"it is impossible by definition to be racist against a white person in America" Really? Because I'm pretty sure racism is discriminating because of race, or assuming that all people of one race are the same. I would appreciate if you opened up a dictionary before spewing such obvious bullshit.

Asked by Anonymous

Those are two forms of racial prejudice, sure. I’ll give you that. The word you might be looking for is “bigotry.” However, “racism” is not the same thing as “racial prejudice."

The current sociological definition of racism (and, in fact, most discrimination) only applies when institutional power (or privilege) is involved. Since White people have the most privilege in this country, it’s impossible to be racist against a white person. Or rather, "nearly impossible.” Perhaps that’s what I should have said.

When someone says that a person is being “racist towards white people,” they are usually referring to either stereotyping or affirmative action. In either case, it’s a matter of leveling the playing field. Have you noticed how there aren’t many negative stereotypes about white people, and those that are negative are usually largely accurate? Nothing against white people (I have been one for quite a while now) but when someone says “white people are racist,” it’s because it’s usually true. The thing is, everybody has prejudices. You can’t get through life in this day and age without having some of them, especially if you partake in movies, television, news, books, comics, music, or really any other form of media. However, these prejudices don’t matter unless you have privilege behind them.

Here’s a good example. Two men go out into the workforce. They come from the same socioeconomic class, have all the same qualifications, and are, in the context of this job, essentially interchangeable except for one thing: One is black and one is white. They apply for the same job. One of them is turned away because the people in charge (who are, even today, usually white men) have prejudices against him (possibly without realizing it) because of his race. The other gets the job. That is racism at its core.

Now reverse the situation. The black man gets the job, but the white guy doesn’t because the people in charge are equal-opportunity employers who have been instructed to, in this situation (remember, the two men are equally qualified), give the job to the applicant of color. This is not racism. Do you know why? Because white people as a whole are not the oppressed class in this country.

This is what I was talking about earlier. The definition of racism you’ve given may have, at one time, been valid, however, now that race has become such an uneven scale, the definition now includes privilege. When people talk about “reverse racism,” it’s because they think things like affirmative action are “racist against white people” even though they’re actually just trying to undo a little bit of the damage that has been done already by white people.

Now, there are some situations where it is possible to be racist against white people. In a country where another race is in power, for example. If overt hatred is involved, then it is possibly “bigotry,” but racism doesn’t apply to the race with the most privilege, the same way you can’t say a woman is sexist against men, because men are the privileged class, and even if a woman is preudiced against men, any discrimination against them that she would be able to do is usually only to counter existing discrimination in the other direction.

That’s why you can’t have a “white student union” at your school. That’s why there’s no “white history month” or “men’s history month.” That’s why you can’t have a “straight pride parade.” That’s why black people can say the “N-word” and white people can’t. Because white people are not the oppressed class in this country, and any “discrimination against white people” short of violence against them based on their race is usually just to counter the oppression that already existed and continues to exist.

Bonus activity! Find diversity in this picture:

There are 100 people in the US Senate. Around 70% of the US population is white. This means there should be at least 30 people of color in this picture. Since that’s not the case, it’s a pretty safe assumption that people of color are underrepresented by those in power, which means white people are still the privileged class. This means that while one can be prejudiced or bigoted against white people, one cannot be racist against them.

My god, how do I attract all the worst anonymous people? If you’re going to come into my ask box and say stuff like this, at least take off anon so I can respond directly to you without annoying my followers.