Written by Dark Blue

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The social justice definition of racism is “a system of group privilege by those who have a disproportionate share of society’s power, prestige, property, and privilege.”

Those who follow the definition will say that only white people can be racist. Consequently, whenever someone from an ethnic minority group engages in some sort of racial bias, prejudice or bigotry against another ethnic group, somebody will say “these people are racist” and more times than not, you’ll hear somebody interject something along the lines of “but these people can’t be racist.”

Next thing you know you’ll get an unproductive and never ending argument over the definition of racism. An example would be a situation such as this: www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/milwaukee-protests-asian-american-black-lives-matter-214184

So why is it problematic in this context to merely say that ethnic minorities cannot be racist? Because by ending it there, you are condoning, excusing and overlooking racial bias, prejudice and bigotry. You are implying that it is only problematic when white people engage in such behaviors.

In case you’re wondering about the dictionary definition of “bigot”:

A person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.

I’ve spent time convincing Asian people that not all black people are criminals and school dropouts, and that not all brown people are terrorists. I’ve seen Chinese and Koreans hate each other during my high school years. I’ve heard stories about how the Chinese look down at the Filipinos. I’ve personally witnessed black people and Hispanic people bully Asians during my childhood years.

None of these things are consistent with the social justice definition of racism, but nor are they morally justifiable. Now most of society is not familiar that specific definition of racism, so many will naturally describe those behaviors as racist. But imagine the absurdity if someone simply interjected “but only white people can be racist” without condemning what’s now the pink elephant in the room: blatant bigotry.

Moral absolutism must apply towards bigotry.

We have spoken up against police brutality as we’ve watched cops kill innocent black people while their supporters repeat shit like “follow the law and you’ll be fine,” or “black on black crime kills more people than cops” to redirect the conversation. Now we must speak up against hypocrites who claim they’re for social justice but excuse blatant bigotry from ethnic minorities because they cannot be racist for the same reason.

We must help each other understand and address all forms of bigotry, regardless of whether it fits our definition of oppression. It is hypocrisy to claim that you are for equality and justice if you believe that it is only problematic when one group engages in prejudice and bigotry. If we care about equality and justice, we must value people instead of political narratives under all circumstances, including the same political narrative that we typically trust.

#solidarity

 

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About Author: Dark Blue believes that social justice culture is in dire need of reform in its methods of promoting cultural tolerance, diversity, multiculturalism and combating racism. He hopes that these articles will help understand that critical reasoning instead of dogma and emotion are necessary for improving society.

Dark Blue can be reached at darkblue.writer@gmail.com