Fifty Ways to Be a Racist
Ric Caric (Re-Posted from Red State Impressions blog)
The debate doesn't quite rage over whether Sen. George Allen is a racist? For John Dickerson of Slate, Allen is more of a boob; according to Rich Lowry of National Review Online, Allen just has a mean streak. There's also an undercurrent that Allen isn't all that bright even though Allen graduated near the top of his law school class at UVA.
Generally, the mainstream media isn't sure whether you're a racist or not unless you're a Klan member, or are a white guy using the n-word all the time. That's part of the reason why the media needs to get out of the Beltway more.
Here in Kentucky, there are plenty of signs that someone is a racist--There's always the threatening letter to the black people who just moved into your county, neighborhood, school or dorm threatening to kill, bomb, or burn them out;
Add Confederate flags on your bumper sticker, Confederate flag hats, Confederate flag shirts, and Confederate flags in the back yard. Guys get into Confederate flag paraphernalia as a way to announce that they "don't give a shit about what people think," are proud to be "rednecks," "hillbillies," or "crackers," or think it's a funny way to be an asshole. They do it as a way to stick it to their parents, their teachers, church, and town elite as well as city people and the North. Oh yeah, and black people too;
Thinking that every black male you see in a city is going to rob you or not going to the cities because there are too many blacks; not going to State U because there are too many blacks or because you might be assigned a black roommate;
Dismissing hip hop, rock, jazz, and other musical styles as "n--music," dismissing Beethoven because he was a mulatto;
Loving NASCAR because it's all-white, worshipping the screaming white coach of your State U basketball team and assuming that the players need to be screamed at; disparaging State U's opponents in racial terms; disparaging professional sports in general and the NBA in particular as too black;
Telling blacks to "get over it," that "everybody is oppressed" and that "stereotypes (about blacks) are real;"
Bragging about how Southerner whites know blacks better than anybody else or how well everybody in the South got along before the "outside agitators" or "activist judges" came in or the "turmoil" of the Civil Rights Movement got started.
Claiming that Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Denzel Washington, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, and other blacks you like aren't "really" black; really hating Spike Lee and other race conscious blacks because they're "so" black.
Arguing that anybody who complains about racism is a "racist" and that blacks who complain about racism are worst racists than the whites of the segregation era.
Special Contributions from Prof. N'Diaye
You have ever dismissed the wholesale slaughter, torture, and cultural decimation of an entire race of people as "the slavery thing; "
Said that those left to perish after Hurricane Katrina should have just"gotten out" before the storm hit;
Clutch your wallet or purse in a elevator when an african american (male or female)enters
Defend the country's founders and their institutionalization and justification of enslavement as "just products of their time;"
Believe the struggle for civil rights began and ended with Martin LutherKing, Jr.
You think it merely coincidental that blacks (especially black males) are incarcerated at rates nearly nine times higher than that of whites (or worse, that you think all blacks in prison are there because the committed crimes and 'deserve' to be there);
Justify gentrification as community improvement while people who've lived in a neighborhood their entire lives suddenly cannot afford to live there any more.
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15 comments:
Yeah, People of New Orleans "shoulda got out".You think they they shoulda stayed and waited on the Gov.? Worked good,huh? And no it's not a coincidence that so many Blacks are in prison. And the cities? Been to Detroit, Gary, Ind., Philly,
Petersburg,VA,N.O.,Birmingham at night time lately. Beautiful in the spring!
I have a suggestion--why not do a survey of people who wear the Confederate flag and see if they really are racist and think that the Confederate flag symbolizes white supremacy. Let them be the ones to decide whether they are racist. They ought to know what they believe. It's wrong to make a generalization of everybody who holds to a particular belief because of the actions of a few. If you want to find a history of racism in the North, you don't have to look far. Ulysses S. Grant himself said that if the War for Southern Independence was over slavery, he would have carried his sword to the other side and fought against the North.
