What does “racism” mean? Part 0/5 — Introductory Exposition

I generally try to write essays which can be read in a sensible amount of time. There might be some amount of re-read value to some of them if I’m doing it right but in general I try to make sure that anyone who wants to read one of my pieces can do so in under ten minutes and get the full breadth of an argument in a single sitting. I sat down this weekend to address the question of what “racism” means and intended to hit that same goal. I failed miserably. I simply don’t think that I have the necessary eloquence to answer that question in a format which can be effective in under ten minutes. My new plan is to write in a format which can be effective in under an hour. The essay will proceed in six parts including this introductory exposition in which I shallowly discuss several meta-issues and finally present the outline of what is to come. I expect to publish each part of this essay over the course of the next week or two.

So, what does “racism” mean? Most people think they know the answer to that question. At least, they think that when you first ask them. Many people will admit after thinking about it for a little while that there are many aspects of racism that are confusing and unclear. There are fuzzy boundaries in between extremes. It’s clear that burning crosses in black people’s yards is racist and that having dinner with an interracial couple isn’t but is it racist to use that second example? Does it caricature a couple and reduce them to nothing but their race? Does it imply that having dinner with an interracial couple means that you’re not racist? Does it tokenize associations in order to make moral claims about one party in the relationship? Is it racist to talk about race? I don’t pose these questions rhetorically. These are real questions which I’ve heard asked in good faith by friends of mine. I’m going to try to unpack a bunch of ideas related to racism and I can promise you that some of the things I say will be considered racist by some people. They won’t necessarily even be wrong. Meaning is use and the meaning of “racism” varies from person to person. Even by my own understanding of the term I may be behaving in some way which I myself would consider racist if only I understood things better. I simply don’t believe that the possibility that I’m wrong or that people might perceive me the wrong way for addressing this topic are particularly good reasons not to.

My attempt here will be to elaborate on the core meaning of the word “racism” as I understand it based upon my experience and interaction with members of many different subcultures in America. This essay will not set out to specifically make empirical claims about many important questions such as “Is <X> racist?” unless that question is specifically useful in understanding the meaning of the words. That is the specific intent of this essay. To examine what an American might mean when they say particular words are phrases. Not whether they’re right or wrong. Just what do they actually mean by the words themselves? Wecan’t begin a debate about the empirical realities of our society until we all understand what the words that each other are saying mean.

Of course, the way in which I’m analyzing this from an American English perspective makes this limited in yet another manner. I have no experience with, personal knowledge of or confidence about racism found in cultures outside of America. Are African tribal wars a form of racism? Is the Indian caste system a form of racism? What about conflicts between Protestants and Catholics? Conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis? I haven’t the slightest clue. I neither have personal experiences related to those nor an understanding of the cultural contexts in which they occur. I am, to the core of my being, American. I love to learn about the cultures of other people around the world. I lived in Germany for several years and have had the privilege to travel throughout the Middle East and Europe. I intend to continue those travels and spend time with every culture in the world if possible. At the end of all that traveling though I’ll still be American and this will by necessity be an understanding of “racism” through American eyes.

Then of course there’s the other elephant in the room. I’m super white. I’m the sort of white that just makes you think, “I bet his name is Tad or Connor or Blake or something” and you’d be right! This is very much an explanation of the meaning of the word “racism” from a white perspective. I’m aware of this which is why I am primarily writing this for a white audience. People of color in America don’t need some white dude explaining to them what “racism” is. They know. They live with it every day and in fact they’re the ones who taught me most of this stuff. If there’s anything of value which I believe people of color might gain from this essay, it’s a more thorough understanding of the degree to which most white people are ignorant on this topic. Learning the things I’m expressing here wasn’t easy. The truth hid in very hard to reach places and I’m not done learning yet. The work is certainly worth the gain but I understand why more white people don’t know these things. Hopefully this explanation will make it easier for some people to learn.

Here is the overview of the structure of what is to come:

Part 1 — What does “meaning” mean?
This may sound overly meta but I’ve never published an essay directly addressing semantic theory before and too many people mistakenly believe that “meaning” is about definitions. Definitions are nothing more than taxonomical tools intended to very roughly approximate meaning. In this section I will talk about the distinction between definition and meaning and establish exactly how the bounds of “meaning” will be reflected in the rest of the essay. Ultimately it establishes that in order to understand the meaning of “racism” there are two related senses of the term which must first be understood separately before being understood together.

Part 2 — What does “race” mean?
It’s essentially impossible to understand what “racism” means without understanding what “race” means. Much like “racism” most people think they understand what “race” means right up until the point when they start thinking about it. As soon as people begin examining the concept they quickly become aware of how slippery and fuzzy it is. This section will try to parse apart different components of the meaning of the word “race” and establish an understanding of this word useful for understanding “racism” in its various forms.

Part 3 — What does “individual racism” mean?
“Individual racism” is one of the two senses of racism which will be examined. This is the most commonly understood meaning of racism in which one individual is doing things like insulting, discriminating against or committing violent attacks against someone on the basis of their race. This section examines both the sliding scale of activities which might possibly fall under this label as well as some of the underlying psycho-social phenomenon related to it.

Part 4 — What does “systemic racism” mean?
“Systemic racism” is a newer phrase which some people say is a brand new invention which moves the goalposts. Other people say that “systemic racism” is intrinsically tied to “individual racism” and that in order to address “racism” you need to address both. In both cases it is still important to understand what is meant by “systemic racism” and in this section I will try to treat it as independently from “individual racism” as I possibly can. This will largely be done through an examination of the concept “racism without racist individuals”.

Part 5 — What does “racism” mean?
This section is where I bring it all together. Hopefully by the end of this section I will have sufficiently described all of the relevant aspects of the semantics of the word “racism” for my readers to understand it in many different pragmatic contexts. It will cover various usages such as: “we need to end racism”, “affirmative action is reverse racism” or “racism’s over why can’t people just move one”. People are using the same word but in dramatically different and complex ways. Some of them are implicitly negating part of the understanding of the word held by others. Some of them are freezing the understanding of the term at an arbitrary point in history. Some truly are attempting to expand the meaning of the word beyond its current borders. Hopefully by the end of this my readers will have a better understanding of the relevant factors and communication will be easier because people will understand, at least a little better, what each other is saying.