FROM “The Culture of Tyranny” by Joe Sobran:

Thought-crimes differ from ordinary crimes in several respects.

First, they aren’t defined. Nobody knows exactly what “racism” is; it can mean anything the accuser wants it to mean. And it rarely refers to overt acts; usually it refers to the alleged thoughts or attitudes of the accused.

Second, nothing has to be proved — and since the word has no clear definition, nothing can be proved. So the accuser bears no burden of proof, as he would in cases of ordinary crimes. The accused is presumed guilty as long as the accusation is sufficiently strident. And, given the vagueness of the charge, he can’t prove he isn’t racist.

Third, and most important, nobody ever has to pay a price for making a false or reckless accusation. Nobody is ruined or disgraced for making loose charges of “racism.” Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton continue to thrive after making far more wild charges than Joe McCarthy.

You don’t have to worry about being falsely accused of murder, because everyone knows what murder is, there are clear procedures for testing the charge, and anyone who makes a false accusation against you can be sued or even jailed. But everyone has to worry about being accused of “racism,” because these safeguards don’t exist when that poisonous charge is leveled.

If you really think racism is a serious matter, you want the word to mean something definite and you want to make sure that innocent people are safe from false charges of it. Otherwise, the word merely becomes a weapon that can be picked up and wielded by opportunists and tyrants to create a climate of intimidation.

Which course describes the methods of those who profess to oppose racism in America today? The answer is obvious. Charges of racism are made so promiscuously that everyone has to walk on eggs to avoid incurring them. And no accuser has to worry about any penalty for damaging an innocent man’s good name.

Such a situation can only breed such thought-police as Jackson and Sharpton, paving the way for tyranny. It may not frighten the Ku Klux Klan, but other people will learn to speak guardedly in multicultural America.

— Comments —

Joshua writes:

Your race is your father(s).

Thus, anti-racism is to be against one’s father(s).

The pathology of anti-racism is real.

Accusations of “racism” ARE TRUE in so far as the accused does not possess an out-and-out contempt for his father(s) AND SO does not display a publicly submissive stance in relation to the “other.”

“Racism” is just passive-speak for “white supremacy” which is a “racial slur” aimed at American patriarchy.

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