Can You Be Racist Against White People?

nichole - The way i see it, racism, prejudice, and discrimination are all the same thing. This isnt “back inthe day” where everyone is segregated. Everyone bleeds red. The problem now a days is alotofblack people complain that whites are still racist against them but then theygo out and make blacksonly meetings. What the hell? They are the ones keeping themselves segregated!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leila - I am completely lost on all this “racist” “discrimination” “prejudice” crap. It is 2012 for Pete’s sake! I don’t understand why we even have the need to rub color into people’s faces. We are all human beings regardless of skin color (or any other bull crap you want to pull). There is zero reason for someone to rub their white-ness in my face or their latina-ness in my face or their black-ness in my face. I personally could care less of if your black, white, brown, yellow or orange. I don’t care. We are all human beings and deserve to be treated equally. That does not mean I am better than you and should not respect you and that does not mean you are better than me and should not respect me.

It irritates the hell out of me that I am trying to raise two young children in a messed up world and trying to teach them not to judge when there are grown ass adults judging and disrespecting based on the color of one’s skin! The last thing I thought I would have to worry about is grown up, adult people being racists/discriminatory/prejudice to others! Grow up and be role models for your children otherwise there is just going to be a vicious cycle of history past.
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Dottie Prater - I am certain her comment was not meant the way it came across. At least I certainly hope not. I too was greatly offended by tht statement. Racism exists. PERIOD. It does not differentiate between color. To say that it does is demoralising every white person in existence. It isn’t attached to ANY race or color. No-one holds the market on it. I have experienced racism towards myself , and yes, I know what it is. It isn’t pleasant to say the least, but to add insult to injury, being told it ISN’T racism because I am not black? Talk about slapping both sides of my face!!

Meg Tucker - “Should White Women Attend Bloogong Conferences for Women of Color?” Are you kidding me? Seriously? Who even talks like that? Whatever…..I’ll leave it at that!

Nicoyle - Ok, racism is disliking someone just because of their race whether it be white, black, etc. So definitely someone can be racist against whites, not just people of color. I think it just nonsense if you judge someone by the color of their skin nowadays. Also, I really don’t get the “white supremacy” of the commercial. Why try to get all deep about a commercial. It’s a food commercial.. of a granola bar, what the heck?
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The Mommy Chronicles - What’s the difference? Racism, prejudice, discrimination….it’s all the same thing. And it can come from anyone of any race, plain and simple. It’s not okay for white people to be going around, beating up people of color….if that happens, it’s called a hate crime. So if a person of color does it against a white person, then it should be a hate crime as well.
Racism, in any form, is simply NOT okay, regardless of WHO the racist person is. I can’t fathom thinking that my race is superior or owed something and to say that white people can’t be discriminated against or be a victim of racism is just ridiculous.

Racism, as defined by Merriam-Webster: : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2: racial prejudice or discrimination

Clearly, they are one in the same when it comes to race.
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nichole - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1333455660911.48461.1366638633&type=3 i made this public so everone could see. Its funny i made it a year ago. It brings humor to a serious REAL subject. But it basically answers the question…

Pamela - Great question Leila, thanks for asking! “Based on that statement and that statement alone – a white person not able to get a job because they do not speak Spanish; is that not a white person being oppressed?”- No, that is not a white person being oppressed. That is a person not having the skills for that particular job. I cannot be a computer programmer because I can’t read code. I cannot be an architect because I am not good at math. It has nothing to do with the color of my skin. It has to do with your knowledge and abilities as related to the job your applying for. As far as the meeting for bloggers specifically designed to engage women of color, I don’t think you would be turned away from attending. I think like anything else, people try to address different groups that may be under-represented in larger, more well known events. I am sure there are other meetings focused primarily on, say, women, mothers, certain sports or areas of interest. This is a very common occurrence and in no way discriminatory.

