WHO IS SAYING WHAT

Over at Texas Fred's, he's asking What Makes a Racist? Texas Fred finally asks in the end, "Why is it that only whites can be racists?" I would surmise there may not be complete agreement on what the definition of racism is, and therefore what it is that makes someone a 'racist' becomes less than clear.

When someone throws out the term 'racist' or 'racism', are they thinking in terms of individual racism or institutional racism? Racism is generally regarded as someone having the belief that there are differences biologically inherent between specific races which make one race superior over another and should therefore, generally speaking, have the right to rule over the 'inferior' race as well.

I have heard members in the black community express the theory that only the 'majority group' can be 'racist'; a member of the minority group cannot be racist. This argument would seem to hold more weight under the scrutiny of institutional racism than it does through the lens of individual racism.

In my humble opinion, if you believe the race you belong to is superior to someone else's race, and because of it, you personally feel you are better than the individual of the other race, empowering yourself to act in a manner that is harmful to the other, then you have engaged in an act of racist behavior irrespective of whether 'your group' is in the majority or the minority.