Is Racism Evil?

By Bud Johnson

    The fifth century theologian Augustine of Hippo mounted what has become one of the most popular defenses of the existence of God against the Epicurean paradox. He maintained that evil was only privatio boni, or a privation of good. An evil thing can only be referred to as a negative form of a good thing, such as discord, injustice, and loss of life or liberty. If a being is not totally pure, evil will fill in any gaps in that being's purity. This is commonly called the Contrast Theodicy — that evil only exists as a "contrast" with good. However, the Contrast Theodicy relies on a metaphysical view of morality which few people, even theologians, agree with that good and evil are not moral judgments. In On Free Choice of the Will, Augustine also argued that Epicurus had ignored the potential benefits of suffering in the world. However, it is pointed out that an omnipotent God could give the world any benefits derived from suffering without those in the world having to suffer. Another response to this paradox argues that asserting "evil exists" would imply a moral standard against which to define good and evil. Therefore, by using this argument one implies the existence of a moral law, which requires a law-maker. Most theists would assert that this law-maker is God, whilst many atheists would argue that morality can just as easily be reached through reason – that this law is in fact a social contract agreed to by all humans; subconsciously developed from social prisoner's dilemma and/or that this problem is more accurately described as a problem of physical suffering, which can be objectively defined against a (zero physical suffering) standard.
The foregoing reamble excerpted from Wikipedia, free online encylopedia’s definition of evil is apropos to address the horrendous attack (perpertrated on a Latino teenager by White youths with alleged “Skinhead” leanings), in Houston, Texas which has given citizens cause to pause and ponder whether, or not, hate is a crime. Academic questions notwithstanding, there’s a great deal of difference between evil, hate, sin and unlawful behavior. Hence, it’s incumbent upon African- AmericanNews&Isuses to edify our estimated 2 million readers (FYI: Evil is a term describing that which is regarded as morally bad, intrinsically corrupt, wantonly destructive, inhumane, or wicked. In some belief systems, evil consists of a willful deviation from a code of laws--written or unwritten--or moral standard, usually ascribed to a deity.
According to this definition, people who, for example, reject a certain belief or engage in practices against this code are engaged in evil acts. According to other belief systems, evil consists of intentionally doing harm, and so-called "victimless crimes" should not be considered evil. It is important to note, however, that followers of the first definition believe that these "victimless crimes" do indeed have victims, usually the moral soul of the person committing the act. The duality of 'good versus evil' is expressed, in some form or another, by many cultures. Those who believe in the duality theory of evil believe that evil cannot exist without good, nor good without evil, as they are both objective states and opposite ends of the same scale.- Wikipedia, free online encylopedia.) If the following insight suffices, one must ponder if evil is institutionalized?
Basil Davidson insists in his documentary, Africa: Different but Equal, that “Racism, in fact, only just recently surfaced—as late as the 1800’s, due to the need for a justification of slavery in the Americas. In the western world, racism evolved, twinned with the doctrine of white supremacy, and helped fuel the European exploration, conquest, and colonization of much of the rest of the world -- especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. The idea of slavery as an ‘equal-opportunity employer’ was denounced with the introduction of Christian theory in the West. Maintaining that Africans were ‘subhuman’ was the only loophole in the then accepted law that ‘men are created equal’ that would allow for the sustenance of the Triangular Trade.
Cutting to the chase, the Rasta Times’ Jan. 10, 2004 article (America, Bastion of White Supremacy), suggests, “White supremacy, as with supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony. It contains varying degrees of racism and xenophobia. Associations of white supremacy with ethnic cleansing and racial separation are common, but not necessarily intrinsic.” in spite of the recently updated Hate Crimes Act, S 966, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9,730 hate crimes were reported in the United States in 2001, the last year for which statistics are available. That is more than 26 hate crimes a day, every day. More than 83,000 hate crimes have been reported since 1991. Even worse, hate groups have gone high tech.
The number of active hate groups in the US has grown from 474 in 1997 to 762 in 2004, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and in the past four years the number of hate websites has risen from 366 to 468. "There are no statistics showing increase in membership because of the Internet," said David Goldman, president of HateWatch, a nonprofit group that monitors online hate. “The actual number of hate sites is in itself open to debate. Estimates can range anywhere between 400 to 1,200. Online hate is as much a part of the Web as e-commerce, porn sites and portals.” Translation: Since racism is, indeed, alive and well in the land of the free, why would God bless an Evil Empire?