I have heard many arguments about this topic when one essential element is missing–the definition of a racist and racism itself. However, I think we need to back up further than that to discuss where the term race came from. I thought that this term would have gone back to ancient times but was surprised to learn that using the term “race” to categorize the differences between different groups of people didn’t really happen until the 16th century. But by the 18th century, it became widely used for ranking people in the English colonies.
For our purposes, I will define racism as the belief that one group of people is inferior to another based on their ethnicity.
I am not a historian and although I have always loved learning about history, it was always my weakest class in school. Some of the information I am sharing comes from Britannica but similar content is available via a web search on your favorite search engine.
We typically think that skin color is an essential part of racism. However, even Voltaire, who is remembered as someone who fought against tyranny and bigotry said of the Catholic Irish that they were savages and a backward people.
Some English cartoonists used ape-like faces on Irish people to support their belief that the Irish were an inferior people.
Though skin color is not an essential component of racism, there is one component that is never missing. That is the de-humanization or devaluation of a group of people.
This is required for either the enslavement or the elimination of any group. They are no longer people but things. This has been true throughout history but how does that relate to us today?
We defined racism as the belief that one ethnic group is inferior to another. So How do we define a racist?
It would seem to be simple–someone who buys into racism–someone who believes that one ethnic group is superior to another.
But not so fast. How much do you have to buy into it to make you a racist.
Even if we want to fight against racism, if you are like me (God forbid), there are times when we have racist thoughts. In your heart of hearts, have you ever been surprised by someone like Ben Carson who was a brain surgeon? Or when you saw someone, just because of their skin color you thought it was more likely that they might need your help instead of the other way around?
For me, a racist is a person who has these racist thoughts but does nothing to fight against them.
Labels, as we talked about in a previous post, are a way to avoid talking about the real issue–because after I label you, I no longer need to take you seriously.
Nowadays, if you say something you don’t like about the policies of an African American politician, there are groups of people who will automatically accuse you of being a racist.
Being called a racist doesn’t make us one, but neither does denying it mean that I am not one. How many people claimed they weren’t racists when they supported the idea of “equal but separate”?
Is it enough to not be a racist? How many Christians in Europe claimed they weren’t anti-Semites, but didn’t raise a finger to stop the genocide.
It is important for me to not only not be a racist, but to be someone who fights against racism wherever I see it. Yes, I must be an anti-racist.
I have heard arguments as to whether racism is still an issue in America today. I think that is the wrong question, but we will tackle that next week.