So is reverse racism a problem?

[antares]

A paleo-blogger weighs in:

itsthewooo.blogspot.com/2013/07/reverse-racism-real-problem.html

I imagine a lot of people here would fit the demographic that she snarks on? Reasonably well-off, liberal, and white, I mean. Anyway, I'm a young Asian-American, and personally I'm a bit up in the air about it. In all truth, I can't really say much, as I don't have much experience here. I live in a rural college town that is mostly white with a substantial Asian minority and other groups sprinkled in. It's a very safe town, so crime was never an issue.

I think white privilege is real, but I don't it's completely as dramatic as many social justice bloggers will make it seem. I do think America is LONG overdue for a real race dialogue, and that we have become too oversensitive to be able to have that dialogue. While on the surface, the oversensitivity could means well, all it really does it bandaid things and push resentment and misunderstandings ever further while slapping on a fake veneer. Unlike this blogger, I think distrust and resentment on the part of minorities is very real and not without reason; we never really apologized for slavery and are only 50 years out from civil rights. Her perspective is that minorities often engage in self-destructive behavior and it's not all on whitey. I could agree with this, but she neglects the history that may have contributed to current mindsets. Often called "White fear, black rage." I follow a black social justice blogger who seeks a dialogue on race. However, I don't think that dialogue would go the way she thinks it would. She writes a lot about white privilege, and getting whites to acknowledge their privilege, aka a very Tim Wise type. On the other hand, I think that were a real honest dialogue to happen, the blog post below would be more what many white people would say.

As a kid of Asian immigrants I think the social justice, critical theory, privilege group in general has very good points. However, in perspective, I think America is overall a pretty welcoming place. While we have a long way to go, we do a okay job ATTEMPTING to live up to ideals of inclusion and anti-discrimination. In constract, my ancestral place, East Asia, is openly ethno-centric, and in nations like Japan citizenship is almost impossible to get and ethnic Koreans who have been in Japan for several generations cannot get Japanese citizenship. Korea prides itself on its homogeneity and 'pure bloodline.' Ethnic minority immigrants are never really accepted as say, a Korean. In America an immigrant can generally be accepted, even if it's a little skewed so that white immigrants may have an easier time. In Malaysia residents of an apartment complex recently voted to ban African tenants. Something this OPEN would have a harder time happening in America. People in Asia will openly say politically incorrect things that white americans would only say behind closed doors or in whispers. Paleo-blogger makes a good point that tribalism and racism is universal, and probably rooted in natural instinct in fear of the other. However I don't think that's right and I'm still against racism and try to treat people fairly, though I guess so does she.

And I don't care for homogeneity or tribalism. In fact, I'm all for Asian nations letting in non-Asian immigrants. Down with 'purity!' Down with xenophobia! LOL

I can understand the idea of a homogeneous society, say, being more united and harmonious and less tension, maybe more stable. There was a study a while back that showed that more diverse places were less trusting and such. But eh, people will always find something to fight about. I think the future will be something none of us can predict, and I predict a more connected world anyway.

The past few days Americans have found it impossible not to hear details regarding the Martin / Zimmerman case.

The usual suspects have brandished this story as an excuse to demonize this hypothetical "ebil white mans!!!" and institutionalized racism against blacks. No one seems to care that George Zimmerman is mixed race hispanic, the fact is he was ACTING AS IF an evil oppressive white man, therefore he might as well be one.

Furthermore, no one seems to care that Martin *was* a local criminal, so Zimmerman's intuition that he was a suspicious character warranting investigation was not some figment of his racist imagination. Martin was suspended from school, had burglary tools and women's jewelry in his backpack. As part of neighborhood watch, his interest in Martin and his suspicious behavior was responding to prior criminality in the area. Lastly, Zimmerman did not just randomly open fire on the scary black man... Martin ATTACKED HIM which is what prompted him shooting. Zimmerman was instructed by police dispatch not to follow Martin, but it really doesn't change the fact that Martin is the one who expressed extreme violence under little provocation, and Zimmerman acted in self defense.

