Let's Stop Saying "Racist"
Once again, I’ve decided that a commonly used word is causing more harm than good. Very few people consider themselves “racist” and lightly tossing around a word that connotes centuries of atrocities is more likely to shut down dialog than lead to an introspective and productive examination of racially-tinged predilections. The word racist is like using a machete instead of a scalpel. It’s hard to do anything nuanced when somebody is waving around a machete.
This article persuaded me of the problem. The author basically argues that racism is not a net problem in the election. For that rare person who refuses to vote for a black man there are a number of people who (for various reasons) would vote for prefer to vote for a black man.
But what about the people who are vaguely uncomfortable about Barack Obama? What about the people who feel that he doesn’t represent them for some hard to define reason. Perhaps he doesn’t wear a flag pin. Or he eats too much arugula? Or perhaps they heard he was a secret Muslim—and maybe sort of beleive it. Perhaps they just heard he wasn’t very patriotic. Does he look like a President?
This is where race becomes a problem. It is neither overt nor intentional. The “out of touch” or “unamerican” labels slide more easily onto the candidate who looks a little different. This gets magnified when he is associated with people who sound different or sound crazy in a way we’re not accustomed to. We’re used to ignoring people like McCain’s crazy pastor buddies—but when we see Wright on the television we get uncomfortable.
I think this is why Obama’s speech on race is still so important. It calls for examination and discussion without being throwing around accusations or inciting defensiveness. I think talking about race is crucial this election season—but I think the labels “racist” and “racism” should be reserved. Even when they are denotatively correct, they are connotatively too incendiary.