Some say that racism is prejudice backed by power. So while a black person may be prejudiced against whites even to the point of hurting and killing them, he is not racist: he lacks the power of the courts, the police, the banks, the newspapers and so on to affect society as a whole. Going by this meaning of the word the only racist people in America are white.
I disagree.
I go by the common meaning of racism, the one in my dictionary:
- the belief that each race or ethnic group possesses specific characteristics, abilities, or qualities that distinguish it as inferior or superior to another such group.
- discrimination against or antagonism towards other races or ethnic groups based on such a belief.
It is a set of beliefs which sometimes leads to action, like discrimation or hostility. Racism is a way of looking at the world and acting in it. In America it is very hard not to be affected by that sort of thinking because it is everywhere, because it is what American society has been built on since the 1600s.
There are four things wrong with saying that racism requires power:
- If you say that only white people can be racist, that blacks cannot, very few whites are going to buy that. How many of them will sit still long enough with an open enough mind for you to explain it to them? It might be a useful way of thinking about it for scholars, but not for everyday people, not in practice.
- Whites are prejudiced not just because they want to keep their power and privilege in society. Most of them never think about that stuff because they take it for granted – they never had to live without it. The bigger reason is because being white is a part of their self-image, their sense of who they are. Giving up their whiteness would be like giving up their religion or their country.
- Power is everywhere and nowhere: everyday people in their everyday lives make decisions about who to marry, where to live, where to go to church, who to be friends with. Millions of such decisions are informed by race every day and help to divide the country.
- It overlooks internalzed racism – blacks being racist against themselves.
That said, understanding how power backs up racism is extremely important. Many whites like to compare white racism to black racism, as if they were on the same level. But because whites have almost all the power in American society that is like comparing a car to a bicycle.
But as important as power is in keeping racism alive and giving it force in the here and now, in the long run racism will live or die not because of what judges or policemen or bankers do, but because of what parents do when their sons and daughters want to marry outside their race.
See also:
- The asymmetry of racism – the car and bicycle thing
- The r-word
- All whites are racist
- All blacks are racist – most about internalized racism
- I am racist
- If I call you racist
- white privilege
- “The dictionary was written by White people”
I fully agree.
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I completely reject this attempt at changing the definition of the word. This is a perverse example of politics corrupting the language.
If you are a victim of a crime and are at a disadvantage in being able to stop the criminal’s actions, then the criminal has “the power” over the victim.
Racists come in all ethnicities and all are wrong. At the same time, it is not a crime for someone to have prejudiced attitudes, just as long as they don’t violate the rights of another person.
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Many whites like to compare white racism to black racism, as if they were on the same level. But because whites have almost all the power in American society that is like comparing a car to a bicycle.
Or the career of a politician attending the Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years, to a hypothetical career of one setting foot into a white equivalent thereof.
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The ruling elites are indeed mostly white, but their power+prejudice is directed against Middle America, which is also mostly white. The nonwhite minorities serve as “shock troops” in this war.
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You contradicted yourself in this article. You say that saying that blacks can’t be racist without “power” is a cop-out but then admit that “black racism” is like a bicycle to a “white racism”‘s car. (Good analogy). Aren’t you admitting that calling a black person “racist” is kind of silly?
Blacks, who hate whites, are reacting to white racism. They damn sure don’t think they’re better than a white person because the’re black. It’s actually the opposite. That self-hate drives him to hate the people who helped breed it.
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@abagond I agree with your (the true) definition of racism. Racism, like any other “ism” is an idea (philosophy or outlook on how the world works).
@mynameismyname I believe what abagond was getting at with the analogy, is that the Power backing up white racism is greater and more influential than the Power (or lack thereof) backing black racism. Both a car and a bicycle will get you from point A to point B, but conventional wisdom says that a car will get you there faster and with less effort on your part. The same is true with power held by those with euro centric racist beliefs when compared to power held by those with afro centric(or any other centric) racist beliefs.
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Thanks Abagond for this post. I appreciated it.
La Reyna
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I am glad you liked it!
The car and bicycle analogy was not perfect. As Mynameismyname pointed out, black feelings about race often turn inward.
White racism is way more serious than black racism because of the scale and power of it, but that does not mean that blacks are not racist too in ways that matter:
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inclusivemen:
From your comment it seems like the reason for narrowing the meaning of racism is to be able to write laws against it. Is that true?
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So, Aba, in ways do you think a black person’s racism can affect a white person in a real, meaningful way (not in a merely reactionary manner)?
