Reclaiming racist!!! at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

Reclaiming racist!!!

by guest contributor Dumi, originally published at BlackatMichigan.com

“I’m not a racist.” Another variation on it is often, “I’m not a racist but…” or better yet, “Are you trying to say I’m a racist?” All three of these things are beginning to make me literally sick to my stomach. A few weeks back Michael Richards’ outburst set the blogosphere on fire, which in turn set the media a fire, which in turn drove Richards to say, “The funny thing is, I’m not a racist.” Well to Mr. Richards and all others who utter these words, I have one simple comment, “Yes, (fill in name here), you are a racist.” Many folks get jarred by this statement, so read it again in the “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” tone. Does that help you stomach it?

I tend to let my mind ferment during the evening by watching reality TV or playing my Nintendo DS (oh it’s so great!). Tonight, I opted for Reality TV. I decided to watch the Real World Denver (no I don’t think I have a real reason to watch this trash, but I did). Tonight’s episode was yet another “big race episode” (this reminds me of when they would say things like, “Next week, a very special Webster” remember that? I digress). The characters end up in a tussle and the N word is barked by a drunken White male, Davis, within earshot of at least one Black roommate. I’ll summarize so you don’t have to watch the episode, they (producers) take the White roommate away for the night to a hotel and he returns the next day so the cast can talk it out. The result, the Black roommates forgive him and he says… you guessed it, “I’m not racist.” One Black roommate Tyrie asked him (and I paraphrase) “So I just want to know, when you used that word. Where did it come from? Is that something you’ve been thinking or did it come out of anger or…?” Davis quickly responded, “Out of anger.” This was particularly important to me because I knew once Tyrie gave him an “out” - mentioning anger, he would immediately jump at that reason. The episode closes with the Black roommates forgiving him and Davis staying so he can show them he can “watch what he says” and “he’s not a racist.” Dammit, you are a racist!

Now if any of you reading have had the pleasure (or pain) of sitting in on one of my guest lectures on race and ethnicity you know about this. Towards the beginning of the lecture I have all the people in attendance point to their neighbor and say, “You’re a racist” and then have them point to their other neighbor and say, “You’re a racist.” After people follow in a Pavlovian style they usually look back at me, half of them with some form of pissed expression. I then allay their fears by saying, “Now that everyone has been called a racist and called at least one person a racist, we can stop being scared of being labeled a racist.” The label racist is avoided like Jehovah’s Witness’ on a Saturday morning.

Now being the good sociologist that I am, I know that is because most people associate racism with individual deliberate actions towards someone of a subordinate group that are meant to harm and are based on prejudice. Which really means that nobody wants to be considered a Klan member (well except of course Klan members who are out of the closet). That’s the big problem, when I’m in a room of over 150 people and I ask, “Who is a racist?” and maybe one or two people raise their hands, we have a problem!!! The problem is not anger, the problem is not drunkeness, the problem is not hecklers and losing our cool, it’s racism! I know you want a nice out or absolution, I know you want to prove you’re not that bad word, but dammit you gotta claim it to change it.

Imagine this, you go the doctor, you ask him about a piercing headache you keep on having. The headache is usually bearable but on occasion it causes you to yelp in pain for others to hear. The doctor takes does a full exam, xrays, scans, etc. and sees you have a tumor on your brain. When the doctor comes back to talk to you and you ask the doc, “Am I alright?” The doc responds, “You have a cold.” A cold, hell nawh you have cancer!!! Racism is a disease, one that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately everyday we ask the world not to label ourselves or others as racist, which drives us further away from curing the sickness of racism. A doctor who prescribed Ludens to you (you know those cough drops you always wanted because they tasted like candy but your momma wouldn’t let you have them) instead of chemo would be in serious malpractice and in violation of the their oath. But everyday, people ask me, “Why do we have to say someone is racist?” “Can’t we call it something else? or “I get what you’re saying, but calling someone a racist is ugly.” Racism is ugly!!! I could go into my definition of racism but here is a link to a basic definition of racism that should get you started. If you’re already with me, read on.

For me, dropping the term racist from our lexicon weakens our ability to call everyone to the task of being accountable for inequality. Admittedly not all inequality is racial, but many of the social ills that we see have a strong racial component. To borrow from Beverly Tatum racism is like pollution, you may not have started it, but you must live with it and everyday your actions contribute to it. The true question is what are you going to do to reduce it? By ignoring racism and the people and institutions that perpetuate it, we retard social progress. Because we have dropped racist from our lexicon, racial discrimination (disproportionate impact) does not legally exist until animus is demonstrated. Because we stopped calling out people as being racist, the very people who support systems of oppression now label us racists. Because racist became perverted, some are now distorted enough to think the oppressed are the oppressors.

I know this getting way too long, but let me conclude by saying, we live in a world without racists, but in a world full of racism. While I am forgiving, reasonable, and solution oriented, it disturbs me to see us sidestep the root of the hatred that we see in the disparate worlds we live in and in the malice ridden words we speak. I’d rather have chemo than candy. Wouldn’t you?

