Reverse Racism is A Myth- And Here’s Why

There are many white people that believe you can be racist towards them. Now, I’m just here to set the record straight.

Before I start, there are 3 things I want to discuss: Prejudice, discrimination, and racism.

Prejudice- an opinion that’s not based on any experience or reason. For example, I can be walking down the street and see somebody wearing an #AllLivesMatter shirt and instantly have a feeling of dislike towards the person without having to know anything about them. To be prejudiced is to have a preconceived opinion or feeling that you don’t act on.   

 CAN WHITE PEOPLE EVER EXPERIENCE PREJUDICE? YES.

Discrimination- the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories, people, or things, especially on the grounds of race, sex, and age. For example, let’s say I’m a business owner, and you, a young avid Twitter user, are coming in for an interview today. You tell me that you’re a Twitter user and because I am not fond of Twitter users, I decline you the job. To discriminate is to make a distinction in favor of or against a person that you hold a position of power over that you do act on.

CAN WHITE PEOPLE EVER EXPERIENCE DISCRIMINATION? YES.  

Racism- prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race by someone in a position of power over them. For example, let’s say that an African-American teenage girl is walking down the street, and a white wo/man says to her, “Hey, nigg*r, why don’t you follow your ancestors’ path and pick some cotton?“. To be racist is to distinguish that your race is superior to another that holds less power than yours.                                      

    CAN WHITE PEOPLE EVER EXPERIENCE RACISM? NO.

And here’s why:

1. RACISM IS ABOUT PRIVILEGE AND POWER.                                      

 To be racist, you must have privilege and power. Neither of which people of color hold over white people. If racism was like a food chain, (weird comparison, I know, but just go with it) white people would be the hawks and people of color would be the grasshoppers. There would be absolutely no way for a grasshopper to kill a hawk because hawks are just way too powerful compared to the grasshoppers. This relates to, what I call, the “racism chain”. People of color don’t have any positions of power or privilege over white people and, for that reason, cannot be racist. 

1. WHITE PEOPLE HAVE NEVER BEEN OPPRESSED.                            

 White people have always been in power. From when they came to America and stole the land from the Native Americans, and when they came to Africa and stole African-Americans from our land. When a person of color says something that is racially prejudiced about a white person, it doesn’t carry the history of the institutionalized oppression with it, therefore, comparing racial prejudice against white people to racial prejudice of black people is often erasing the oppression that comes with it. Racism was built on a system of power and oppression. White people, as a whole, have always been the oppressors, and, say it with me, kids, you cannot oppress the oppressors. 

1. RACISM STEMS BACK TO YOUR ANCESTORS HISTORY.                    

 Racism exists because of what our ancestors have been through, and or did, in the past. So until Native Americans pull up in Europe and start taking things and people just for the hell of it, you can’t tell me reverse racism is real. Until white people are denied jobs for being white, you can’t tell me reverse racism is real. Until white people are shamed for their hair and skin and facial features, only to turn around and see others being praised for copying it, you can’t tell me reverse racism is real. Until white people have laws written against them, until white people are seen as only 3/5ths of a person, do not tell me reverse racism is real.

Moral of the story: White people, please understand that you have a privilege most people of color do not.