Today I was forced to look up the meaning of the word “racist,” after reading about a Rasmussen poll declaring that most Americans (including black Americans) consider black people more racist than any other group.
Now, perhaps you’d think that with all I’ve written about racism, I’d know the definition, right? Makes sense. But no, I needed to consult the dictionary, because dude from angrywhitedude.com gleefully wrote that this poll proves what he’s known all along—“blacks hate white people”— and, this may surprise you, but I don’t happen to believe that hate and racism are the same, so I wanted to see what the dictionary had to say about that.
rac-ism The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
See? Not the same. And, this is assuming I agree with Dude, which I don’t. Dude’s site is dedicated to the “defense of the most ridiculed and unappreciated being on planet Earth…the white male” so that tells you where HE is.
(“Most underappreciated on the planet?" Yeah okay. Most underappreciated in my household? Fine. That I’ll go with—sorry hubby.)
Anyhoo, this has got to be the most ridiculous poll EVER, and I’m not saying that because black folks come off looking bad. After reading that nearly 30% of Americans supposedly believe race relations in the United States are either good or excellent, I decided this poll was a bunch of ...
Who are these people that believe race relations in the States are so “excellent?” I don’t think they exist. Did Rasmussen poll a bunch of six-year olds? That'd be my guess. I don’t know a single ADULT person of any race who believes that race relations in the States are excellent. (Well, okay, maybe one or two people, and these happen to be two of the most racist people I know. And they aren’t black either.)
Seriously, race issues in this country are abysmal. Which isn’t to say that individuals of different races can’t have good relationships, of course they can. And wait for it … it’s a cliché, but it must be said … some of my best friends are white. (Not to mention my husband, who’s not exactly my best friend, but that’s another story and has more to do with my feelings about friendship than anything else. But I digress…)
Where was I? Oh yes, abysmal. Individual relationships are one thing. Group relationships are something else.
For goodness sakes, people, we’re still arguing over the use of the n-word! "Black rappers use the word all the time but a white cook can’t? Why is that?" Because, okay? (Why do you care? That's my question.)
I can say my momma is fat. You better not say jack. You better not even nod your head. Get it? It’s that simple, and we’re still arguing over it! That’s how excellent race relations are.
A black actress gives her support for a white Presidential candidate, and she's sent a bunch of hateful Tweets. That’s how excellent race relations are.
A writer can blog that white managers won’t hire black people because they might later sue, and his readers chime in with “uh huhs” and “oh wells” along with complaints about the ONE DAMN BLACK PERSON on the job who must have gotten her position through affirmative action, and I just … ugh.
the whole world doesn't consist of you, your ghetto and your jealousy of suburban white people and your clashes with trashy (but not as trashy as people from your ghetto) lower income white people. america has plenty of places where race relations are great. i am an asian born and raised in texas and the only place i have ever experienced racism is philly and new york. and by black people. expand your world view bro.
Yeah! My first nasty troller! I'm honored you stopped by. But next time show a little courage and give us your name, okay?-- Mr/Ms "World Traveler." Oh, and did you notice that the examples I gave were NATIONAL? I guess not.
He or she above is right. I am a very well educated hard working southeast Asian and the ONLY racism I have encountered has been from blacks. Educated blacks at that. Well to be fair about as educated as they come. Rude cops black - rude security black. The odd few are OK because they are lazy and don't care but over all they get a little power and abuse it. Never self reflect and as such will NEVER get ahead.
Why are you disputing a poll based on your own experience and not based on errors or inconsistencies in the polling method? Do you know how statistics work?
Oh, and since you devoted most of your reply to a previous commenter not providing a name, my name is William. Now can you focus on the message and not the messenger?
Hi William, yes I know how statistics work. Do you understand how blogs work? I'm not a researcher giving a scientific rebuttal, here. Simply put, the poll results do not square with my experience of the world--what I've seen, what I've read, and what I've heard. Also, I question whether the respondents know the definition of "racist," -- angrywhitedude clearly doesn't.
The truth is that many black people aren't walking around feeling superior to whites. In fact, even the most accomplished of us can struggle with feeling INFERIOR as a result of the systemic racism that Lauren mentioned, not to mention the myriad of negative messages we receive regularly. If you can stand to be enlightened, then I invite you to read more of my posts about race and race relations. Perhaps then you'll understand why I don't give a rat's behind about these Rasmussen results and also why I don't feel compelled in the slightest to review the study's methodologies to justify my opinion.
Finally, I believe I did adequately respond to "Anonymous." Did you expect me to speak to his or her opinion of my alleged jealousy and trashy neighborhood? Come on now. He or she made the point that my view is narrow. I made the point that I gave examples culled from nationally reported events. Nuff said.
It's just irresponsible to try to make people believe something as truth that is a very limited world experience. You've met a tiny fraction of people in the United States, but imply that people who think race relations are excellent don't exist or are six year olds. It's great that you like to blog, but you should make it clear that it's all your opinion and not try to make it sound like a study is wrong because you have a couple of personal stories that contradict it. In fact, 70% of the people you meet could be horrible racists or people that think race relations are terrible, and the study could still be correct in asserting that 30% of people think they're excellent.
