Or more specifically, why we need to stop calling people \u201ca racist\u201d.<\/p>\n
When we say something such as \u201cDonald Trump is a racist.\u201d, it implies that being a racist is binary, that either you\u2019re a racist or you\u2019re not. If you\u2019re like Donald Trump, then you\u2019re racist; if you\u2019re not like him, then you\u2019re not racist.<\/p>\n
It also implies that there are certain qualities to being a racist, and if we don\u2019t have those qualities, then we\u2019re not racist.<\/p>\n
However, racism isn\u2019t binary, nor can it be defined by a checklist.<\/p>\n
Each of us is racist.\u00a0You see, racism isn\u2019t innate; it\u2019s something we have to learn. We learn it from our friends, from our parents, from the media, from classmates, from neighbours, from Sunday School teachers, from siblings, and from a whole host of everyday interactions with others.<\/p>\n
The thing about racism is that it doesn\u2019t need to be overt for it to be racist. Just because I never call a black person a nigger, for example, doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not racist. Likewise, someone doesn\u2019t need to tell you that \u201cIndians are drunk and lazy\u201d for them to teach you racism.<\/p>\n
Racism can be taught in several ways. It can be how a parent responds to a person of colour walking by on the street, or how a cashier responds to a non-white customer, or how a police officer changes how they talk to someone based on their skin colour.<\/p>\n
It can be how your neighbour responds abruptly to an old First Nations person walking on the sidewalk because he doesn\u2019t realize the Blackfoot he is speaking is simply, \u201cHow are you\u201d. It can be your brothers making fun of your sister\u2019s new friend because she happens to be Cree. It can be your parents mentioning that someone breaking into your house was \u201cIndian\u201d, as if that explained their actions somehow. It can be your boss charging a surcharge every time he has to do a cleaning job on the nearby reserve because a previous customer out there wasted his time. It can be your classmates saying Sikh classmates never shower. It can be your Sunday School teacher telling you to marry only white people. It can be your friend saying, \u201cIt\u2019s okay if I say \u2018prairie nigger\u2019 because I\u2019m part M\u00e9tis.\u201d<\/p>\n
All these things add up over the years, and unchecked, can influence how you perceive someone based on their skin. And that can take a long time to undo.<\/p>\n
Labelling others a racist erases our own racism, and if we can\u2019t see our own racism, we\u2019ll keep perpetuating our own racism.<\/p>\n