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| Or is it? |
Anyway, my blogging assignment for today is to respond to this blog post and the questions it poses. (I only need to answer five of the questions, but I'm doing all twelve because I like stating my opinions, in case you didn't already know that.)
The blogger, Dick Moss, begins the post with a link to a previous post, in which he speaks about how "racist" he found his community's responses to the opening of a new teen hangout spot. While it is quite offensive that the writer of the anonymous letter that has Moss so furious refers to the location as a "Liberty Pole" congregated by "urban-suburban kids," the rest of the letter is just a typical example of an adult having no tolerance for today's bratty kids. I'm willing to bet ten bucks that this person is over the age of sixty and at the risk of sounding like I have a prejudice against older people, that age group came from a pretty bigoted society, so I think we should take their unkind words with a grain of salt. I remember being about twelve and sitting in the car with my eighty-something-year-old great aunt (may she rest in peace) when my mom asked why some houses in her neighborhood were painted in unusually vivid colors. My aunt's response? "Oh, that's where the Puerto Ricans live." Now, I have no idea what the nationality of the residents of these houses had to do with their questionable exterior decorating tastes, but my point is that that's just the way that generation is. My aunt was a good person, and she would never hate anybody because of their physical appearance, but she didn't grow up in a time of political correctness.
Of course, whether or not this letter is rude is not the only issue here; the question is whether it is racist. I might not have been so sure about that a month or two ago, but after recently learning in Social Justice class that racism applies only to people in positions of power who use their racially-motivated hate to actually inflict damage upon the race(s) they dislike. If a person simply speaks or acts in a racially offensive manner without having the power to do anything to their targeted group(s), it is not racism, but rather racial prejudice. So no, this letter is not racist, as it did not have any impact on racial minorities.
Now, onto Moss's questions:
Is it racist for a person (of any color) to tell race-based jokes? (Is it worse if it’s a white man telling the joke? Is it less of a problem if it’s a black man?)
For the reason stated above, no, it's not; it's only racially prejudiced. Is it wrong? Yes, but that doesn't make it racist.
Is it racist for anyone, regardless of color, to use the word “nigger”?
See my answer to the above question.
Is it racist for a restaurant wait staff to let a Latino couple who arrive early for the dinner rush wait until everybody else has been served?
It depends on whether or not they're doing this specifically because the couple is Latino. If so, yes; if not, no. (It's horrible regardless of the reasons, though.)
Is it racist for a white man to forbid African-American nurses from holding his newborn baby?
This is another one that depends on the motivations behind the action. Is the man not allowing these nurses to hold his child because they are black or because he does not think they are qualified nurses for some other reason? Is it possible that he's ridiculously overprotective and just doesn't want any nurse, not even a white one, holding his baby? There's not enough information in this scenario to decide whether or not this man would be in the wrong. Of course, it can't be racist either way, since the nurses are presumably in a higher position of power than the new father.
Is it racist for a police officer to pull over a black family out for a Sunday drive simply because they happen to be in a “white” neighborhood?
Okay, I'm not even going to answer this one because it's completely ridiculous. I'm sure some cops do things like this on occasion, but there's no way any of them would ever admit that they were pulling the family over just for being black, so how would anyone go about proving it?
Is it racist for a high school homecoming parade to feature a float with a tepee and an “Indian maid” with a feather in her hair to celebrate the school’s athletic teams that are known as the Braves?
This is highly disrespectful, as Native Americans wear headdresses to symbolize their ranks, and this girl proooobably isn't qualified to wear anything that looks like one, but I don't see how this high school has any influence over Native Americans, so yet again, this is an example of racial prejudice, but not racism.
Is it racist for the Border Patrol to target populations that are clearly Latino in its search for immigrants without proper documentation?
Um, it would be wrong to target an area with any racial makeup without proper documentation. This would most likely be racist, but moreover it's just plain illegal.
Is it racist for a small-business loan officer to favor a loan to a Latino over a loan to an Asian person simply because the Latino is in greater need?
Uh, dude, you just said that the Latino person was in greater need. Of course they should get the money over the Asian person because they need it more. The fact that racism is even being questioned here is just totally stupid because race has nothing to do with anything.
Is it racist for a white prospective police officer to be passed over in favor of an African-American because the city is trying to diversify its police force?
Yes, racism toward white people is still racism. Jobs should be given to the people who are most qualified, regardless of skin color.
Is it racist for a school district’s staff to not reflect the diversity of its student body?
No. Like I just said, race should not be a factor at all when it comes to hiring workers.
Is it racist for a suburban police force to station patrol cars at the border with the city and stop any car driven by someone who looks like they don’t belong?
I think this question is racially prejudiced for suggesting that the people who "look like they don't belong" must be racial minorities.
Is it racist for a particular group of people to be economically and socially isolated in one part of our community?
Probably. I do think that minorities often live in worse neighborhoods because they are less likely to get hired for well-paying jobs, which is wrong on many, many levels. And social isolation is obviously a result of a lack of acceptance.
The answer to most of these questions was, "No, that's not racist," but most of the situations described were quite sinful. Perhaps we shouldn't be asking whether or not something is racist, but rather whether or not it's evil, since that would not only scan for racism, but also for every other problem with the way a person behaves. Is it right to be mean to a black person? Obviously not, because it's not right to be mean to anyone. Isn't that just common sense?
Image courtesy of Deviantart user dmario.
