Today I perused a forum where people are discussing whether or not Kanye West is a racist. You probably all know the moment: Taylor Swift wins the award for best video at the VMA's and Kanye interrupts her speech by grabbing the mic and saying that Beyonce should have won. Y'all can click here and watch it in case you missed it and if you did see it, watch it again.
Hold on. This is one of those moments where I hear screeching breaks in my head. Here's what happened: a black man interrupted a white woman. Right? OK. In my opinion, this was rude and perhaps even misogynistic. Let's say that it was the opposite. Let's say that Taylor Swift interrupts Kanye West and says that Beyonce should have gotten the award. I almost chuckle to myself as I imagine that scenario because it seems so unlikely. But humor me for a moment. Would Taylor Swift be accused as being racist? I don't think so. Let's think about something else and I'm going to be very clear about this: Reverse racism is ridiculous. Think historically, which is one way in which we have to view racism. How many white people were slaves on plantations owned by people of color? How many white people were lynched and tortured in this country (US) and all over the world for being white? How many white people today have the fear that they are going to be killed, raped, attacked, ignored, oppressed (the list goes on) for being white? Think about it. Looking at this forum, I can see that clearly many people disagree with me.
My comment will be brief because the question posed is, as I see it, illogical. There was a hell of a lot more male privilege, and just plain arrogance, being exercised on that stage than racism. Because, let's be honest, Kanye has a tendency to act like a petulant pre-teen in public - don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan. I digress.
ReplyDeleteAhem, Racism. Racism is, according to David Wellman, "a system of advantages based on race." Racism is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals (from Tatum's, Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria).
Some anti-racist activists have a slightly different equation for racism: "prejudice plus power = racism".
I agree with both, especially since each translates to the fact that there is no such thing as reverse racism because white folks got a whole lot of skin color privilege in this country (regardless of the other identities in which they may be targeted - poor, gay, women, etc. - but that's not about race). Anyone who argues differently is unclear about the definition and probably means prejudice or discrimination or asshole - mean people come in all forms. But, only white people (US contexts) can be (and I would argue, all are) racist.