In response to the comments sparked by my post last week on reverse racism, I’d like to let Stephen Colbert have the final word. But first, I’ll try to be concise for a change and offer the two best reasons I know for not using “racism” to refer to hatred or prejudice against the dominant race:
1. It’s very useful to have a term that describes prejudice which is also backed by social power. If “racism” denotes this configuration, we can then talk about its systemic impact and not just its interpersonal effects.
2. “Reverse racism” has long served to deflect attention away from discussions of systemic racism, even when people of good will use the term. It tends to imply that racial hatred toward whites is as big a problem at the societal level as is racial hatred toward people of color. It also tends to derail the discussion. That’s just what’s happening in the United States right now, with people like Glenn Beck claiming that Obama is a “racist.” Clearly, Beck’s claim is a cynical exercise in demagoguery. However, the same effect occurs even when the person who raises the specter of “reverse racism” bears no ill intent.
But enough pontificating. Stephen Colbert makes some similar points, and he’s a lot funnier than me.
Update, 9/28/09, 9 a.m.: I bungled embedding the video on the first try (WordPress isn’t very friendly to embedded media), and alert reader Michael wondered if I’d meant to embed the following Colbert clip. I’m including it, too, because it documents how the “reverse racism” meme took off last summer. (Thanks, Michael!)
If you can’t view the clips (they don’t show up on my Google Reader), the first one is here, and the second one is here.
Update, 9/28/09, 3:30 p.m.: Mom’s Tinfoil Hat has a thoughtful post on this same theme. Check it out!
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/239121/july-20-2009/reverse-racism
Is this the link you wanted to post?
Thanks for catching my embedding problem, Michael. (WordPress is cumbersome with embedded media, and my Firefox crashed several times during the process.) Your link actually wasn’t the one I intended, but it’s a great addition to the post, since it shows how “reverse racism” took off as a meme last summer. I’ve added it to the post (and *think* I’ve got all my links straight!).
How would you say the people claiming reverse racism compare to Men’s Rights Activists?
I think in both cases, they have some legitimate grievances, but the grievances don’t always have any relation to the group being scapegoated (POC or women). And in both cases, there’s worry about losing privileges in a zero-sum game. In fact, that worry is overblown, because – to just pick one example – as a white person I have unfair privileges in the mortgage market, in the sense that I’ll have an easier time getting a loan than a person of color (all else being equal: income, credit rating, etc.). But fair lending practices don’t have to hurt me one bit! Of course, privilege in the employment market may fit a zero-sum model. Sometimes the loss of privilege will actually be felt as pain. But the worries about this are much bigger than the actual issue. And even in the job market, the bigger issue may be outsourcing of jobs … so it’s complicated.
Wow, we are simultaneously blogging a reply turned post about reverse racism!
Jinx.
I loved your post, MomTFH! I’ve added an update with a link to it after the second Colbert video.
[...] to add: Kittywampus (with a little help from) Stephen Colbert does a great job discussing this here. Great minds think alike! Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)WHAT IS RACISM?reverse [...]