Racism against white people by black people is only called "reverse racism" because we associate the word racism with white people being racist against black people. There really is no "reverse" about it, any time that someone judges someone based on their race, it is racism.
I am often annoyed to hear people of my race complaining about "reverse" racism. A conversation I had yesterday went something like this:
him: I don't like Chris Rock.
Me: Oh, I like Chris Rock, I think he's funny.
him: he's so racist against white people.
Me: Well, I don't care, I think he's funny, I like that kind of humor.
I like that kind of humor? I like racist humor? What is wrong with me? So I've been thinking about it. I like humor that tells it like it is, in a funny way, that generalizes and that I can relate to. I can relate to Chris Rock's humor, because I find irony and truth in it, in my own life. Sure, what he says doesn't always apply. For instance, I'm sure some woman do still give their husbands "blow jobs" after they are married, instead of "fellatio," but for whatever reason, I found his joking about that funny. Anyway, I think getting all hung up on "reverse" racism doesn't do any good. If I started fretting about how black people were racist against me, all that would do is inspire me to be racist against them, because I'd be expecting something from them based on their race.
When I was 13 I moved from Seaside, OR, a town with 1 black family in the school district, to Renton, Wa, a city with probably about 40% white 40% black and 20% Asian, at least at my school. On my first day of school there, no one invited me to sit with them at lunch. Then a girl asked if I wanted to sit with her at her table, and I did. Sitting down I realized that I was the only white girl there. As I was eating, they all started making fun of me, saying, "Oh...look at the little white girl, look how prissy she eats..." and stuff like that. No one said anything nice to me, they all just made fun of me. So I left, and didn't sit with them again.
Then I realized that the lunchroom was divided by color, and really, no one crossed that line.
So that is my most obvious experience with being discriminated against by the color of my skin. I chose to ignore it for the most part though, because I don't see the point in caring about it. We all have different cultures and other differences, but all we can do is treat people on a case by case basis. If a person is mean to me because I'm white, I'm going to think they are mean. I'm not going to get all self-righteous and call them a racist and make a big deal about it. Partially because I think that black people have been way more affected by racism than any white person in America, and to make a big deal about it seems to kindof mock that for some reason, but mostly because I want all racism to end. I don't want to inspire more racism. I want everyone to be known for who they are, not what they look like.
Any kind of judging based on appearances drives me crazy, whether it be based on skin color, hair style, clothing, height, weight, whatever. We all need to give others a chance to show us who they really are, and what you see on the outside isn't enough to determine that.
So if anyone is going to complain to me about "reverse" racism, be prepared for me to roll my eyes. Not because I don't think it exists, but because I think we need to get over it and focus on things that we can do something about, and complaining about black people joking about white people isn't going to solve the problem.
11 comments:
wow, marrie, i just had a conversation about racism last night and had been agonizing about it all morning. the webpage i was given to read had seemed racists even as it was denoucing racism against asians. i understand anger at injustice, but i can't understand fanaticism.
I agree with you on this issue of "reverse racism." I still think that white people enjoy many more privileges in our nation today because of their skin color.
As you know, the issue of racism have been on my mind a lot lately. It's a very contentious subject with no clear answers -- but the only way it can be addressed is for all of us to discuss it openly and candidly, not to simply pretend it doesn't exist.
Racism is still looked at as a "white/black" issue, but as you know the Latino and Asian populations in the U.S. are growing fast and things are only going to get more complicated as time progresses. I really don't care for a lot of the rhetoric surrounding "illegal immigration" right now because I think it's a more politically correct way for people to express their racism against Latinos and their resentment over the fact that the Latino population is booming. Racism is not as explicit as it once ways, people tend to hide their true feelings, and that can be dangerous.
With regard to Black comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle...on the one hand, by making fun of people of all races (which they do) they're allowing us to laugh at our own stereotypes and keep peoples' minds on the racism that still exists. On the other hand, they are helping to perpetuate stereotypes and keep people divided. I'm not sure if they're hurting or helping the situation, but I find them funny too.
People are judged all the time by the way they look, how they talk, and how they live their lives. While I think it's never appropriate, it's certainly a part of human nature and the best each of us can do is to avoid exercising such judgement in our own lives. We have no control over what others do.
