Fair warning: this post involves a 12 minute long video that should be required viewing for all humans.
This is Jay Smooth. Watch to the end to find out his metaphor for racism.
This is Jay Smooth. Watch to the end to find out his metaphor for racism.
At its core, the message I get is this: there are no racist people, there are just racist thoughts and actions. Good, because I see racist, classist, sexist, transphobic, ableist, and homophobic thoughts go through my head all the time. Sometimes, I speak or act on those thoughts before I realize what they are. This makes me feel shame because I see the prejudice inside of me. But shame doesn't make those thoughts go away. And so in the past I've been left wondering, "Underneath everything I try to do to be good, am I really just a prejudiced asshole?"
As an American, I have marinated in all the "isms" America has to offer. They have been baked into me by the media, the people around me, and the institutions that our country is built on. I can't take out my "isms" any more than I could take back the egg from a freshly-baked cake.
The best I can do is call my "ismic" thoughts for what are they are, as they come, ideally before those thoughts are translated into words or actions. Brush those teeth!
As an American, I have marinated in all the "isms" America has to offer. They have been baked into me by the media, the people around me, and the institutions that our country is built on. I can't take out my "isms" any more than I could take back the egg from a freshly-baked cake.
The best I can do is call my "ismic" thoughts for what are they are, as they come, ideally before those thoughts are translated into words or actions. Brush those teeth!