The original liberal narrative was that Martin was an innocent little black boy eating some skittles, and a crazed KKK racist white man Zimmerman (omg that name sounds german, he is probably a nazi too!!!) just started opening fire. In his sick racist mind, a symbol of childhood purity and innocence was a dangerous weapon weilded by some black animal beast out to destroy the white nation of florida!!!!

Yea, reality is a little different.

I'm not defending Zimmerman or saying Martin deserved what happened, I'm only pointing out the real life situation had very little to do with this fabricated liberal media story of white racism . It had everything to do with Martin behaving as a suspicious up to no good male adolescent with a hoodie and a backpack in an area known for criminality, who then proceeded to physically ATTACK Zimmerman; and Zimmerman had very little to do with some privileged good ole' boys white man club as he himself was hispanic.

Anyway, I just want to contrast this bullshit media story narrative about evil white people and racism against the reality I see every day in my life: blacks and hispanics form cliques and express OPEN RACIAL HOSTILITY against anyone they perceive to be white/privileged due to whiteness. Staff members where I work have sauntered around the facility calling me a racist (simply because I have dyed blonde hair and am in management I assume?) I treat all people exactly the same yet there is a clear hatred/resentment of me because of my "race". LOL.

These staff members openly bully and harass people of other ethnicities meanwhile they protect "their own".

In fact, in daily life, I see little to no white racism, and a great deal of unabashed unapologetic racism on behalf of minority groups against whites and others. Other ethnicities don't seem to think there is anything wrong with this behavior, which is I suppose because of the mainstream media sponsored myth that racism is only something evil white people do against them... but its not the same thing when they bully / exploit someone outside of their group for their race / ethnicity.

In fact the only group I never see engaging in open unapologetic racist behavior, would be european/white people , and that's because white people have been conditioned since birth to hate themselves and not think of themselves in terms of ethnic nationality. Ergo, Martin/Zimmerman media myth story.

Similarly, it seems most of the white people who are the biggest liberal apologists are those who actually live in a majority Caucasian ethnic culture and don't have to actually deal with the society approved reality of open anti-white "reverse" racism. It's easy to believe in television fantasy fairy tales of the evilness of whites only, when you aren't actually *living* amongst the natural reality of hostile alien groups who have a paranoid chip on their shoulder / feel entitled to attack you, because of some imagined conspiracy against them.

The reality is racism, cronyism, nationalism, xenophobia, they are natural instincts. They are not products of the evil caucasian society, and all groups have a sense of same-ness and cohesion and preference for their own kind. It is a perfectly natural instinct in service of genetic reproduction, as natural and innate as preferring your own extended family members or nuclear family members to a complete stranger. The media has labored for decades to create a narrative that racism is a white people thing designed to oppress/exploit minority groups; the utility of this is obviously to weaken (white caucasia) society and allow access/entry to minority groups. However, exclusivity or even open racist sentiment is not at all unique to whites cultures; all groups express this the main difference is that america/europe are traditionally prosperous, and also caucasian. The utility of the "racist white man" media myth is to breakdown the exclusivity of american/european society, allowing access/gain to competitive ethnic groups, amongst a whole host of other $$$ related reasons. (It always comes down to $$$, material + resource gain).

No one gives a shit if some island culture thinks they are the best in the world; who want's to migrate there? Answer: nobody. However, very racist islanders very much want to migrate to america, which they are told is home of the evil racist white man. Irony of ironies.

BTW, I'm not even white, so please dont' bother accusing me of being a racist, just telling it like it is (when almost no one else will, of course, because they know they will be called a racist).

Some comments:

I]Detroit is such a sad case, and a premonitory one for the rest of America.

I read some very conservative Christian blogs (being a conservative Christian, that makes sense) written by - wait for it - BLACK WOMEN! who are also conservative Christians. They are of an age with me, but their parents remember a time when integration was happening naturally, organically, albeit slowly, in many areas around America. They believe the Civil Rights movement was a net negative to black people. It turned them into a race-defined grievance committee that granted paternalistic liberals control over them, almost turning blacks into pets or children who needed special help to make up for the fact that they can't make it on their own (not that many, many minorities haven't capitalized on that).