And please, don't label me a racist for writing this, because frankly, even if the Bible I read did not condemn that sort of attitude, I still couldn't afford to be one for two reasons. First, a cousin of mine married a man originally from the Philippines, and I could care less. Secondly, if I had that sort of attitude, my mother would wash my mouth out with soap. And I wouldn't blame her.
This is so bad I had to write and congratulate you for one of the stupidest columns I have ever read. Look up stupid in the dictionary, mine says inability to learn. You have gotten old enough to publish but have not learned much. Stereotyping, sweeping generalizations, bad thought lines, etc. Try writing on something you know about, if there is such.
I think you are very ARTICULATE!!!
In regards to rodeo8, I have to respectfully disagree with what you've posted.
You question Bell Hooks and her fury over the man next to her not causing more of a scene when her girlfriend was asked to move to another seat. I have another question for you: how do you know that it's not because of race? There have been incidents reported in the past of similar events occuring, mostly with African-American (well, minority) passengers. Is that a coincidence? Are "they" blowing it out of proportion? Have you heard of something called “racial profiling”?
Your student/teacher example depends on context and tone, in my opinion. I don’t know of anyone who considers a white professor scolding an African-American student racism, simply because the authority figure is white and the student is black; if a student does something worth scolding, regardless of what color they or their authority figure are, they deserve to be reprimanded. Period. Using your example, if the white professor would use their race as a weapon in their dealing with their student (i.e. belittling them), then it would be racism. The African-American professor cannot use race as a weapon, due to the fact that that’s never been an option for anyone of a minority.
African-Americans do not want handouts; they don’t want things given to them. They just want opportunities, which have been denied for them for centuries upon centuries, due to close-minded people who continue to view them in a negative light. Racism is alive and kicking (read through the examples provided again; they’re all more subtle than they used to be), thanks to ignorance that continues to permeate areas such as ours.
As a side note, for you to suggest that African-Americans "get over" the negative treatment that they've faced is ludicrous.
I have a few problems with this article that has been posted. First off not everyone is racist and that seems to be what the main point in this article is. I know that there is a lot of racist folks out there and it is sad that is the case. I do not like it when someone tells me racist jokes or calls someone a name that is racist. I like to watch Nascar and I do not like to watch it because it is an all white sport. That is not true anyway there have been and are currently black drivers and crew members in the sport. I know fans of Nascar that are black. And as far as the confederate flag I do not like it. But I do not believe that everyone who has one or has one on their car or truck is racist. Some of the people probably do not even know what it means they just see other people with it and wearing it and they want to wear it as well. Maybe to fit in.
I want to point out that hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that was waiting to happen. Ray Nagen failed as a Mayor of New Orleans. Yes, I believe that the local Gov’t was at fault as well as the federal Gov’t. But when people talk about Katrina they only talk about why President Bush didn’t do more. Well in Bush’s defense there was also responsibilities for the state and local governments and the people of New Orleans should be mad at Ray Nagen. But he was re-elected and that was a sad day for New Orleans as far as I am concerned.
I am appalled by the vile slander based on the hackneyed and untrue stereotype that black people are lazy. Those suggestions that the people in New Orleans somehow chose to stay behind is preposterous. If you are fearing for your life, of course you are not going to wait for the government if you have the means to flee the eminent disaster on your own. However, those who "should have gotten out" did not have the means. The fact is that many people in New Orleans, working poor as well as unemployed, could not afford automobiles. They did not stay behind because they were welfare people raised by the government since the day they were born(as some right-wing commentators suggest). Many did work, taking up the minimum-wage jobs that served as the backbone of New Orleans' tourism economy. Those people were not lazy but simply SOL.
I also disagree with the idea that high unemployment rates among black people are the result of laziness or underachievement. An MIT/University of Chicago study mentioned in the December 12, 2002 issue of the New York Times provides strong evidence for my disagreement. The study created two groups of job applications for 1,300 job offers in Boston and Chicago. The two groups had identical credentials: same level of experience, same education and same skills. The only difference was that one group's applicants had stereotypical white names (such as Kristen and Brad) while the other group's appicants had stereotypical black names (such as Tamika and Tyrone). Despite having the exact same qualifications, the "white" names were fifty percent more likely to called for an interview than the "black" names. Therefore, all this talk about racism being dead and black people being poorer because they are underacievers is total balderdash.
