Why I'm a racist and you might be one too
By: James Edward Dillard, There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Opinion
Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make.
I'm a racist.
Until a couple of nights ago, such a thought had never entered my mind. My white pillowcase doesn't have any eyeholes; I've never burnt a cross or tied a noose.
More than that, I like black people. Not just the ones I know, either. I was excited when my hometown Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as its first black head coach because it meant a step toward equality in Pittsburgh.
And I considered myself enlightened. I'd seen "Crash." I knew about white privilege. I was smart enough to know racists still exist, but surely I wasn't one of them.
So imagine my surprise when I found out I was wrong.
Allow me to explain. On Sunday night, after having dinner at Franklin Street Pizza and Pasta, my buddy Duncan and I were walking back to campus when a black man approached us.
He was bald and wearing a coat. In his left hand was a Styrofoam cup. As he walked passed us, he extended his arm and said, "Wassup man?"
Immediately, without thinking, I stuck my hands into my pockets and shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry sir, I don't have any change," I said.
Problem is he wasn't panhandling. When he made this clear, I begged forgiveness. Fortunately for me, he was kind and accepted my apology. I couldn't have blamed him had he punched me in the face. But that's not the point.
The point is that in my mind "black guy" plus "cup in hand" plus "Franklin Street" equaled "panhandler."
Does this make me a racist? I think it does. At the very least, I'm guilty of racial stereotyping. Such stereotyping seems innocent at first - after all, most panhandlers downtown are black men - but this "harmless" stereotyping can be particularly corrosive.
Have a black friend? Ask them if they've ever been pulled over for DWB - driving while black.
And it gets even more subtle from there. Consider the 2004 study "Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal?" by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan.
I'm a racist.
Until a couple of nights ago, such a thought had never entered my mind. My white pillowcase doesn't have any eyeholes; I've never burnt a cross or tied a noose.
More than that, I like black people. Not just the ones I know, either. I was excited when my hometown Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as its first black head coach because it meant a step toward equality in Pittsburgh.
And I considered myself enlightened. I'd seen "Crash." I knew about white privilege. I was smart enough to know racists still exist, but surely I wasn't one of them.
So imagine my surprise when I found out I was wrong.
Allow me to explain. On Sunday night, after having dinner at Franklin Street Pizza and Pasta, my buddy Duncan and I were walking back to campus when a black man approached us.
He was bald and wearing a coat. In his left hand was a Styrofoam cup. As he walked passed us, he extended his arm and said, "Wassup man?"
Immediately, without thinking, I stuck my hands into my pockets and shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry sir, I don't have any change," I said.
Problem is he wasn't panhandling. When he made this clear, I begged forgiveness. Fortunately for me, he was kind and accepted my apology. I couldn't have blamed him had he punched me in the face. But that's not the point.
The point is that in my mind "black guy" plus "cup in hand" plus "Franklin Street" equaled "panhandler."
Does this make me a racist? I think it does. At the very least, I'm guilty of racial stereotyping. Such stereotyping seems innocent at first - after all, most panhandlers downtown are black men - but this "harmless" stereotyping can be particularly corrosive.
Have a black friend? Ask them if they've ever been pulled over for DWB - driving while black.
And it gets even more subtle from there. Consider the 2004 study "Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal?" by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 32
w
posted 10/30/07 @ 7:56 AM EST
Spot on with your social psychology. All but the most backwards of us know that racism is wrong, and don't consider ourselves to be racists, and that's how these types of latent racism sneak through. (Continued…)
William
posted 10/30/07 @ 8:37 AM EST
After reading your commentary, I can only surmise you are either an idiot or a left winger consumed by "White Guilt," as Shelby Steele would say. (Surf over to this web address and read about how and why, you are NOT a racist. (Continued…)
William
posted 10/30/07 @ 8:38 AM EST
After reading your commentary, I can only surmise you are either an idiot or a left winger consumed by "White Guilt," as Shelby Steele would say. (Surf over to this web address and read about how and why, you are NOT a racist. (Continued…)
Russ
posted 10/30/07 @ 8:39 AM EST
It goes beyond the profiling. For me, it starts when you call me "bro" when my black friends never address me in that manner. Of course the assumption from the frat boys that I sell the much desired powdered cocaine that they need for their mixer. (Continued…)
Ryan
posted 10/30/07 @ 10:24 AM EST
.... Social Profiling.... know I love when this topic comes up and time after time you hear whites being accused. The fact remains that this is not something limited to the white community. (Continued…)
Sara
posted 10/30/07 @ 10:34 AM EST
This column reflects an honest and realistic portrayal of the struggle of all people to live in world that teaches us to be racist.
Thank you to James for owning that title, and by doing so, allowing us all to do the same. (Continued…)
elitist
posted 10/30/07 @ 12:36 PM EST
So the man happened to be black...it's a coincidence that does not make you racist. You are elitist. You discriminated against him based on what you thought his financial situation was. (Continued…)
racism = system of white privilege
posted 10/30/07 @ 1:44 PM EST
To all those who keep saying black people act "just as racist" as white people...
You are defining racism as individual feelings and stereotypes and ignoring the entire social context surrounding them. (Continued…)
J
posted 10/30/07 @ 2:35 PM EST
Everyone stereotypes, get over it, it doesn't make you racist. Every time I go into a country convenience store and the clerk, who has two front teeth, is chain smoking I wonder what time she is going home to her trailer to watch NASCAR. (Continued…)
dudes, come on now
posted 10/30/07 @ 3:57 PM EST
Everyone, this is NOT about race!!!!! Holy crap get a clue. It's about poverty/homelessness, and the fact that there has been very little progress towards the panhandlers on Franklin St. (Continued…)
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