Reverse racism is a myth

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Get over yourself. For white people, so-called racism is about hurt feelings. For people of color and Indigenous folks, its about dying.

People march during a demonstration and march around Iowa City on Saturday, June 6, 2020. People gathered to share stories and educate others about racism before marching around downtown Iowa City and observing a moment of silence in honor of George Floyd. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

white people. That statement alone could be interpreted a lot of different ways but, in todays current climate, Ive come to notice white people get defensive and upset about being called just that: white. Now, some of that stems from the embarrassment and shame that comes with a long and unsavory history of slavery and ongoing racial discrimination, which is understandable. But some of what Ive been experiencing as a Black, multiracial woman as of late from fellow white co-workers, friends or mutuals is rather an agitation at being Othered or at the very least singled out to put in real work for actionable change rather than just reap the benefits of white privilege without being questioned. And then there are the folks who feel being called white people is racist and exclusionary.

My response to this offense that white people may experience at being called white is this: Get over yourself.

I saw a tweet the other day that succinctly explains this:

White people often get really offended by being called white or settler. They say it’s racist because for white people racism is about hurt feelings. Being excluded.

For Black and Indigenous people it is about dying.

Big difference.

— daanis (@gindaanis) October 7, 2022

For white people, being called white is about hurt feelings. Its about feeling singled out and put on the spot for some of the privileges they may be afforded, based on their race. For people of color and Indigenous people, being called the N-word or an associated derogatory term based on their race is about survival, as their race informs almost every aspect of how they live their life in society. For minorities, racism is about dying not hurt feelings.

And how do we see this play out in real life? Food insecurity, housing displacement and segregation, unequal access to health care and health care inequities, the school to prison pipeline, police brutality the list goes on. All these factors can lead to premature death. And these things are also normalized. Its no surprise. We know it exists. We know its a problem. We know its a pervasive system that affects virtually every aspect of how we live our lives. And weve become complacent with that reality comfortable even.

Just one example of this is that while Iowas state population of non-white residents is 9.9 percent, according to the US Census Bureau, Iowa had the fifth lowest Black homeownership rate among all states at a rate of 23.4 percent, with a white homeownership rate of 74.2 percent, reports the US Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. This should come as no surprise as Iowa is already known to suffer some of the worst racial disparities in the country. In fact, Iowa is ranked as the third worst state for Black Americans, according to a study published in February by 24/7 Wall St.

That all said, race is tricky. Its a social construct. Racism is less tricky, as its specifically the state-sanctioned or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death, says prison abolitionist and scholar Ruth Wilson Gilmore in her book, Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California. Its about power and control.

When I call you a white person I guess I'm doing the same thing. I'm reminding you which group you belong to. Who claims you even if they might not like your politics. Whose world you will be safe in even if you don't like theirs

I'm reminding you that you have responsibilities

— 🔥 daanis 🧡 (@gindaanis) October 7, 2022

In a world today where white people seem to be fascinated by minority culture cue the cultural appropriation they take what aspects they like and want without considering the consequence of their actions, without considering how those actions affect the culture theyve exploited. And then those white people reap the profits. And as people of color, we are left with nothing but the broken pieces of our identity and a small semblance of the autonomy we kid ourselves into believing we had.

I suppose what Im asking is that we all take accountability for what we can to make this state, this nation, a better place. Iowa used to be known as the place with fields of opportunity. I hope one day, it can live up to that slogan.

Nichole Shaw is a Gazette editorial fellow. Comments: [email protected]

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