“I Am Not Racist, But”
I’ve been thinking a while about how to write this blog. Different scenarios have surfaced.
On MySpace I used to frequent the blogs of TCOOO. TCOOO was a reggae/ska band from Jamaica. No matter what he blogged about someone would show up and start a racist rant. Frequently they would start out with “I’m not racist, but” or “I have black friends and I think”.
Sometimes they would come on as totally innocent unknowing “I don’t know what racism is, it seems that all races can be racist, can you define it for me”.
People sometimes confuse the two words “prejudice” and “racism”. Prejudice has a two meanings. It can be against or in favor of something. Racism only has one meaning, one’s race is superior to another.
Even in the 60s, the Black Nationalist did not think they were superior to white people, they proclaimed they were equal to white people. That scared a lot of white people.
Anyone claims they do not know what racism is or claims that black people can be equally racist as white people are liars. Racism implies power. Until there are black CEOs of Fortune Five Hundred companies, until there are Blacks as presidents of major banks, until Blacks control the majority in all offices of government, they will not have the power.
In my diversity class that I’m finishing up this quarter, the instructor asked “So, are all white people racist?”
Now, as you might imagine, in this class of 17 or 19 white people, no one raised their hand.
Except me.
See, I think that EVERYONE, white, black, brown, whatever… is racist. To varying degrees. It’s kind of like asking, “are all people aggressive?” or “are all people self-interested?”… Yes, we all are that way. Some people recognize it for what it is: an atavistic trait that belongs in the Stone Age, but still exists and needs to be worked on if you are want to be a culturally competent, sophisticated, positive member of modern society.
I would disagree with your distinction between prejudice and racism. Prejudiced describes acts; it’s racism in action. Racism describes a human attribute which needs to be overcome.
TCOOO! OMG, I rarely read his blogs, but I do remember seeing his auto-refreshed cheating blogs in the Top 5 all the time. The video below goes all the way back to 2007, when Captain Awesome made a little commentary about TCOOO’s cheating blogging ways.
Yeah, but TCOOO would generally follow up any commenter’s racist rant with a homophobic rant of his own.
Huh. I think yer dead wrong on that John. “Racism” can have about as many shades of meaning as there are people. Of course I’m racist… and sexist…so what? Big deal. There most certainly are extremist blacks who think they are superior to white people. There are Jews who think they are innately superior to any goyim. I’m not in favor of denying jobs or housing to people because of race or gender or sexual orientation, etc. But I also detest “Affirmative Action” because it hands out goodies based on one’s race… how is that not racist?
I take you point mate, I struggled a bit with the definition on my last blog regarding the treatment of the Roma people but decided that the are definatly the subject of racism.
I think there are different degrees of racism…
While yes, racism against whites is much less detrimental than what whites deal out to other races, but, it’s all the way around. If a minority group starts, of any color, and figures that white people are evil honkies, and all whites are guilty of evil until individually proven innocent, that’s racist. They’re no better than the KKK then.
Prejudice has the preconceived notions good or bad, and you’re right that it’s different from being racist. The implied power is when it’s causing one to feel their own race is better than others, and making a totem pole of the races…
Think about this too. When we think Asian, we don’t necessarily think Indian or Pakistani, or Arab… mostly we think Chinese, Japanese, etc… so is that racist? Even if we mean no harm, it can be seen that way.
Then, think about it, lets say you have some experience with fixing or building computers. You want to open up a business to do so, being self employed. You want to get a partner in crime… and a Chinese guy with glasses comes up and wants to work with you. You jump at the chance because he’s got to be scientifically smart, right? Yet the Indian guy with a thick accent won’t be considered, because we think of them as either being super smart in the medical field, or so stupid they can’t tell the difference from their head to a hole in a wall.
