Mary Tillman

A Common Sense Approach to Racism and Other Exclusivities Mary Tillman

This book, A Common Sense Approach to Racism and Other Exclusivities, will encourage peoples of all cultures to step outside their culturally defined boxes, remove their cultural blinders, and understand the evil nature and function of their social systems. The Tillman philosophy asserts that every culture has conditioned its people to accept its values, or exclusivities, as their "idol gods." The culturally conditioned dependence upon these "idol gods" has developed into what the Tilimans call the Exclusivity Syndrome. The Exclusivity Syndrome is that "insecurity" in humankind that makes each person feel that in order to "be somebody," he must have somebody beneath him. Power leaders have manipulated this syndrome in their people. Nationalism, classism, sexism, racism, tribalism, regionalism, denominationalism, ageism, culturalism, and other "-isms" are used as tools to keep humans boxed in, separate from, suspicious of, and hostile towards other human beings. The "sin of exclusivity" is universal. Mary Tillman examines the nature of culture in general and then focuses on American culture. The Tiliman philosophy posits White racism as a collective mental illness which causes continuous racism in America, The Tilimans' concept was first published in the Minnesota Journal of Education (1965.)