Why You Should Stop Calling People Racist, You Dumbass
To be crystal clear, this is in no way a defense of racism. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is a suggestion on how to combat racism more effectively. Because if your idea of combating racism is calling out people as racists, there is a good chance you are doing it wrong. That might seem counterintuitive, but to understand why all you need to do is take a mental trip with me to Africa.
Picture this. You are standing in the middle of the plains of Namibia, a country on the southwest coast of Africa, right above South Africa. Specifically, you are in the Kunene Region, a northern area of Namibia that is home to the Himba tribe. The Himba are a traditional tribe that has remained fairly isolated from the rest of the world. Because of this isolation, their culture, language, and way of life remain entirely traditional and unlike any other group of people on the planet. They are so different, in fact, that I can tell whether or not you are a local or a tourist simply by how you react to the following image:
Which Square is different from the rest? If you answered the blue square on the top left of the circle on the right, well congratulations my friend you are a tourist. If you were a native, you would have certainly picked the same square, but in the circle on the left.
Now, I am sure that after you read that, you looked at the circle on the left and you still do not see the difference. Maybe you talked yourself into believing that the square on the top left of the left circle is different, but you can’t really know for sure. But trust me, it is different. You just can’t see it. Just like a member of the Himba tribe can’t see the blue square in the circle on the right. To them, the circle on the right looks exactly like how you see the circle on the left. But how is this possible?
No, the Himba people have not evolved separately to develop a biologically different sense of sight. Their eyes work in the same exact way yours do. The difference between you and them is your language. In the Himba language, there is no word for blue. To them, blue is just a shade of green. They see the same wavelengths of light that we do, but because they have not practiced differentiating between blue and green their whole life, it is much more difficult for them to register the difference in their brains. On the other hand, they have multiple different classifications for other shades of green, so to them, the green and slightly lighter green on the left are as different as the blue and the green on the right are to you.
So what does this have to do with calling people racist? Well, the important thing to note here is that language shapes our understanding of the world. Words don’t just inform us and help us communicate, but they change the way we actually see and understand things. When there is a separate word for two related ideas, not only is it easier to communicate those ideas, but we are able to develop a deeper understanding of what they are.
For example, if you took highschool French, you know that the French word “faire” means both “to make” and “to do”. It is very difficult for French people to understand the difference between making something and doing something. You will probably have trouble explaining the difference as well, because even though the definitions are similar, you have just innately understood the difference because they are just two separate things, like green and blue. French people have not lived their whole lives differentiating between the two, so it is difficult or them to separate the two ideas. This has led to many giggles from less than mature American students when their French pen pal tells them that they want to do a sandwich.
This effect is even stronger when it comes to words with meanings that are loaded with emotion. This includes words like “Evil”, “Hero”, and, of course, “Racist”. Racist is a very strong word, and it immediately brings up many strong images in your mind. You probably immediately think of lynchings, segregationists, and white pointy hats. Maybe you picture a middle-aged man in a wife-beater yelling the N-word while waving a confederate flag, or a tatted-up skinhead with a Swastika on his forehead. Calling those people racist is not a problem, because those people know they are racist and they are proud of it. The problem occurs when you use the same word to describe someone who is not quite so blatantly evil.
Everyone is the hero of their own story. Most people consider themselves flawed, but for the most part a good person. And most people don’t consider racists to be good people. So when you call someone a racist, they see all the same images you saw. They see the guy yelling the n-word while waving the confederate flag, and since they know that they would never do something like that, your whole point must be wrong. And it isn’t even their fault. How would you feel if someone called you something so awful for doing something that you did not think was wrong?
These people, even if they are doing something that is considered racist, are not the enemy. In fact, you probably both hate racists about equally. They just haven’t learned as much as you have. Your job should not be to call them out and shame them, but instead to educate them and bring them to your side. Calling them something as bad as racist is an easy way to make that impossible.
For example, a very progressive friend of mine came home one day to find that her dad had bought some “Blue Lives Matter” style yard signs and put them in the front yard. She asked him why he did that, and he said that there were some people selling them to raise funds for the local police. As a well-off white man, he only ever really knew the police as good people. He also had never even heard of Black Lives Matter (This was in the early days of the movement.) When my friend explained to him that the phrase “Blue Lives Matter” was in direct opposition to the “Black Lives Matter” movement, he took the signs down and regretted buying them in the first place.
Now, what do you think would have happened if she came into the house and asked why there were racist signs in the front yard? Her dad would have been taken aback and become instantly defensive. His first thought would be “They are not racist” and his mindset from there on out would be to prove that thought correct. I am sure that in this case, my friend would have still been able to convince her dad to take the signs down. But it would have been much harder, and almost impossible if this had been a conversation with a stranger.
When you call a stranger a racist, it actually gets far worse than just not being able to convince them. They will think of you as the enemy, and thousands of years of tribalistic human behavior will cause him to think anything said by the enemy is wrong. Again, this isn’t their fault, it is just a natural human reaction. You probably did the same thing when you read the title of this article. I would wager that you started reading this article wanting me to be wrong, simply because I called you a dumbass. That same knee jerk reaction happens whenever you call someone (or something) racist.
This is how objectively correct statements like “Black Lives Matter” become a phrase for almost half the country to rally against. When a group of people who keep calling you a racist also follow it up with a phrase like black lives matter, that phrase gets associated with the enemy and therefore becomes wrong.
So what should you do? After all, there is no word yet that means “Racist but not THAT racist.” And it’s not like you can just add a word like that to the dictionary. So the best you can do until then is simply stop using the word racist to describe anything but the worst types of racism. And stop assuming that someone doing something you deem as racist is the enemy, or even a bad person. Instead, if you see something you think is racist, assume the person doing it is a GOOD person.
Naturally, your first instinct will be to find out why a good person would do something racist. Follow that instinct. Do not assume anything. Ask them why they did that. Don’t let them know you think it was wrong. Keep asking questions and giving information until they arrive at that conclusion themselves. If they can’t arrive at that conclusion themselves, they certainly aren't going to do it because someone who just called them a racist told them to.
If that sounds difficult, then good. It is always more difficult to teach something than to paint a general idea with the broadest of strokes. If it was easy, then there would probably be many fewer racists in the world. Calling a whole system, or group, or even person Racist is usually just a lazy way to make your point, because it does not tell the whole story. Don’t be lazy when fighting racism. Because very few people are for racism, and many of them have just been taught a different meaning of the word. And like with colors, their understanding of the word racism can shape the way they perceive the world around them. Until they are taught to see the difference in the shades of racism for themselves, they will never think their actions are wrong.
In conclusion, don’t be lazy, and always assume that people are good. You assume that of yourself, so why not afford others the same assumption? In the great words of one Mr. Miyagi, “No such thing as a bad student, only bad teacher.” If you want to make a positive change in the world, don’t try and force the student to change. Instead, make yourself a better teacher. You dumbass.
