Chardonnay Racism

Ignorance and Unintended Self-Parody

Every culture has its list of capital sins and petty sins.  The latter, whilst being deemed wrong, are less serious than capital sins , which are regarded as the "big ones".  Under the tutelage of Western secularism ironically racism has become one of the "big ones". 

Racism can be defined strictly as a world-view which sees life and human existence through a racial prism.  One's race (or more strictly, one's genes) are seen as the determinative cause of one's thoughts, words, and deeds.  Racism is thus a sub-set of the false religion of materialism. 

One does not need to dislike a particular race in order to be legitimately termed a racist.  To qualify one simply needs to see human existence reduced to racial causation.  For example, at its least offensive, racism may attribute certain musical forms to race.
  The blues might be de-constructed so as to be deemed black music--which given its provenance might seem reasonable, until someone like Eric Clapton comes along.  People afflicted with racism might persist in seeing blues music in racial categories, and argue that Clapton's music is not authentic, not actually the blues, because he is white.  At this juncture, however, racism is just dumb, rather than evil.  Racism becomes evil when it elides into categorisation of inferior and superior human beings. 


To the Christian, genes and culture are not the same; they are equally ultimate within the creation.  All cultures contain elements of good and evil.  All human races are admixtures of the same.  Moreover, all human beings are created in God's image and are therefore implicitly sacrosanct.  Racial differences and cultural differences are a cause for celebration, sin notwithstanding.

It is to play the part of the racist when race is understood to determine one's being, so that actions, thoughts, words, deeds, motives, and goals are seen to be caused by race.  "He tells lies because he is white"; or "He is rich because he is Asian" are racist statements because of the reduction to a racial, or genetic cause.  To accuse others of being racist, however, may well expose the accuser himself as the racist, particularly if it is the accuser, not the accused who is thinking in racial categories.

Real life provides us with an example.  Consider the following:

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei is accusing National Party MPs of "pure racism" after comments in Parliament about her home and clothing. 

For the record, Turei is part Maori; Tolley is not (as far as we know).  Also, note the phrase "pure racism" which implies unadulterated, extreme, without qualification.  We proceed . . . .

East Coast MP and Police Minister Anne Tolley said today that Turei, lived in a castle and wore designer clothes. Speaking during the debate on the Prime Minister John Key's opening statement to Parliament, Tolley said she was insulted by Green Party claims that she was out of touch. She said said her role as an electorate MP included meetings with constituents who were among the poorest in the country. "I'm actually insulted to be lectured about how out of touch I am with average New Zealand by a list MP who has no constituents, lives in a castle and comes to the House in $2000 designer jackets and tells me I'm out of touch," Tolley said.

Now, that's not a bad ad hominem response.  Tolley is counter-volleying Turei's accusation that she is out of touch with poor people. Tolley presents some evidence that she is not, then alleges that it is Turei that is out of touch, living a life far removed from the experience of average New Zealanders.  So, maybe Tolley could be accused of richism or poorism or classism in her ad hominem riposte.  Maybe.  But that would make it all a bit silly, wouldn't it. To stretch it to racism goes way beyond silly. 

Asked about Tolley's comments, Turei said racism was behind the attack. "I'm shocked that the National Party would attack me and my home and my appearance. I think it is a racist attack," she said. "I think they seem to think it is all right for them to wear perfectly good suits for their professional job but that a Maori woman from a working-class background is not entitled to do the same. I think it is pure racism."  Ask how the attack was racist, Turei said she shopped at the same place some of her opponents did.

"They do not think that a professional Maori woman from a working-class background should be able to wear good suits to work," she said. "I buy my clothes from some of the same shops they do. I think they find that they can't cope with that and I think it's because I'm a Maori woman from a working-class background."  Turei said it was unfair to attack her home.  "MPs' homes have always been outside of the acceptable realms of debate, and so this very personal, very explicit attack, I think, comes from their inability to cope with my work and the effectiveness of my work, and an inherent racism." 

Tolley got the final word:

Tolley described Turei's comments as "absolute nonsense". "The Greens' co-leader is entitled to turn up in Parliament every day in expensive designer clothes, and good on her for doing just that," Tolley said. "But don't then lecture everyone else about poverty."

We believe this is a clear example of someone alleging racism who by the allegation betrays their racist frame of mind.  Turei has taken something completely unrelated to discussions or discourse about race and  alleged that her opponents are disagreeing with her, and rhetorically attacking her, because of her race.  It is Turei that is playing the role of the reductionist, of reducing the discourse to racial categories, even as she accuses her opponents of the same. 

This kind of racism is not so much evil as dumb and stupid.  Turei's ignorance at this point amounts to self-parody.  But underneath it all is an equally serious matter.  We conclude that Turei is embarrassed about her wealth and her (relatively) rich life-style because the Green Party is ardently socialistic and egalitarian when it comes to property and riches.  So she has sought to deflect the expose by alleging racism of her opponents. 

Sadly, Turei is exposing herself to be not just a false-accuser, but a hypocrite, and a sanctimonious one at that.