Reverse racism isn’t a thing, y’all

I find it highly comical when white people believe they can experience racism. Whenever I bring up the ills that affect people of color — and indite white folks as the perpetrators — some white soul comes out of the woodwork proclaiming that his or her race can also fall victim to racism.IMG_2057

It never fails.

I find this to be frustrating and annoying more than anything else. Black people, as well as people of color in general, have already had to create our own spaces where we can discuss OUR lives, OUR culture and share OUR sentiments about OUR oppressors – now that’s in jeopardy.

It appears as though white people want everything. They want the beauty standards, the economic resources, the sociopolitical power and, now, the other side of oppression.

Can we, non-white people, have anything? We can’t have our fashion statements. We can’t have the benefit of the doubt. We can’t have justice. We can’t have a damn thing unless we’re serving the cultivation of whiteness in some way, shape or form.

Sounds a lot like the purpose Black bodies served during slavery hasn’t changed in the minds of white folks (collectively). It’s irritating to explain why people of color can’t be racist to white folks who want the world to acknowledge how they, too, can experience the suffering that non-whites endue on a daily basis.

By81-00CIAAQ2rP

Screaming that people of color do not hold the institutional power that makes racism a systemic force and that we, non-white people, are incapable of oppressing anyone is futile. Highlighting the statistical differences between Black people and white people means nothing. And, my favorite, race NEVER matters until its white people on the chopping block.

Our struggles are always explained away via the highlighting of white ignorance to all things racial – and we’re just supposed to accept that as enough. But when my people cry out in pain and desperation about the reality of what we deal with on a DAILY basis, it is never enough.

Our stories and voices are never enough. We always have to prove that we are victims. It is essential that our victimhood be validated.

Racism seems to exist to white people only when they are the supposed victims of the phenomenon. Blacks, Latinos and other members of our nation’s minority can never experience discrimination it seems. But white folks? OHMYGOD Y’ALL JUST HAVE IT SO BAD!IMG_2058

I do not wish to negate anything any white person has experienced. However, what must be understood is that you cannot experience racism. You can’t. You can experience prejudice all day, everyday. But racism? Nah. That is the one thing that is not yours.

So let us non-white folks discuss this topic in peace. Stop fucking antagonizing us. For once.

 

93 thoughts on “Reverse racism isn’t a thing, y’all

    • No, we can’t. We can experience bigotry/prejudice in terms of being misjudged by others because they don’t like our race, but that’s not quite the same thing. There isn’t the added element of power to make our lives miserable across the board. I knew this before reading the post.

      • LoL, I was attempting to stay away from this post but since you responded to me I’ll respond back. All races can experience racism because all races CAN BE in the minority in situations. This whole post and the conversation that followed is hilarious to me because the original poster states in her comment that “1) you’re ignorant because who attempts to rank intensity of oppression?” This whole post is a ranking of intensity!!!

        Telling me that white people can’t experience racism is ignorant. I had the most racism directed at me and guess by what race? Black people. Does that mean I hate their whole race? No, it doesn’t. But it did teach me that regardless what we label people “minority this or that,” if you gather enough people in a group they are NO LONGER a minority. They then DO have the power to make your life miserable across the board. I lived it, I experienced it, and the fact that people don’t know this lets me know some people have very nice lives. Well that is great, but don’t try to teach me about racism. I know plenty about it.

  1. Yeah… slavery ended over a hundred years ago. No one alive today owned slaves in the sense that you mean, and no one today was a victim of slavery in the sense that you mean, including you. Stop putting that on people who had nothing to do with it. Do black people experience racism? Absolutely. Do Native Americans and Asians and Hispanics experience racism? Absolutely. Do white people experience racism? Absolutely. Stop playing the victim card. You are not a victim. Leave the victim cards to those who actually are victims. Today, there are far more institutions in place that harm other minorities than there are that harm Black Americans. So instead of whining because you’ve been told you are a victim your whole life, why don’t you actually do something to help your culture, or better yet, the cultures of those who face far more institutional racism on a regular basis than Black Americans (like Native Americans or Hispanics)?

    • so because I don’t have whip marks on my back, I’m not a victim of slavery? how blacks were treated pre, during, and post-slavery (i.e. Jim Crow) determines how we function and are treated within this country currently. and the fact that you think there are more institutions that harm other minorities minus blacks says a few things: 1) you’re ignorant because who attempts to rank intensity of oppression?; 2) you don’t read much at all.

      black men and women are being gunned down in broad daylight just because our blackness causes white people to perceive us as a threat. so until you’ve lived as a black person in America, you can, respectfully, shut the fuck up about how you feel about me being a “victim.”

      you’ve done nothing but prove what I said in my post, which was white people always want to say they can experience racism when black people are talking. you have literally done exactly what I was talking about. You didn’t comprehend or even briefly think about what I said. You just saw me highlight one of many negative attributes held by white folks when it comes to race relations and you started attacking. So, until you have more to say outside of “you’re not a REAL victim,” you can shut the fuck up.

      xoxo

      • AFRICANS were slaves. They were brought to America for slavery back during the early stages of the United States. After this, there were first generation African Americans, which were also slaves. There were a few generations until the 1860s. After the liberation of AFRICAN Americans, slavery had ended. Then there was social injustice which was then eliminated. All of which you were not alive during. In modern days, Black Americans are NOT the same as AFRICAN Americans. A Black American with African descent may have had a great-great-great-great-grandparent or aunt or uncle who was a victim of racism, but that was four “greats” ago. Again, don’t victimize. I find this post highly unsupported and purely ignorant. Like everyone in this comment thread has said, every race is subject to racism or discrimination or prejudice.