No one wants a return to Jim Crow, but we could definitely do with closed borders and to do away with Affirmative Action.

Detroit is what happens when you force integration too quickly on an unwilling population, and then turn the city management over to the Cargo Cult that was made to live alongside the producers.

When all of the evil white racist Christians who built this nation* are finally gone and stop oppressing everybody, there will be peace, right? I mean, Detroit proves it.

*and yes, White European Christians built this nation. Slave labor was used as a tool, the same as wagons, wheels, plows, horses, steam engines, and forge fires. I'm not saying it was right to enslave people, but to say "Blacks/Chinese built America" because they carried out the labor intrinsic in the plans to settle a nation and feed its people, and connect its coasts via railways, is like saying horses built America because plows.

@Kindke Really not surprised. Corporate/industrial/political intrests profit from "multiculturalism" (i.e. import unskilled easy to manipulate third world labor and have them "compete" against the population. If you think this is a bad idea, you hate our freedom/part of axis of evil/racisssst!)

Effects (negative) all around us, no one cares. Shrug shoulders and hope it doesn't affect self is how most handle it.

Remember kindke, saying this/ thinking that it is a bad idea to have a city populated of ignorant aggressive tribal religiously extreme third worlders makes you a racist, so make sure never to say or think such thoughts and embrace london's beautiful enriching diversity!

We will all be a lovely shade of brown one day in a gorgeous rainbow of diversity, says a sheltered white libtard somewhere in the crowd who simply lives a sheltered life in a gated community no doubt, and the only "brown" people they know are the day laborers they exploit to mow the fucking lawn, or sex workers on trips to thailand.

@George But george, he's not a MEXICAN, he's a WHITE MAN with the name ZIMMERMAN which is probably german for EVIL RACIST ASSHOLE.

The police really make it evident that government workers and union workers certainly can be a lot of fat lazy good for nothing trash, indeed. There is a retired cop who works at my facility and this ass *brags* about all the overtime he racks up, 80 bucks an HOUR , for doing *nothing*. The police are a bunch of thugs and bullies, by and large, paid for by taxes, who would sooner badger a tired mom than expose their tubby out of shape bodies to a remote threat.

Don't forget my $80 an hour overtime, either.

Regarding the US and the reactionary 'racism" threats... it always was and always will be a manipulation tactic to disempower the christian european majority population to make the country fertile pickings for sociopaths/psychopaths to exploit. There's a reason wealthy elite love it here. Easy money, easy exploitation of a disempowered dumb populace who have been conditioned to believe it is "enriching" to "compete" with third world immigrants. No one hopes of a pension or retirement or even decent humane care in old age; we all know and expect "medicare" will be bled dry and we all know and expect our jobs will simply terminate us and kick us in the back as they throw us out the door when we become too old to work anymore. It's the best country in the world, don't forget it.

The threat of being called a racist is just one of many ways people are kept fragmented, self loathing, and tolerant of decay.

[meda]

I think there is a difference between the immigrant experience (granted there was and is a good amount of anti immigrant sentiment in the US), and the African American experience of being involuntarily shipped to the US like cattle, bought and sold, and viewed as less than human. We are a lot closer than 50 years out regarding civil rights, they were still formally desegregating in the 1980's in some school systems and municipalities, there are still informal color bars in many rural areas.

Much the same can be said of the Native American experience, which is my particular ethnic group. I can look at many members of my extended family and see the alcoholism, poor tribal government decisions, the "Rez" mindset, and say with complete truth that they make self destructive decisions that screw up their lives. But then I remember that my cousins are one generation out of a system that sent native children to church run boarding schools where they were cut off from family to get rid of the Indian in them, often subject to violent discipline, and given a sub par education. I also see the overt racism directed towards them by local schools, law enforcement, and local government. Not to mention the 400+ years of land theft, broken treaties, military violence and complete disenfranchisement from the dominant politic structures that were making all the decisions.

Finally, my personal experience as someone who "passes" as white: many white people say and think a lot of racist shit. Most have the courtesy to not say racist shit to your face if they are aware you are a minority, but that does not mean that there are not still racist attitudes and unexamined white privilege even in the most well intentioned of liberals.