Racism is one of those vestigial organs of the mind, where tribes had to determine their safety based on determining characteristics that set them apart from 'the other'. Thats why they developed dialects, distinctive facial-body painting, and customs...all were to help the mind categorize 'us and them', safe and unsafe, who belongs and who doesn't.
Today, mankind has the privilege of shedding discriminative perceptions, looking beyond them, and finding points of 'similarity'.
I always associate the term 'reverse discrimination' with people who use their ethnicity to gain an advantage to which they really aren't entitled, such as getting a scholarship for being Afro-American rather than for meeting intellectual requirements.
But, racism is a spiritual disease, and I like your approach - every man merits respect, regardless of ethnicity.
Discrimination is a fact of life. However juding by skin color, sexual preference, sex, religion, or racial heritage is not only repugnant to me, it is a self defeating effort for society.No one, and I mean no one in this country can ever be truly free unless they are free of predjudice. There is a fifference in predjudice and discrimination. A person who comes to me for a job and can't read weel enough to fill out a job apllication will be discriminated against by me. This peerson will be judged by me against others who have applied for the job and judgement is a form of discrimination.
I have been discriminated against because I am tall, because I am big and because I wasn't big enough, because I speak with a drawl, because I am bald, and a hell of a lot of times in the past because I was broke. Dicrimination is when you apply for a part in a movie that requires a black person and you are white. Wrong? No. But if you applied for the part that required a white person and you were black and were discriminated against the PC crowd want you to think that is racial prejudice. It is discrimination but damn sure not prejucidice
Oh well, so much for my rant of the day.
Marrie - I really wish that people COULD laugh at the racial differences between people. Here in Hawaii (a REAL mix of ethnicities if I have ever seen one), the children openly tell jokes about all the races - and everybody laughs (except for us white folk - we get REALLY nervous).
I what Chris Rock, and especially Carlos Mencia, have to say about the differences between races - if we can't laugh at ourselves, we can't be truly free.
Racism is so funny. Seriously, it's absurd, if you think about it. I think that what we react to is culture. I would feel totally comfortable with a black person or latino if we had common ground. I work around mexicans and they fit no stereotypes.
Reverse racism would imply a backwardness, wouldn't it?
I have been targetted by blacks for a beating because I was a white kid playing with a black kid, but I realized much later that that situation was gang-related, not racial. I was not on my block and boys have ever had something to prove.
Racism is a joke. If I saw a neo-Nazi, I'd assume he was a fool. It's a distraction, a tool, perpectualted by the needy (and I don't mean the impoverished). It's like currency...it only has value as long as everyone is convinced.
THIS BLOG RULES!!
~J
Jas, isn't it funny how two strangers with nothing but blogging in common are thinking about the same things?
Mitch, I agree.
bonita, I wish we didn't need to "feel safe" like that, I wish we could see that that sort of thinking makes us less safe, in reality.
guyk, you are right, there is a difference between judging and discrimination.
Scott, it is true, we all are different, and things that we are used to doing, but aren't used to seeing from an outside perspective really can be funny.
Voodstoc, I'm glad that you like my blog! And I agree with your comment as well.
Racism sucks and shouldn't happen what ever your background is. Enough said.
ray, well said.
Ok, racism is bad. Prejudice is ever-present. Now, racism (to me) is the belief that someone of another color is of a different race. It is a method of objectification, which makes violence acceptable because you're not hurting a human, so it's not wrong (in the racist mind). It's distorted thinking.
Prejudice is frustrating, but ultimately combatable with tolerance. I think that people label a situation as racist when, to me, it is simply racial prejudice.
Racism is evil, taught by armies and the president. Prejudice is something we deal with the best we can, but knowing that some people will always try to use to their advantage. Just my thoughts, anyway.
~J
voodstoc, to me racism is prejudice based on race. Prejudice, I think, is pre-judging, and I agree that it happens all the time, and is human nature, but I think ideally both would be eliminated. Prejudging PEOPLE, not situations. We all have to prejudge things everyday, as in, anticipating situations like, "Should I bring my kids to a bar," or "Should I bring a swim suit if there is a chance I might go swimming later?"
Pre-judging people isn't ever really needed, in my opinion, except maybe in a job interview. I believe that we can give people a chance to show us with their behavior whether we want them in our lives or not.
Prejudice isn't something that can be outlawed though, it is something that individuals have to be determined to get rid of in their own personality, if they want the world to be a better place, or atleast, their experience in the world to be better.
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