Systemic Racism Doesn’t Exist Because I’m Not Racist
Right?
What we call “systemic racism” is problematic because it uses the word “racism”, which most white people will never accept themselves as being. Systemic racism partially implies that a lot of people are racist and don’t even know it, and herein lies the fundamental problem with the phrase. Systemic racism is in some cases conscious and malicious, but more often requiring unconscious participation by people who would otherwise never think of themselves as ‘racist’. When used by itself, “racism” implies an active dislike of other races, so it’s inclusion in “systemic racism” will trigger many white people into assuming they have no role in it. You can’t call these people racist and expect them to accept it because by their definition ‘racism’ requires conscious participation.
For our purposes here, let’s expand the definition to include a ‘lack of respect’ as opposed to an active dislike. Some have pointed to the problem of meritocracy, where the relatively well-off (even the poorest of the whites may fit this category) assume that those at the bottom are there because of a lack of hard work as opposed to a lack of access to resources. That is, the fact that many blacks live in poor conditions is the clearest evidence that they are not worthy of the chances given. White people of course don’t realize the extent to which those chances are lacking.
In reality, the very fact that black people are excluded is the clearest proof of systemic racism. For the sake of this argument, it doesn’t matter WHY they’re excluded, just the fact that they ARE excluded. Certain people have been shunned by the system, so we call it systemic. Those people belong to a certain race, so we call it racism.
Maybe ‘racism’ is too harsh for white peoples’ ears. Systemic Racial Exclusion?
Racism does not have to be an active hatred of another race, it can be a lack of respect leading to inaction. Black people have been saying for a long time that there are problems. They have been saying that they are outraged, feel dehumanized, and acutely feeling the attempts at being broken down. They are pointing out that there is large-scale exclusion at the institutional level (loan/banking access, policing disparities, health care access, educational opportunities, etc). Since this exclusion is built into the way the system functions, we call it systemic. Since it happens along racial lines, we call it racism.
Maybe someone isn’t racist, but they still have to explain why blacks are excluded. Are they bad? Do they lack intelligence? Are they lazy? If not, then we still don’t have an answer. Maybe racism is other things besides lynchings. Maybe racism is other things besides Neo-Nazis.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
