Arminio Defining Racism

Upon analyzing the readings for this week, two in particular stood out and intertwined the best to me. “Defining Racism,” by Tatum and “Wake up White People,” by Arminio related to each other well due to their messages about racism. I found that I opposed content in these passages greatly. “Defining Racism” was about how racism has a fluid definition that basically is an umbrella term for all mistreatment of those of a different ethnic background. The reading also noted that prejudice goes hand in hand with racism, saying that prejudice is what causes us to act deeper on the idea of racism. The article said that it was because of racism and prejudice that causes a colored person to be suspected for stealing when they are shopping. To this, I had a critical thought. How did the store owner come to the conclusion that they should suspect people—no matter what the color of their skin—of shop …show more content…
This loose definition of racism causes confusion and double standards across the board. Just last week, presidential candidate Hilary Clinton said that since she was the only female candidate in the race that she was being “racially discriminated against”. This comment alone clearly makes no sense but is a prime example of how having such a “fluid” definition of a term causes misuse and ignorance. Relating to the first reading, “Waking up White,” it discussed that white privilege is a real and thriving issue. This one was similar to the first reading because it went along with what it was saying about how white people have the privilege of not being anxious about becoming a victim of police brutality when they step outside, or being able to get accepted into jobs/college easier, just because they are white. Now, this caused me some major dissonance. While I was reading these I had a reoccurring question popping up in my head. Why is it okay to claim racism if you are black but not if you are white?