Reverse Racism Essay

Recently, accounts of “reverse racism” or “reverse discrimination”, wherein a member of a majority group claims to be a target of racial discrimination from a member of a minority group, have become more common. Accusations of reverse racism are often used in controversies surrounding matters such as the Employment Equity Act, the fact that Canada celebrates Black History Month but does not have a White History Month, and the fact that many post-secondary institutions have minority-specific groups. These claims of reverse racism are not true acts of racism. As a result of the social, political, economic, and systematic advantages majority racial groups hold in comparison to minority groups in Canada, reverse racism is not a prevalent issue …show more content…
Prejudice, for example, is defined as a feeling of dislike for a particular racial ethnicity or group. Discrimination is prejudice plus actions such as harassment, social exclusion, and employment, housing, and educational discrimination that harm the group. Racism is discrimination plus an institutionalization of those discriminatory acts which are then perpetuated by society. When members of a majority claim that they are victims of reverse racism, what they are actually experiencing are acts of prejudice. It is completely possible for White people to be victims of prejudice, but that does not mean they are being oppressed. In order for someone to be a victim of racism, it is required for that act to be perpetuated by society. In a society where people of European descent are favoured and privileged in almost every way, it is impossible for those acts to become institutionalized, perpetuated, or have any lasting effect. Temporary hurt feelings caused by prejudice do not even begin to compare to the lasting effects that acts of racism inflict on people of colour every single day of their