For weeks, I've wanted to post an article about racism in the U.S. I am not an expert on racism and don't pretend to be. I'm a white woman who doesn't want to engage in racist behavior. I want to be an ally to BIPOC. I don't want to participate, engage in or support racism. I don't want to support systemic and/or institutionalized racism. I want to dismantle it.
In all honestly, I struggled with writing this post. This isn't about me, but I let a commenter egg me on. Yes, I let my ego get the better of me on this. I was tagged to this thread, "Racism, dERpy At Critical Theory, and Winning Arguments by Changing the Meanings of Words." He seems to be upset with the definition of racism that I posted. I used a definition of racism by the Anti-Defamation League, https://www.adl.org/racism. "Racism: The marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges white people." Shep posted a screenshot of my comment with his commentary.
Posting a dictionary definition of racism doesn’t address racial oppression, systemic racism, and institutional racism. It's much more complicated than a dictionary definition. We have to address the deeply ingrained systems of racial oppression in the U.S.
I guess there is no rebuttal but a pause to stop and think. Please share your thoughts.