Finally, you should be careful when you're writing a blog about racism and include the idea that you have good reason for not appreciating white males in your household. I'll bet plenty of people think they have good reason for not appreciating black people in their own households, but it's not acceptable and works against improving race relations.
Clearly I'm stating my opinion, and no where did I assert otherwise. You got that, right? I'm sure everyone else did as well.
Also, as for "not appreciating white men in my household" I was referring to my white HUSBAND. I was making a joke about a wife not always appreciating her husband. Did you think I was referring to random white men? If so, then I truly do apologize for the lack of clarity.
Good work Anonymous 1 and William, you have helped further support Crystal's point that race relations in America are anything but in good shape.
Anonymous- Your absurd perspective which is hateful AND racist reveals your own very narrow, ignorant, and very inaccurate views regarding poor black people and probably all black people in general. So a quick real world lesson for you: racism, against many minorities but especially against black people, has been institutionalized in our country for centuries. It has taken different forms but it still very much exists and is a SYSTEMIC issue. This relates to the reality the low-income blacks often receive sub-par public education, are straight-up denied access to many professional, social and economic opportunities for advancement (including home ownership, banks loans, jobs ect.) and are much more likely to be put into jail for minor offenses than whites. I don't have the stats handy but look any of these up and you can verify.
William- do YOU know how statistics work? Yes, collecting representative samples and factoring margin of errors are requisite components of any statistical study, it is also widely known that stats can be portrayed and skewed in different ways to prove the author's point of view. Stats are rarely truly objective measures. Is it a coincidence that Rasmussen is a conservative leaning statistician who is critical of Obama, Affordable Health Care and other progressive public policies? doubtful. You many not agree with the author but responding with derogatory comments like that just further support her point of view. Learn how to make an informed statement to express your viewpoint without being a condescending, judgmental prick.
Lauren, I'm not sure what part of my comment had anything to do with race relations or was derogatory. Could you please show me specifically? I'm pretty sure questioning the author's article doesn't make me racist.
You're right that statistics can be used to "prove" all sorts of things. But you know what is even worse than statistics? Just saying you disagree with numbers because you feel that way. The author could have provided some other numbers or questioned Rasmussen's methods. Instead, she gives some anecdotal evidence (basically useless) and tells Rasmussen to "shove it." If you could explain how telling someone to shove their study (referring to shoving it up his ***) helps the author's point of view, I'd like to hear it.
Maybe the fact that black people are more likely to be sent to jail etc has something to do with the way a lot of black people behave. Go to any of the poorer black neighborhoods and look at the way they act. Sure, you can blame schools for a lack of good teachers, but at the same time you can blame students for not trying. You can say that it's the teachers fault that they don't inspire their students, but how many good teachers are out there that can inspire students to become interested in calculus? If parents are more willing to foster their child's growth and learning habits, you'd have a lot more black students succeed.
Thanks for your insightful post! I'm new to your blog, so I hope you'll bear with me as I try to throw out some ideas.
I have a limited understanding of statistics, but I agree with you that there is a difference between hate and racism, in this case. Based on your dictionary definition of racism, I have a feeling that the people answering the poll would have answered differently if the poll question had included the "superiority" part of the definition directly in the question.
There is, however, an particular culture around the black population as it stands today in America. You make mention of some of these things. How come rappers can use the n-word as a term of endearment but white people can't? You say "because" but I say this is not okay. You then raise the question of "why do you care," and to that I answer: "who, in this case, is upholding the double standard?" Why should I, who have had no direct link to the derogatory meaning of the n-word, not be able to say it in a "nice" way like rappers do? Does being a black adult in my generation allow you to use the term with warmth while others can only say it with venom? In my opinion, no. When I hear a black person say the n-word, I think "okay, they've accepted and even embraced this word. Why can't I?" In this case, I think "just because" isn't a good enough reason.
Of course, I have never experienced any of the things a black person might have grown up with. I have been reading Geoffrey Canada's memoir "Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun" and am just stunned at how tremendously different his childhood and life has been from mine. But I don't think that should necessarily be an excuse as to why I can't "do" or "say" things that are part of black culture. This separate-ness, perhaps, is what makes people think of black "racism." Although not necessarily defined in the way you have defined it, isolation, exclusion, and non-acceptance of “outsiders”, may be synonyms for it in some peoples' eyes. Many times I have seen my white colleagues approach black kids (many are in positions at urban public schools in Philly through Teach for America), and they are brushed off because "they don't understand," and the "can't possibly hope to understand" what their black students are going through.
Maybe, then, there needs to be a distinction between the perception of "white racism" and "black racism," in which the "white racism" holds most strictly to the definition of racism---that they believe the color of the skin equals some sort of social/natural hierarchy. Perhaps "black racism" refers to something different, in that it means exclusion of other people from what is considered black culture. For example, a white person is racist when they say/do something which implies blacks are inferior them, but a black person is "racist" when they maintain the isolation of their culture and blame whites for their circumstances. Their blame might not rely on the "superior/inferior" aspect of the dictionary definition of racism, but it goes beyond simple black pride sometimes, in my opinion.
