Centuries prior to modern hip-hop rivalries, America was the stage for its very first intellectual disagreement. This was a time when a noble French naturalist, George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, had published an extensive 36-part series, ‘Historie Naturelle.’ This work was an early exploration into what would later be known as racial taxonomy. While he didn’t oppose Buffon’s view that European lineage was the zenith of human evolution or Buffon’s reduction of African intellect, Thomas Jefferson countered Buffon’s argument that racial disparities were manifestations of environmental and cultural circumstances rather than genetic lineage.
Jefferson, an eminent figure in his time, felt disgruntled with Buffon’s warning that Europeans in the New World shared the same likelihood of intellectual regression, just like the Africans and indigenous populations. Buffon’s implications that the white American populations were intellectually subservient to their original European counterparts were, in Jefferson’s eyes, a slight to his homeland’s honor.
As a riposte, Jefferson contrived his 1787 work, ‘Notes on the State of Virginia.’ Jefferson’s writing acted as a counter narrative defending the intellectual prowess of white America and in return, challenged Buffon’s reproach of American slaveholders. In retrospect, we’re now able to see that both theoreticians missed the mark, their racial perspectives built on misconceptions and false principles.
Fast forward to the present day, we understand the flaws in their arguments. Race as a concept, based on scientific evidence, lacks any genetic or biological foundation. It turns out that race, akin to mythical beings, divine figures and socially constructed concepts, is a creation of the human thought process. Unfortunately, such baseless beliefs continue to survive in the minds of a few, disregarding the overwhelming proof for their non-existence.
After almost three hundred years after the initial clash of intellectual titans, we see a resurgence of these misguided views, propagated by modern self-proclaimed intellects. The spark for debate was the discussion surrounding the use of H1B Visa programs by technology companies to draft employees from foreign lands.
The embodied spirit of average competency is the quintessential American, whose immigrant ancestors valued the virtues of education and hard labor, all in the dream of providing their offspring with prestigious educational opportunities. The ideologies that have held American exceptionalism together have often centered on perceived superiority, a myth perpetuated throughout American history.
In the melting pot that is America, with its myriad of ethnicities, ideologies and cultures, it’s almost too simple to craft a political constituency or a lucrative scheme. All one needs to do is cater to ingrained societal prejudices and convince the mediocrity of their supremacy. Historical practices like Jim Crow laws, the Manifest Destiny or veiled ‘economic worries,’ are, in essence, the fruits of self-deception deemed necessary for capitalism to flourish.
Success in most cultures globally is the resultant reward for hard work, perseverance and moral rightfulness. Ironically, in the white American perception of their exceptionalism, they’ve formulated unique contrariwise principles. Once you factor in the centuries of legally sanctioned discrimination, it’s not difficult to comprehend the racial wealth divide.
Despite the logical arguments, this meritocratic myth continues to uphold the false notion that economic inequality is reflective of the perceived genetic and cultural inferiority of the Black population, in comparison to the relatively prosperous individuals in the society. The assertion that American mediocrity is an insult ties back to an error in equating American identity to whiteness, a fallacy similar to the one upheld by Jefferson.
This flawed perspective sees any critique of American culture as a direct affront, while readily condemning Black ‘thugs’ or labeling Spanish-speaking immigrants ‘illegals’, and showcasing discrimination against individuals hailing from ‘shithole’ countries as a patriotic obligation. They pass off these biases under the guise of being scientific.
Overcoming this worldview requires collective action. Drawing an analogy, consider a humble music artist from Compton successfully challenging a globally recognized star of the music industry. Similarly, we can outwit the shallow knowledge of racist billionaires, regardless of their financial means.
Although they possess tremendous wealth, their belief in pseudoscience shows that they are out of touch with reality. We possess enough wisdom to see through their tactics aimed at perpetuating white dominance. Ultimately, the future is in embracing empirical truths and understanding the destructive nature of racism.