      • Also, after reading your “gunned down in broad daylight” comment, I grew up in a predominantly black community, and was often targeted and beat up/bullied because I was white. This doesn’t mean that the race that “oppressed me” is not susceptible to racism. I was a victim of several hate crimes as much as any other person from ANY race may potentially be.

      • So one white person says something and you interpret that as ‘proving’ that all white people think and behave in the same way. You are not just a professional victim but you are a bigot.
        Your post and following comments are littered with sweeping generalisations that speak volumes about you and the opinions that you hold. You talk about black people being gunned down because their blackness (your word) causes white people to perceive them as a threat, yet according to US Department of Justice statistics between 1976 and 2005 94% of black people murdered were killed by black people.
        Perhaps you are just trying to be outrageous to provoke debate and promote your blog. I sincerely hope so, because when I read such a one-sided and offensive piece of drivel as you have written here it makes me truly sad to think anyone could be so deluded and be carrying such a huge chip around with them on their shoulder. Good luck with your journey, it looks like it’s going to be a long one.

  2. you cant be serious? this whole post is racist…… the way you say “white people cant experience racism” that its self is racist!!

    I have had this argument with many people “of colour” its seems anyone with an African background seems to think they have the right to be racist without calling it racist….. your comment where you said “white people cant” that sentence right there is racist you moron…. people like yourself is the reason racism exisit’s…… when baby’s are born they don’t understand racial issues and I hope one day people stop talking about racism this way to end it once and for all… we are all one for fuck sake and ill say it again you’re a moron!

  3. I am white — very white – nordic white, to the point of being almost boring. And I totally agree with you. We white people have no idea what it is to experience racism. and I am disgusted by people who refuse to “get” it. “Cause until we admit to a problem and understand it — or at least try to understand it — there can be no peace.

  4. I will agree that reverse-racism is not a thing. However anyone, of any race and skin color, can suffer racism. The actual definition of the word racism:

    “The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
    prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.”

    Any race can experience this. Any individual can experience this at any point for any reason. In fact this entire post is one fine example of this.

  5. ” 1) you’re ignorant because who attempts to rank intensity of oppression?”
    I believe that’s what you implied in your post.
    “Can we, non-white people, have anything?”
    Sweetheart, why would you WANT to own this?
    I dint want to fight with you. An internet fight is as satisfying as masturbating with wet spaghetti, but believe that I have experienced racism, and I know that it sucks. Out loud.

  6. In 1969, I took a Black Literature class in college, figuring that when I became a teacher, I would have some black students in my classes. The first day, the black instructor said, “Every black student in this class is a slave, and every white student is a slave driver.” But, that wasn’t racism. There were three white students in the class, two males and me, the female. One black student stood up and told us we were not welcome in the class because we were white.But, that wasn’t racism. Another black male told the white males that “when we pick up the gun, you’ll be the first ones we get.” But, that wasn’t racism.
    After the time to legitimately drop the class, I was the only white student left. Then, I was told they would talk about their issues and I could just listen. But, that wasn’t racism.
    It came time to give our 5-minute presentations to the class on some aspect of black literature. I chose poetry written by black children, and I talked about that common problems that everyone, black, yellow, red, and white faced raising kids. One woman asked me,”Do you believe what you say?” I said, “Of course, or I wouldn’t say it.” After that, the class accepted me as a member. We discussed literature and they were kind enough to include me in their conversations. But, that wasn’t racism.

      • Stephen, you are truly, truly a moron. Idiots like you legitimise this kind of appalling behaviour. What gives you the right to denigrate and devalue this woman’s experience? Would you think it acceptable if it were carried out by white people against a lone black student? I think you wouldn’t.
        If you read the lady’s comment it is quite clear that this was not one little experience but a deliberate and sustained attack on one person purely on the basis of her colour and that is quite definitely racism. Hang your head in shame, you heap further injury and injustice on a victim of racism with your ill considered comment.

      • No, you are not allowed to call someone names in the hopes that it will make your argument more persuasive. You have nothing to say otherwise that is of any interest.

      • Be grateful I stuck an insult in there to give you something to argue about because you know I am completely right about your disgusting dismissal of that woman’s experience. I can only imagine that you wish to ingratiate yourself to some section of the community in which you live because your argument is ridiculous.

      • neither denigrated nor devalued it. I just said it wasn’t racism. which it was not. and your obsessive attempts to goad me should counsel maybe you need to get some fresh air or something. Resentment is never a good reason to believe something.

