Reverse Racism
”All Lives Matter.”
”White people get discriminated too.”
These are popular arguments among those who believe in the term.
In my most popular article, I go into detail about the differences between empowerment and objectification. A similar parallel can be made when talking about the differences between prejudice and discrimination when we consider some important factors.
”Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group.
For example, a person may hold prejudiced views towards a certain race or gender etc. (e.g. sexist).
”Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, especially on the basis of sex/race/social class, etc.”
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Prejudice and Discrimination. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html
I’ll ask Steemit again.
Who has the power?
More specifically, who has the power to act on their prejudice?
In almost all cases, it’s the dominant group (i.e. whites, males).
There are many examples throughout history that back these claims.
For example, Adolf Hitler was not only prejudice, he had the power to act upon this prejudice. Through this mass control and power he held, this resulted in discrimination (which is an understatement) towards Jewish peoples.
The same can be said when we look to America’s history with slavery. African American’s had zero power (again, an understatement) in comparison to white people.
”Racism and prejudice aren't quite the same thing. Racism, rather, is best known as a system in which a racial majority is able to enforce its power and privilege over another race through political, economic and institutional means. Therefore racism can be described as "prejudice plus power," as the two work together to create the system of inequality.” -Philip Lewis
While white people can be a victim of prejudice, but they can’t be a victim of racism, because white people are not oppressed.
”There has never, ever, ever been a national set of laws or system put in place to systematically oppress white people or push them to a status that is 'less than.” -Alexia LaFata
Reverse racism doesn’t exist. Period.
Next.
Reverse Sexism
Let’s take what we have learned about prejudice and discrimination and apply it here.
Sexism is another form of oppression.
Here is a refresher of what oppression is:
Oppression: 1. Prejudice and power. 2. The systemic expression of social inequality woven throughout institutions as well as embedded within individual consciousness.
Oppression fuses institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that saturate most aspects of life in our society.
- Oppression denotes structural and material constraints that significantly shape a person’s life chances and sense of possibility.
- Oppression also signifies a hierarchical relationship in which dominant or privileged groups benefit, often in unconscious ways, from the disempowerment of subordinated or targeted groups.
- Oppression resides not only in external social institutions and norms but also within the human psyche as well.
Now that we know that, we can focus on the real question.
Can marginalised people oppress those who oppress them?
Nope.
“No group that faces systemic oppression can oppress the group in the systemic way they have been oppressed.”
I understand that white people and men have their own set of issues. I am not belittling any of them. However, those issues are examples of prejudice, NOT discrimination. It’s not comparable.
Understanding who the dominant and subjugated groups are is necessary for us to deconstruct systems of oppression and seek to equalize them.
(source)
If you’re still unclear about some of the terms used in this article, here is a fantastic glossary that may help.
Thanks for reading,