"Reverse Racism"
This is to my white folks.
Reverse racism? Is it a thing? This is a term that people fight over. So I am not going to touch on this for a moment. Instead, I am going to start with the term prejudice.
Is everyone prejudice? Yes. We evolved to quickly identify members of our ingroup and outgroup. Our tribe would protect us, where others would be a threat. Tribalism is deeply ingrained in our biology to help us survive. We are created to be prejudice to keep ourselves safe.
All groups have stereotypes. White people's stereotype is that they are entitled and owed the world. We believe that everyone should cater to us. We are a people of conquering and we have conquered the world, other people, and our environment. Our culture is the dominant culture throughout the world. That is why there isn't a label of "white culture."
If you have friends of other races, you will hear jokes such as "white people" and "white culture." White people don't refer to it as white culture though. We just refer to it as what is culture. Or, we identify strongly as American and patriotic, which is our culture.
Have white people ever experienced prejudice? ABSOLUTELY. I grew up as 1 of 3 white people in my class in Lawndale, California. I loved my friends who were mostly Mexican. I grew to love Mexican culture and developed a small dislike of white people. Yes, I am aware that I am white. But white wasn't a good thing where I was growing up. I moved to Torrance when I was 12, which is predominantly white and struggled to connect with white folks there. I still struggle to connect to white culture sometimes. I dislike that white culture is very much about putting other cultures below our own. Other cultures are not given the space to exist. This shows up when people say black lives matter, and white people come screeching that all lives matter. Black culture, Hispanic culture, any OTHER culture is not given space to exist. People must assimilate and become just like "Us."
Have I been judged for my skin color? Yes, for a long time. It sucks, because I feel like I really try to give space to other cultures to exist. Because of my skin color, I am labeled as one of the dominant group. And I benefit from this in a lot of spaces and interactions. At the grocery story, people move out of my way. It's small, but I notice it. I have benefited a lot for being a white woman. I am just enough of a minority to give that scholarship to, but still part of the dominant group. I look like a lot of my bosses and don't run into cultural misunderstandings. It has allowed me to continue to promote in the workspace and make money to afford niceish things.
Have I experienced prejudice? Yes. I have been hated by my roommates who were Native. I have been taken advantage of because of my skin color. My dad has been targeted for his skin color. My grandfather had a car wash in Compton. He said he has had a gun pulled on him at that car wash. He says it isn't safe for white people in certain areas because of their skin colors. These are valid. If you are white, you may have not been liked or treated well because of your skin colors. Yes, your feelings are valid.
We do experience prejudice because of our skin color. It is in reaction to racism that has been perpetuated by people of our group for hundred of years. No it's not our fault. But it is our responsibility to change. We benefit from being part of the dominant culture. We fit in, so we are not different and we do not suffer the consequences of being different.
So, does reverse racism exist?
The current definition of racism includes power structures that benefit a certain group. Scholars say that reverse racism doesn't exist because the power structures in the United States benefit white people. If a white person goes to a country where the dominant forces are not white, can they experience racism? I don't know. Ask the experts. Or argue about it below.
Much love always <3
Reverse racism? Is it a thing? This is a term that people fight over. So I am not going to touch on this for a moment. Instead, I am going to start with the term prejudice.
Is everyone prejudice? Yes. We evolved to quickly identify members of our ingroup and outgroup. Our tribe would protect us, where others would be a threat. Tribalism is deeply ingrained in our biology to help us survive. We are created to be prejudice to keep ourselves safe.
All groups have stereotypes. White people's stereotype is that they are entitled and owed the world. We believe that everyone should cater to us. We are a people of conquering and we have conquered the world, other people, and our environment. Our culture is the dominant culture throughout the world. That is why there isn't a label of "white culture."
If you have friends of other races, you will hear jokes such as "white people" and "white culture." White people don't refer to it as white culture though. We just refer to it as what is culture. Or, we identify strongly as American and patriotic, which is our culture.
Have white people ever experienced prejudice? ABSOLUTELY. I grew up as 1 of 3 white people in my class in Lawndale, California. I loved my friends who were mostly Mexican. I grew to love Mexican culture and developed a small dislike of white people. Yes, I am aware that I am white. But white wasn't a good thing where I was growing up. I moved to Torrance when I was 12, which is predominantly white and struggled to connect with white folks there. I still struggle to connect to white culture sometimes. I dislike that white culture is very much about putting other cultures below our own. Other cultures are not given the space to exist. This shows up when people say black lives matter, and white people come screeching that all lives matter. Black culture, Hispanic culture, any OTHER culture is not given space to exist. People must assimilate and become just like "Us."
Have I been judged for my skin color? Yes, for a long time. It sucks, because I feel like I really try to give space to other cultures to exist. Because of my skin color, I am labeled as one of the dominant group. And I benefit from this in a lot of spaces and interactions. At the grocery story, people move out of my way. It's small, but I notice it. I have benefited a lot for being a white woman. I am just enough of a minority to give that scholarship to, but still part of the dominant group. I look like a lot of my bosses and don't run into cultural misunderstandings. It has allowed me to continue to promote in the workspace and make money to afford niceish things.
Have I experienced prejudice? Yes. I have been hated by my roommates who were Native. I have been taken advantage of because of my skin color. My dad has been targeted for his skin color. My grandfather had a car wash in Compton. He said he has had a gun pulled on him at that car wash. He says it isn't safe for white people in certain areas because of their skin colors. These are valid. If you are white, you may have not been liked or treated well because of your skin colors. Yes, your feelings are valid.
We do experience prejudice because of our skin color. It is in reaction to racism that has been perpetuated by people of our group for hundred of years. No it's not our fault. But it is our responsibility to change. We benefit from being part of the dominant culture. We fit in, so we are not different and we do not suffer the consequences of being different.
So, does reverse racism exist?
The current definition of racism includes power structures that benefit a certain group. Scholars say that reverse racism doesn't exist because the power structures in the United States benefit white people. If a white person goes to a country where the dominant forces are not white, can they experience racism? I don't know. Ask the experts. Or argue about it below.
Much love always <3
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