“You can’t say that, that’s racism! You’re a racist!”
But is it racist? Is it really?
The problem with the word is that it’s so broadly used that very few people actually understand what the word actually means anymore. It’s tossed around as loosely as candy from a parade float. At least as it was back in the days when you could still do such a thing without risking a lawsuit due to some kid getting poked in the eye with a tootsie roll.
Let’s look at the classic definition of the word “racism” as it was originally created:
“The inherent belief in the genetic superiority of one’s race, whether physical, intellectual or both.” An alternate definition would be “the inherent belief in the genetic inferiority of other races, whether physical, intellectual or both.”
We’re going to go a little deeper and look at so-called “reverse racism”. The phrase is often used in context by those accusing minority groups or individuals making disparaging remarks against whites, but that’s really not accurate, for a couple of reasons.
The first reason being is that the phrase “reverse racism” heavily implies that whites were the creators of racism, or the sole practitioners of it, in the first place. There’s no evidence of this. No one really knows “who started it”. It was certainly popularized by groups like the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, but more on them later.
The second reason is as implied in the original definition, it’s not solely about disparaging views about other races, it’s about the belief of one’s belief in his genetic superiority over others. Having negative views about people or groups of other races is not racism itself. In other words, a black American insulting a white American, is not necessarily racist. There are people who genuinely believe that they they are genetically inferior to others, typically leftist whites who have fallen for the propaganda by special interest minority groups and organizations, but this is rare. Now I’m going to elaborate my point. Let’s look at a few words.
Bigotry
Bigotry is typically defined as “the hatred or intolerance of other people or groups, for whatever reasons.” Bigotry falls under many categories… race, gender, sexual preferences and religion (or lack of it) are four of the big ones, but one can also include gender identity, political beliefs, cultures, as well as people from different nations, states and even cities, towns and rival sports teams. Note that being bigoted towards a particular race (racial bigotry) does not necessarily mean that the person believes that he is genetically superior (or that the other is genetically inferior) to him. He just, for whatever reasons, hates that group. Most bigotry stems from one having very negative personal experiences with someone, or several people, of that group, or stems from negative influence by others of their own group, which leads me to the next word.
Prejudice
“Prejudice”, derived by the word “prejudge”, is about “having negative views or distrust of a group without having had any actual experience or interactions with said group.” Again, this includes all groups mentioned under “bigotry”. I’ve heard many people use this definition to define “racism”. This is also wrong. “Prejudice” is it’s own thing. It can eventually lead to bigotry (usually by negative interactions with said groups), but not necessarily to racism.
Insensitivity
Again, this word can apply to all the aforementioned groups, but most people use it under the context of race (racial insensitivity). This is mostly about someone making fun of the appearance, speech, mannerisms, behaviors, cultures, etc. of those different from them. But as mentioned before, in most cases, this is not the same as racism.
Stereotype
Stereotype is another word I’ve seen in the place of “racism”. Stereotypes are over-generalizations of the aforementioned groups, including racial. However, there is usually a small degree of truth behind them. Stereotypes can be used in the negative context, but also in a more positive context. One example would be “all black men are really good athletes”. While this isn’t factually true, one can look at the dominance of black males in sports such as basketball, football, boxing and track among others, and understand how this stereotype persists. Another common one is “all Asians are good at math”. However, people actually label innocent, well-meaning (if not ignorant) statements like this as “racist”, especially if it’s a white person making it. It’s bizarre and ludicrous, but I’ve seen it happen.
In Conclusion
So why did I feel the need to explain the meanings of five words to get my point across? Because they’ve all been lumped together under one mega-term… “racism”. People barely use the other four words anymore, let alone understand what they mean and the differences between them. We have gotten to the point when even disagreeing with a minority person’s beliefs, culture, data, etc. is now considered “racism".
Another disturbing trend is the term "cultural appropriation", in which minority groups lay exclusive claim to certain aspects of "their" culture ( a white person braiding his hair in a "Dutch braid", for example, even though there's no proof that it originated in African culture). This is almost exclusively one-way. Minority groups are almost never accused of that themselves, even though they themselves have adopted much of Western... or "white"... culture themselves.
Now there are going to be a lot of people who will argue “well, that’s not what the dictionary says.” Yes, the modern dictionaries state that “racism” is about hatred of other races. Here’s the thing. Dictionaries are not immune to the whims and pressure of the mindless masses. People like to make up new words and meanings for words all the time. This is especially true with the online dictionaries. The definition for “racism” that I gave you is the original one. When I was much younger, hate groups such as the KKK and the Aryan Nation weren’t simply called “racists”. They were “racist bigots”. They were two things, not just one.
A racist in itself is ignorant, even an embarrassment, but not really dangerous. But one who is a racist and a bigot is a danger to society. There are various groups, from the KKK, to the more benevolent sounding “Black Lives Matter”, that are comprised of people who are racists and bigots combined.
So why the change in definition? I suspect that advocates of special interest minority groups, over time, manipulated public thought with that goal in mind, and the well-meaning but mindless masses went along with it. Contrary to the popular belief on the left, one’s race cannot be changed, any more than they can change their gender. If all the woes, failures and misfortunes can be blamed on one’s race, then the way they see it, it’s not their fault. There’s nothing they can do about it. It’s everyone else’s fault, and they need to change, not them, and they’ve succeeded brilliantly in this propaganda.
So... those are my thoughts on the matter. Hopefully some people have learned something, or at least made them think a little bit.
Yes, I’ll be called “racist”, “hateful” and a “transphobe” for good measure. But If we start using the word “racism” in its proper, original context, and make more use of the words “bigotry”, “prejudice”, “insensitivity” and “stereotypes” in their proper context, we can at least take some of the narrative away from the victim advocacy champions and as a result, the power and influence of their propaganda.