DancingChef says. . .
Racism; It has been in America for years and it plans to stay for awhile. Racism has changed through out the past few centuries, however since racism been around for so long it is still imbedded in American society. I went to a small high school in Central Kentucky near most of the major horse farms, where the major of students came from middle class families that owned farms. Needless to say, it was a yuppie town where everyone knew your name. The students that went to school and lived on farms would use the “n-word” and have confederate flags hanging from their trucks. Young adults were behaving in racist ways and these young adults had no really reason for this behavior only then that’s how they thought they should act. I believe that racism get its drive today by the stereo types of races. That in music videos, movies, and television that the black race is full of gangsters, criminals, thieves. In the movie we watched in class by Spike Lee it deals with racism and how African-Americans are placed within these stereotypes. In this movie a black man is taking on the characteristics of a white man and trying to make it in the television business, however, his boss treats him as the stereotype of a black man. He uses slang word in African-American culture and gestures. This goes to show you that sometimes you can not shake these stereotypes no matter how hard you try, that’s why they are called stereotypes. And since black people are portrayed this way in the media that people start to believe that all black people all this way. There are several different ways to be a racist, sadly, these different way will be apart of American society for quite awhile.
Yes, it's pretty easy to say this article both calls out stereotyping people is wrong and evil, but here's a list of fifty stereotypes about those nasty stereotypers and how stupid they are. The truth here is that the entries are carefully worded to dodge that.
The confederate flag is a symbol for the former Confederate States of America. The slavery issue was the actualization about the debate over the rights of states vs. the rights of the feds. The tension, secession, and war were fought over varying ideas about the balance in federalism, not about whether whites were superior. Now, I'll be the first to admit that a pretty realistic stereotype is that most confederate flag-wavers aren't that attuned to this fact, but I'll also be willing to wager that the majority of them are also not racist. The symbol HAS come to mean unity among "rednecks," and the racist connotations are mostly in the minds of the liberals.
The only tie I've found between NASCAR and race relations is the administration's willingness to overcome stereotypes about the sport being dominated by white males. There's a string of commercials, in fact, showing black kids holding up pictures of legendary black stock car racers, from the 60's to today's Bill Lester. Yes, there are numerous racists who love NASCAR. Branding the organization as racist is just as small-minded.
And picking up on the nuances of what blackness really means to us, culturally, is pretty interesting. Spike Lee immediately realizes and has no problem calling out the popular consensus of blackness as being self-righteous self-advancement with disregard for education, articulation, or revolutionary change. The modern concept of blackness vs. whiteness would paint Martin Luther King, Jr. as even whiter than Obama.
But the entries here are clear to indicate that these ways to be a racist are directly related to race... loving NASCAR for whiteness in particular, the confederate flag for its ability to insult blacks, and using the concept of a traditional black person as a means to keep them oppressed.
But the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. We see a prevalence of black comedians stereotyping whites, but does this advance them economically? Socially? Maybe on an individual basis, but it remains that racial humor, and all heavy "traditional" perceptions of race are simply a means to keep whites dominant. The means outlined here are just a little more recognizable.
Well, first of all, I'd like to see some numbers showing that the majority of popular rap albums are purchased by whites. Given the disparity in ratio (I think blacks are what, about 12% of the population?), I have no problem believing that's true, but it'd be neat to see a figure on that.
The thing that I think slipped by a lot of you guys is that the entry's title is "fifty ways to be a racist," and that every entry is conveniently worded to paint the depictions as specifically racist.
It's not dismissing hip-hop musically (even if it is a comparably talentless art form), it's dismissing it specifically because of the prevalence of blacks. It's not about loving NASCAR, that doesn't make anyone a racist. But loving it for the dominance of whites and absence of blacks, that's racism at its finest.