      • I have no interest in goading you, I have a full life, this is an occasional hobby, and yes, I get plenty of fresh air. ‘Sorry, that one little experience does not entitle you’ was the bit that got my goat. You were rude to the lady and we both know that. Your comment is there for all to read. ‘Sorry, that one little experience does not entitle you’ was where you stooped. A cheap little throw away sound bite that devalued her experience. I am not obsessive, and you are free to not reply to my comment in which case I would have nothing further to add. I found this deeply flawed post through Jason’s blog, and your comment annoyed me. But tomorrow you will be forgotten – unless of course you say something else as stupid as you did the other day. :-)

  7. Let me get this straight…

    You want those reading this to sit back and try to understand, all while attacking the poster above for disagreeing with you and telling him to, quote, ‘shut the fuck up’? Really? I’m astounded that you apparently believe that’s going to make people want to stop and ponder your message…

    Do I know what it’s like to experience racism as a black person? No. I’m not presuming to understand what the day-to-day is like, especially in certain parts of the United States. With that said, it’s just as ignorant to draw the conclusion that someone who is Caucasian cannot have experienced racism is not only laughable, it’s utterly incorrect.

    The United Nations defines racial discrimination to mean ‘any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.’

    Note that there is no separation between ethnicity and race.

    My own experiences living in a state where my ethnicity, while technically Caucasian, does make me among the minority, I will say that I have experienced the UN’s definition of racial discrimination. This does not mean we have shared the same past or experiences, nor would I begin to suggest we had. I won’t expand on my own heritage due to the nature of my own blog (I don’t post identifying details), however, based on the accepted definition of racial discrimination as posted above, I would say that the argument present in your post is ultimately quite racist in nature.

  8. I lived in Alabama for three years and went to an all black school. I was beat up and picked on every day. Why? Because I was a Yankee… They called me a Honky and white trash and used to beat on me in the bathrooms & playgrounds daily!! So your theory is not correct!!

  9. Considering you’re not a white person, you absolutely do not have any room to speak about what we do or do not experience. Normally I don’t poke at people, but it is just downright ignorant for ANY person to assume that white people can’t or don’t experience racism. I read your post, I see your little diagrams, and attempts to use math on language, however the reality of it is that you’re wrong.
    I live near Detroit, and Detroit is primarily black people. I could care less personally, however I know that as a WHITE PERSON there are places I absolutely can’t go without getting, at the least, yelled at…but much more likely, beaten or killed. Just for being white. That’s the only thing I have personally experienced, but what about the Jewish? The Polish? The Jewish are primarily white people, and they experienced the most extreme instance of oppression and racism throughout history. And the Polish, also being a white people, were right alongside the Jewish just because they may or may not practice a religion that the Nazis didn’t like. They killed off and tortured as many Polish people as they could get their dirty hands on, just for being Polish.
    I’m not trying to downplay what the blacks, native americans, mexicans, or any other minority have had to deal with throughout history. And I will definitely admit that white people were primarily the assholes behind the trauma and bloodshed. But times are different now and it’s just not like that anymore. That’s not to say that you don’t still experience racism, because I’m sure that you absolutely do! But we do too.
    White people experience racism from minorities based on our ancestors’ behavior. Every day. Try walking into a club in Pontiac as a white person and see how many dirty looks you get.
    The part where you said that you guys have nothing to yourselves such as fashion statements, justice, and the benefit of doubt is absolutely laughable. As far as the fashion, obviously you’ve never heard the expression that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Because it is. Obviously we like what you’re wearing and want to imitate that BECAUSE WE LIKE IT. Nobody looks at a black girl’s printed leggings, for example, and thinks “oh shit, they’re trying to have something for themselves! We better hurry up and squash that real quick”
    No.
    We think “DAMN that’s hot, I have to go get a pair of those.”
    And as for the justice, don’t act like you’re the only ones who suffer. There are just as many white people stuck in the system for some bullshit as there are minorities.
    The benefit of doubt thing, though, is what gets me the most. If a person walks into my office and they’re dressed like trouble, I’m going to assume they’re trouble. This goes for whites just as much as blacks or any other minority. Now, if a person of a minority walks in and they’re well-dressed and presents themselves as a contributing member of society, I wouldn’t think twice about what color they are. Sorry, but if somebody is wearing a gigantic shit and sagging pants, I don’t see that person as a responsible person. It just so happens that these are fashion statements commonly adopted by minorities, so it’s assumed to be racism. But you send in a white person in the same outfit and try to tell me they get any better treatment.
    And I read your comment about black people being gunned down just because being black caused white people to feel threatened, and I’m sorry but did it ever occur to you that it had something to do with the way those people presented themselves? Same shit happens to white people too. But on BOTH accounts, it’s never the guy in the button-down and slacks that gets shot, no matter what color they are. It’s the people that PRESENT themselves as threats. White or not.
    I’m done bitching about this, just this ignorance drives me just as nuts as when white people try to say that blacks don’t experience racism AT ALL anymore because they aren’t slaves. It’s all bullshit, racism is everywhere and affects everybody, so get off this “we’re the ONLY ONES ALLOWED TO FEEL VICTIMIZED” shit.

  10. Just as a disclaimer to my comment, I am a white man who lives in the South (U.S., that is, for any international readers taking a look at this).

    Discussions on race are important to have in this country, even more now that Census data show that the U.S. is moving towards a pluralistic racial makeup. Within a few decades, no race will have a numerical advantage over the other to perpetuate institutions of racism. Some of the backlash in typically conservative rhetoric plays on a fear that white people will be subjected to new institutions of racism once this happens.