[antares]

Much the same can be said of the Native American experience, which is my particular ethnic group. I can look at many members of my extended family and see the alcoholism, poor tribal government decisions, the "Rez" mindset, and say with complete truth that they make self destructive decisions that screw up their lives. But then I remember that my cousins are one generation out of a system that sent native children to church run boarding schools where they were cut off from family to get rid of the Indian in them, often subject to violent discipline, and given a sub par education. I also see the overt racism directed towards them by local schools, law enforcement, and local government. Not to mention the 400+ years of land theft, broken treaties, military violence and complete disenfranchisement from the dominant politic structures that were making all the decisions.

Finally, my personal experience as someone who "passes" as white: many white people say and think a lot of racist shit. Most have the courtesy to not say racist shit to your face if they are aware you are a minority, but that does not mean that there are not still racist attitudes and unexamined white privilege even in the most well intentioned of liberals.

Sure. I think that's something the original author misses. I think many people like her see the self-destruction but not the past and present circumstances and discrimination that at least partly contributes towards the less-than-ideal state today. Perhaps the inability to see especially present racism towards minority groups is a sort of privilege.

IMO people in general say and think a lot of racist shit, and in other regions of the world like Asia, people will say it more openly, versus many American white people who will wait till the 'coast is clear', so to speak. Of course in Asia you don't see that many non-Asians anyway, but. I know at local Asian gatherings around here, the adults are especially un-PC towards black people. I remember as a young child my dad saying that Asians worked on weekends, while whites started partying on Fridays, and Black/Latino students on Thursdays :? I also vividly recall a bunch of other un-PC things my mom would say, like black people resembling gorillas and being dumb. Which embarrasses me, errrr :( :( :(

I can see her point in that non-white racial groups don't necessarily like each other, LOL. Sometimes, reading what social scientists say, you can get the vibe that racism is something whites do to non-whites, and there's a tacit implying that non-whites are some united front against white racism. I don't find that realistic, LOL. More realistically, racism is something people-groups of all colors do to each other. We just don't seem to like each other that much, man. Though I hope we start liking each other more cause I don't like all this discrimination stuff :shrug:

[SpeakNow]

Just need to note a pet peeve of mine: there is no such thing as "reverse racism." Such a statement implies racism only refers to whites' attitudes toward non-whites. Racism is not limited to white folks. Racism is racism.

And now back to your regularly scheduled snarking.

[RosyDaisy]

Reverse racism is a phrase invented by whites who just can't accept the fact that non-whites are intelligent and can be every bit as successful as whites.

[dairyfreelife]

i don't think there's such a thing as reverse racism. Racism is racism. If a person sees anyone not their race and considers them to be inferior just because of that, they are having a racist attitude. My thoughts are that racism is rooted way back in history at a time when people knew little outside their own towns and their own people and own religion. There was often fear of invasion from those in other places, which led to fear of those not like them. Those not like them killed your people, those who were your friends and neighbors and even family. They would commit violent acts against people you knew and loved and even against you. Of course, that leads to real terror and because those people seem so cruel to you and those you know and love, they must be evil. Evil is bad and therefore they are bad people for committing that evil against your town or tribe. You are not evil like them, so you are better. They are not from your town and are evil, so those outside your town are evil. They want to cause you harm, so all outsiders must be evil too. This becomes a superior/inferior complex and when you see someone as less than you and less than human, it becomes easier to treat them in ways unthinkable as those not human/not a living, thinking, breathing being just like you do not deserve the same treatment as you and have become objects to use. So adults would take others in foreign lands prisoner, see those with less money or not of a certain family or class as inferior, and that attitude was passed down through generations, which allows racism to continue until the so-called lesser people decide to rise up and fight their oppression.

Institutionally, in the US, being white offers you more privilege in general. We are working on it as a society, though I don't think we do enough to really work past the racism that has existed since day one of the European arrival. We could be doing much better, lots better really.

Individually, racism can occur in any race towards another.

