Does the word “racist” retain any of its original and colloquial meaning these days? It’s used in a variety of ways, here are some examples:
1. “I disagree with you.” When racism is used in this situation, it signifies a difference of political opinion. For instance, if I support building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border but you don’t, you would accuse me of holding that position because I am a racist rather than because there is merit to my opinion. It absolves the racism accuser from the responsibility of considering another opinion or explaining their charge in order to be triumphant in the battle of ideas. Which leads to:
2. “I don’t have any justification for my differing opinion.” What do you do when you are operating strictly from emotion and not reason? You can’t engage in a dialogue based on logic so you divert and shut down the conversation. Pulling out the racist card turns the exchange from one of ideas to a defense of character. The aggressor can sit back and watch his mark try and deny he is a racist and he doesn’t have to come up with justifications for his opinions.
3. “I am special and I don’t have to have a reason for my ideas.” In this case we have secret, unarticulated criteria that doesn’t match the commonly understood definition of racism but brings with it the consequences of the actual definition of racism, like ostracism. A frequent occurrence is when questioning is directed toward a group or member of a group that has self-designated as protected from justifying their policy positions, by a member of a racial group that is not protected from doing so. But these group relationships are not constant, they are relative to where each of the adversaries are located on an ephemeral victim index. Therefore depending on the dramatis personae, a perpetrator in one situation might be a victim in another. It’s confusing.
Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) seems to understand the game being played, a game that has been going on for decades. Every Republican president or presidential candidate was accused of being a racist and Trump is no different and he’s not special.
Something I have learned:
If you are a Republican nominee for President – or President – you will be accused of being a racist.
John Lewis compared John McCain’s campaign to being like that of George Wallace.
It comes with the territory unfortunately.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 18, 2019
Graham was trying to explain that disagreeing with Rep. Ilhan Omar isn’t based on her race, it’s based on a disagreement with her own comments and words.
Like me, President @realDonaldTrump’s problem with Congresswoman @ilhanMN Omar isn’t where she’s from but the way she:
▶️ Belittles our country,
▶️ Shows sympathy for those who tried to join ISIS to kill Americans, and…— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 18, 2019
But Omar doesn’t have to explain herself and the media never ask her to do so, she gets a pass and anyone who disagrees with her doesn’t do so in a good faith effort, but does so because Omar is a Somali-Muslim. So if you take issue her cavalier description of a terrorist attack that killed 3,000 innocent Americans or you think she is making comments that are anti-Semitic, it’s never because there’s reason for it and always because of her race. It’s great Graham understands the game but the only way to win is not to play.
Image from Getty Images.