Racism defined:
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.
And then there is…
Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on wanting to believe that one’s own race is superior.
But people seldom separate those two definitions. The truth is that a person can fit the first definition but not fall into the second definition. A person can be racist but not hate people of the other race. A person can be a racist and still want to be kind and helpful and do justice for people of other races.
On twitter some ignorant people did some tweets that referred to Abe Lincoln as not a racist. He was a racist within the first definition. That does not mean he did not want to help people of other races.
So what is my point?
Do you enter a foot race with the intention of losing it? Probably not.
When you play football do you want to be the worst player out there? I kind of doubt it.
Would you enter an Ugly Contest so people might tell you that you are the most ugly person on the stage? I don’t think so.
We all have a desire to be superior. If everyone was happy with being ignorant and inferior, society would never move forward. We would still be living in the cave age. There are times I think that might be a good thing but that is a counter argument to my point.
So what is my point. On some level everyone is a racist within the first definition. So that is not really an insult. But if you are mean to people of other races, if you put people down and never try to lift them up, you might not consider yourself a racist but you are a bad person. Often the root of the second definition of racism is not really the feeling of superiority but rather it comes from having a very intense inferiority complex. People who put people down and are mean do so often because they don’t feel good about themselves.
So if you encounter someone who is behaving badly toward other people, should the proper response be to call them a racist. No. You ignore the bad and you try to lift them up. Always try to lift people up. Don’t put them down.