[halfheartedheroine]

I think people tend to use the phrase 'reverse racism' to refer to 'racism against a socially dominant class' (I don't know that 'socially dominant' is the precise phrase I'm looking for, but the privileged group.) I agree that racism is racism, but does the phrase 'reverse racism' intend to clarify that it's the most-privileged group being discriminated against?

[antares]

Reverse racism is a phrase invented by whites who just can't accept the fact that non-whites are intelligent and can be every bit as successful as whites.

To be fair, "Racism= power+prejudice" isn't an uncommon thing in social justice blogs and sometimes academia (I haven't come across anyone this extreme myself, though.) Which implicitly implies that only the group in power(white people) can be racist. Which I think is bullocks, and ironically not empowering to minorities. Perhaps some people, like the original blogger, are reacting against this idea? And to be fair, people who trumpet this idea in the Social Justice circle tend to be the ones that scream the loudest 8-)

FYI in my High School years I was in a social justice phase. It made me paranoid and a total hypocrite, I would think that white people were racist by definition and other wacky stuff. And when I got called racist (by a non-white teacher, LOL) I said I couldn't be since I wasn't white so I didn't have power, I was only prejudiced. Needless to say, I was a DUMBASS.

The RationalWiki take on it, which explains it better than me, LOL.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Prejudice_plus_power

"Prejudice plus power" is a (re)definition of "racism"[1][2] or "sexism"[3] used by various ivory tower types and social justice... enthusiasts to prevent accusations of racism or sexism (justified or not) against not-so-powerful groups (i.e. women and, in the US, non-whites). (See also reverse racism.)

While the usual definition of "racism" is something like "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race",[4][5] some academics reject this definition and require an additional condition of "...by someone in a position of power over them", thus rendering those without "institutionalized power" incapable of being racist. Obviously, the majority of sexism is still against women by men, and the majority of racism in the US is against minorities by whites, but this definition makes the converse categorically impossible, rather than just rare.

There is a neutral, universally-accepted[6] term for "prejudice plus power" that could be used by those who wish to communicate clearly and avoid heated terminology debates altogether: institutional racism.[wp] However, this doesn't have the beneficial side effect of immunizing oneself against criticism.[7]

[skythetowel]

"Reverse racism" is what white (often male) people whine about when they suddenly aren't treated with the privilege to which they are accustomed.

[Mama Mia]

Sure. I think that's something the original author misses. I think many people like her see the self-destruction but not the past and present circumstances and discrimination that at least partly contributes towards the less-than-ideal state today. Perhaps the inability to see especially present racism towards minority groups is a sort of privilege.

IMO people in general say and think a lot of racist shit, and in other regions of the world like Asia, people will say it more openly, versus many American white people who will wait till the 'coast is clear', so to speak. Of course in Asia you don't see that many non-Asians anyway, but. I know at local Asian gatherings around here, the adults are especially un-PC towards black people. I remember as a young child my dad saying that Asians worked on weekends, while whites started partying on Fridays, and Black/Latino students on Thursdays :? I also vividly recall a bunch of other un-PC things my mom would say, like black people resembling gorillas and being dumb. Which embarrasses me, errrr :( :( :(

I can see her point in that non-white racial groups don't necessarily like each other, LOL. Sometimes, reading what social scientists say, you can get the vibe that racism is something whites do to non-whites, and there's a tacit implying that non-whites are some united front against white racism. I don't find that realistic, LOL. More realistically, racism is something people-groups of all colors do to each other. We just don't seem to like each other that much, man. Though I hope we start liking each other more cause I don't like all this discrimination stuff :shrug:

So true. Many Latinos in a group of all Latinos, will use openly derogatory language regarding any and all other racial groups. Often without giving it much thought. When I worked in Social Services I had to, on more than one occasion, tell staff that hey, no, you can't refer to a member of group x using this or that insulting term! WTF.

I do disagree with the " welcoming" attitude towards immigrants in the U.S. I think the stereotypes regarding Asians are generally positive ( at this time) , so currently the attitude towards Asian immigrants is largely positive. Obviously this was not the case in the past. As the current hated group is Latinos, attitudes toward Latino immigrants is generally hateful and negative among conservatives, and patronizing among liberals.

