*** Posted to the African-American Group ***

[gollygee]

20. We (and by we I mean white people)

Tend to define things in the way that works best for us. This is human nature. It is best for us to define "racism" in a way that doesn't apply to us individually, so we make it mean "horrible people who do horrible things." If we define it instead as anything that supports white supremacy, then we have to do more introspection. This makes us uncomfortable, so we react negatively and fight against any definition that doesn't work for us.

And yes, I think supporting a power structure that keeps a group of people oppressed is worse than an individual mean action that does not cause or support oppression. If I were a victim of racial bigotry, I could easily move to a situation where I didn't face it. And it would be very rare for me to be in that situation in the first place. (Including when I am a racial minority in a group - I have never felt oppressed in that situation.) The worst potential would be if I had a boss who disliked me due to my race, but even then that would be a rare situation and it would be one job - switching jobs (difficult as that might be) would solve it. If I were a person of color, I would face that all the time everywhere, and to at least some degree in every job. These are clearly not equivalent.

You probably didn't actually need an answer, but I offer it for anyone reading the thread.