    Some of your points, I think, are valid, although I have always heard the term “reverse discrimination” rather than “reverse racism.”

    However, I would respectfully disagree with your assessment that white people cannot, as a rule, be subjected to racism. Even given your definition, if a system is predominantly run by a particular non-white group, that group can be racist to the extent it exerts influence over whatever it may. At first blush, this seems like it gives a dim view of your position, but I am saying this in an attempt to encourage you to express your views.

    What you have to say needs to be heard, but I think it also needs to be recognized. Injustice, pre-judging, and discrimination do get headlines in white communities. Even this post will be read by white people with an eye at saying “she’s wrong” rather than asking themselves if there is truth to this.

    I have not discussed racism or race-related issues much on my own blog, but I think that I would like to do a post in the near future regarding what you are saying. If you are amenable to me citing this, I would very much appreciate it.

    Kindest regards,

    SB

  11. Hi, I’m white and a male and over 50 and I not only agree with you, I don’t even think it’s a matter of opinion, as you showed. I apologize for my fellow white people who cannot handle the idea that there is some kind of victimhood to which they cannot, constitutionally, understand. But, as a public service attorney, I can tell you that I work with and for black people and have done for 30 years, and I know that what you say is true. Cheers.

    • Also, don’t apologize on behalf of your “fellow white people,” nobody needs someone to apologize for them except themselves, so I kindly deny the apology you are making for me. I wholly support what I believe and know, and definitely NOT what you seem to believe. So, quit apologizing on behalf of a whole “race of people.”

      • I am from NYC and I am not going to conduct a ridiculous conversation with you. And you know what? it doesn’t matter if you agree. It’s like not agreeing with geometry. The truth is not dependent on your emotional reaction to it.

      • I understand truth is not dependent on an emotional reaction, which is why you should not base your truth on the other bloggers’ comments on this post – it is their emotional response, not yours, and should therefore not be used as a warrant to your claims. Also, if you read my previous posts, I myself am a victim of racial hate, being bullied and beat up for being white. I experienced racism, so that alone disbars your claims, as well as the author’s.

    • I’d like to see you expand on your comment.

      Most can agree there is still racism against blacks. There’s also racism against other races. I’m not pleading ignorant to what has/is happening, but I also cannot agree with the statement that someone who is Caucasian cannot have been a victim of racial discrimination. Forget the term reverse racism, but racial discrimination can happen to anyone…

      I also don’t believe this is nearly so simple as a matter of ‘recognition’. One can recognize multiple injustice(s) yet still disagree with the author’s sentiment stating that because one is Caucasian, it automatically means an individual is exempt from any sort of racial discrimination.

      • You are right I think. Purely as a matter of definition, however, racism is a historical and cultural phenomenon, directly related to the culture and history of the United States. I think that racism exists everywhere, but in the USA, it has a particular flavor. And although other groups experience racism, “anti-black” racism in America is characteristic enough to be its own “thing”. What I’m saying is, the blogger is absolutely right, and although I would have worded it differently, that is precisely because I do not and cannot ever know what it racism feels like to black Americans. And the other thing about other groups expriencing racism: I would take issue with the blogger if her point is that ONLY black people experience racism. I think obviously Latino and Asians experience racism, but they do not experience anti-black racism. And white people cannot experience any kind of racism because white people are on the top of the cultural heap and have been for 500 or so years on this planet.

      • Oh, and also, as bad as the experience of racism against Asians and Latinos must feel, each of these experiences is less intense and all pervasive than anti-black racism. This is a sad fact of our history that, in America, because of the “peculiar institution” of slavery, white people of European descent have invented and imposed upon the world a kind of racism that is rivaled in history only by hatred of Jews.

  12. My pet peeve with this? Why promote segregation?Nothing, nothing good at all can come from segregation. Obviously, people of color experience racism more-so than other any ethnicity. I live in NY. I see racial profiling daily. I see laws that enable and run off racial profiling. It’s a fact people of color have stiffer racism placed on them than any other color.

    But, it’s also the 21 century. Everyone experiences racism. Every color across the broad, even white, experiences racism. Maybe not as board of spectrum, but they do. I did, because I’m mixed. Half white/ half west Indian.

    But my annoyance is having a one race only club. It is that same mentality that oppressive society thrives off of. It’s what the KKK did. It’s what the Nazi’s did. How can something good come out of promoting ONE culture .

    Segregation never ever promotes equality. Color needs to be thrown out the window. People, no matter the race, should come together and support and encourage and fight for each other .

    It’s about humanism.

    So sure, I see your point. But my point is nothing at all can or will ever be accomplished with that mentality.

    Maybe I’m just an idealist hippy.

    • I’m mixed too, and I feel the exact same way. Yes people have been racist towards me, but I’ve heard people of ALL races be prejudice and racist towards one another. Being on the fence lets you see both sides.

