When does it become racism?

http://www.philipbrocoum.com/?p=925


What if I said that I hate black people, but it’s not because of the color of their skin, it’s because they play rap music deafeningly loud at 3 AM and I can’t get to sleep. Is that racism? I don’t think so. Believe me, if some white guy was playing Mozart ridiculously loud in the middle of the night, I would hate him too.

One could argue that I’m using a racial term, “black,” to arbitrarily describe a group of people, “loud music at night players,” which is in no way related to being black, and so that makes me a racist. I would disagree. If someone were to ask me what kind of people, in general, play rap music really loud at night, what am I supposed to say? I’ve never had any problems with Asians, Guatemalans, golfers, Canadians, short people, women, scientists, gays, swimmers, politicians, or Trekkies keeping me up at night with their loud music. “Black” is the best term to describe such people.

If a basketball coach allows only people 6 feet tall or taller to try out, is that short-ist? If a company decides to hire only college educated employees, is that dumb-ist? If an advertising agency decides to photograph only incredibly beautiful women, is that ugly-ist?

Maybe, but who cares? This is not some discrimination conspiracy out to get you, it’s just common sense. Of course there are some short people who are excellent basketball players, and some high school dropouts who are brilliant geniuses, and some ugly women who can sell products, but if you are trying to efficiently find the right person for the job, you go to the highest concentration of talent.

In every city there is a Chinatown, a Little Italy, the “white” part of town, the “black” part of town, etc. Why do you suppose everybody isn’t intermingled like the great melting pot we are supposed to be? It’s because people like hanging around their own race better than others. But, this isn’t racism! It’s culture. I like to be around people who like the same foods as I do, the same music as I do, the same TV shows as I do. So does everybody else. These racially separated neighborhoods that arise are completely natural. It’s because race, in general, affects your culture. I dare you to (honestly) take a look at the neighborhood you live in: is it not mostly homogeneous with people like you? Does this make you a racist? Take an honest look at your friends, too, while you are at it. Are 74% of your friends white, 14.8% Hispanic, and 13.4% black? If not, I could easily accuse you of being racist, since those are the demographics of the US.

If you find yourself only attracted to white people, does that make you racist? It’s not really a choice, after all, it’s just who you happen to find sexually appealing. Do we call gays sexist towards women, and lesbians sexist towards men? If a woman decides to walk home at night with another woman instead of with a man because she feels safer that way, does that make her sexist? According to Bureau of Justice statistics, men account for 86% of violent offenders. Maybe it’s not sexism but rather common sense for women to avoid men at night. If I choose not to live in the Bronx, does that make me a racist, or does that simply mean that I am fully aware that the crime rate of the Bronx is 50% higher than the rest of New York City?

Webster’s definition of racism is: “The prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races.” None of the examples I have given above fit this definition. It’s possible to prefer one group of people over another without thinking they are superior. Although some racism still exists, of course, I think people are far too quick to point the finger at anybody who expresses a dislike for a certain type of people. In politics, for example, racism is often used as the trump card against one’s enemies in order to instantly win an argument. Is the phrase, “I hate politicians,” racist? I might be overgeneralizing, but I have yet to come across an honest one.

EDIT: By the way, the South Park episode, The Death Camp of Tolerance, does an excellent job at explaining prejudice and tolerance and the differences between being racist and simply not liking somebody.