You might find this article on CNN to be an interesting read (re: A mostly-white sorority winning a step show competition over Divine Nine sororities): http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/02/ross.stepping.race/
I use this opinion article to illustrate what I think people took the Ras.Poll to mean (white racism vs black racism). But I also understand, as Lauren has mentioned, however, racism against blacks has been institutionalized in America for a very long time so it's hard to parse out exactly what is what anymore. But at what point will people stop perceiving blacks as blaming others and being the victims of slavery and institutionalized racism? That, ultimately, is the question, and how we get to that point is an even more important one, I feel.
Dear Windaerie. Thanks for reading the post and leaving some rather intriguing comments. You've said a lot, so I hope I address everything in my response.
I can agree with you that there is an element of "exclusion" or "non-belonging," for lack of a better term, around the n-word controversy. Personally, I don't use the word as any type of endearment and certainly not as an insult. I say this to say that my stance is not founded on my desire to "own" the word, if that makes sense. But I look at it like this.
Suppose you had a childhood nickname that your parents and your siblings used to address you, and I learned the name and started calling you that, without being given permission? Now suppose that the name was kind of insulting, like, I don't know, Boo, a reference to how you were scared of your own shadow as a kid and always wanted to sleep with your parents. You're grown now, and the name is kind of cute coming from your family, but no one else should call you that. And here I am, a new friend, and I just INSIST on calling you Boo, despite your protests, because I like it and want to be part of the "club." Wouldn't that be kind of obnoxious of me? And wouldn’t it be kind of ridiculous for me to characterize your request as evidence of a “double standard?” First rule. If you truly want to be in relationship with someone, respect her boundaries.
Now, in reference to your white colleagues being "brushed off" by black students--well, I think that's a shame. I'd prefer to see a door open rather than closed, so that some real understanding could occur. So, I'd challenge the powers that be at Teach for America to coach/train their teachers how to turn that rebuff around. I could be wrong, but I imagine that these kids don't have the skills and shouldn't be expected to. The adults need to equip themselves with the skills, if they want the dialogue. Shoot, sometimes (okay often) my kids don't want to talk to me--I have to harness all my HR/communication skills (plus prayer) to get them to open up, and we're family.
In terms of the white racism/black racism thing, you know, I'm going to give you that. I'm going to go on the record as stating that black Americans are not blameless in what I see as a pretty sorry state of affairs. Truth be told, I think a lot of black folks are angry, and it shows. We may not have the power to do all the dirt that white folks do, but we have our ways. Some of it is defensive, but some of it isn't, in my view. I try and give folks the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not perfect at it. I’ll respond positively to what I perceive as sincerity but honestly don’t have a lot of patience for anything else. And one thing that motivates me is my faith in Jesus. I can’t read the scriptures, pray and cry with people of different colors, and then hold on to racist beliefs. It doesn’t compute.
And finally, yes, this debate is getting a little old and we've been stuck in the same place for a while now. But as I wrote in a post today, I don't perceive white people in authority as wanting to engage. I see this in the media, and I've experienced it on the job. It's a lousy economy, and that's not helping. I think people are running scared; afraid to death of losing an advantage, and (again) I think black folks are getting angrier and angrier, and that’s not helping as well. It's a big problem, and I don’t have the solution. Perhaps it will be found through one relationship at a time? I don’t know.
Sorry please don't get defensive here but BUT to touch on the point that you don't (as Blacks) have the power to do dirty things- ahh- YES YOU DO. I have seen and experienced first hand what your people do - why don't you go under cover as an Asian at an HBCU. See how you are treated. Then write a blog- your people will never have inner peace. You are NOT nice. I cancelled cable and switched to a prepaid cel so I no longer have to deal with blacks in customer service. I avoid Black people whenever I can. Yes there are racists in all cultures and I am certain I sound like one and I'm not happy about it - but whites have overall been nice to me as have other Asians and latins. I am very passive when approaching blacks as I know how volatile they are but still they are rude and unhelpful. The airport the grocery store wherever a pain. I wish I took the job offer in Texas they were nice to me. I resent the east coast because of blacks and am anxious to leave. Sorry I know its tough to read/hear but again your people will NEVER change as you never self reflect. I wish I did not feel this way. I won't look at this blog again so you don't need to reply,
Moreover you ALL(esp in hr) have an "out to get you" mentality and then pray to Jesus - it is unreal! You are so simple minded that all you have is a literal interpretation of the Bible. I hope God catches up with all of you. You are jealous women and the women are more crazy than the men. You police people and write them up (as you put it) to give them a record - you are the ugliest people I have known and only non Blacks who have had to work with all of you know it. Vengeful with no heart praise Jesus. Happy now I am bias like everyone else who whispers it to one another. It is not your skin it's your behavior we ALL hate. So now it has become your identity.