I can sit here and criticize rap albums as involving very little in the way of groundbreaking musical innovation, or I can give you a detailed perspective on why Spike Lee movies are mediocre based on the production value or the strength of the writing (and on a side note, purely ignoring the issue of race, Spike Lee is a brilliant filmmaker). The problem is that dismissing or promoting certain things, certain ideas or parts of our history based on race issues is small-minded racism. And that's a problem.
But here's where I see an interesting point to refute:
"No white person today has owned a slave. White people in general do not dislike black people. White people just want to be treated fairly like everyone else. William Bennett and other white people are not saying that slavery never happened, but we want to get to a society where it is color blind. I do not see what would be wrong if everyone in society would be treated the same."
Romantic idealism doesn't do much good for the black man on death row or the kid growing up in the city (destined for death row). Of course you see nothing wrong "if everyone in society would be treated the same," because that's utopia (... and communism). The problem is that true colorblindness IS saying slavery never happened. Colorblindness is a great way to treat people, but it doesn't work in the mainstream because racism still exists. The scars that a couple centuries of systematic incarceration, segregation, and oppression have left on the black community need to be adjusted and repaired, not ignored. There is a problem with racist police, courts, education and employment. The higher rate of blacks in prison is a clear signal for that; I'm not even saying that black people are jailed more often for invented crimes, at the very least the problem stems from the inequities in treatment facing blacks from birth. Name five successful black people right off the top of your head. Odds are you came up with a couple rappers, pro athletes and maybe a politician or two, who happen to be spotlighted and brought to the forefront solely for their race.
Overcoming the lasting effects of racism is the issue at hand--and if you'd take another glance over the list there, you'd see a good introduction to some of it. These problems and opinions are still running rampant today. The progress is being made superficially, we've made laws to give blacks equal voting rights and make them just as much of a human being on paper as the white man--but the problems continue that not everyone is as tolerant as they'd ideally be.
The problem is that just because colorblindness is a good idea doesn't mean it'll work for everyone. And then, when you look at the percentage of whites in seats of power and the blacks in prison and menial jobs, you'll see that the bigger problems come from lack of colorblindness in government and business. Case in point: Strom Thurmond.
And I dare anyone to attack me for stereotyping that whites in power are all racists. Of course that's wrong, as absolutism tends to be. In fact, our national congress almost never sees racism as an issue. But the numbers don't lie.
It amazes me how much racism there is in the "land of equal opportunity." Some of the things in this article just blow my mind. An example is the one about " If you clutch your wallet or purse when an African-American gets into an elevator with you." The fact is that our society has serious problems.
It would be great if our society was "colorblind" but I don't see that ever happening. The way that the social structure has developed and our willingness not to change has kept racism going. That is terrible to think about in modern day thinking, since we put emphasis on being "equal."
We are looked at as one of the greatest countries in the world, but we don't give equal rights to African-Americans. This a proven fact, and has been since the founding fathers days. Sure we gave them the right to vote, but that was more of a way to keep African Americans happy. I think that we as the United States need to end this needless racism and take a good look at ourselves. The everyday things that the article points out that are racists is unbeleiveable. When will the madness stop?
While reading this article I visualized so many racist people that I never even saw in that light before. I didn’t realize that these activities affected African Americans this much. When I see a confederate flag I do not stop to think how an African American would see this symbol as a reminder of what they’re ancestors went through. I just look at and think how narrow-minded it never occurred to me that people may be hurting because of it. I agree that it is very hard to distinguish racist in our lives today. I guess I only saw racist as people that straight-out hated certain groups of people. I think it’s sad that people actually send African Americans threatening letters. I do not understand why so many people feel threatened by African Americans. I see them as humans just like Caucasians. To me there is no difference and I do not understand why there is for so many. I hate that so many people dismiss the criminal acts that have been out upon African Americans in history. This is something that should not be dismissed because if it is then we will forget the pain and hurt we have caused and hurt minorities or even African Americans again. I have these comments several times about people who aren’t really black and some that are “too” black but I never saw it as racist until now when I realized they mean it in that way. The civil rights struggle continues to this day and it makes me sad to think my children and my grandchildren will experience it also. Racism needs to be stopped and it needs to be stopped today.
