system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: It is possible to be racist against white people

Engaged in an ongoing debate with a friend who has recently become a bit of what we might term a "social justice warrior" and I would like to better understand his view, and perhaps alter mine if doing so is the rational thing. 

The belief I hold is simply that anyone may be disparaged based upon race, including whites. I believe racial stereotypes and slurs may be applied to whites and potentially cause emotional distress. I also feel that in addition to every other group of people throughout history, whites have been enslaved as well as, in this country specifically, denied employment and held up to abuse and ridicule (e.g. Italian and Irish immigrants). 

Let me be clear that I understand what institutionalized/systemic racism is, and I believe this term has been co-opted to suit the narrative of whites being immune to racism in general, erroneously because it is not the only - or the primary - definition of racism. Sociology teaches us that there is a fairly comprehensive spectrum of racism(s). 

I want to be clear that I do not consider myself a bigot, but I have been called one, and also called ignorant, repeatedly by this friend who recently had a dramatic change of heart. Thanks for reading, and good luck changing my view! :) 


*edit* - Thank you guys for the thoughtful discussion. Many good points raised. The result is that I acknowledge this country does not practice institutional racism against whites, but many of you seem to be agreeing that racist/prejudicial attitudes toward whites, as well as racial slurs, certainly exist, and should not be just brushed off and disregarded. So has my view been changed? Yes and also no. Thanks again!
gpt
By your definition, it is possible to be racist against white people. But people who say that it is impossible to be racist against white people are using a different definition of racism, as you acknowledged. They are using racism to indicate a systematic, institutionalized oppression that is built into our society. What you call racism, they would call bigotry.

I think you could try to focus on the point, rather than the semantics. The point is that a black person hating white people (what they would call bigotry) is not the same thing as the marginalization and oppression of black people (what they would call racism), and that to equate them is incorrect. The reason people started making this distinction was to emphasize the very important difference between the two.