Reverse Racism
There have been numerous occasions at Grace Church School where the concept of reverse racism has been argued in a class. I am usually one to sit back and purely listen to the opposing sides, but now I feel the need to share my opinion. When confronted with this concept my initial reaction was to think that of course one could be racist towards anyone no matter their skin color. The idea of whether racism was applicable or not to white people had never necessarily crossed my mind – and that is the problem I have come to realize. I, being white, have never truly experienced any sort of disadvantage or restriction in life due to purely to my skin color. I was simply blinded by my privilege and my exemption from bias.
As I rack my brain for specific moments of discrimination in my life, I cannot think of any examples: this in itself is privilege. Privilege is invisible, and, because I experience it regularly, it is easy to take it for granted! Therefore, based on my own personal experience, the idea of reverse-racism was confusing. Reverse-racism is used to describe an act of discrimination by someone who is historically oppressed against individuals belonging to historically dominant groups.
To begin my research and attempt to find answers to my inquiry, I started with trying to define words that were commonly brought up when discussing this topic. Racism seemed to be an idea that could not be put simply nor did it fall under a single definition. My personal understanding was privilege + bias = racism. UCLA’s Feminist Newsmagazine explains privilege as a right that is given to some people and not others. These rights usually come in a form of power. Webster’s dictionary defines power as the ability to direct the behavior of others or the course of events. Ohio State University describes bias as “attitudes that affect our understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner.” Privilege and power seem to go hand in hand and are what differentiate bias from racism. The key to racism, and the answer to my question is that racism unquestionably includes the aspect of having privilege (something that mostly racial majorities seem to posses). With my understanding, racial minorities are unable to be racist towards majorities due to the system of inequality that exists in our society and culture. White people cannot experience racism, they may experience bias, specifically, bias that does not have privilege backing it up. The experience of living with a power structure built around racial distinction, with implied white superiority, is incomparable to any experience of just pure bias being exerted without the inclusion of privilege. Bias and racism each have different outcomes. Racial bias towards a white person cannot have as strong of an effect and cannot be truly equal to the racism experienced by minorities because white culture is dominant in our society and is backed by power.
I am not arguing that white people cannot experience any prejudice at all. However, I am saying that minorities lack the ability to exert racism plus power on majorities. There is inherently a power dynamic in our society where, unfortunately, equal people are divided simply by their race or culture. Specifically, black Americans and the racism that they experience is becoming somewhat more known as the media is beginning to cover important issues and the popularity of the the Black Lives Matter movement, yet diverse representation in the media is still seriously lacking. The structural harm that is imposed on the many groups of people simply because of their skin pigment is incomparable to any type of “racism” against white people. When a whole culture, including laws, have been created against a racial group, it is unmatched by less institutionalized discrimination.
Growing up today, it is impossible to not know that racism exists. I see and hear racism, but until I understood the role of power in racism I was never able to begin to understand what the experience of a person of color might be. Hearing classmates who are white and experience a world of privilege argue in school that they understand someone else’s experience better than they do triggered my realizations. The invalid idea that a white person can truly understand a minority’s experience of prejudice exaggerates the sense of rightness that seems to be so common as a result of the dominant culture of the white presence in America. I urge people to refrain from using false ideas in class and reevaluate their stance on the idea of reverse racism.