  13. I understand that there is a lot of pain and suffering in the black community but even white people have faced racism. Because I am able to sit on the fence, I get the view of both sides. I have listened to black people talk bad about white people and white people talk bad about black people. They say the exact same things in different ways. Both groups are racist in my opinion, towards one another…and I wish it wasn’t that way because it is the reason that children like me who sit on the fence, really don’t know where they belong. I never had the issue of trying to “fit in” with a certain racial group, but others do and I feel so sorry for them…
    Like Queen Elsa says, “The past is in the past. Let it go.”
    White people need to let go of the guilt they hold.
    Black people need to let go of this feeling of always being the victim.
    There are people in this world like myself who are just tired of having these conversations and would rather just everyone calmed down.
    The black community has been wronged many times (as have the First Nations and other minorities), however to say that a certain group of people has never had to deal with racism…you’re badly mistake.

  14. I kind of get where you are coming from. I’m white, I’ve experienced racial abuse from black people, mainly because I married a black man and had what society perceives as black kids so the abuse I received was either very blatant, spit in my face in the street and tell me to stick to men of my own kind (always from black women) or more subtle more ethnic cultural based discrimination, being left out of conversations, being mocked for not being able to ‘dance properly’ or for not being able to corn row my daughter’s hair.

    But living in the UK I’ve never felt like a minority so I’ve never felt that oppressive instiutionalised racism other than by proxy through my children and as the white mother of black children I know that they do not have the same experience of life as I do in so many ways.

    It really strikes me when I’m thinking of going on holiday and I have to wonder how we as a mixed family and how they as black people will be perceived and treated wherever we are going. It might be just hype but there are some countries my kids (one now an adult and the other not far off) will never feel comfortable visiting and some areas in countries they have kind of ruled out as places they would ever visit… my daughter fancies road tripping the USA but has several routes all of which avoid the deep south for instance… rightly or wrongly she assumes that it wouldn’t be in her best interests to risk going there and risk subjecting herself to racism. I don’t mind going to the deep south or anywhere else in the world come to that. So there are definitely differences.

    I sometimes have to check myself though and remember that since I was a young white woman marrying my black husband things have changed. When my daughter was interviewing for grad positions I worried her race might impede her, silently remembering how her dad struggled as a young graduate and the experiment he did applying for jobs in a more ‘white’ name which yielded interview invites every time whereas those in his ‘black’ name didn’t. But that was my own hang up and my own failure to realise that the world has moved on somewhat as she was offered every single grad position she applied for no matter where in the country she interviewed and she had applied using her ‘black’ name as opposed to her white one. We did at one point wonder if she was just an awesome person or if she was ticking the BME quota box but we didn’t like to think that, we preferred to think she is just awesome.

    I’ve traveled the world and lived for some time in African countries and have never experienced people refusing to sit next to me on public transport… that still happens even in the UK believe me, I’ve seen it so many times and my kids experience it, everyone standing on trains and buses and the only vacant seat being next to them, even sometimes being asked to move so a white person could sit there… always refusing of course.

    I think we need to make a distinction between racial abuse which I have been the victim of and deeply engrained, institutionalised racism which I don’t think I have been the victim of and it is this type which I fight against and this type which really wears people down. It can be very subtle, so subtle as to be unchallengeable for if you do you are in danger of being perceived as ‘over sensitive’. Why is my son, the highest achiever in his year in an all white school always singled out for punishment when the whole class is misbehaving? Racism? Unlucky? Oversensitive to complain when it happens time and time again? Why when someone has shouted out something inappropriate at school is my son always the first who is asked ‘was it you?”, why is my son overlooked when he tries to answer a question in class, why when he is with a group of white friends talking to another white girl friend do passers by stop and ask the girl if he, pointing specifically at my gentle, polite, intelligent, respectful son, is bothering her? Why does my daughter get stopped by police on her way to her late shift at work almost weekly to be asked where she is going, where she has been? That has never happened to me anywhere in the world ever. Why when my daughter wanted to study physics did her school try to encourage her to pursue a career in music which she had no interest in despite having a good singing voice and why do they try to force my son into a sporting role he has no interest in? Their friends didn’t experience that. But we’re just over sensitive, these things are all coincidental of course.

    An interesting and no doubt thought provoking post, perhaps even inflammatory, it would be interesting to see the popularity of the same thoughts coming from a white person. Of course I’m only speaking from a white/black perspective, I see many other races suffer racism as well as racial abuse, but the point was that white people don’t experience racism and I think that depending on how you define it and if you dig deep enough into it, you could perhaps be right.

  15. People of color have not cornered the market on racism. Every race on this earth have experienced it at some point or another. Even white people. Here in America, us minorities do face a lot more discrimination from the majority than the other way around. But in some places those minorities are white people. Racism in any direction is wrong, but for you to imply that the only people that have the right to complain about it is people of color is also wrong. It’s like you are giving ethnic people permission to behave badly.

  16. Hopefully not a double post… I’m not sure if the first attempt went through.

    I see what you’re arguing, but it’s based only on your chosen definition of racism. If we all agree to that definition, then you might be right. A white person might be the victim of prejudice or discrimination but not racism… ONLY if we agree to your definition of what that word means.

    When I go to Merriam-Webster, I get a much more broad definition:
    “poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race” and
    “the belief that some races of people are better than others”

    Under that definition a white person can suffer racism just as much as anyone else.

    I don’t think anyone wants to take over a thing or horn in on what you seem to feel is like your special sovereign territory. I don’t know anyone of any color (or gender or orientation or religion or whatever other determining factor) who appreciates being mistreated due to ignorance and prejudice.