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Trackbacks & Pings

In case you missed it… at Anti-Racist Parent - for parents committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook on 15 Dec 2006 at 3:24 pm

[…] Reclaiming Racist: Because we stopped calling out people as being racist, the very people who support systems of oppression now label us racists. Because racist became perverted, some are now distorted enough to think the oppressed are the oppressors. […]

Comments

gatamala wrote:

Because we have dropped racist from our lexicon, racial discrimination (disproportionate impact) does not legally exist until animus is demonstrated. Because we stopped calling out people as being racist, the very people who support systems of oppression now label us racists. Because racist became perverted, some are now distorted enough to think the oppressed are the oppressors.

Power and control. I think the manipulation and distortion of the racism discourse is worse than individual acts of racial animus. As I read the “race” cases in law school, I could see how racists left themselves an out. The discriminatory intent/racial animus vs. discriminatory effect is more than a misunderstanding of racism. The Court did not want to upset the social order that served (most of) them well.

Posted 11 Dec 2006 at 2:26 pm ¶
Alex wrote:

“The label racist is avoided like Jehovah’s Witness’ on a Saturday morning.”

I’m a Jehovah’s Witness, and I find that statement to be offensive to my religion. Contrary to whatever makes you think that all JW’s spend their Sunday’s proselytizing, I prefer to be with my family and read the Word of God.

Funny how you are so quick to stereotype all JW’s as being insufferable preachers, whilst proclaiming yourself to be bias free.

Posted 11 Dec 2006 at 11:54 pm ¶
Dumi wrote:

Alex, I responded to your comment over at my blog. Take a look.

Posted 12 Dec 2006 at 12:39 am ¶
H. Lewis Smith wrote:

This comment has been deleted by the moderator.

H. Lewis Smith, I’m sure our readers would love to know about your book. But try actually participating in the conversation here instead of just copying and pasting your pitch every time you get an alert that a blog mentioned the n-word.

Posted 12 Dec 2006 at 6:35 pm ¶
LM wrote:

Dumi,

Funny, was just thinking about the use of the word “racist” and I came across your post. You make a lot of great points and I essentially agree with your goal of shedding light on just what’s at issue, to quit enabling avoiders.

But slapping the “racist” label on everyone, in my view, saps the word of meaning entirely. I get your reasoning, but to lengthen one of the analogies you reference, should we make sure to call ourselves “polluters” too? It may be “true” as per your definition but if the stigma is now removed, how does that encourage people to do what’s right?

Now you’ve got an entire society of racists and polluters and the same situation, with the same set of people interested in change and the same set of people interested in status quo.

Just my opinion. Keep up your work.

Posted 17 Dec 2006 at 3:58 pm ¶
Dumi wrote:

LM,
Thanks for the comment. My rationale for having people label themselves is based on the idea that admitting one’s issue is a first step. I don’t want this labeling to result in paralysis, but the best way to do this is to label, acknowledge what it means and doesn’t mean (i.e. there is the option to actively change, but you may never be 100 percent absolved). People who pollute and recognize the environmental costs are much more likely to share sustainable practices with others and still grapple with their behaviors. Right now, it’s too easy to participate in racist systems and not look critically. I’d rather build a critical mass of folks looking carefully at their actions and looking at that critical lens spreading than simple allowing practices to go unquestioned and bad practices spreading widely as it does now.

Posted 20 Dec 2006 at 12:28 pm ¶
LM wrote:

Dumi,

Again, I’m with you on most of your points. Not sure I get “may never be 100 percent absolved,” though. For one, I don’t think that ought to be a goal of even the most well-intentioned individual “racist.” (”Great — I’m done!”) And two, where would one go for absolution/assurance (I throw this in ’cause I know plenty of people would clamor for it, kind of like they do today)? I think we’d end up right back where we are now.

That said, of course we need to identify the issue(s) at hand in order to address them, and too many people are comfortable saying throwaway lines like “I’m colorblind,” or “my best friend is____”, “but I love ____ food,” etc. The thing is, those throwaway lines are a true part of people’s consciousness and needn’t be dismissed.

Rather than criticize people for such simplemindedness (and yes, that’s what I think it is) on issues of racism, why not just say, OK… but how does XYZ ISSUE factor in? What are you doing/not doing about it? What’s in your control/not in your control? How can you influence things? What should you be changing internally and how should that manifest itself in your behavior towards others and approach towards societal institutions… etc., etc. (I imagine this is already part of your dialogue, Dumi, though I’m not sure.)

That’s how we talk about pollution… we may say that we are a society of polluters but we label as “polluters” only the most egregious individual/corporate wrongdoers while still pointing out what, on micro and macro levels, most people can do to reduce pollution and help the environment.

If we emphasized that everyone’s a polluter, we just might have to come up with a new word for the worst ones. That’d make “polluter” a weak word. I think your idea for “racist” is analogous.

Again, from what I’ve read of yours, both in content and tone, we’re heading in the same direction. I just think labeling people the way you propose constitutes an unnecessary detour.

Posted 20 Dec 2006 at 9:04 pm ¶
CM wrote:

FWIW, calling someone a racist in contemporary American society is like accusing him or her of being a child molestor. That’s why so few claim that they’re a “racist.” Besides, who would call themselves an insult? I know that there is a growing use of the term, “racialist” that many white supremicists are rationalizing their beliefs as- which is the belief that people are they way they are because of their “race”, and therefore ought to be judged and treated accordingly. Which puts this blog and its cynicism into question.

Posted 23 Dec 2006 at 3:57 am ¶