You also get the whole issue of various minority groups and/or poor/working class people being pitted against each other because being divided they have less power.

[antares]

So true. Many Latinos in a group of all Latinos, will use openly derogatory language regarding any and all other racial groups. Often without giving it much thought. When I worked in Social Services I had to, on more than one occasion, tell staff that hey, no, you can't refer to a member of group x using this or that insulting term! WTF.

I do disagree with the " welcoming" attitude towards immigrants in the U.S. I think the stereotypes regarding Asians are generally positive ( at this time) , so currently the attitude towards Asian immigrants is largely positive. Obviously this was not the case in the past. As the current hated group is Latinos, attitudes toward Latino immigrants is generally hateful and negative among conservatives, and patronizing among liberals.

You also get the whole issue of various minority groups and/or poor/working class people being pitted against each other because being divided they have less power.

I meant more welcoming compared to some other countries. Yep, you're right, americans aren't a perfect batch of brotherly love, LOL. But we're certainly not the most xenophobic place. And that many xenophobic nations are largely non white, for example, South Korea.

[Maggie Mae]

I think a lot of people confuse racism with discrimination. Discrimination does occur against white people, and it is more in certain areas than others, and pretending that it doesn't happen doesn't help anything. Personally, I think we need to solve our problem with race and get the fuck over it so we can work on the real problem - which is wealth inequality and social class division. Obviously the social class problems intersect with race and culture, and that creates problems, especially in hiring. Certain dialects are considered "improper" or "uncouth" preventing otherwise qualified applicants from being hired. Not to mention we have managed to create a system where the very wealthy have convinced the people who are very poor to vote in favor of policies that are 100% against the interest of the very poor. We have found a way to distract the apathetic public from voting. The entire system is just depressing. I'm going to go look at kittens now.

[JesusFightClub]

....I dunno. Yes, kind of maybe sometimes? :lol:

It can certainly occur, but the side effects are completely different. I might get called a stupid name like honky, cracker or whatever (does anyone still say honky?). But when the Scottish Defence League marched in Edinburgh, the local coppers did a tour of mosques asking the imams to ask their congregations to stay indoors on that day. No-one ever does a tour of places where white people gather to warn us to stay indoors because if black or Asian people see us we'll get a kicking.

[fatcat]

Hmmm, for me the word racism has always meant prejudice on the basis of race, regardless of who is doing it (similar deal with sexism). 'Reverse racism' is a stupid term, imo.

The racism= power + prejudice explanation is quite new to me, and I have realised that in my area of study/ interest at my university, you are pretty much expected take this definition for granted. I'll be honest, I have a bit of a problem with that. On the other hand, I have never experienced any kind of discrimination for being white, so I tend to just be quiet during those conversations (which is probably for the best).

[antares]

Hmmm, for me the word racism has always meant prejudice on the basis of race, regardless of who is doing it (similar deal with sexism). 'Reverse racism' is a stupid term, imo.

The racism= power + prejudice explanation is quite new to me, and I have realised that in my area of study/ interest at my university, you are pretty much expected take this definition for granted. I'll be honest, I have a bit of a problem with that. On the other hand, I have never experienced any kind of discrimination for being white, so I tend to just be quiet during those conversations (which is probably for the best).

What area of study is this? I think you should be able to speak your mind as long as you are respectful.

[fatcat]

What area of study is this? I think you should be able to speak your mind as long as you are respectful.

I'm studying literature. I think it's just many of the professors I know and the articles I've read adhere to that line of thought. I did my minor in sociology for my undergraduate degree and all of my textbooks were full of 'all white men, no matter their social class, are privileged oppressors at all times'. I brought up the topic in one of my courses and my professor got angry with me for disagreeing with her (to be fair, everybody hated her). Also, I was accused of being ignorant, a racist and a 'typical American' by my fellow students when I voiced the opinion that I, as a woman, would rather live in America than in Afghanistan. Yes, really.

I'm sure there are plenty of other people who don't think like that, though, and god knows there are enough real racists and sexists left in this world.

