I originally intended to do this blog post last week, but Faith Goldy’s bid for mayor resulted in a delay.
I can’t recall when excuses such as “I have black friends” became such a popular crutch for racists and racism apologists. While many people see the excuse as outdated, or just played out, it remains popular. Of course, there are also other variants e.g. “I have a black wife” or “I work with black people.”
The final piece of the puzzle that led to the initial thoughts for this blog post, was a Mark Manson article about Elliot Rodger. Manson makes a point about the lack of empathy that prevents people from seeing the warning signs for school shootings, but he also discounted the idea that Elliot Rodger was racist. Why did he discard that idea? Because Rodger was Asian.
First, this point assumes that only white people can be racist. Next, it also demonstrates the most basic level of research: Looking at a picture. Instead of using Google to dredge up the racist comments Rodger made.
Second, his point assumes that racism is logical. Rodger is half-Asian. He is a minority, and should understand discrimination and therefore not be racist himself. Also, why would someone who is half-Asian hate other Asian people?
Rodger loved his Asian mother, as evidenced by his manifesto, but he also said full-blooded Asians were “disgustingly ugly.” Rodger’s thoughts aren’t necessarily logical. He sought blonde white women exclusively. Maybe we can trace this to the dominant issues of beauty in the media he watched. That might give us some logic, but we can’t confirm that is the cause. Either way, we have a half-Asian man who loved his Asian mother, and despises Asian people.
People tend to forget that racism is ultimately about emotion: The way a certain group of people make you feel. Emotions are not always logical. If someone punches you in the face it is logical to be mad at them. It might not be logical to feel rage-inducing jealousy if you see your girlfriend talking to a male coworker.
The point being, racism is founded on something that is not always logical. We can’t treat it like an equation e.g. X has Y friends, therefore X can’t hate Y. I view this grade school logic as a result of the desire to derail conversations on racism, since it makes people uncomfortable. A sad truth is that something that is disruptive, or divisive, is necessary sometimes.
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