White paradox: programming of race attitudes
D> OIck Grciorr
Cybernation and cotnputor p^o- Krammlng may representih«tech¬ nological society of (he future, but Ihey alto Indicate d pheoomenon which has long dominated racial attitudes In this country. Bo(b ¦Mtes and blacka have been ays- lemallcally pntgrammed to de¬ velop conatn atUtudea about each oibor and iberaaclvc a—attitude a which determlnocurrcnt behavior paQems. Untortunaiclysuchsocial prograniming hj(s no* been ted Into the computer lo check the relli- bUliy ol the data, thua pinduclRg a lets ihan roallnlc aei ot al¬ titudes. Tbls column la an aitciOFt to compuicrlie some current racial attliudca.
For ycarv vfelie Ancrica haa
StDfrsmmcd Itaelf lo believe ibu IMk people »cre of laterlor stock. It bc(in with a program called alarary and has Ungervd ever since. Sdcb programralBg has sl- fectcd wbtic stUtodea tosazd Interracial marrlaze, blsckpoccn- Ual tor education, blsck csp^bUHy In employmcta and ao on. Yet a quick cooiputer cbeck vtll reveal thai vhlte America ttadt does not believe IheInlerioraiockmyth. U I marry a «oman of a&y ethnic background—Itallaa, aincse, Puerto Rlcxi. Irlabor
« h a I c V e r—a child produced through that unloo will be con- aldered black. The child vUI be ¦aid to hsYe "Ncgiti blood" and •QI be considered "a Negro" and frequently called "a nigger." The aamc pattern holda true ror any black woman wbo marrlei a man of any other ethnic backgrcund. Black genes are considered co socially (tt not biologically) pre¬ dominant thai a child Is dcalg- notcd black regardless ot tbe mix¬ ture. Realistically cpcakl^s. does that sound like Inferior stock to yoo?
The Inferior stock mjxh Indi¬ cates another domlaam racial al¬ titude. There la ntxhisg t^U* trp- sets the average white man i::Dre tban seeing a black man wlih a ¦bite woman.yet acomputerclieck will rerealtbaiwbltepiogrammlng has torccd the black mao to se¬ emly desire a wUie wmsao. Tbe white nomas has been prvjcded aa the object of seinal atmc- ttoo OD every level of tbe maaa iscdia. She ts tbe semal syisbcd for America aad black toOs ate Americans coo.
ETeryOmc I sec aa adixrclse- meot lor a DCw ear, awf hlack fctfca do like to driTe ne« can, ifaere U a wbke Isdy daagllag liie keys eatlctDglf by tbe opea door, InrUog me to make the psKbase. Soch m ad 1«mDi mt to beltevr
Ihac I should take tbe white lady along with tbe car co make aure roy gears shift rigfcJ, When I aee a beautiful wblie womm holding a bonlo of Pepsi urging me to "come alive and nave a Pepsi," It Is natural to assume ihal I will want the Pepsi and the lady too. Can white America actually believe that sex obfeda used In adrcrdslng wUl tempt only ibe whUe sCKnient of tbe Intended marker?
When I Waa a Itnle boy In the ghetto of Su LouU, I used to go to the moTles almost erery day, becauK tbe ibeater was coolci tn tbe sommer tb«i Ii was at borne and warmer fn tbe wuser, I was too ynmg. of coarse, to know any¬ thing about sex. ^x tbe tsorie Indosry began my pri>grammlBg even at tbM early aje. Cki the screen [ saw Ara Gardner making lore CO tbanpftry Bojart. My caril- est Indoetrlnatloa in glaisoroua lore-m a k I n g waa wxtcMng wtitte folks do tl, Tbe coly bUck woman HoUywDod allowed me to see was BetiUh. An crsi at tbatcailysuge ctf Bcsul orlentanoo, Beolab was ofarlmaly da the pi efeired cfiolce.
b seems icrztge Indeed jhx wbtte America's prufjusataf U tbe absobxe revrrxal of wbs la ncccasarr to prradDCc Its dexlrei] tVSBtt. To ' . .
enact a determined prm[ram In the roasa mediatoelevateUack women to the status o( semal aymbota. If beautiful black women were selling tbe cars and tbe aoFi drinka, black youth would at least bave a choice of sex oblecis. Or Is there something abcui the pro¬ grammed while roeotalli)' which would cause a abarp decline In tbe whtie consumer market for any Industry which would dare Imple¬ ment nich i^enlalag?
WhUe America baa been pro- gramroed to deplore- the rare of megUimate blnhs m ibe black gbcttas. Sucfa Ksriaclcs arc used to lUusrralo aa tsfertor moral Kand- ard Is tbe black commualiy. Ii Is true thai QlegKimMe Unhs la the Uack ujmrowfllty far out- cnmbc r Ibo*e In Ihe while commiaitly. But If tbe Uack man coold e-rcr gel his hands on cbe whUc man's abortloa credu card, be woold abow wbJic America bew to rererae audsHc*. Or If btack yotxb were able to get tbe hlgb salaried )obs wfakeyouh have been fetUnc BO I&JC Uack boys can af¬ ford prodOKes like wtdlebDTs can. Ua£± [DefltbnBe blrtfas WQcOd decline Aar^.tSegUsieeblnlis are more taOcsdre of ecoaotalc Cbclce ciaBtbey are o( moral K^^ STds.