I Am a Racist

So says a "consciousness-raising program" at the University of Delaware used to train resident assistants:

A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e. people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture, or sexuality.

As opposed to Merriam-Webster, which defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

Of course no one is born a bigot. Racism is learned, and programs like the one at UD -- thankfully terminated -- will do nothing but create more intolerance, not less.

Comments

[Blanche Debris]

Agreed, 100%. That's what annoys me about "whiteness" studies, is the hypocrisy in saying that race is a social construct, yet "whiteness" is a collection of traits -- primarily negative -- that whites are born with (racism being one of them), and that all whites share them.

Racism is also defined as "racial prejudice or discrimination." It seems fairly obvious that, by branding all whites as racist, people of color will mistrust whites even more and seek to further separate themselves from whites, causing worse race relations all around.

[Blanche Debris]

Let me clarify -- "whiteness" studies says that whites are born with these negative traits b/c they're *born into* the white supremacist system.