    Requiring agreement with a specific and unique definition is going to limit how easily people agree with your point. We like words to mean what they commonly mean.

  17. Pingback: Reverse racism isn’t a thing, y’all | Nina Kaytel

  18. I think that this is correct. But then we need not always to think on a systemic level. I think when people claim reverse racism it is from looking at the world as individuals who may have experienced something real and who may feel that what they felt was dismissed because in terms of the system they have privilege that seems to deny that what they experienced is real.

    • I know what you mean. It sucks for anyone-race irrelevant-to be thought badly of because of their color or ethnicity…I’ve been reading these comments and I have to say that I don’t like the term “reverse racism” because prejudice is prejudice, regardless the direction.

      • Yeah. I think that is so true. The only difference is in the system, overall white men have power, duh, that affects so many people. Overall the dominant leaves out so many. But we shouldn’t be fighting over who is more prejudiced, we should be working to be less so in all ways.

  19. Like HELL a white person can not experience racism !! only an under educated buffoon would believe that! white people sure as HELL CAN and do experience racism on a daily basis, there are a lot of places where white is the minority, and don’t think for an instant that they are not victimized ,abused, killed, tormented, tortured, raped, etc. racism runs rampant on whites when they are the minority. so get off your goddamn high horse and get a fucking clue! racism hurts us all regardless of color or location, remember the USA is not the center of the goddamn universe, there are many other countries other than the USA, try being white and living next to a reserve in Canada, tell me racism doesn’t exist for whites, you just come visit me awhile, lets see which one of us gets the rude remarks or shit thrown at them, lets see who gets called foul names and told to “get off our land” , it won’t be you, they will treat you with respect, me on the other hand will have to deal with the racism . so FUCK YOU AND TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!

  20. Do covered Muslim women experience racism? Or can they not, if from India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and light skinned? Is that white, or not? Our redheaded Kurds, Persians, Syrians, our albino Egyptians, are they white?
    Does it matter what they are, if you cannot see them? What if they are Western, and white? Is the experience of a covered Muslim woman then defined by the hidden color of her skin? If people harass her after 9/11 is that racism if brown, but not racism if white?
    If people speak loudly and slowly to her, as if she did not speak English, is that then a courtesy if white, but racism if brown? Since they cannot see her, how should their assumption of her lack of English be interpreted?
    Just asking how you figure that one out. Maybe there cannot be any racism, then, just religious discrimination. So why would anyone speak loudly and slowly, if that is not about an assumption of brown/black (non-English) origins? Religion surely does not affect one’s ability to understand English… are you saying there is no racism at all involved with a woman you cannot see, that she cannot experience racism, because her skin is unseen?
    Is this why Muslimah niqaabis cover in the first place, so they can claim it all has to do with gender discrimination? Why do other women speak loudly and slowly to her… nope, cannot be that. Not gender, not religion. What do you think? If she is white, is she experiencing racism? If she is brown?

  21. Pingback: The Difference Between Racism and Discrimination | Amusing Nonsense

  22. Is it racist when an Italian calls you a “shanty Irish piece of shit”? Or when you have red hair and people at school call you a “fire crotch” or use the phrase “beaten like a redheaded stepchild” (which I am lol)? How about when people say the only thing Irish people ever did was perfect alcoholism and wife-beating? My blog is a parody of what people think about white girls, but I’ve never in my life felt like one. I’ve only been considered Irish trash and my family came here in the 1920’s. I understand where you’re coming from, but “reverse racism” isn’t a thing; racism is racism no matter whom it’s targeting and this whole thing just seems like a giant cop-out. Sure, I’m “white”, but what does that really mean? Maybe other races don’t understand the racism that exists within the white community, just like whites don’t understand the racism that exists within the black community. I applaud you for writing about such a controversial topic and getting lots of traffic on your site, but this is seriously beating a dead horse. If you wanted to create even more feelings of separation, you’ve succeeded. Congrats.

  23. In the past I would’ve said that this post is utter rubbish but now I actually agree to some level. First, I am a black man who has lived in both the U.S.A and the UK. I’ll just make this one point. A cat cannot understand what it’s like to be a dog just as much as a white person cannot understand the type of Racism directed towards a black person. Why?

    Because it isn’t exactly oppression. No one group is trying to wipe us out or systematically destroy us on a large scale. We aren’t being targeted so it’s not the same as if someone hates you. Not generally anyway. You see, back in the day when black people were slaves they were owners to a racial group who have passed on their power to their children who passed it on to their children and so on. What that means is that “power” or “wealth” is the heritage of a certain group who happen to be predominantly white. Now when you have money and power we are at mercy to your…”opinions”. That’s the part white people don’t get. Because it has to be an opinion that guarantees I will be followed in Walmart without fail. It’s an opinion when I walk to go buy coffee and the person in front leaves the line as I approach to order at the back of the till and blah blah blah. The older generation of white people will certainly be aware of these “opinions” but the younger generation who are often open minded just don’t see the relation.

