The Racist Rates in America and the World

Posted by African Examiner Prof.R.A Ipinyomi Thursday, July 11th, 2013

By Prof. R.A. Ipinyomi, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

US President Barrack Obama

A recent survey carried out amongst several races in America society indicates that the back race remains more racist than either the whites or the Hispanics. The poll was carried out only amongst the Americans, but if it was extended to the blacks in the other part of the world, especially South Africa, Zimbabwe the black responses would have given a higher rate of racism. These types of study is good but have limited values and applications unless extended to why such outcomes are our results in this modern age.

The race relation has been topical and worthy of our attention but not forgetting its causes or the underlying factors generating the bad mood in particular. In my Yoruba adage the person who surfers most, or who has the bad and negative side of dispute, usually forget less. He then becomes a ‘once beaten twice shy’ person. Hence for the black not to be racist at this time it would take the other races several demonstrations of confidence of trust. At present the black man should never sleep with a white man with his two eyes closed, one should remain opened to monitor the white man’s moves and intentions. This is the source of the racism.

The Zimbabwe’s case is of note where the former Prime Minister, Ain Smith openly compared blacks with goats and sheep and he had great hatred for the black. In a twist President Mugabe of Zimbabwe has not demonstrated a forgiven spirit equal enough to erase the years of apartheid in that country that resulted into gorilla struggle and eventual independence. There was no Mandela in Zimbabwe and when the Europeans and America wanted to make President Obasanjo (OBJ) of Nigeria one, whilst OBJ was President of his country they failed. OBJ seemed to have supported the hard line of his brother Mugabe in the issue of race relation. ‘You cannot trust them’, was their saying apparently. There are several Mugabe in one man, the one that hated and fought the whites for their racial rule in Southern Rhodesia, the one that is perpetuating himself as a life president of Zimbabwe and the one that lived in Ghana and married in his earlier life.

The experience in South Africa is rather different from the South Rhodesian experience in the sense of leadership transfer. Mandela should be able to describe himself and his history around the political struggle against several inequalities in his country and that he won the battle and the peace. This sense of victory is not lost in his judgement and he negotiated for the betterment of all South Africans. Thank God he had co-travellers amongst the minority white ruling class who saw same light with Mandela. We must not forget the contribution of the Church in South Africa led by Bishop Tutu and his counterparts worldwide. Zimbabwe lacked such figures from start, and till now. Joshua Nkomo and the present Prime Minister in Zimbabwe were political opposition leaders and not moral and justice seekers. The race relation in South Africa after Mandela may not be different from what Mandela has designed and laboured it to be; we should not take anything for granted nevertheless. We all have to work hard on it.

On the other hands places like Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and many parts of Africa are very surprised when they get to Europe and America and find blacks being discriminated against. We are free citizens here. I was in a train going from Southampton to Bristol in England in 1983 when a young white boy of about 8 years old then fixed his eyes on me and I also looked at him and smiled. When he could not hold his peace he turned to his mother pointing at me and told her mother, “This man has not had a bath for years”. The mother quickly covered his mouth and I laughed to myself of a society who refused to be informed about the different pieces Nature has chosen to create for His own honour. Until we see ourselves as part of nature’s creation, for the benefit and glory of nature, we would continually place ourselves on a higher pedestrian and possible pride. We are to accept each other as we are, without any prejudice as possible.

People who have not been travelling out of their communities are more likely to discriminate on strangers that look differently from them. This ought not to be so for a heart that is created to love and treat strangers with dignity and respect. The impact of our earlier encounters gave the impression of equal treatment and mutual respect at the onset until the negative impact of slave trade. Today the same slave trading is on in every nation and with possible similar future consequences if we refuse to fight it out right away. The slave trade of today is driving, not by industrial revolution in Europe and America but by factors of greed and poverty. Poverty in one sense that, some citizens are hopelessly unable to make ends meet, so they result into all sorts as they are on the verge. A few are greedy and taking advantage of citizens less able by capitalizing on their poverty. In particular they grow a relationship that sends the less to do citizens into various jobs like harlotry, forced labour, domestic servant hoods without the concepts of the individuals involved. In some parts of the world like Asia there is still the concept of using children as collaterals for money borrowing. Related to race discrimination is gender discrimination especially against female in many parts of the world.

When a people unite to work together in a course we may not condemn them. If all blacks are more racists than all others we may therefore not condemn them but investigate why they do so. If racism were to be eliminated it must start from the race that seems to have benefitted the most, in this case the so called whites. But our finding is of a different sort, where we project that future population would have more dark sinks than we presently have in percentage. Efforts would need to be put in place to find a generation that will have no mix blood, especially in places like London, many cities in America and France. If the rates of inter-race marriages continue at its present trend, and products of the marriages result in dark skins, the pure white or black genes will be in the process of extinction in another 100 years hence. Discrimination is not always bad but not when it opens the door of several lives of inequalities.

Prof. R.A. Ipinyomi,

ipinyomira@yahoo.co.uk or/and raipinyomi@unilorin.edu.ng