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Any population anywhere can have local superiority, and, hence, any population can be racist in their local behavior: even inner city black people. Ask the local Korean or Arab grocer.
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I don’t agree. Europeans can be racists while Afrikans(connotes the Diaspora) can not.Afrkians(primarily)do not possess enough power on a micro-level or macro-level to dominate ways of life, while Europeans do. Thus, the ignorant sentiments(racism) of (some) Europeans concerning ethnic groups permeates socio-polit-histi-instutitions worldwide which create substantial adversities. Simply put racism is about maintaining power, specifically European hegemony(over those of ethnic descent).Look across the globe and history: colonization, imperialism, genocide,etc.ll influenced by racism that non-Europeans don’t have. ttyl
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I am sorry, but the power+prejudice definition doesn’t make sense to me. I get it, I understand what it’s about, but still, it doesn’t make sense to me.
Any person can be racist. Most (if not all) people are. If they’re not, they would be under the right circumstances. Ok, perhaps not “all” people. But most would.
Racism (or power) isn’t something that goes with white skin. Sometimes, I’d love to believe that Homo Sapiens Sapiens are good… But history always proves otherwise. I guess I do believe that “a Person is smart. People are stupid”.
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Good post. While blacks and whites are capable of racism, I think the nature of black and white racism is different. Many people that “racism is racism” end of issue. But I think it’s much more complicated than that. For example, racism in America is different from racism in Europe which is different from racism in Latin America. You will see more or less tolerance in certain aspects of life where race plays a factor. For example, someone that is 20% black in Latin America may be treated as white, especially if that person has any wealth. Latin American racism doesn’t demand white racial purity as a benchmark of whiteness like American racism. However, whiteness is considered socially desirable.
Intermarriage between races is not such a big deal in Latin America, yet it is in the United States. However in the U.S. you will see more blacks in positions of power whereas blacks in powerful government positions in Latin America(or Europe) are virtually non-existent. Europeans greet Obama with open arms, yet I doubt a black would have much chance or winning as chancelor, PM or president of a European country. Racism is very peculiar.
Within the realm of American racism, I think blacks are much more flexible in their views towards whites than the other way around. Even a black that doesn’t like whites will not necessarily hate all whites and may be quite receptive to whites that treat blacks respectfully. I’ve never heard of a black family disowning a child because they married a white or Asian or Hispanic. Yet whites do that kind of stuff all the time.
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@ tulio
“I’ve never heard of a black family disowning a child because they married a white or Asian or Hispanic. Yet whites do that kind of stuff all the time.”
If that’s true… Then it is a very sad thing indeed. 😦
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It is true, though it is probably not as common as it used to be.
Here are at least two cases:
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I’m sorry, but I disagree. While blacks may not have as much power as whites, doesn’t mean that they don’t have any power at all. The experience with extreme racism & xenophobia was with blacks. I’ve experienced it with almost every color of the rainbow. If one of my non-black friends were to come over and visit me, they would try to call the cops or stare at us. I, myself, never fitted into any culture, except Goth subculture. It in general sucks to be solely judged on color or looks by anybody. From my point of view, blacks & whites in the US at exactly the same, they call it different names.
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Very good analyses, also applicable to European minorities.
I don’t agree with your proposed solution however. In interetnic (or interracial as it would be called in the use) marriages, the offspring will, in many cases, assimilate in and become a pseudo-member of the dominant and power-controlling group (whites).
Combatting racism is in my opinion a struggle for power, where the groups who are victim of racist opression, should seek to aquire their own sources of power.
In the most positive scenario this will lead to the institutionalizing of these minorities by creating media, schools etc. which are based on their shared culture; in a basis of inclusion (all races/etnicities are welcome) instead of exclusion (segregation in America in the fifties for exampple).
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I think of it like this, prejudice and power can and does equal racism but at higher levels of society like institutions, economics and even education that can create a direct or indirect effect on poor people, people of color and poor people of color. I think racism can be broken down into subcategories, each of which is devestating to certain people by different degrees.
Just my opinion though.
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Here’s why racism = prejudice + power
Imagine if US society didn’t have a group (created by ‘race’) with prejudice and power, there wouldn’t be Racism in any direction – externalized or internalized. (There’d still be bigotry and prejudice based on other things).
Racism in this society is white supremacy (with a group called white people constructed by prejudice and power) and all (white and ‘others’) are Reacting to it.
Abagond you say most white people aren’t prejudice because they want to hold onto ‘institutional’ power or privilege, I agree. However they want to hold on to ‘self image’ or white supremacy. White supremacy is prejudice + power.
