this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2025
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I have been told that isn’t a thing here because you can only inappropriately focus on someone’s race if they are part of specific racial groups whoch is somehow not racist.
The real answer is that "white" isn't really a race. It's a socioeconomic in-group that exists to other those who aren't collectively agreed to be a part of it. Over time, a formerly racialized group may achieve "whiteness" via assimilation, like the Irish, Italian, and Jewish populations in America.
IMO any time you focus on race when it should not be a factor you are being racist. Even if white people weren't a race it's still not ok to other them any more than it is ok to hold similar views for other non-racial groups like Muslims. The hate comes from the same place and the intention is identical.
Trying to argue you cannot be racist against someone on the basis of their race is clownish.
You touched on the point there, although you might argue it's only a semantic difference. If you accept that "white" isn't a race, then definitionally, you cannot be racist against white people. Just like you can't be racist against Muslims, at least on the basis of their religion alone. You can definitely discriminate against those groups, but calling it racism is simply incorrect.
You can also delve into a discussion about the harm done by this kind of joke. The classic metaphor is that you don't blame the bullied kid for making fun of their bullies. There are power imbalances built into our culture, and so pretending that a joke at the expense of white people could ever do the same amount of harm as one at the expense of a racialized group is frankly ridiculous.
That isn’t what is happening here. What is happening is the bullied kid is bullying people who look like the kid who bullied them. They aren’t targeting the bully. Thus what you are supporting is lashing out at people who aren’t responsible for your mistreatment on the basis of race. There’s a word for it…it will come to me in a minute.
The fact is you can’t say how things impact people who aren’t you. Dismissing this as not being racist is being part of the problem not part of the solution.
My take away from the joke is not "do not roommate with a white man, they will steal your stuff".
My take away from seeing your comments is "just avoid white men at all costs, they are toxic as fuck."
You are making racist comments to a stranger online and it is white men who are toxic?
Yes.