Are Pakistanis Racist Towards Black People?
Posted: June 19, 2009 | Author: khawerkhan | Filed under: Politics, Socialism | Tags: African American, African Americans, Blacks, Capitalism, Pakistani, Racism, Socialism |7 Comments »Recently, and quite by accident, I have had a number of conversations with Pakistanis living in America on the topic of the economic status of Black People in America.
The common refrain that one hears from these Pakistani immigrants, almost universally from the educated and privileged strata of Pakistani society, is that the economic situation of Black people has not improved due to some cultural fault in Black American society.
In an argument that very closely mirrors that of right wing Republicans, I have heard them say that slavery was a long time ago. By relegating historical facts, which naturally influence social conditions, to a purportedly inconsequential category of history these upper strata Pakistanis reinforce the mirage of a level playing field.
So how does to slavery, despite “being so long ago”, not make an impact on Black society in the United States? Upon being freed from slavery Black people were not put at par with middle-class whites, or even with working class whites. In significant ways, despite the end of slavery and the Jim Crow era this is still the case today.
It does not seem to matter to this privileged, and typically politically aloof, class of Pakistanis that a large number of Black people come from the working class. The working class, which constitutes the bulk of every country, has seen its real income decline over the decades. Instead of the advances of Capitalism benefiting this class has found it’s self sinking into a situation of lower wages with more working hours. That is if the working class can find a job in the first place.
So despite being free to sell their labor-power to the market since the Civil War the former slaves have had to rely largely on the Free Market, with minor benefits such as some limited affirmative action in universities, like the rest of the working class they have not benefited from Capitalism. There is of course, a growing segement of upper-middle and middle class black famlies, but the question is…why should their sucess mean that it is not racist to blame black people for the social conditions that some of them are raised in?
So this raises the questions, Is the Pakistani upper-middle class racist against black people or is this an extension of their ignorance of the suffering of the Pakistani underclass? In other words is this racism or class ignorance?
I would first like to comment that I am deeply offended that I am not able to vote in your poll. And, yes, you ARE an asshole!
Khawer, what is the general opinion of the Pakistani “elite” (or non-elite, whatever) of the economic status of the Republic of Ireland, who, historically, were raped, pillaged, beaten, nslaved, and forced to give up their native language and culture by the English; and Americans of Irish descent who were initially given the same status of Blacks and were oppressed by various “White” ethnic groups and the Jews upon their admission to the United States?
“The Irish”
“Who?”
“They beat us at cricket a couple of years ago”
“Ohhhhh the Irish! Their team is pretty weak. Must have been luck”
“Yes”
“The Luck of the Irish”
Jews? What the fuck is your problem. Are you a fucking anti-semite???
I hate you. That was a serious inquiry.
Pakistanis think of the Irish as just White.
my experiences say its a two way street. both ethnicities have a history of marginalization in the “white land” and have adopted this attitude as a defense mechanism.
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