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If you define racism as prejudice + power, then clearly I am merely prejudiced. I do not think blacks or whites or anyone is better than anyone else, but I do live in America and it is hard to escape its racist thinking.
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@ Ann
I agree they want to hold onto a self image too. Here is my map of it:
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“I’ve never heard of a black family disowning a child because they married a white or Asian or Hispanic. Yet whites do that kind of stuff all the time.”
I would guess that you didn’t grow up a mixed child in a predominantly black neighborhood then? If you haven’t, allow me to fill you in on some of the finer points. The desire to “fit into” the black cultural narrative is a strong one that biracial children of black and other* heritage are constantly being fed. The idea is that we should all fit into stereotypical, simple, and easily digestible archetypes based on our outer appearance.
Let me just clarify that this is (mostly) a personal anecdote and not intended to be indicative of the wider black community. Black people want you to pick a side. They say, you can be black or something else, but you can’t be both black and something else at the same time. And if you pick the wrong side, you risk getting beaten up by your peers. You can’t act too “white”, which when you have no choice but to assimilate into a community, means you have to learn how to seamlessly transition in and out of black social character on a whim.
If you don’t act and don’t look black enough, you can find yourself in an uncomfortable and rarely dangerous place in a black world. Prejudicial assumptions and use of group power to ostracize, shame, and demonize are just a couple things you might face.
It may not be the institutional prejudice of the white power structure, but it is racial and it can be hateful. There are no shortage of blacks who dish out the prejudice, who mock asian people, latino people, and white people. Black parents can and do disown or let their shame be known to their children for their choice to marry outside of the group. Black kids do sometimes bully biracial children. These are problems that exist and won’t just go away because we want them to and because we talk about (rightly) how terrible institutional white racism is.
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@Diondre
I read your post with a mixture of disappointment and sadness in terms of what you have described. Unfortunately, I know this is not an uncommon turn of events but I wondered, if I may ask you how you think it has ‘shaped’ you in terms of your ‘identity’ as an adult? Has it affected how you view people etc?
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racism = prejudice + power?
I agree this definition of Racism is flawed! But then the alternative dictionary definition offered instead by Abagond is grossly inadequate too!!!
Its flawed for two reasons: Its defined by the single elements of prejudice & power which ANYONE can have. Prejudice can be as basic as preferring Tea over Coffee to having an irrational aversion to the colour purple! We all have this capacity in our typical human natures.
Power is something again we all have in varying degrees. Those who follow this definition will say white people typically have more of this power (by virtue of their occupied positions in society) so are in a stronger position to exercise their prejudices most of the time. While one can agree there is some truth to this in doing so it plays down or denies the fact that we all have, irrespective of who we are, our own personal power to affect change.. Its we who choose how to (or not to) exercise this.
The second reason its flawed is that it must assume (because we all have these two elements) that EVERYONE can be racist too! Something Abagond has repeatedly admitted about himself. Even though in the very same usage of this definition (above) he would seek to exclude himrself and Black people from being labelled as racist. Its clear if you subscribe to this inadequate definition of racism you will, as explained here, trip up on your own logic!
You can’t label white people as racist then exclude and then include Black people as being racist too! It doesn’t make sense…
This is another trap which is easy to fall into…If you subscribe to the belief that races are different by nature with some being better than others then you are subscribing to racist concepts and terminology which are identical to what some of the race realists who frequent this blog also believe. So of course if you believe in the existence of multiple races then YES! You can consider yourself to be racist too!
Where in the dictionary definition or the one in this post does it mention the dynamic effects internalized racism can have on Black people? (Or even white people for that matter?)
We need to use our own definitions of racism. Ones that express the true dynamics of its effects on ourselves (Black people & POC) and others (white people) otherwise we fall foul of these self serving “ill-logical” traps.
You can find my own working definition on Racism in this comment here:
This entire post, in my view, was dreadful and confused. A criticism which is best summarized and captured by this comment taken from it:
Abagond
“…If you say that only white people can be racist, that blacks cannot, very few whites are going to buy that. How many of them will sit still long enough with an open enough mind for you to explain it to them? It might be a useful way of thinking about it for scholars, but not for everyday people, not in practice…
The above statement is just simply laughable and hilarious !!! SO WHAT???
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So there are no black police officers, judges, soliders and countless other state positions that they cam gatekeep in?
A black person in a position of power can victimize a white person lower down the totem poll.
Sounds like feminist victim politics to me. Black people are not without agency.
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^^ Agreed tamerlame
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Reblogged this on Project ENGAGE.
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