friday, May 29, 1998 11:16 AM
To:	lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
Subject:	Re: dehistoricising racism

I agree completely that we cannot conflate racism with other forms of
group antipathy or conflict and believe I gave some of the same
reasons earlier.

But on the following point:

On Fri, 29 May 1998, Jim heartfield wrote:


> target of racism are missing the point. Today blacks are the principle
> targt of racism, but in the past Jews, Italians, East Europeans and
> Irish were also targeted. A change has taken place.

Racism against these european groups--when it was racism and not ethnic or
religious prejudice--was always in reference to Africans.  Which side of
the arbitrary, shifting line they fell on at a particular time under
particular social circumstances.  But the line was between "black" and "white" and African peoples were the referent at the far end.

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