You Might Be A Racist If...RedState Edition

RedState's Jeff Emanuel and commenter reaction to Eric Holder's speech on race inspired this piece on You Might Be a Racist...

You might be a racist if every time you hear a black person talk about race, you bitch about how black people need to stop talking about race.

You might be a racist if every time you hear a black person talk about race, you feel the need to mention the small number of important black people you can think of or the black people you know personally.

You might be a racist if every time you hear a black person talk about race, you imagine it's part of some big ploy to undermine you and steal power from your race.

You might be a racist if you think people think you're racist for not supporting Obama.

You might be a racist if you talk about how you will be physically harmed for not supporting Obama.

You might be a racist if you insist that only people who talk about race are racists and that you and all your white friends are "colorblind."

You might be a racist if you think your one black neighbor is proof that you're not a racist.

Same goes for the black co-worker you sometimes hang out with.

You might be a racist if you think that only white people are allowed to defend themselves because you're sick of white people being the only group who can't defend themselves.

You might be a racist if you complain that non-whites have special advantages that are denied to white people.

You might be a racist if you think it's time for you and your white buddies to stand-up against the racist minorities attacking you.

You might be a racist if your anecdotes of welfare cheats require you to state the cheater's race.

You definitely are a racist if you imagine your anecdotes about one person in a race is indicative of others in that race.

You might be a racist if you have to keep telling people you're not a racist.

You might be a racist if it angers you to hear a black person talk about race.

You might be a racist if you only enjoy hearing white people talk about race; particularly if it's only when they bash black people for talking about race.

Lastly, you might be a racist if, when hearing a black person complain about racists, you immediately assume he's talking about you.

Anti-Race Conservativism

The irony is that Holder wasn't actually addressing the issues of overt racism. Rather, he was speaking about the people who aren't particularly racist, but still refuse to acknowledge the racial divides that clearly still exist. He wasn't denouncing open discrimination or hyping affirmative action. Yet, every one of those RedStaters imagined they were being labeled racist and many of them mocked him for pushing affirmative action. They didn't even try to understand his point. They just kept insisting that they weren't racists and attacking Holder for suggesting they were.

But of course, that's what the new racism is all about. It's not explicitly about white people being better than black people. It's a defensiveness which attacks non-white people for not letting them do whatever the hell they want to do. They demand the right to be racist, as well as the right to not be called racist. It's all about how they're under attack. They don't hate black people. They just hate the way most black people behave and are upset that anyone is blaming them for the bad things that happen to black people, when those people clearly deserve what they get.

And that's not really a "new" racism, as that's been the basis for the White Power movement all along: White people are under attack and need to defend themselves against the outsiders. And they do this because that's their only way to self-identify. They know who they are based upon who they are not: They're not non-white, non-Christian, or liberal. Outside of that identity, they don't know who they are or what they believe in.

And that's why they're so offended by Holder's comments, as well as anyone else who talks about race: Being offended at this stuff is what they do. For them to be offended at Holder's speech is like an environmentalist being offended by litter. And that's entirely obvious from the post and the comments: When they're not hyping their black friends and colorblindness, they're bitching about what people of color are doing to them and how they should fight back.

That's not to say that these people necessarily are racists. Merely that their group identity involves activities which help propagate racism. And in the end, the difference between racists and anti-race conservatives is probably not one worth making. Racist is as racist does. These people may identify as being non-racist, but their actions tell a different story.