Damon Young recounts the most racist thing he’s ever done.
There’s a belief among some educated Black (and White) people that Blacks—well, American Blacks—cannot be racist. Racism, to them, is more about power and possessing the ability to oppress than any beliefs or feelings held about other races. And, since Black Americans don’t wield enough political or financial power to oppress, we’re unable to be racist.
While I guess I see where they’re coming from, this theory is, well, bullshit. Anyone can possess any trait—positive or negative—even if that particular trait isn’t usually associated with them. We (Blacks) can be racists. Women can be misogynists. Laker fans can have integrity. Ray Lewis is a murderer, and no one seems to give a damn. The list goes on.
Anyway, I’m bringing this up because I did some racist-ass shit the other day. Super racist. Undeniably racist. Hilariously racist. So racist that it made the full transition from “racist” to “ridiculous,” causing me to even say “Damn. That was some racist-ass shit” right after it happened. And, although the story makes me laugh every time I think about it, calling it anything other than racist-ass shit would be disingenuous.
As some of you may be aware of, there are certain parts in certain cities where attempting to find food at night becomes an exercise in futility. And, by “there are certain parts in certain cities where attempting to find food at night becomes an exercise in futility” I mean “if you live in a predominately Black neighborhood, there’s a good chance that within the last year or so, a delivery boy has been robbed, shot, or stabbed within a two block radius of where you currently are.”
Restaurants located in these areas close a little earlier than those in other neighborhoods, and, most notably, you have a better chance of finding a virgin at a Delta convention than finding a place that might actually deliver food after 8pm.
A friend of mine lives in one of these areas. Admittedly, she lives in the “nice” part of the neighborhood, but lets just say that the neighborhood’s reputation precedes itself. Once, while sitting on her couch next to her while she was attempting to order a pizza, I was able to hear the person on the other end of the phone literally laugh aloud when she told them where she lives. It wasn’t a chuckle, either. This motherf*cker guffawed.
A few weeks ago, though, we had a breakthrough. We both happened to be on her porch when a small car sped to a awkward stop a few feet in front of her place. An Asian-looking man jumped out, carrying a couple pizzas and a bag of pop, walking very briskly, and dressed inappropriately (it was maybe 35 degrees and he was wearing a windbreaker, some sweats, and a hat). Basically, everything about this man—his awkward and abrupt parking, his demeanor, his attire, the way he was carrying the food, and, most importantly, his Asian-ness—screamed “delivery boy.”
Elated that we finally found a place that delivered to the neighborhood, we called out to the guy as he walked past.
Us: “Hey, where are you from?”
Him: “Huh?”
Us: “What place do you work for? We thought no one delivered to this block.”
Him: “Um, I’m not a delivery boy. I live right there. This is my food. I’m going home.”
Us: “Sorry bout that.”
Him (in his head): “F*ck you”
Him (to his Facebook page later that night): “I love the RZA, but I hate Black people”
Ironically, the people being racially profiled—us for living in that area—ended up racially profiling someone ourselves. Admittedly, if he was White or Black and was dressed/acted the same way, we might have asked the same question. But, his Asian-ness—and us assuming that “small Asian man dressed like one of the Mario Bros” couldn’t possibly equal anything other than “delivery boy”—made our query so damn confident. There was no doubt in our minds that he wasn’t delivering food. No hesitation, no nothing.
Now, does that experience mean that I’m a racist? I don’t think so. I played basketball a couple times last week, but I doubt anyone would call me a “basketball player.” But, whether this experience actually counts as “racism” or not, I know what definitely would: Saying that I—by virtue of being Black—am unable to be racist (or sexist, or smart, or…anything)
Originally appeared at Very Smart Brothas
Photo: Flickr/DryHundredFear
I’m a white guy who strives to be understanding and welcoming of differences. But I do catch myself experiencing racist thoughts at times. Fortunately I seldom let those thoughts progress to spoken words and I really dislike it when they occur. But I’d be doing myself and others a disservice if I didn’t recognize and own up to them.
Funny thing is, once I recognized the inner racist in myself, I gave up on the notion that black people were somehow exempt from it.
Well said. No one, but no one, is completely free of bias. And in a world where some groups of people were not privileged over others, we’d all be very much alike in that. But the existence of privilege – white privilege, male privilege, straight privilege, able-bodied privilege, etc. – makes the issue more complex than “we’re all the same on the inside,” full stop.
It depends on your definition of racism. If by racism you mean prejudice or hatred of others, then anyone can be racist. If you’re talking about having the power to have those attitudes become reflected in the laws and governmental policies, then black people cannot be racist in the U.S.
The problem is when minorities use racist terms it can encourage others, including the majority, to use racism. If you have a black person calling someone a cracka then there is a chance they will simply throw back a racial taunt and continue a stupid cycle of bigotry, each both having bigoted views of each other. Sure one has more privilege but it doesn’t excuse the minority’s bad behavior.
