Racism Defined

According to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism


"Racism has many definitions, the most common being that members of one racial group consider themselves intrinsically superior to members of other racial groups"

There are another hundred or so definitions. According to some more radical black leaders racism is white people. According to some radical white leaders (KKK, neo- nazis, etc) racism is black people. Others say racism is America.

Taken to the extreme every one is racist, simply by belonging to a race.

Hmmm this doesn't seem to be very useful.

Problem:

Define racism in fifty words or less in a manner that is testable and provide the basis for discussing racial issues without calling every one in the debate a racist.

Definition:

Racism is the personal expectation that a member of society should have preferential access to the services a society has to offer based on their perceived race.

Test:
Empirically, apply the definition to racial members of society at points in time when the assertion racist would be true .

Lets assume America, the south circa 1968. I happened to live in Georgia at that point in time and was participating in a bussing program to deliver me (a white student) to a black school. I had moved to George from Japan via a stop in California. The services provided by society included education, transportation, employment, housing, access to financial institutions and other services.

A portion of whites in the south were clearly racist. They had the expectation that they should have access exclusively to the best housing, schools, jobs, etc, simply because they were white.

Let’s assume Japan circa 1966. I happened to be living there. Japanese born of native Japanese had the personal expectation that only they would be granted access to the best housing, schools, jobs, etc simply because they were Japanese.

Ditto Singapore (Chinese) circa 1998.

Ditto South Africa (whites) circa 1980.

This is very interesting. This definition does not automatically categorize every member of a race as racist. Society itself cannot be racist, although it can promote racism by its policies. Only an individual can be a racist. An individual can also stop being a racist simply by changing their expectation for preferential treatment.

Let’s examine some recent “racists”. Reverend Jeremiah White. is definitely an angry Vietnam Veteran and black. (I am a Vietnam Era Veteran, so I do not condemn his anger). Pride and vanity in one’s cultural background is not racism. Reverend White worked very hard to build his religious career and does not seem to have expected preferential access to services. I don’t know this to be true, but it is not advertised as so. Reverend White is not a racist unless he has the expectation that preferential access to societal services should be provided to him because he is black. Is a black that expects equal access racist? No. How about a white or hispanic who expects equal access? No.

A member of the KKK is clearly a racist. The KKK expects a preferential access to services offered by society for whites.

If an individual acts out inappropriately, for example burning down a black or white church, are they a racist? No they are an arsonist. Are people prosecuting them for such an act racist? No they are part of the legal system.

Is Barack Obama’s grandmother a racist? Because she used inappropriate speech? No she is insensitive, raised in a different period of time. Racism depends on whether she expects preferential access to societal services based on her membership in the white race. Is Barack’s wife a racist? Ditto. The fact that she was not proud to be American is not racist.

This definition seems both correct and empowering. Most Americans are not racist. Our government policies are racist, but amazingly the vast majority of Americans are not. Those who are racist can be converted by education and discontinuation of racial discrimination by our government policies.

If racism is a behavior, then what is racial discrimination? It is providing preferential access to societal services based on race. It is a behavior, an acting out, based on racism. What is sexism? Ditto racism except plugin sex.

With a correct definition for racism, America can return to their roll as the great melting pot of the world’s cultures in a guiltless manner. Each member of a culture can be proud of their heritage and proud to be part of the world’s greatest experiment in freedom. Pride in America, imperfect as the country may be is also to be encouraged. Time to role up our sleeves and work together to become the next “greatest” generation.

More on racial discrimination and quality of access in a later blog.

George