Lets define what racism looks like first
2 min readDec 12, 2016
Emotionally I am on the same page as you, its tempting to be mean but I think there is more to it than meets the eye. I don’t believe all racism is the same, below are some different types. Please let me know if I missed a bucket
- Racism can be the product of denial on behalf of the offender. Perhaps the offender fears retribution or more likely the offender is afraid to feel the pain of the victim and so he/she shuts down. Talking to someone like this is like yelling at a deaf person. Their ears are plugged and they are not listening. The people who refuse to understand that Black Lives Matter is not about saying people are not equal but rather its about acknowledging the past trauma of African Americans fall into this bucket. With people like this there is no response except to protect the victim and disengage and wait for them to work out their own issues for we have no power over the insanity of others.
- Some people are full of rage and look to blame their rage on others. These people look outside of themselves for solutions and totally fail to take responsibility for themselves. I believe the KKK/alt right fits here. People like this are dangerous and should not be encouraged. Again nothing can be done except protect victims and disengage.
- This one is about a communication issue. For example some right wingers feel that liberals care only about Islamophobia and dismiss their honest concerns about Muslims. In this case communication is important. Unfortunately I am afraid we don’t engage with each other enough on topics like these. I wrote about this here