Bush recently said the lowest point of his presidency was Kanye West calling him a racist. The lowest point? Not 9/11. Not Hurricane Katrina. Kanye West calling him a racist was his lowest point. White people react violently to being called racist like it's the ultimate insult. I've had white people call me every nigger/coon racial epithet in the book, tell me to go back to Africa, inform me why they feel black people are at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, and then follow with, "I'm not racist." I've even had those same people tell me that they still wanted to have sex with me them even though they think that I am the real racist. The white people who hold on to the most racist mindsets, the ones who are the least diverse, the least accepting of anyone or anything different from their experience, the ones who get ANGRY when someone suggests that anyone with an experience that differs from their white reality are the ones most vested to this notion that they aren't racist. It seems as if the only definition of a racist white people will acknowledge is wearing a white sheet, burning a cross and lynching a black person. I find it fascinating that white people are sooooo afraid of being called a racist yet they are the least tolerant of anyone else's experiences, culture, and history.
8 comments:
White folks like to think of themselves as fully evolved and beyond racism. the fact that we can see right through their carefully crafted personas mean that they haven't been as tight with their game as they like to think.
I dont think they are afraid. I think that they expect us to pull the race card for every thing.
Alana, I would love for someone to address your very brief but deluded comment but I'm afraid no one will. Alas, that is precisely why white people are so arrogant, black people are incapable of addressing racism in any sort of intelligent way.
As whites, we abhor being called "racist" because we believe that things like that don't exist anymore and feel that we were the wonderful folks who brought about the end of that era by using our power to erase it. Not for once did we understand that you can't legislate away thoughts and feelings. We close our eyes to the still existing racism and content ourselves with the thought that we have done our duty to eliminate it. Yet, many of us fail to acknowledge that while we applauded the end of racial segregation, we were happy as long as it affected some other white neighborhood. etc. etc. etc.
Ma'am, I wouldn't say I'm afraid of it, but that it makes me angry. The thought that I may in some way be repeating the sins of my grandfather anger me, in way that I really can't fit into this little box.
I can promise you this, my son will never experience what my father did to me when he thought I was dating outside of my race. There won't be any threats of disowning, or violence, but instead she would be welcomed.
i don't mind admitting prejudice and bias and since i am white this will include seeing black people negatively or at least in stereotypes. if i am racist i am sexist etc too. i don't mind being informed by black people that i am racist or a woman that i am sexist. i need to take these on the chin and thoughtfully try to change.
but i would also say that "racist" is being used to label people extremist and put people beyond the pale , outside the political process and social conversation so i think this is why white people don't like being called racist. its like saying all your opinions are groundless and worthless fullstop. this is illogical nd doesn't leave room for dialogue or even just learning
best wishes,
graeme
This blog is so much on point. The term "race card" is a particular problem. Its almost as if Racism has been reduced to an "excuse" African Americans pull whenever convenient. So whenever someone makes a point about racism, however valid, it's easily dismissed by a simple phrase that has its origins in one of te most racially divisive periods in recent history. In American society today, less flack for being racist than you do for calling out racism.
I liken their fear of being called a racist to fear of a closet pervert being found out by the public. They are not happy to openly acknowledge that they are racists, but they ARE happy to accept all the benefits that stem from it. There are simple everyday things that they can do freely that we as black people cannot. For example, when we walk into a retail store we have to think, okay is this person following me because they think I will steal something? They don't. I was told from a young age not to have more than two of my friends in my car with me when I start driving because we'll be stopped by police. They aren't. The fear stems from the possibility of us rightfully demanding these things be equal for us both. That fear turns into the anger that they show to us, for having the "audacity" to acknowledge that we've noticed them for what they truly are.
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