Yes, You Can Be Racist to White People

Enough with lying to ourselves

Let’s suppose there’s an American you know, and he’s devoured the works of Karl Marx, and is thoroughly convinced that communism is the way to go, that every nation in the world should convert to communism.

You could point out that communism has failed in every nation that has implemented it, and he might retort that that was only because communism has never been properly implemented. And if communism were just done correctly, it would serve the people better than any form of government that has ever existed.

If he believed all this, you might say, without too much fear of contradiction, that this person is a communist, right?

And I doubt he would respond, “Oh, I can’t be a communist, because communists have never been in power in the U.S.”

That would be ridiculous, right?

Yet it’s the same stupid logic that we’re applying to terms like racism and sexism: that you have to live under a system that supports your prejudice in order to be racist or sexist.

First, let’s look at the suffix -ist.

You’ll notice that dictionary defines it as “a follower of a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy . . .” And that the suffix is used to form “personal nouns and related adjectives denoting an adherent or a system of beliefs, principles, etc. expressed by nouns ending in -ism.”

So, an adherent of communism is a communist. It doesn’t matter what system of government he lives under. Whether he’s a communist is determined solely by his beliefs. An adherent of hedonism is a hedonist, etc.

And under this definition, you’ll see that it can also be used to signify “a person who subscribes to a particular prejudice or practices discrimination.” And they even provide the example of “sexist.”

Nowhere does it say that you must live under a system that supports your prejudice in order to be racist or sexist. If someone is prejudiced on the basis of sex, then that person is sexist. And the society could very well support a person’s prejudice, but it doesn’t have to. Discrimination on the basis of sex is sexism, regardless.

And discrimination and prejudice on the basis of race is racism. Period.

An adherent of a particular philosophy wears the label regardless of the system he lives under. A person who believes in communism may live in a capitalist society, but he’s still a communist. If I lived in a nation where religion was outlawed, I would still be a theist because I believe in God, regardless of whether the observance of my beliefs is permitted.

The point being, it is the mindset that defines a racist; the society you live in has nothing to do with whether you are a racist.

I also note that those who push this false definition of racism have a rather sophomoric view of racism: Whites hold all the power; non-Whites have none. While I concede that the United States is a racist society, it is far more nuanced. Racism in the U.S. does not work in one direction. There are laws and social institutions that favor non-Whites.

Affirmative action, Black caucus in government, Black student governments, Black student graduations, BET, even phone apps that will direct you to Black-owned businesses.

Yet, these same institutions would be demonized as racist if they were White organizations. Those that support these institutions are not trying to dismantle the supposed White supremacy. The idea that Black people have no institutional power rings conspicuously hollow when you consider the fact that Black people have occupied, at some point, every elected position in the country. Those who subscribe to this false definition of racism simply want more racism that favors them.

In fact, the idea that non-Whites cannot be racist is racism.

Addendum: I get that people are passionate about this topic. So am I. Otherwise I wouldn’t have written this article.

However, personal attacks in my comment section will not be tolerated. If someone makes personal attacks on me or anyone else responding to this article, regardless of their stance on this issue, I will report the comment, remove it, and block the offender.