Of ignorance and cooning: Where Jean Gasho went wrong

By Felicity Sibindi

I have been following the news from my comfortable couch in my humble, dry, but altogether lovely home in Bulawayo, and it seems the dust is yet to settle on “Murica” and her sheeple. I am trying my best to contain my schadenfreude[1] at the whole debacle; especially since I can’t really say much about my own set of unpredictable humans on this side of the equator.

What is comforting though is how very human we all are in our hopes and dreams, as well as in our fears, and I hope that this disappointing historic event is one that brings people to the realisation that even though one comes from a “developed” country, one is just as prone to the issues and struggles of those from “developing” nations. We are not special or somehow defective in our existence under faulty dictatorships, we are simply human.

Having said that, I came across a disturbing article on Nehanda Radio by Jean Gasho. In her opinion piece, Jean accuses Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie of “blatant racism” and goes on to attack the world renowned author on her demeanour during the BBC Newsnight interview between Chimamanda and conservative magazine editor, Robert Emmett Tyrrell, no relation to House Tyrell of Highgarden.

It is completely ironic that in a world where black women are constantly and aggressively tone-policed, it is yet a fellow black, African woman, who then goes on to do the very same thing of her own volition. I am not sure whether the problem here is that of cooning or ignorance, or both. I am also not sure why Nehanda Radio continues to showcase this particular strand of clickbait; as a Zimbabwean news site, I would have assumed there were more pressing issues at hand.

The difference between prejudice and racism

Nonetheless, In order to tease out exactly how problematic Jean’s statements are, it is important to define properly what racism is. Racism refers to ideological beliefs that create a racial hierarchy and social structure that yields superiority and priviledge for some, and discrimination and oppression for others. Besides being ideological, racism also takes institutional, structural, and systemic forms.

In this current global context, race is used to create an imbalance of power and social status which negatively affects the lives of people of colour while protecting white people. This involves laws, economics, political structures, welfare systems, health care and even state defence and police.

In essence therefore, Chimamanda, a black woman, at her best effort, does not have the institutionalised power to be racist towards Robert, a white man who also happens to have lived through the Jim Crow era of American politics.

Prejudice, on the other hand, refers to preconceived opinions that are not based on reason or actual experience. Prejudices can be positive or negative; and often result in hurt feelings and discomfort, as opposed to the potentially life-threatening results of racism.

Chimamanda in her statement “I am sorry, but if you are a white man you don’t get to define what racism is…” may have been prejudiced at a stretch, and even then, having been a Yale scholar surely granted her some front-row interaction with white men and their fragility. People of colour are exposed to white opinion all day every day. The entire world is structured around the opinions of white men; and by holding her ground in this debate, Chimamanda highlights the importance of hearing other voices other than that of the white consensus gentium.

On white men defining racism

In her piece, Jean emphasises that Robert should be allowed to express his opinion on racism regardless of his skin colour. This unsolicited defence of the fragile Robert completely misses the point of what Chimamanda was saying; that white men should no longer be held as authorities over people of colour (in this instance an interview with Chimamanda) when it comes to identifying racism when it happens. Jean seems to be oblivious to the fact that racism is in itself a creation of the white man. (block quote)

From Eugenics to Social Darwinism, white men have been defining race and racism since its inception in the 1700s when black bodies became property for trade and labour, and slavery became entrenched. A very white chap of Scandinavian origin by the name of Carolus Linnaeus penned Systema Naturae in 1735 that went so far as to separate us biologically according to skin colour; where white people were the standard, and the “others” were systematically catalogued as coming from a separate species of living things.

The systemic oppression of black bodies continues today, whether consciously or unconsciously. There is no white man whose opinion could trump (pun intended) that of a person of colour when it comes to race and racism: in particular a conservative writer born during World War II when segregation was still a thing, and whose daughter was a spokesperson for an elite private mercenary organisation that hires ex-Apartheid Special Forces[2]. Black women have been, and arguably still are, right at the very bottom of the pecking order of race relations. The irony of Jean tone-policing Chimamanda in defence of men who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at her own violent demise is staggering.

On reverse racism, context and false equivalence

Jean goes on to accuse Chimamanda of “doing more harm to the black race” than Robert. She acknowledges that white people “may display racism”, however she emphasises that our main cause of suffering as black people is ourselves. This highly problematic narrative reduces an incredibly complex and long series of struggles into a single story. It shifts the blame and focus away from the oppressor and places it squarely on the shoulders of the oppressed.

By pitting Chimamanda against Robert as a measure of harm on the black race, Jean tries to bring one brief interview to the level of significance of centuries of colonisation, slavery and oppression. This false equivalence is so common amongst white racism denialists, who periodically trot out how people of colour need to “get over it” and try to distract and derail legitimate concerns with accusations of “black on black crime”, and “the failed African state”. Chimamanda took a stand on the very serious concern about the president elect’s personal racist past, and Jean would rather draw on the many problems created by black people for themselves, even though that was not the topic of debate.

There is no denying that black people have a lot of work to do to heal, build ourselves up, build our communities and our countries, and cleanse ourselves of internalised racism:  the respectability politics Jean expresses over Chimamanda’s demeanour, and how this makes her look like an angry black woman (in the eyes of white people) is a case in point. However bringing to light one problem, does not mean that one is neglecting other problems. Chimamanda has works addressing a multitude of African issues, and yet she is being policed over her stance in a singular interview. (block Quote 2)

Reading Jean’s glowing written piece on Donald Trump before this piece on Chimamanda, I had an uneasy feeling about the disregard for the problematic issues that came to light during his campaign. This, followed by the use of incredible terms like “black priviledge”, of which Chimamanda is accused of exhibiting, is all in line with the false, defensive and lazy idea of “reverse racism”.

The denial of the power structures behind race relations comes as a surprise from a woman of colour whose lived experience should surely point otherwise, white church friends aside. And yet the sad reality is that not all people of colour support other people of colour, as much as there existed Uncle Toms in the past, there exist coons in the present.

Finally, as an African feminist, I am troubled by this misguided attack on a fellow black woman using the same language of censorship and respectability politics that white supremacy uses on us daily. I am even more surprised that this comes from someone who claims to defend womanhood and yet seems to have a penchant for attacking strong African women; the last target having been the indestructible Lynda Masarira.

I have no doubt that these amazing black leaders do not need my defence and are phenomenal women in their own right no matter what opinion bloggers say about them. There is a social responsibility that comes with freedom of expression, white men should be held accountable as much as Chimamanda or any other person of colour who dares speak her mind. People of colour all over the world face so many struggles every day, throwing each other under the bus for the sake of a moment of limelight should not be one of those struggles; we can do better, we are better than that.

Felicity Sibindi is an African Feminist with strong opinions about race, identity and politics. She believes that dialogue is essential for the jouney towards a more inclusive and equitable society. She can be reached at [email protected]

References 

 [1] Schadenfreude – German word denoting pleasure derived from the misfortune of others.

[2] Blackwater, now known as Academi, an American private military company originally founded in 1997 by former Navy Seal officer Erik Prince. Spokesperson Anne E. Tyrrell, daughter of Robert Emmett Tyrrell, records have been expunged.