Racism vs Racist Remarks

There seems to be a lot of confusion in the world today regarding racism vs. racist remarks.  This isn’t surprising considering the level that true racists go to in order to make their beliefs seem little more than a difference of opinion.  However, nothing is farther from the truth.  The difference is staggering.  You see, while racism deals with one race’s overall destruction of another race of people, racist remarks have, at best, only temporary social implications. Let’s face it, no one likes to be called a bad name—race-related or otherwise.  Nevertheless, I think it is important to differentiate between the two.

According to Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, “Racism (white supremacy) is the local and global power system and dynamic, structured and maintained by persons who classify themselves as white, whether consciously or subconsciously determined; which consists of patterns of perception, logic, symbol formation, thought, speech, action, and emotional response, as conducted, simultaneously in all areas of people activity (economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war); for the ultimate purpose of white genetic survival and to prevent white genetic annihilation on planet Earth…”

Notice that, while speech (name calling, etc.) is listed among the resources, or rather weapons, used, it is but a piece of an overall puzzle.  According to that definition, which some will undoubtedly challenge, racism stems from the belief that another race—or even all races—are an inherent threat to the survival of the racist, and must be controlled if not eradicated outright for their continued existence.

This differs exponentially from calling someone a cracker, a nigger or a wetback, etc.  These are racist names/remarks.  Though they are hurtful, merely being called by these racist names does not have any impact on the life situation or survival of the target.  Their use does not, on their own, destroy the entire race of the target, though the target may suffer long-term emotional or psychological effects.

To put this in perspective, racism, as a system, has a profound impact on the life and/or livelihood of its target—in this case, an entire race of people.  That is its direct intent.

Names hurt.

And the hurt might take a long time to go away.  Still, there is a huge difference between hurting someone with words that are spoken or written—and let’s face it, can be overcome or ignored—and hurting someone with laws, finance, politics, military, drugs, AND words either in print or spoken.

So, the next time somebody calls you out of your name, don’t call them a racist unless their people—that is, the race they belong to—have both the capability of destroying the race of people that you are a part of and the intent to do so.  To do otherwise allows racism, already a very cunning and slippery weapon, to mask itself as merely an issue of free speech and not an issue of the continued and purposeful destruction of a people.  Can anybody hear me?