i just had an important epihpany moment based on current affairs.
Hear me out: Accusing someone of racism makes you racist.
Let's think this through. If someone does something bad to you, but they happen to be a different race, and you call it racist, you've just discriminated against them because of their race. You judged their action more harshly because of their skin color, not the severity of the act itself.
An insult is an insult, regardless of who it comes from. If a classmate called me a nasty name, I'd be upset. But if they were the same race as me, I probably wouldn't think much more about it. Just kids being unkind, right? However, if they were a different race, I might immediately get angry and assume racism.
But stop and consider: the insult itself was equally hurtful in both cases. By immediately jumping to "racism" when the other kid is a different race, I've just done the same thing - judged them and their actions differently based on race.
The intent behind an action matters, but we can never truly know another's intent. A hurtful act should be addressed on its own merits, not on assumptions about the motivation. Racism is real, but accusing any conflict between races as racism only breeds more distrust and division. We perpetuate real racism when we apply the term loosely.
If I keep assuming ill intent because of race, I foster racism within myself. If I treat any dispute across racial lines as inherently racist, I fan the flames of racial divides. A Latino kid shoves my Black daughter on the playground. If I instantly yell "Racism!", I teach my daughter that Latinos are inherently racist against her. But if the Latino kid shoves a White kid next, I'd have to concede it wasn't about race. Kids shove. Kids insult. Sometimes they target race because it's an easy short-cut to being cruel. But assume racism by default, and you create an expectation that racial groups should mistrust each other. See every interaction through a racial lens, and that lens can distort reality.
Now, this is not to minimize the very real and very prevalent issue of racism. Racism is deeply ingrained in societies across the world and manifests in various overt and covert ways. But to combat racism effectively, we must understand it and address it correctly. Every insult from someone of another race isn't necessarily rooted in racial prejudice.
In essence, we should treat all insults with the disdain they deserve, irrespective of the racial backgrounds of those involved. Similarly, all crimes should be evaluated based on their severity and not merely the presumed intent behind them.
Let's call out clear acts of racism when we see it, but not apply the term so broadly that it loses meaning. Judge actions by their severity, not assumed intent. If we treat any insult or crime differently based on race - either excusing bad acts from those like us, or assuming the worst about those who look different - we perpetuate racism. A colorblind society has its own problems, but a race-obsessed society magnifies rather than diminishes racism. We must react to all insults equally, address all crimes by their severity, and avoid assumptions about intent based on race. Only by responding to actions directly, not to skin color, do we have hope of moving forward as one people.
Discord