[antares]

I'm studying literature. I think it's just many of the professors I know and the articles I've read adhere to that line of thought. I did my minor in sociology for my undergraduate degree and all of my textbooks were full of 'all white men, no matter their social class, are privileged oppressors at all times'. I brought up the topic in one of my courses and my professor got angry with me for disagreeing with her (to be fair, everybody hated her). Also, I was accused of being ignorant, a racist and a 'typical American' by my fellow students when I voiced the opinion that I, as a woman, would rather live in America than in Afghanistan. Yes, really.

I'm sure there are plenty of other people who don't think like that, though, and god knows there are enough real racists and sexists left in this world.

I see. Anyway you don't have to agree with your profs, lol. You should be able to think for yourself and question things. I think it's funny that those types of profs actually exist. They're always a favorite charicature in conservative circles. Social science academics tend to lean liberal, but so far all my profs from those fields(I'm not a social science major so these are 100 level gen Ed's) have been cool, reasonable people. I hope thesecarevthe majority and that this was the case for you!

On the Afghanistan thing. Lol I completely agree. That dosent mean that we don't have our issues here, but this isn't the worst country to be a woman. It could be much better, but we're ahead of many places.

I personally wouldn't take that racism definition for granted. That definition is probably institutional racism. For me, if its racist, it's racist. If I'm being racist, I'm being racist. I'm not incapable of racism because I, as a minority, don't have power or some other BS. That stuff is not empowering and does not encourage personal personal responsibility for your words beliefs and actions. It beefs the kinds of attitudes the paleo blogger complains about.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I've had professors who definitely came from the "if you disagree with me, you must have failed to learn from my lecture" school of thought. With some, if you wanted good grades without a lot of work, you learned to parrot back their views. Not proud to admit this, but in law school I managed this trick in 2 courses, where I got good grades despite never opening the assigned texts.

In the end, I figured out that the most valuable lesson I learned in university was how to figure out my own position and defend it - even when everyone around me may disagree and claim that my position is wrong/evil/socialist/imperialist/liberal....I couldn't just take a middle-of-the-road position in a setting where outrageous ideas were treated as mainstream.

[Terrie]

I would point out that the "power" in the racism formula is the power of society, culture and history, not individuals. Don't confuse the societal structure of "white" with being a white person.

[tropaka]

hoo boy, back in the day I was on a very crunchy mommy board that almost shut itself down over the definition of racism. The final say was that power + privilege = racism. If you in any way suggested that anyone outside of "white" could be racist you were to STFU or be shamed as a racist yourself. Good times. I've always held the belief that anyone who sees any race/ethnicity/skin colour as superior/inferior is racist.

[Mama Mia]

hoo boy, back in the day I was on a very crunchy mommy board that almost shut itself down over the definition of racism. The final say was that power + privilege = racism. If you in any way suggested that anyone outside of "white" could be racist you were to STFU or be shamed as a racist yourself. Good times. I've always held the belief that anyone who sees any race/ethnicity/skin colour as superior/inferior is racist.

That's interesting. Working in social services I was told in multiple training that EVERYBODY is racist. And the thing you are supposed to do is identify what particular forms your racism took towards various groups of people and to try to modify those racist beliefs. And that the racist beliefs could take many different forms...negative stereotypes of course, but also assigning a particular group with a blanket positive attribute.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I would point out that the "power" in the racism formula is the power of society, culture and history, not individuals. Don't confuse the societal structure of "white" with being a white person.

That's a point which is often lost.

There's an interesting part in Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink" where he talks about taking the Race Implicit Association Test, and is disturbed to discover that he had a moderate automatic preference from whites (esp. since his mother is black). Apparently, even many blacks who take the test have a harder time associating "black" with "good" and "white" with "bad".

[Terrie]

That's a point which is often lost.

There's an interesting part in Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink" where he talks about taking the Race Implicit Association Test, and is disturbed to discover that he had a moderate automatic preference from whites (esp. since his mother is black). Apparently, even many blacks who take the test have a harder time associating "black" with "good" and "white" with "bad".

Even more striking is the news story about the doll test with children. Watching young black children point to the white doll as the "better" doll is just... It's painful to watch.

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