Liam Neeson And The Insidious Nature Of Cultural Racism

I'm inclined to believe Neeson when he says he is not a racist. And yet, it is undeniable that what he did, or tried to do, was insanely racist.

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by Justin Rosario

Earlier this month, Liam Neeson really stepped in it by confessing that, about 40 years ago, after learning that a friend of his had been raped, allegedly by a black man, he had roamed the streets hoping a "black bastard" would attack him so he could kill him, presumably in self defense. In doing so, he unintentionally exposed the insidious nature of systemic racism that is the root cause of Black Lives Matter and the "controversy" of athletes kneeling for the national anthem.

It's not hard to see what Neeson was trying to do. His latest movie is about revenge and he was relaying a story about one time he was moved to go seek it in his real life and how it took him to a dark and ugly place. I'm sure in his mind, he never once considered the fact that he was hunting a black man to be a racist. After the internet's collective jaw dropped, Neeson popped back out to clarify that he is, in fact, not racist.

I don't know Liam Neeson personally (obviously) but he's been in the public's eye for well over thirty years and a huge star for over a decade. In all of that time, there hasn't been a peep that I'm aware of that he was a bigot of any kind. At the same time, there hasn't been a sudden explosion of accusations about past behavior that people have been quiet about as often happens when the dam bursts. Because of this, I'm inclined to believe him when he says he is not a racist.

And yet, it is undeniable that what he did, or tried to do, was insanely racist.

This is how systemic racism works. It worms its way into every facet of our lives to such a degree that we are not even aware that it exists. We don't even have to be "racist" and we are still racist. You can have black friends, be married to a black person, have black kids, you can be black, and still be deeply prejudiced against black people without even being aware of it. That's how insidious this kind of racism is.

Neeson said in an interview on "Good Morning America" that if his friend had told him it was a white man, he would have done the same thing. But that's not true. We can tell from his response: "If she had said an Irish, or a Scott, or a Brit, or a Lithuanian, I know I would it have had the same effect."

But that wasn't the question. The question was, "What if she had told you it was a "white man?" Would he have gone stalking the streets hoping for any random white person to attack him so he could kill them? Of course not. And the answer is obvious as to why: When white people commit a crime, we only hold that person accountable for their actions. When black people, or Latinos, or Muslims with brown skin, etc. commit a crime, their entire community is responsible and share the guilt. This is how white people can wag their finger at the black and Muslim communities but never take responsibility when a white kid shoots up a school or a white man attacks an abortion clinic.

I was on a plane a little over a month after 9/11. I can tell you firsthand that people were "hoping" that a Muslim, obviously one with brown skin, would do something to give them an excuse to beat them to the ground. Hate crimes against Muslims skyrocketed in the weeks and months that followed. People wanted so badly to get revenge.

No one felt that way after Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma City building. There was no sudden spike in hate crimes against white men. Hell, it wasn't until over twenty years later that America even started talking about the problem of violent white men and the reaction has been a national freakout by white men. On the other hand, it's been an accepted given that we can blithely talk about the prevalence of "black crime" as it if were a real thing and condescendingly tut-tut anyone who raises their voice in objection.

We live in a culture that tells us that brown skin is dangerous, black skin particularly so. Black children are punished more often in schools. Black men are arrested more often for the same crimes. They are convicted more often and sentenced for longer periods. Naturally, they are brutalized and killed disproportionately by the police who later talk about their "demonic" strength as if they were superhuman beasts. When the police tackle and assault a random black man minding his own business because a suspect was described as "a black man," we're told this is normal. Can you imagine, for a second, the police pulling a gun on a white man just walking home because three blocks away another white man robbed a store? The very idea is ludicrous. But that is the reality for black men every day and that is exactly what Liam Neeson was doing whether he knew it or not.

The sad part about this episode with Neeson is not that he did what he did. He's been conditioned his entire life to think that way by a racist white society (and, no, it really is not unique to the United States). He's (probably) not a racist in the way we generally think about it. He presumably doesn't belong to the National Front, the UK's political version of the KKK, and he probably doesn't sit around joking about fried chicken and watermelon or whatever the racist stereotypes are on the other side of the Atlantic.

The sad part is that he did what he did and even now he doesn't understand why he did it. It's sad that none of his friends, black or otherwise, sat him down and explained it to him. It's sad that he took a moment of what could have been an honest conversation about race and he "all lives don't matter"-ed it. He would have hunted white men, too? No he wouldn't have because in order to do that, he would have to believe that white men are faceless and interchangeable with one another. Society trains us to treat everyone else that way, never white people. Maybe someday Neeson will figure that out.