The Most Basic Definition of Racism (And How to Know If You’re Part of the Problem)

Racism isn’t hard to understand. If you hate or you believe that you are inherently better than another person because their skin color is different from yours, that’s racist. If a white man murders eight Asian people, six of them women, because he needed to “remove the temptation” for his sex addiction, that’s both racism and misogyny. If you feel justified in attacking, assaulting, harassing, berating, or otherwise bothering elderly Asian folks because the way they look reminds you of COVID-19, you’re a racist. If you think doing the above to any Asian people at all, of any gender, age, or ethnicity is a good idea then you’re a racist.

Killing eight people isn’t a “bad day” like the police officer said. It’s murder, racism, and mental instability. When I have a bad day I want to cry or I want to scream. I vehemently do not want to go murder anyone. Everyone has bad days. In fact, I’d venture to say that every single person on the planet has the occasional bad day. However, the majority of people don’t use that bad day as an excuse to go on a racially-motivated killing spree.

We all know by now that crimes against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community have risen 1900% in the last year. That’s an absolutely mind-boggling number, right on par with the number of people who’ve died from COVID-19 in the United States because certain individuals chose to politicize a public health crisis instead of actually doing something about it. But, I digress.

Racism isn’t a black and white issue. Well, it is; and it isn’t. Racism includes Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Native Americans, Black Americans and anyone else who might be hated for something they were born with and cannot change. If your ego is so fragile that you need to tear someone else down to build yourself up, maybe you should do a little soul searching and figure that out. Stop taking it out on innocent people. It cannot possibly be this difficult. Stop killing, hurting, and demeaning others.

Please do not conflate my righteous indignation and anger for lack of intellect. I have spent most of my life trying to be polite, kind, and nice to people, even, or maybe especially, those I disagree with most. I am merely exhausted. (Imagine how the victims of racism must feel!!) However, racism isn’t a difference of opinion. Racism is inherently evil, will not be tolerated, and will get called out by me.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this racism primer. Have a great day!