It’s easy to brush off racism like it’s nothing. However, I feel that these issues speak greater volumes about the deep seated hurt and oppression one had previously suffered. Hurt people, will hurt other people. Think about it…
I think we are all racist to some degree….just own it…but you have to examine how you treat people and what you say…. I was called a terrible racist slur when I was standing on line at night in a White Castle in suburban NJ when I was in grad school….The guy who said it was black and his girlfriend tried to shush him (she seemed so embarrassed for him)….I just ignored it, but I never went back there again…. Have I heard the same about other races when I am in a Chinese restaurant or store by Chinese people… Read more »
While I am glad to see somebody address it, the premise in the title is ridiculously obvious. What I wish the article had addressed is not the pretty harmless stereotyping that the author describes, but the REAL hate-filled and violent racism in the black community that gets a pass in the politically correct media. I have been the victim of verbal abuse, threats, attempted assaults and I have friends who have been attacked, beaten and shot at for the crime of walking in the wrong place while white. When such instances happen, the media is positively mortified to report the… Read more »
That title is totally stupid. Of course this is true. DUH!!!!
I think the point of the black-people-can’t-be-racist theory is that if a black person were to stereotype a white person, it’s pretty easy for that white person to re-engage his/her skin privilege and brush it off, whereas a black person doesn’t have this option, and incidents tend to pile up, and even the smallest micro-inequities, when compounded over a lifetime, become a heavy burden for a person’s soul to comfortably bear. What’s interesting about this is that your neighbor the not-delivery-boy was likely not going to shake this incident off so easily. He likely hears a racial stereotype tied to… Read more »
Not all white people are racist, how could they ALL call themselves on it?!
See, but I’m pretty sure that 99.9% of white people who grow up learning in a thousand different ways that white people are smarter, kinder, more responsible, more deserving, and just plain better than everyone else ARE racists – or, at the very least, capable of racist behavior, much of it unconscious (because we’ve also learned that racism is a terrible thing, even if we are superior to everyone else – ssshh!!). In my experience, as soon as a white person declares that s/he doesn’t have a racist bone in his/her body – watch out, because a shitstorm of OMG-totally-racist… Read more »
So basically you’re trying to justify your own racist/prejudiced views of white people based on what society is meant to teach them? Dunno about you but as a white person I learned we all bleed the same blood, the races have different life experiences with racism however I hold no assumption any race is better than another. I’ve had racism in my body but these days I really just don’t give a fuck what colour a person is, I see all races capable of the wide variety of humanity and believe none are better than the other. Black, white, green… Read more »
I think the point of the black-people-can’t-be-racist theory is that if a black person were to stereotype a white person, it’s pretty easy for that white person to re-engage his/her skin privilege and brush it off And how would they “reengage their skin privilege”? That seems a lot like the “black people can’t be racist” theory. It condones racism against white people under the guise that it either does not hurt them or that it is not really racism. It is, of course, a nonsense theory. If someone always called a white person a racial slur, the white person’s whiteness… Read more »
Well, re-engage might have been the wrong word; it implies that skin privilege (or any societally given privilege) can be turned off. If you’re unsure of how white privilege works, Peggy McIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” is a good place to start; it’s just a search engine away.
I am not asking Peggy McIntosh. I am asking you. How does a white person’s skin prevent them from being hurt or affected by a racial slur?
Well, first of all, I don’t work for you. Read up and get educated on white privilege if you want to, or don’t. It’s entirely up to you, and it’s not my responsibility to do your work for you. But: at a very high level, white people get thousands of messages, overt and subtle, all the time, that they are more beautiful, more moral, more intelligent, and more deserving than everyone else. We don’t ask for this data, but we receive it. When, once in a great while, we are confronted with an insult or slur that indicates that we… Read more »
What of white children in areas where whites are the minority, could racism affect them far more? I’m sure there have been some who have been putoff by steroetypes of whites sucking at basketball. Then in some areas we have hatecrimes where whites are targetted by some black people. In Australia the first person charged with the new law fining people for racial taunts was an aboriginal woman who called a police officer a “white c*nt”. Granted it won’t have as much power behind it in a majority white culture but there are some areas where whites are the minority… Read more »
I think the appropriate term is racial profiling, which on the scale to “pretending not to be racist” to outright racist it is pretty bland.
When I think about black people being racist, it’s more of a “[cultural group] of people can’t be trusted. You’re down for The Cause or not.”
But that is my opinion. I am not immune to racism at all. I made the horrible mistake of speaking Japanese to a Korean customer. She was very livid, and I apologized because I was so used to speaking Japanese to every Asian customer who visited our store.
I wouldn’t call that racist at all but pretty normal to speak in that language if it’s so regularly. People make mistakes, doesn’t mean they do it from a racist point of view, I’m sure you didn’t mean to be racist. If you had called them names or made the facial expression then it’d be racist.
The Korean lady is the racist. Not you.
Damn straight.
Such claims of immunity are -ist in and of themselves pretty much. To make such a claim is to claim that nothing you would do/say could possibly be -ist.
That’s bad logic.