One of the easiest things to do when facing problems is blaming someone else. It is especially prevalent in the racial tensions plaguing us as a society. This shift of blame goes in many directions: black to white, white to black and so on.
Despite popular sentiment, we arguably live in most racially harmonious time country in human history. Where else in the world at any given point in history have such a diverse group of ethnicities coexisted in such relative peace?
Of course, there are instances of real racism in America, and denying or ignoring these instances is morally wrong. However, the line between actual racism and imagined racism is constantly being blurred.
In instances of actual racism, we should come together to condemn those acts and fight to fix the wrongs caused by them. Racism is evil and should be vigorously fought by anyone and everyone with decent moral conviction.
The problem in American society today is that the definition of racism is being redefined to tailor to certain agendas.
These agendas aim to broaden the definition of racism to include actions and ideas that used to not be traditionally seen as racist.
By doing so, racism can be claimed more frequently to justify perceived injustices and difficulties.
Traditionally, racism has been defined as the actions, intents and words used to antagonize people of different races. Now, racism is being redefined as who you are and what group you belong to instead of what you actually do and say.
This tribalistic, intersectional approach to race is extremely detrimental to fragile race relations because of the way it allows blame to be placed on whole groups of people rather than on individuals.
It pits neighbor against neighbor and categorizes people by their skin color, not their actions and ideas.
Last week, horrid comedian Chelsea Handler called Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson a “black white supremacist.” She did this because he happens to be a black conservative and, since blacks typically swing Democrat, he must be against blacks and therefore racist.
Examples like this highlight how the term racist is thrown around nonsensically. Carson is obviously not a black white supremacist, but the meaning of racism has changed to include people who have different political views than the majority of their race.
The solution is putting greater emphasis on individual actions than on groups as a whole. This outlook puts very little stock in blaming others and great emphasis on personal choices made by individuals. Applying this principle to racism requires us to look at the traditional definition and collectively condemning individuals who do racist things, not entire groups.
However, we see this behavior all the time. Many blacks falsely denounce all white people as racist, and whites assume the worst cultural stereotypes about all black people. The cycle goes on and only worsens the divide caused by actual instances of racism.
Our society should move toward using facts and actions to call out racism and injustice. Not unspecified accusations that cast blame on everyone and no one at the same time.
Certain movements and agendas don’t want to take this approach. Movements like Black Lives Matter and the alt-right both promote this tribalistic view of racism. They do so to justify non-racist things as racist to further their own agenda.
Groups likes these purposely create fictitious racial narratives for personal gain. Supporters of these groups blindly listen to those messages and distort those already false racial narratives to fit their needs.
A great term for this is imagined racism, and it’s a real thing that provides people with excuses and solutions for the problems they experience.
Imagined racism is merely a way to claim victimhood status, which is becoming increasingly popular. Being a victim is hip because if you are a victim you don’t have to take personal responsibility for any of your problems. This victim mentality only serves to dilute the racial landscape so it becomes impossible to tell the difference between non-racism and actual racism.
By overusing and misusing the word racism, people who actually experience racism probably have a less likely chance of getting the help and justice they deserve.
Let’s start bettering ourselves as individuals so society as a whole will be bettered. The truth is no one cares enough about you to throw roadblocks in your path to success. We must stop blaming other people for personal and cultural problems we possess the power to fix.
Jacob Maranto is 21-year-old mass communication senior from Plaquemine, Louisiana.