Melody - Okay there are a LOT more comments than I expected, so I’m skipping to add my two cents.
Racism is a REAL thing, and I’ve read a few of this person’s blogs. She’s definitely RACIST against white people. There are black people who are racist against blacks, whites, and everyone else, and it exists in every. single. race. Just because you want to identify with your husband’s race, and your children’s doesn’t mean that while you’re speaking out against racism against blacks, Hispanics, Chinese (the list goes on) that you should begin to hate your own race. I’m white, I know that what my ancestors may or may not have done in the past is wrong. Hating any race is wrong no matter what your reasoning. It DOES exist. That’s like people saying that the Holocaust never happened. Let’s push all that history to the side so that we can state our opinions!!!! No, it still existed, and it was a sad part of the German heritage (and Americans..)
I’m completely sick of people picking one race and singling out all the rest. I know that I’ve done wrong when it comes to a lot of things, and I don’t want people to hate me because of those mistakes. So why would I hate a group of people for mistakes in their pasts or in their ancestors pasts? You can’t go back and change someone else’s mind or actions. This woman needs to start thinking and maybe see someone about her aggressiveness (since she refuses to call it racism) and get that all sorted.
Until that happens, I won’t be going back to her blog. It’s no different than going to a KKK site and calling it “literature.” It’s trash, plain and simple. Are these comments rude? Maybe, but they’re also the truth. I speak nothing but… I call a kettle black, and her a racist. The End.
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Lola K - The problem I think that many people don’t realize is that racism and ethnocentrism against non-whites is actually limiting on an institutional level, whereas racism or prejudice or whatever you want to call it against whites is generally on a personal level – in other words, if you’re a white person in a predominatly non-white neighborhood, you might get verbally assaulted, maybe even physically and don’t get me wrong – it sucks and it’s not right, but it’s on a personal level. White privilage is so embedded in this country that you wouldn’t even notice it unless you were excluded from it. While the only white kid in school might get picked on and maybe even physically hit – that white kid will have not have to “prove himself” as “one of the good ones” once he moves out into the professional world. Non-whites generally do (except for Asians who are always assumed to be quiet and smart). A white person doesn’t have to worry about being turned down by landlords becuase of race, or being followed around a store, or about being able to find foundation in her shade. A white woman can walk into a salon and be confident that she’ll be able to get her hair done (because standard cosmetology covers “white” haircare, but black haircare is “specialized”). A white person won’t have to be worried about getting bad service at a restaurant because “white people never tip.” – the list goes on, and it may seem insignificant, but it’s because it’s difficult to see if you’re not on the excluded end.
And that’s why there are tv channels for black and Hispanic populations – it’s a reaction to an exclusionary culture, if tv shows were truly diverse, there wouldn’t be a need for it.
Now, I know someone is going to respond and say “Well, what about affirmative action? Black people get jobs over white people!” Whenever I hear that, I snicker to myself because if you are woman, you are a beneficiary of affirmative action. And there would be no need for affirmative action period, if employers were truly colorblind, but even now in 2012 we need regulations put in place to ensure hiring is done on an equal basis.
Next argument will be scholarships – yes, there are scholarships available for non-whites. It’s because it’s obviously concerning to that particular community that the ratio of students of color at universities is low as opposed to whites, so they decided to do something about it. People act as if you automatically get a free ride to college if you’re not white, and it’s just simply not the case – you have to have academic merit or proven potential. You don’t just get a scholarship because you’re not white. There are also plenty of scholarships available to specific white ethnic groups – and it’s for the same reason, it’s a reaction to being excluded. And there are many, many, many more scholarships available for everyone under the sun.
I don’t know – racism by definition is attributing certain characteristics to a group of people based solely on their race, so yes, white racism is real – but it’s not institutionalized or limiting like it is towards non-whites.

Jaclyn - As I read the comment, she is not saying white people do not get discriminated against. She’s simply offering up a different definition of racism than what i might use my definition is simply “discrimination based on racial heritage”, while hers is a far more specific “discrimination against people of color dating back to slavery/colonization times and still in existence”. She also seems to be hinting that its more than just the attitudes of individual people, but a much broader umbrella, perhaps including laws, politics, the economy and overall culture as well.
Don’t be upset by her comment. I don’t think you actually disagree much on the issue…I think you’re just arguing semantics.

Ellen Christian - I believe that any time a person is judged or excluded based on their race, it is racism. Any time a person is judged or excluded based on their sex, it is sexism. What the specific sex or race is should not matter at all. People should be judged based on who they are, how they act, and what they do and not what they look like. The rules need to go both ways to be fair.
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Jaclyn - Ahhh…well that changes the image, sadly. :( Hate comes in all colors, and is a learned behavior. I think I see it decreasing with younger generations, but unfortunately some role models will continue to set poor examples. :/

Bill Myers - Bicultural Mom is wrong. That’s not simply my opinion. It is objective fact. Where do I get off saying such a thing? Easy: I can back it up with a good dictionary. According to the Microsoft Encarta Dictionary that comes with Word 2007, racism is defined as “prejudice or animosity against people who belong to other races.” If you check other dictionaries (and no, I do not have the time or the inclination to cite them all), you’ll find similar definitions. Nowhere to those definitions mention a system, or limit the concept to a specific race or races. If you judge people based on their race, you are are by definition a racist.

What Bicultural Mom is trying to do is redefine a word to suit her own agenda. Unfortunately, she’s not alone; I’ve heard other people perpetuate the same nonsense. I am trying to be as nice as possible but it drives me NUTS the way people uncritically accept such inaccurate ideas. I mean, dictionaries are widely available! People would be well-served to check their facts before making these kinds of assertions.

