What’s the worst thing you can call a white person?  Expletives? Insults? What really upsets them? Want to see a white person get super indignant?  Tell them they’re racist. Hell, don’t even call them one outright…just infer it and watch the sputtering rage.  Or don’t even call them one, just imply whites in general are.  That’s all it takes to crank white people up…the very idea that white people are racist.  Which is crazy because, well, white people are racist.

Not all white people!  I’m not a racist!  I have black friends and our kids play together! I’ve dated people of color, how can I be racist?  I treat everyone the same regardless of color..black, white, brown, purple it doesn’t matter to me! I always speak up when people say racist things!  I don’t stand for unequal treatment for anyone!!  I’m one of the good ones!

Let’s set one thing straight. This isn’t about individual actions. I don’t do racist things and try to be really mindful in my actions at all times. I’ve had difficult conversations with people about race and how it shapes our reality.  I try very hard to accept people exactly as they are and where they are. I am also a racist.  I was the moment I was born. If you’re white, so were you.

America is racist.  Our entire society is racially biased, it’s core being white supremacy.  It’s been designed and maintained to benefit us. I’ve gone over this in earlier blogs and it’s easy enough to verify. Of course, we never learned this in any of our history classes. That was the history of the dominant voice. White history.  Of course, it highlights the bravery and ingenuity of the white race. History is written by the victors, who often leave out exactly how they became victorious. ( Smallpox blankets anyone?)

We were told we were special.  Our nation was started by exceptional men who believed in liberty and justice for all. We were chosen by God to carve out a nation from the wilderness.  We were chosen because we were good, we were special in God’s eyes. America was blessed…how could we not be?  We built this mighty nation ourselves. America is great because it’s people are great. The problem lies in who we consider real Americans.  When we think of Americans we default to white.  Anyone else isn’t a “real” American.

Our entire system benefits “real” Americans.  You are born with that privilege if you’re white. It doesn’t matter if you’re from a poor white family. You still have advantages no person of color will have.  You are given a leg up.  You get to start the race 10 paces ahead. You benefit from the systemic racism our Founding Fathers (slaveholders many) built into the government. Disagree? Read the history of the electoral college. Read about the 13th amendment.(watch 13th on Netflix)  Dig deeper into what happened during Reconstruction.  America is a racist state and you benefit from that.

So, no you’re not burning crosses on someone’s lawn. You are still participating in a system of government that does not treat everyone equally.  You are living in a society that is downright dangerous for many people. (Today is Trayvon Martin’s birthday) We are more upset at being called a racist than we are about brown children being housed in concentration camps.  Until it changes, we are all complicit. We are all racist.