Comment by type0
7 days ago
Incredible, some people think that minorities can't be racist, by that definition Japanese weren't at all racist in 1937 Nanjing.
7 days ago
Incredible, some people think that minorities can't be racist, by that definition Japanese weren't at all racist in 1937 Nanjing.
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There’s a context to that you’re missing. The people saying that are usually using the formulation that racism = prejudice + power. So can black people in the U.K. be prejudiced? Yes, definitely. Racist? They’d need to be in a position of authority for it to matter.
Other people use the formulation racism = prejudice about race, and end up talking past each other.
You are correct that there are multiple somewhat-conflicting definitions of racism but “taking past each other” isn’t really what’s happening.
The “classic” definition of racism is something like “a system of oppression based on race”. People pull that out to explain why “[minority] people can’t be racist”, but that that definition isn’t about people. It’s about systems, so if we take that definition, no individual can be racist. Most of the same people who trot out this definition will still call majority-race individuals racist (clearly using a different definition). It’s a rhetorical sleight of hand to swap definitions in a self serving way like this.
> racism = prejudice + power
This seems like an oversimplified perversion of the “systemic” definition and doesn’t make sense if you actually consider it. By this definition a poor white woman basically couldn’t be racist, while a rich black man could.
the prejudice + power statement while still ascribing veing racist to individuals is a definite motte and bailey tactic in my eyes.
There's a term for that: systemic racism. The redefining racism thing just comes from a bunch of people who wanted to be racist without admitting racism -- often, ironically, from a position of power.
Systemic racism is something different. It's the legal system being set up in a way that favors/disfavors certain groups. It's not something a person does.
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Racism has multiple conflicting definitions, and indeed “a system of oppression based on race” is a classic one.
“Systemic racism” seems to a modern answer to this vagueness. I suppose the other side would be “individual racism”.
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