Race row in the U.S. has some parallels here in Bermuda

I’ve been watching the story of Dr. Laura Schlessinger unfold in the U.S. media.  

She’s the talk show host who took a call from an African American woman who sought advice on how to cope with her white husband’s friends when they made racist comments.

Dr. Schlessinger then proceeded to use the N-word eleven times during the interview.  

She expressed her opinion on blacks’ support of President Obama, which she said they did “without giving it much thought”.  

And when the caller expressed her concern at her use of the N-word, Dr. Schlessinger said: “I think you have too much sensitivity.” Her excuse was that comedians and  black guys use it all the time.

Beyond her ugly and inappropriate use of the N-word, what I found particularly disturbing, listening to a recording of the call, was her total inability to hear the caller or listen to her concerns. Instead she chose to give her opinion from a perspective totally unrelated to that of the caller.

She railroaded ahead with her own narrative, hearing only her own voice, and choosing not to give credence to anything that contradicted her beliefs.

However, I’m not surprised by her response, as it is one that I have come into contact with in various forms in Bermuda.

For instance, Dr. Schlessinger’s rant about blacks voting for President Obama “without giving it much thought” sustains the U.S. conservative, white stereotype that blacks are, to put it politely, politically naive and easily convinced. Sadly the same is expressed periodically by whites in Bermuda, who simply can’t understand black Bermudians’ choice to keep the current government in power.

There is an unnerving, paternalistic, predominantly unconscious, sub-theme to their opinions, which does not give any credit to the majority of black Bermudians’ intelligence.

We are products of our environment and act out the perspectives and stereotypes we have learned.

However if you are living in a country that is 70 per cent people of colour, as whites it would be naive of us to not take on the responsibility to understand our history.  

And by this I don’t mean the establishment version we learned in schools 15+ years ago, which went from discovery to democracy and skipped over slavery and segregation, but a fully inclusive history detailing our failures as well as our strengths.  

For understanding this more inclusive history allows us to understand the inequity issues which continue to play out in the social fabric of our country today, and hopefully will give us the empathy to work towards a more socially just and racially equitable society.

Unlike Dr. Schlessinger, who appears happy to stay isolated in her bubble of white privilege and theorize about other people’s lives, we as Bermudians and residents of Bermuda have a responsibility to thoroughly examine the subtext of our words and messages before we open our mouths.  

And before people start accusing me of denying “freedom of speech” I must emphasize that it is not about the freedom to express your opinion, rather it is about having sensitivity to the language you use. This is a message that we all, including our politicians on both sides of the House, need to start practising with sincerity.

Dr. Schlessinger’s advice, that the caller had too much sensitivity, is a common theme in Bermuda when the dialogue around race occurs. Why do we do that?  

Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary says that it is due to cognitive dissonance, that is, by denying another’s reality, we are keeping our own intact, which makes us feel comfortable and safe. The same goes for being “colourblind”, as by not seeing race as an individual, we don’t have to do anything, we don’t have to take responsibility for our actions. It’s someone else’s problem, because we’re colourblind and “we’re all right Jack”.

Sadly, there will always sadly be people like Dr. Schlessinger who are locked in their own beliefs and perspective, unwilling to listen, much less learn and certainly not to engage. As people of Bermuda, both black and white, we have a responsibility to be a part of this dialogue or we abdicate our right to be a part of the solution.

Thankfully for Bermuda there is a growing number of people who realise that the dialogue around race is essential, in order for us to grow and change. It is about truth, reconciliation, learning, education, connecting and understanding.

If you are interested in being part of this process please join us on Facebook or email [email protected].

Lynne Winfield is president of CURB, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda.