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I recently had a political argument with a guy on Facebook. After a while he was starting to sway me. Afterward I realized he was right, and some time ago, would have (and actually have) taken up his position. I wanted to tell him this, so the next day I went to his wall to see what he was saying. There was a statement there to the effect that black people have only themselves to blame for their situation.
I've known for some time that this guy is racist, but this was pretty blatant. I don't know how he'd try to defend himself if I called him racist, but I don't think he'd believe that he was. Well, it's racist for two reasons.
(This essay is not written to the person I mentioned, but to a broad group of people.)
First, if the only thing you ever post about a particular ethnic group is negative, you're racist. You have an agenda.
Second, all blacks are not responsible for the behavior of all blacks. More to the point, all blacks do not behave like you think they do. But because you dislike them, you're willing to overlook that. You probably believe there are "good" blacks, but you're predisposed to viewing black people negatively. You're perfectly willing to tar them all with the same brush. But it's not just blacks. You feel the same way about many groups - Muslims, the poor, women, liberals, the uneducated. You have disdain (or worse) for them, and will only see them as worthy of respect when they've proven themselves to your satisfaction. But people that you perceive are like you get a pass. They're OK until they prove otherwise.
That's wrong. You're treating people poorly based on your perception that they're not your neighbors or not American, or not human. You're not giving a basic respect to someone because you're think they're not American enough or not human enough and it's a shitty thing to do to a person. You refuse to see their humanity, and, quite obviously, this dehumanizes them. It makes it easier to see them as the enemy. They are not necessarily your enemy. But you define them by stereotypes. And this makes life more difficult for all of us.
I've known for some time that this guy is racist, but this was pretty blatant. I don't know how he'd try to defend himself if I called him racist, but I don't think he'd believe that he was. Well, it's racist for two reasons.
(This essay is not written to the person I mentioned, but to a broad group of people.)
First, if the only thing you ever post about a particular ethnic group is negative, you're racist. You have an agenda.
Second, all blacks are not responsible for the behavior of all blacks. More to the point, all blacks do not behave like you think they do. But because you dislike them, you're willing to overlook that. You probably believe there are "good" blacks, but you're predisposed to viewing black people negatively. You're perfectly willing to tar them all with the same brush. But it's not just blacks. You feel the same way about many groups - Muslims, the poor, women, liberals, the uneducated. You have disdain (or worse) for them, and will only see them as worthy of respect when they've proven themselves to your satisfaction. But people that you perceive are like you get a pass. They're OK until they prove otherwise.
That's wrong. You're treating people poorly based on your perception that they're not your neighbors or not American, or not human. You're not giving a basic respect to someone because you're think they're not American enough or not human enough and it's a shitty thing to do to a person. You refuse to see their humanity, and, quite obviously, this dehumanizes them. It makes it easier to see them as the enemy. They are not necessarily your enemy. But you define them by stereotypes. And this makes life more difficult for all of us.
