im white. im not a damn liberal. but i do understand the power of words (something i credit malcolm x for, actually)

let me make this simple. the english language has a lot of different words, with a lot of different meanings.

bigotry, racism, hate, prejudice, discrimination, oppression, etc etc etc…different words, different meanings.

and sure, that means you actually have to put your thinking cap on before running your mouth. and horrors, it gets worse: because context, situation and date put their stamp indeliably upon language

so, let’s break it down:

prejudice: pre judging someone. not necessarily a bad thing, in part a survival skill. often wrong, but prejudging folks due to the color of their skin isnt simply just wrong, it’s silly, because most likely, your going to be wrong. and who wants to be wrong? which is why folks will rationalize things to make thing fit into their pre judgements

hate: pretty simple, right? (and to quote Bill Russell: the opposite of love is not, but indifference. the opposite of hate is also indiffernce.) it’s irrationality as emotion. and when you combine hate with prejudice, you get…

bigotry: to hate someone because of their skin color, nationality, religion. frankly, this is what people incorrectly think racism is. Now, to be remembered: bigotry is passive, it’s a feeling towards a group. when out into practice, it’s called…

discrimination: the ACT of taking one’s bigotry and using it to deny a person or group of something. When discrimination is organized and instituionalized to keep an entire group of people down, that is called…

oppression: the systematic use of discrimination to keep another group at a disadvantage, or to give the “majority” (talking power, not numbers. think South Africa to understand).

so what is racism?

Racism isnt simply not liking someone because of their race or nationality. that is bigotry. different words, different meanings, different context. No, racism is the midpoint of oppression and bigotry. Racism is the systemic and institutionalized use of race to keep a group at a disadvantage

so yes, everyone can be hateful, everyone can be prejudiced, everyone can be bigots, and on a micro level, pretty much everyone can discriminate when it comes to race.

But oppression, racism? that’s a different dynamic. Now, let’s talk context. In America, in this day, do blacks or hipanics have the ability as groups to systematically use discrimination against whites to keep them at a disadvantage? obviously not. can black folk be bigots? dear god yes, and i know many of them. can they be racist?

if you understand and respect the english language, no.

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now, as for Thicke:

now, need to hear vibe’s side, however, with a history of other white artists on vibe’s cover, this probably isnt a black/white thing, but rather a “you just aint that good” thing. no offense to you thicke, but your music is alright, but nothing that jumps off the page

BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES

BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES
BLACKS CAN BE JUST AS RACIST AS WHITES