Help! I’ve Been Called Racist and I Don’t Know Why: A Guide
Quick answers to a few frequently asked questions around problematic responses to recent George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests
Based on a number of conversations I’ve had or seen recently, there are many people who are confused about why something they said was called racist when they didn’t intend harm or believe they were being racist.
Not intending harm is not the same as not causing it, and it’s on all of us to take responsibility for our impact on others and respond well to being called out on it. I wrote my master’s thesis on how different definitions of “racism” lead to conflicts over what is considered racist, so I hope to illuminate for people who may be honestly confused why others are perceiving their statement differently than they did.
In addition to the many comprehensive lists of anti-racism literature that are available, this article offers a brief answer to common questions I’ve seen about why someone called your comment racist. If you’re a well-meaning White person who wants to understand why a comment you made was called racist, or want to be able to educate someone like that, this guide is for you!
Why was I called racist when I…
…said “All Lives Matter”?
While it’s true that “all lives matter,” inequalities in various institutions, especially policing and the criminal justice system being discussed currently, show that Black lives are not being treated with the same value as White lives. Saying “Black lives matter” is calling attention to the fact that they should matter too, not saying that they matter more or only, and the name is important to acknowledge where the current problem lies to ensure it is addressed, rather than hide the issue with the unhelpful “all lives matter.”
It would be like calling the fire department to say your house is on fire and needs attention, and your neighbor says, “You shouldn’t say your house deserves protection, ALL houses deserve protection.” Of course they all do, but saying that won’t help show where the current fire is. We don’t say “all cities are strong” in response to people celebrating the resilience of a city after a disaster (e.g. “Boston Strong”), or denigrate charities for saying a disease is bad when other diseases are bad too. Think to yourself: why would a person be saying something like except to try and undercut the current cause?
…said looting is wrong and won’t help the cause?
The vast majority of protesters are peaceful, though looting or violent behavior has gotten more media and political attention. Additionally, the riots and looting that have broken out are often escalated not by the protesters but by the police starting violence against them or outside agitators capitalizing on the situation. Finally, riots often are a major force for social change in a society that has not been addressing underlying injustices. Many reforms are already underway in the weeks since these protests have started.
Speaking out against looting when you haven’t spoken out against police violence against Black people portrays you as caring more about property damage than peoples’ lives. Think to yourself: why would a person who is against racism speak out more forcefully against broken windows and stolen property than the racial injustice that led to them?
…said the police are necessary and defunding them is preposterous?
Defunding does not mean suddenly getting rid of the police entirely. What it means is re-focusing our budget priorities on social services — affordable housing, mental health services, school counselors — so that the issues that lead to crime don’t happen as much in the first place. Over the past decades, the police have had their responsibilities expanded to take over many issues that shouldn’t be met from the start with armed law enforcement— school discipline, mental health, counseling— and police are frustrated at it too.
Defunding moves some funding from the police towards these needed services so we can have people with the right training present to improve communities, rather than just criminalize them. Think to yourself: if a person would rather see additional policing, despite the known racial inequities, instead of investing in building better communities, what does that say about their priorities?
…pointed out more White people than Black people are killed by police each year?
While that’s true in absolute numbers, that doesn’t take into account that White people make up for a much greater proportion of the population. Accounting for that, Black people are killed by police at about 3x the rate of White people, and this difference is not accounted for by crime rates. The differences are even more stark for unarmed people, where unarmed Black people are killed around 5x the rate unarmed White people.
Additionally, the rate of people killed by police in the U.S. being far higher than other countries shows that there is both a problem of racial disparity and a general problem of police brutality which will also be helped through proposed reforms. Think to yourself: why would a person be so quick to take a data point that matches with prejudiced assumptions about victims of police violence deserving their fate?
…asked whether George Floyd was doing something illegal or pointed out his past criminal behavior?
George Floyd was allegedly using a counterfeit $20 at a grocery store. Asking whether the charge was confirmed is missing the point that, even if committed, this is not a crime that deserves a death sentence. Asking that question is looking for an excuse to be “okay” with his murder so we don’t need to confront our policing issue. Asking about his past behavior indicates that a Black man who commits any crime, no matter how much he may have changed since then, now deserves any injustice perpetuated on him even years later.
Legal experts concur that most Americans have committed an imprisonable offense in their lifetime. The U.S. justice system is meant to set a high bar for imprisonment and especially execution, not to allow anyone suspected of committing a minor crime to be killed on the street by those meant to protect them. Think to yourself: why would a person bring up such a small offense except to try and justify their murder?
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The problem with each of these comments is that they serve to disguise, distract, or disengage from the issue at hand. It’s not about whether a statement is true or not but about the purpose behind it. There’s nothing wrong with believing that all lives matter or that stealing is wrong; the problem is in bringing that up during conversations in a way that redirects from the core issue being addressed.
And that was why someone called your seemingly innocuous comment racist—by deflecting from the issue, you are helping the underlying structural racism continue to exist, even if unintentionally. If you do not believe that you are racist, but your actions are coming off that way to others, think to yourself: how can I make sure my actions match my beliefs?
