- Mar 11, 2015
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Americans Don’t Disagree About What Racism Is ... White People Do
Michael Harriot
Of all the entitlements that fall under the umbrella of the oft-rejected term “white privilege,” perhaps the biggest is the opportunity to exist in theory. White people are afforded the freedom of living in a perpetual state of grand delusion which allows them, among other things, to create reality out of hypothetical thin air.
As the dominant members of society, they get to trade in false equivalencies and define their existence by dismissing everything that doesn’t fit their narrative. They preface sentences with “all things being equal” or “imagine if a white person said ...” They can vote for a white supremacist and call it “racial anxiety.” They can create a term like “reverse racism” out of whole cloth.
To them, reality isn’t important. What matters are the things that feel real to them.
On Tuesday, the conservative outlet, the Federalist posted an article by David Marcus entitled: “Americans Disagree About what Racism is, and It’s a Big Problem.”
The thesis of the article is based on the narrative of false equivalence that has been adopted by the conservative right. Specifically, that non-whites are allowed to play the race card at their leisure while white people are criticized and painted as racist for doing the same things.
From the outset, the author’s explanation of race and racism is misguided. At its heart, it illustrates the point that many white people don’t understand about racism. Marcus writes:
There are two basic definitions of racism in the United States, one roughly associated with progressives and one roughly associated with conservatives. The former describes racism as the failure to acknowledge and seek to redress systemic discrimination against select disadvantaged minority groups. It is very broad and captures everything from unconscious bias to white supremacy. The latter views racism as making assumptions about, or taking action towards, an individual or group on the sole basis of their race. It is narrow and generally requires belief, intent, and animosity.
These definitions don’t simply differ; to a great extent they actually contradict each other. Much of the contradiction stems from the fact that the progressive definition of racism requires that an advantaged individual or group must be attacking the less privileged. The more conservative and narrow definition of racism requires no appeal to power structures, only to bias, and can be committed by anyone towards anyone.
This oft-cited bullshit argument must finally be dismantled.
First, we must agree that racism has nothing to do with “belief,” intent or animosity. It is the result of actions and policies that create and perpetuate racism. The grand delusion that one can only be racist if there is hate in one’s heart is the biggest myth of white supremacy and one of the largest reasons it still exists.
Regardless of how they define racism, it is perpetuated by white America. White supremacy is a measurable, tangible reality that is upheld by white people and it can only be dismantled by white people. And the only way white people will ever do that is to stop living in theory and face the harsh reality.
Americans Don’t Disagree About What Racism Is ... White People Do
Americans Don’t Disagree About What Racism Is ... White People Do
Michael Harriot
Of all the entitlements that fall under the umbrella of the oft-rejected term “white privilege,” perhaps the biggest is the opportunity to exist in theory. White people are afforded the freedom of living in a perpetual state of grand delusion which allows them, among other things, to create reality out of hypothetical thin air.
As the dominant members of society, they get to trade in false equivalencies and define their existence by dismissing everything that doesn’t fit their narrative. They preface sentences with “all things being equal” or “imagine if a white person said ...” They can vote for a white supremacist and call it “racial anxiety.” They can create a term like “reverse racism” out of whole cloth.
To them, reality isn’t important. What matters are the things that feel real to them.
On Tuesday, the conservative outlet, the Federalist posted an article by David Marcus entitled: “Americans Disagree About what Racism is, and It’s a Big Problem.”
The thesis of the article is based on the narrative of false equivalence that has been adopted by the conservative right. Specifically, that non-whites are allowed to play the race card at their leisure while white people are criticized and painted as racist for doing the same things.
From the outset, the author’s explanation of race and racism is misguided. At its heart, it illustrates the point that many white people don’t understand about racism. Marcus writes:
There are two basic definitions of racism in the United States, one roughly associated with progressives and one roughly associated with conservatives. The former describes racism as the failure to acknowledge and seek to redress systemic discrimination against select disadvantaged minority groups. It is very broad and captures everything from unconscious bias to white supremacy. The latter views racism as making assumptions about, or taking action towards, an individual or group on the sole basis of their race. It is narrow and generally requires belief, intent, and animosity.
These definitions don’t simply differ; to a great extent they actually contradict each other. Much of the contradiction stems from the fact that the progressive definition of racism requires that an advantaged individual or group must be attacking the less privileged. The more conservative and narrow definition of racism requires no appeal to power structures, only to bias, and can be committed by anyone towards anyone.
This oft-cited bullshit argument must finally be dismantled.
First, we must agree that racism has nothing to do with “belief,” intent or animosity. It is the result of actions and policies that create and perpetuate racism. The grand delusion that one can only be racist if there is hate in one’s heart is the biggest myth of white supremacy and one of the largest reasons it still exists.
Regardless of how they define racism, it is perpetuated by white America. White supremacy is a measurable, tangible reality that is upheld by white people and it can only be dismantled by white people. And the only way white people will ever do that is to stop living in theory and face the harsh reality.
Americans Don’t Disagree About What Racism Is ... White People Do