Racism is a dark and ugly practice that doesn’t really make sense. Why should you hate somebody just based on the color of their skin? That question should be answered pretty easily with a “you shouldn’t.” However, there is still hatred against black people dating back from the times of slavery.
This article, “Fifty Ways to be a Racist,” points out a lot of the signs of racism in our culture today. One main point is the confederate flag and its portrayal on just about anything in the south. The confederate flag has long been the symbol of racism and the south, mainly because of its symbolism during the Civil War.
However, today the flag has taken up a new meaning. Not only is it renown symbol of racism but it also represents redneck, hillbilly, and cracker. Some could look at those names as racism towards whites. Either way, this flag gives fuel to an already hot topic of racism and that the perceived meaning behind this flag is hatred of both colors, black and white.
If you consider what the flag was at the time it was created. It was a flag symbolizing the confederate states of America, states that withdrew from the Union because they disagreed with the government. It begins to sound a lot like the reasons for America’s creation. So you can look at this flag as a symbol of a way of life for a group of people, despite whether their way of life and beliefs were correct or not it is still their beliefs and their right to have those beliefs.
So when people promote the confederate flag it doesn’t necessarily mean that they should be considered racist but instead living a life style and celebrating it by waiving their flag which at one time represented their part of the country.
Racism can go both ways, whites are typically perceived as racist towards black people but in the same sense black people can be racist towards whites by using some of the derogatory terms such as redneck and cracker. As I have preached in other blogs, I believe in the “colorblind” theory in the fact that if everyone just threw out color and just looked at each person for who they were, you would see racism go away. But this can’t happen until each side just drops everything from the past and moves on.
I wonder if anyone has shared this experience: on several occasions now, I’ve commented on someone’s use of the N-word as racist and inappropriate and received the same remarkably ignorant response: “Well, I’m using the word to describe someone who steals or lies. A white person could be a n------ if they’re a bad person. That’s not racist.” Why then don’t people ever use the term for whites? And since the word originated in a time when African-Americans were enduring the worst kind of grievances imaginable, how it could not be seen as offensive? I don’t think William Bennet’s arguments are that far from this type of illogic. His concepts for a color-blind society are like to trying to apply a band-aid to a severed arm. It’s a cheap remedy for something only resolvable over time and with continued perseverance. The evidence of racism is as pervasive now as it ever was. And the worst part is that it has subtly seeped into almost every facet of media and culture. I’ve heard even the smartest and nicest people make racial slurs, seemingly unaware. How do you fight something so prevalent? People need to stop and consider the origin of even their most basic assumptions.
Wow your pretty much nailed me and my family on the head. My father did fly a confederate flag in his yard as a symbol for our heritage. And we do get together every Sunday to root for our favorite Nascar driver Dale Earnheart Jr. And i'm most certain that if my mother would walk down the street in downtown Louisville at night for whatever reason for her being there and be afraid when a group of black men would approach. So if these things make me a racist by your standards then i guess im a racist so good call. Would i ever intentionaly harm anyone becuase they were a different color than me? Absolutly not. But by your standards i dont have to go that far to be a racist. And i understand your point but don't regret any of those things that i stand for. Sorry i don't bieleve that becuase blacks are nine times more likely to get arrested than whites and i dont bieleve it ALL do to some sort of white conspiracy. Would you like it better if i watched basketball becuase its all black or walk up to inner cities and just kick it? What about instead of an confederate flag ill have my dad put up a Black Power flag? Would this make me a non-racist. Hell i know what ill do ill conform to whatever you say it will take to be a non racist becuse honestly i cant sleep at night thinking what do thses people think of me? How am i ever going to go on in life if someone thinks im a racist? Ow i know ill do like always and not give a crap what people think of me or my family so call us rednecks, whitetrash, or whatever you want stereotype us into silly groups like confederate flag wavin, nascar loving, honkeies from the hills but wait a minute, damn that sounds like something your trying to stop.
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