Avery at Stereo Describes My Scenario

Racism is sort of like a mild cuss word in the sense that it gets too much use to be of any real meaning. There was once a time when hearing the word "bitch" on televison was shocking. Heads snapped to attention and jaws dropped in amazement. Nowadays, while some people may find it offensive, it's not exactly a surprise. We hear it so much that it's become almost passe. Same principle applies to racism.

We're quick to draw the word racism or racist, but what does that really mean? I've said before that to some people, any time someone of a different race is uncourteous or shows some sign of dislike, the problem is automatically race. And I've also already said that everybody has the right to dislike anybody else for any reason. So then how can I tell the difference between somebody disliking me as an individual vs. somebody disliking me for phenotypical reasons? Honestly, I can't. Unless they just jump out of the cake and do something totally outrageous, then there's no way for me to tell. What's more, I don't want to know. If they don't know me, then the problem is theirs, not mine.

There's a kind of racism that is really powerless; the best way to react to it is to recognize it as powerless and act accordingly. It's what you should do when someone tries to boost themselves by dragging you down, for whatever reason. And you actually do get to use the time and energy you've not wasted…it really adds up.