    Now all races experience some form of prejudice. I’ll never know what it’s like to be Jewish in Nazi Germany or a Tutsi in the Rwandan genocide or any other race that has experienced race specific racism. But as I see it, racial inequality is a huge problem in the U.S. and it mainly concerns the institutionalized inequality in the ethical treatment of minorities in this country. Put lightly, it’s willful ignorance to say you understand or have undergone the same treatment as another person when your biology ensures that you cannot experience what they do on a day to day basis. It’s not as simple as get over it, move on, This is the mess that mass slavery has created. And it’s my duty as a “victim” to remind you about it, then move on.

  24. Yup, the premise of this post is exactly correct. A large part of “white privilege” is not being able experience racism in the sense referred to.

    It’s the “sense referred to” that’s the source of confusion. In the original post she’s referring to much deeper more specific and scholarly meaning of the word “racism” than the vague common-tongue definition found in the dictionary. 

    Sure, by the dictionary definition, anyone of any color can experience ” racial discrimination”. Anyone can be mistreated because of the color of their skin. Anyone can have assumptions made about them based on unfair generalizations stemming from racial prejudice. 

    But getting more precise… Unjust actions and attitudes against an individual are not the “racism” she is speaking of, but much closer to “racial discrimination” (the middle box)

    “Racism” — in the sense studied by university academics — is a perpetual systemic phenomenon perpetrated against an entire race that has the unfortunate consequence of easily allowing racial discrimination to go on completely invisibly to everyone not of that race (and even many within that race) resulting in widespread oppression.

    Racism isn’t about individuals, but about a humongous whirlpool affecting entire classes of people. While anybody of any color can be racially profiled and discriminated against, only members of the systemically oppressed race experience the ramifications of systemic racism. 

    To illustrate — When someone refuses to give money to a black homeless man then gives to a white homeless man, that’s an example of racial discrimination based on racial prejudice by an ignorant person, ie. someone who probably doesn’t even realize what they just did and likely always do, and if you called them on it would deny being a racist. Note that that’s NOT what is being talked about here.

    Racism is the phenomenon that “for some reason” allows that the darkest people within any culture as a general trend have the highest rates of homelessness, joblessness, lowest incomes, etc… and we can’t seem to do anything about it because 1) it seems totally normal and has always been that way, and 2) there are strong forces preventing it from all sides, including A) the fact that when you bring up racism, everyone gets into defensive semantic arguments instead of listening to what is actually being expressed, B) the fact that people hate so much to be called “racist” that they become defensive before introspecting into their discriminatory tendencies, C) the fact that we were never really educated on what true racism actually is about, because our teachers don’t know either, D) the huge fact that our traditions are based on a history written by rich white Europeans and seems so “normal” to anyone educated here (including many Blacks as well) that we can’t see where simply going along with our own American customs leaves out many people (“Institutionalized racism”), E) the fact that we, in our natural blindness to things we were never taught, not only ignore other cultures’ attempt to legitimatize their ways of being, we — including millions of well-meaning totally-not-racist people — actively argue and campaign for the only ways we’ve ever known and against things we consider “strange” to the point where we start to believe that “they” just need to get with the program, F) the fact that EVERYONE — even dark skinned people — and including YOU — from birth has a biologically cognitive bias, demonstrated in university studies, as a general trend to trust and be more attracted to people with lighter skin and less trustful of darker skinned people, G) the fact that for neurological reasons people have a tendency to rationalize “reasons” why their brain sometimes unconsciously gives more favor to lighter skinned people and ignore and fear darker skinned people, H) the fact that when you have a general trend of people wired to be biased against darker skinned people and a strong tendency to rationalize that it must be for a good reason, you have very strong self-reinforcing loop (a system) by which darker skinned people are accidentally oppressed for “reasons” that an entire population assumes must be for a good reason, so it continues to support it, argue for it, and campaign for its rightness against dissenters.

    That’s racism. It’s a system. It’s a loop that we are all a part of, and for neurological reasons, the loop goes in only one direction.

    The only hope we have for stopping the whirlpool is to notice where our brain is tricking us into believing things that aren’t true — Then as a practice, vigilantly guard against encouraging it. It’s not your fault.  You’re not a bad person. It’s just an optical illusion. The trick is to notice when you’re falling for it and back off.

    And over time, begin to notice just how frequently it happens, and has been happening your whole life, that slight little “shade-bias” even since you were a baby. Realizing more and more just how crazy this whole deal is, as everyone else on the planet carries on, just doing what everyone human’s neurons have always done… “following the light”… fearing the dark… your brain always happy to justify why that’s obviously the right way to think… as generations upon generations are oppressed in the process.

  25. I think your definition of racism needs some work. Where did you find that one? The dictionaries I looked up the word racism don’t mention anything about ‘systemic institutional power”. It makes it look like you’re inventing your own definitions to suit your argument.

    Here’s the definition from Dictonary.com
    noun
    1.
    a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
    2.
    a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
    3.
    hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

    Looks like you have to try pretty hard to make the case that whites can’t experience racism. Especially when you read #3.

  26. I don’t know if you have seen this little thing in Youtube. I am not participating in the discussion and I have not read all comments. I just thought you may want to look at it and perhaps continue the discussion…it is actually funny…Aamer Rahman (Fear of a Brown Planet) – Reverse Racism

  27. Fun read even though I find it absurd. The first item I would take exception with is your definition of racism. Based on your definition I would still disagree with you. You can modify your definition a little further and then you could strengthen your argument, but again, then you are just modifying, at best, or making up, at worst, your definition.

