Iago: Othello's Example of the Secret Racist In All of Us

The question was recently raised regarding what deeper motivation could W.S. have intended when presenting Iago as so racist and hateful of Othello. The facts as presented in the play only show Iago serving under Othello for so very long, passed over for a lucrative appointment in favor of another, and then... well, you know how it goes.

Let's say you have a boss. You've worked diligently and loyally for your boss. You have requested and expect a raise. You're confident you'll get the raise not to mention the boss leads you to believe that you'll get it. But you don't; your boss gives that raise to the new guy. You're pissed. How do you react if you and your boss are White males? You curse him under your brother, etc. Now, consider, in the REAL world how you'd react if your boss is a White female and you're male? Or, as in this case, your boss is black and you're not.

Most people will lie and say that they would not be racist, that this is not an issue of race but of fairness. But we must be honest with ourselves folks in order to know ourselves - we may not intend to be racist but when the buttons are amply pushed, I believe that the average human being is going to negatively attack the differences of their attacker as an emotional self-defense mechanism.

If Iago had not initially harbored some illogical misconceptions regarding Moors/Othello, then where would they have come from? Iago had served under Othello for years and, presumably, never encountered a reason to hate his superior until the beginnings of the play. Bear in mind that W.S. starts us off at this point as a catalyst for the action. If Iago had just been angry, he may have made a few slurs, seethed for awhile, and then moved on. Once Iago's inner racist demons had been released, this fueled the fires of his irrationality, hatred, and resentment; that he'd taken so much off a Moor for so long, that he should have to serve under a beast like Othello, etc. How can we know what W.S. has left unaddressed for us in regard to the beginnings of their relationship or Iago's attitude toward Othello when Othello wasn't around?

What is done/kept in the dark, is eventually brought into the light. We all have a secret door within our selves labeled "discriminations". While our tongues may not speak it, our minds, and even our actions (or lack thereof) will. This is not an indictment against humanity. This is an observation of our humanity. The indictment lies in our individual refusal to acknowledge our truths - yes, that door exists, yes, it's been opened a crack in this instance or that... The indictment lies in the fact that so many of us keep our backs pressed against that door attempting to prevent the big reveal of what lies within for fear of facing ourselves or being labeled. But rather than label or fear, why not examine the discriminations that lurk in there, waiting to come out and be free? Not just that, but by accessing what the discriminations are, we can also LEARN why we've tucked them away. Once the knowledge is there, there's no need to keep them. We can then choose to clean out the closet and truthfully live with one another and ourselves.... that is until the next Other comes along for us to fear!