“Oriental” Asians are considered the “model minority”, and while in some ways it’s a compliment, on the other hand, it’s actually MORE difficult to get aid, because of the preconception that all people in this group must be mathematical and scientific master minds…
So for anyone to be able to hold racist powers, you have to BE in power. So a black manager who discriminates against white employees is a racist…
I also think that the PC tone for certain things is totally crazy… Now the term “minority” is supposed to be a dirty word, and it was “person of color”… So, what color am I? I’m half Japanese (yellow race) a quarter Hungarian (caucasian but not white) and a quarter white… So I’m not really white, I’m not really yellow, I’m half… Off white? Off cream? Opaque yellow? But because I associate more with my “white” side, does this make me a graham cracker? lol. No, I’m not a “person of color”. Just like Obama isn’t gray, either. Lets just call a spade a spade. We have minorities. I’m one of them. 😆
John,
Racism does NOT imply power.
Oppression implies power.
Power is an action, Racism in its definition is a noun
You are trying to use Racism as a verb.
That’s where the confusion is.
Using oppression is a racist thing to DO (action) but it is not the definition of Racism in in itself.
Oh John, I wish I could find the words to explain what you are saying because I understand exactly what it is.
I remember the first time I was ever called a cracker, I laughed. I had never heard it before and the guy that called me that couldn’t believe it. He then called me a honky, again I laughed having not ever heard that before either. As I laughed I was asking wtf does that mean. He then let me in on the fact that they were racial slurs. This partly explains what your saying. He had no power over me, even now if I am called that I don’t even flinch. Now here I was, being young and dumb, I asked him why he would call me racial slurs when I would never even think of calling him a nigger. Where I had no reaction to being called slurs, he undoubtedly had a reaction even though I didn’t outright call him a nigger.
There are countless numbers of successful black people in the US, but all in all this is a white mans world, and they hold the power.
I hope this helps or makes sense, I’m very tired.
I used to Have a Tee Shirt from a New York Thrash-Metal Band.
That Said on the back of the Shirt:
“I AM NOT RACIST,.
-I HATE EVERYONE!”
8)
I thought racism could also be imply by pure hatred towards a race?
Like, a white dude cannot think of one good thing about black people or vice versa… TCOOO is famous for being border line “racist” because he says hateful things towards white people. Yet, from mine experience with exchanging messages with him. He is different…. He treats you as equal to himself.
I need a new term. Ethnic Hatred then? Like Tutu vs. Hutu?
I am not sure I agree with you here, John. I always thought racism was Hatred and Bigotry.
I thought Institutional Racism implied power.
See I thought a Poor white man dragging a black man to death was racism.
http://boingboing.net/2008/10/24/black-man-dragged-to.html
Equally if a black man drags a white man to death that would also be racism.
If a group of young men of any color assault a person of another race solely because of that person being another race, that is racism, as I understand the word being used in modern english.
We should be careful of redefining words to fit a political agenda.
Surely it is not so much about racial slurs, as the impact that racism has on a person. So someone might call a white person a racist name like “honky” – does it ruin your life? I think not. But white racism has for many centuries totally ruined the whole lives of a very many people, by denying them equal rights; denial of the equal right to employment and fair pay; denial of the right to move in the same social circles; not to mention more extreme forms of racial attacks, that many people in cuckoo-land believe no longer happen, but they do.
I won’t split hairs over the dictionary definitions… Racism and prejudice is the norm, not the exception. It has often been trained into us from the cradle and is so subtle we don’t see it.
Gay is not a race. Therefore technically hatred and prejudice toward gays is not Racism. Any hatred of an entire group still bears some similarity and relationship. Call it what you want.
My favorite is when someone who hates gays says, but you are different Tarps. You aren’t one of those nasty Gays… Gosh thanks?
I’m a white guy, I could pass for a “good ol’ boy” as long as I didn’t say anything, I’b probably fit in fine at a Klan rally. Besides that, being white damn sure never got me anything, not that it should. I think all these people who have “priviledges” have them for other reasons, like being rich, and the white is coincidence. Of course there is always some amount stuff taught at home about differences, etc., but it’s also a genetic thing. Left totally to their own devices, groups of white people and groups of black people will ALWAYS tend to group with those like themselves. There are always exceptions, but that is the rule. Birds of a feather…