Now, one could argue that non-whites may be capable of racism but not oppression. They’d be on somewhat firmer ground, but not by much. I mean, Ken Chenault, the CEO of American Express — a giant corporation — is black. Is anyone willing to argue that a man who has the might of multinational financial juggernaut at his disposal is incapable of oppression?

I think it is not useful to speak in absolutes, but to understand that there are subtle shadings to these issues. Yes, the dominant historical pattern in this country has been one of whites oppressing non-whites. Nevertheless, things are changing, and there are exceptions.

So, back to my original point: non-whites can be racist. While I can understand what might drive, say, a black person to be racist, ultimately it’s no less irrational or wrong coming from a black person than it is coming from someone who is white.

Words have meaning, and are the fundamental building blocks of communication. If some of us ignore the meanings of certain words, we lose the ability to communicate. That’s dangerous, because communication above all else is our best weapon in the fight against racism and other forms of bigotry.

Bill Myers - Thanks, Sadie. You’re very sweet. I used to be an ardent blogger but haven’t done anything like that for a few years. For me, it just became too difficult to find the time to look for interesting topics and write something worthwhile about them. It’s easier to ride on someone’s coattails. Yours, for instance. :)

I don’t know how you find the time to do this while attending to your other responsibilities! As long as you do, though, I’ll just pop in here from time to time. :)

Chayo - Anyone can be racist! A Latino person can be racist and have hatred for white people, a white person can be racist against the asian community; overall racism is racism and its wrong. Yes, there are people out there who do not like white people. I have even heard white people say they hate being white and cannot stand white people. Overall I have more than one answer: #1. There are people who have a strong anger towards white people because of slavery, racism, classism and the fact that caucasians have more poltical power, more money and some believe that white people control the media. #2. Some people dont have positive vibes from white people because they abuse their white priveledge. #3 Stereotypes: Valley girl, rich white soccer mom with a nanny, billion air snob, racist white person are not liked very much by others. I feel anyone is entitled to their opinion but how you were raised and the color of your skin does not determine if your racist or arrogent thats just how you are but it is 2012 and if you are racist or arrogent then pick up a book or buy you a kindle and get to reality. Racism is not cute and will not fly these days so get educated please and lets try to enform those who are racist that their actions and words are hurtful.

Chayo - Yes minorities in the last 30 years have Actually been given opportunities but then there are also more obsticles for those minorities and many of those obsticles still exist. Minorites can go to school and there are no segregating laws but not as many minorities are graduating from high school and compleating college. One of the main problems is that minorities get into college but are unable to graduate for multiple reasons.

olala - This is offensive. Racism is racism.
“White” is a race also.. or what do you think? That we’re no humans or something? We’re aliens then?
srlsy.

White men did shit in the past but now its all over. No white person today has something to do with the past!!

Chrystal S - Yes you can be a victim of racism if white and I have been!! Also, you ever hear of indentured servants? Almost all were WHTE!!!! And died without being technically free. So what’s that? Does it not count because they were white? Blacks sold black slaves to white men (but lets ignore that fact…). Anyway back to the question, yes you can!!!

I am told I owned slaves or my family did so I am horrible. 1)I’m 22, I never owned slaves and you were never a slave…period! 2) My family immigrated here after slavery ended….so yeah my family never owned slaves. And only 1% of the population owned 99% of the slaves so most people never owned any!!

So it’s not racist when people hate me because I’m white? Attack me because I’m white? Verbally harass me because I’m white? And make no qualms THAT is why they are doing those things? I got passed up for aid when I was more in need because I was white. Turned down for scholarships when I fit every criteria but the color of my skin was white. Now a days you can’t play the race card and say it’s harder because you are of color! I live in So Cal, trust me people are doing just fine if they aren’t white! I have even gotten spit on because I’m white. They can’t hire white employees or they can’t accept more whites to a college because they need to make sure they have lots of other races and not a lot of whites or it looks bad. We are all people. End of story. So I always now refuse to answer what race I am. Because I should be judged on my merits and so should everyone else.

But I suppose those that say you can’t be racist towards whites will just disregard what has happened to me…why? Because I’m white…..sounds kinda racist doesn’t it?

Chloe - I’m biracial, but I look caucasian. I live in a community that is predominantly Asian. It’s wonderful; we have authentic food from just about everywhere, we get products that are difficult to find anywhere else in the state, and more language options exist in our schools. But as a student, I’ve faced some strange, even racist things. I’m an honors student, and according to testing am incredibly intelligent. However, many of my classmates have said I must be stupid because they perceive me as white. My family eats food from around the world (we even cook it at home!) but I’m told we can’t eat many foods because we are perceived as white. I’ve been told that because I am “white” that I must be racist, even though I can honestly say I have never judged a person my their skin color. I’ve been told I can’t play video games, or read manga, or listen to Korean pop. Why? Because of my perceived race. That is racism.