Social Commentary: What is Racism?

 What is racism?

The dictionary tells us that racism is:

"prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."

and also:

"the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races."

Dr. King would probably say that racism is judging by the color of a person;s skin, rather than the content of their character.

But racism is more than just that.

Racism is thinking that skin color is the only thing that matters - that your skin color determines how you think, who you can be friends with, who you can vote for, who you can care about, and who you can love.

Racism is the inability to have empathy for another person - or see yourself in their place - no matter how alike you are, as long as your skin is a different color.

Racism is caring about some lives, but not others, based primarily (or solely) on skin color - and it doesn't make a difference whether it is black lives or white lives that matter to you, unless the lives of people of all colors matter to you.

Racism is not being able to see that some cops are bad, but most are good - and that bad cops kill and hurt people of every skin color while good cops protect and help people of every skin color.

Racism is the inability to see that Tamir Rice and Andy Lopez were both innocent kids killed by cops because they were playing with toy guns, and the cops didn't take a second or two to assess the situation before gunning them down.

Racism is the inability to see that both Philando Castille and Daniel Shaver were executed by police even though they were being compliant, and doing their best to follow complicated and contradictory police commands.

Racism is the inability to see that Jose Guerena and Breonna Taylor were both innocent people killed by police executing dangerous "no knock" warrants that should never have been issued.

Racism is the inability to realize that any of us might look out our bedroom window to see what was moving around in our yard at night, like Atatiana Jefferson did, and get shot by a poorly trained, trigger-happy cop.

Racism is the inability to realize that, no matter what color our skin is, there are neighborhoods where we would be treated just like Armaud Arbery or Stephanie Kuhen by vigilantes who didn't think we belonged there, simply because of our skin color.

Racism is a poison and a cancer. It diminishes us, and it spreads through hatred, through ignorance, through fear, and through divisiveness.

Worst of all, racism is a thing that is used to control us, and limit us, to keep us from working together to achieve our highest potential.