    Thoughts such as yours posted in this article, in my opinion, do nothing to bring people together but are simply part of the reason we are divided in this nation. You seem, to me, to define who you are by race. I define myself as a child of God who is no more loved by Him than any other human being. I am sure that you might try to tell me that all this is because I have never suffered racism. Of course, that being by your narrow definition. Based on the common definition and the most reasonable definition, everyone has suffered racism. I could even argue that based on your definition white people can and have experienced racism but from reading your post you are about as open minded to that possibility as I am too aliens.

    I believe without hesitation that racism exists and I think it should be called out when it actually rears its head and should be condemned. However, I will also say that I think it is not even near as prevalent as politicians and folks like you portray it to be. In the politicians mind it is good marketing for them in the mind of folks like you it like some badge of honor that you think no other person has ever suffered. I have made some terrible mistakes in my life and said some awful things that today seem deplorable to me, however I do not define myself by those mistakes. I hope that I will always be open to acknowledging flawed thinking and growing beyond that.

    • I find it interesting how often people fall back on definitions when the truth hurts. In intro psych we called that intellectualization. This discussion goes well beyond being an intellectual exercise. It’s the fact, for example, that parents of black boys have to have “the conversation” with their sons — essentially, from what I understand — specific warnings for behaving safely in a world where their black skin puts them in danger.

      It’s the fact of the imprisonment of huge numbers of young black men who, once released, are “felons” who find employment and housing difficult to obtain, and, unless laws get changed, are deprived of the right to vote.

      It’s the fact of black women being faulted for being single mothers when, statistically, there just aren’t enough black men to go around. And, living in a country where more and more pressure is brought to bear to enforce childbirth.

      It’s subtle recordable facts like people crossing the street to avoid walking past a group of black men.

      Yes, many people suffer discrimination for many reasons, but that’s beside the point. We who are white do not yet (though demographics are changing) suffer social, fiscal, employment, violent danger simply because of our color.

      Yes, terrible violence is perpetrated all over the world against the “out group” or the “other group.” Often just being a woman puts one in danger. Or take a look at our international decisions. How quickly do we run to the help of dark-skinned folks as we do to whites?

      My heart aches for all who suffer for various reasons. I do my best in whatever way I can to at least make people aware of the cruelty imposed either knowingly and intentionally on others, or by purposeful anti-ism. Jews are certainly a historical case in point.

      But we are not victimized simply because we are white. Not yet, anyway.

  28. I do not believe in reverse racism, because it gives people an excuse to dis Affirmative Action, and I’m from South Africa so I can’t have that. But I do believe people can be racist to white people. White is a race, just as black is a race. It is called racism not Non-whitism/ blackism. (No-white is another term I find disgusting, the Aparthedi government used black people “lack of whiteness” in their eyes to torture them… TORTURE! Not make feel uncomfortable, but literally torture).

  29. At the end of the day people will have their opinions and take them to their graves if need be. I agree with you whole heartedly, although in a manner as such that while people who are white cannot actively say that they are victims of racism can still say that they are casualties of discrimination.

    I recently found out that my ethnic background is made up of predominantly eastern european/southeast asian with a dab of polynesian. As a child I was bullied consistently when I grew up on island because I was very light skinned, so pretty much not accepted at all although I recognized with being culturally pacific islander. Do I feel that I was a victim of racism? Nope. I’m still pretty much not accepted by most people regardless of who since I don’t quite make the cut to be all the way white, and I’m just scraping the barrel at being brown-ish. But I still wouldn’t call it racism because I feel that in order for it to be considered they would have an idea of what exactly they’re being racist towards rather than being thrown in with whatever was first at hand which I would call being discriminate. I.E. someone discriminating against me because they assume I’m Mexican, or Native American or half of something.

    Racism is taught and handed down, just as fear can be instilled. I believe a fear of the unknown was a huge cause is the formulation of racism. I don’t think people understand the gravity of how much it affects the afro/black community on such a basic level. When people of European ancestry talk about they’re family lineage and how they can recall their personal family history back beyond the Mayflower and first settlers, the same can’t be said of black Americans. They can trace their roots back to the slave masters to had bought and sold those family members but nothing beyond. When in the library looking for books for my daughter, I come across children’s books that show the echos and reality of what has happened/still happens in our history and present in regards to slaves, the civil rights movement, oppression, racism, discrimination, and you know who graces these books as the main characters in those situations? Black children. Black children witnessing themselves and their families in those situations. Asians, Latino’s, Middle Eastern people as well, I have yet to come across one with a white child as a victim of these situations.

    People will say “You can’t be racist towards someone else because it was your great great great great grandparent who were slaves and since they’ve already died you have no justifiable cause to feel the way you do.” In which case they must have no justifiable cause to say they feel vindicated in telling you how to feel, and in the same breath have suffered racism against their person. Now what sense would that make?

    But at the end of the day, no other person can walk in your shoes and see through your eyes and therefore may never have an understanding of what happens, your history, your life. We all live different paths, sometimes ignorant of the information at hand, usually unsympathetic to the systematic break down because of its inconsequential significance to our little bubbles, and almost always callouss of the reality of truth staring us in the face. Yet we all have an opinion at hand.

Thoughts?

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s