There’s a great conversation going on at David Swanson’s blog regarding something I said in my commentary on Shirley Sherrod that was published at UrbanFaith.com. At one point in that commentary, I suggest that, to the minds of some white people, being called a “racist” might feel like the equivalent of calling a black person a “nigger.” It was just one of those secondary thoughts that occurred to me while I was writing that I decided to include in the article, but it turned out to be the line that David, and I’m sure many others, got stuck on. So, the discussion at David’s blog revolves around whether that observation is true. Most of the participants over there disagree with my suggestion, but I think their thoughtful responses prove that it’s a worthwhile idea to ponder.
Anyway, my good friend Shlomo chimed in at David’s blog to defend me against some of the mild criticism I was getting there, which I thought was very generous on his part. Thanks, Shlomo. But, as I noted in a comment that I left there, I’m not offended by those who disagree with my statement. In fact, I love it when folks can wrestle honestly with this race stuff.
All that to say, I thought I’d post the response that I left at David’s blog here too, just in case you’d like to read it.
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I was a bit reluctant to comment here at first, because I don’t want to come across as sounding defensive. But I do want to thank David for getting this excellent discussion going, and my dear brother Shlomo for coming to my defense.
But, I must say, I was not offended by Tomi’s statement. Part of my purpose in writing the Sherrod post (and most of the race-related commentaries that I write) is to get people thinking about the issue from different perspectives. I’m black, but as I write I try to place myself in the shoes of the white or Asian or Latino or Native American persons whom I hope will read my stuff. With the Sherrod piece, in particular, I was trying to imagine the situation from the perspective of the white conservative who has heard the “racist” label pointed in his direction for too long, even as he observes in our culture what seems to him to be racist and hateful talk coming from the very black folk who would dare accuse him of prejudice and hate.
As I’ve listened to Breitbart, Glenn Beck, and other lesser-known but still outspoken conservatives, it occurred to me that, to their minds, the “racist” tag must hurt in the same way that they believe the n-word hurts black people. How else to explain the fervent expressions of anger and resentment that the r-word elicits from some white conservatives? In making that observation, I was not suggesting that the two words are truly equal in their historical power to hurt and humiliate. But in this current era of racial change and upheaval (some of us might call it progress), where many whites feel threatened by what they sense as a loss of their rights and privileges, that r-word may feel to them like an unassailable weapon that smears and dehumanizes them and, more or less, shuts down the possibility of any further discussion.
So, on the one hand, I agree with Tomi that it was a “ridiculous” comparison for me to make. But I suspect it doesn’t sound as far-fetched to some of our more conservative brothers and sisters.
Last week, after the Sherrod story blew up, NPR’s Tell Me More had playwright Anna Deavere Smith on to discuss how Americans talk about race in politics, media, and personal relationships. As she chatted with host Michel Martin, she said something that really stuck with me. She said:
“Everybody thinks they know about race because everybody has one. But knowing about race has less to do with the race you have; it has to do with the race you don’t have. It has to do with the extent to which you seek out that which is different from you to have knowledge and to create collaborations. And I think that’s what we don’t know enough about right now.”
I thought that was a brilliant assessment of where we are in America with race—and where we need to go.
Reconciliation Blog 
I’m not so convinced of racism in myself. If I have any prejudiced feelings I tend to categorize them in terms of class. If I see anyone acting or speaking “low class” I may look down on them regardless of race, though I recognize that we’re all the same at the foot of the cross.
I don’t think r=n. The historical connotations don’t even come close. r<N
Ed – I am again impressed by your willingness to be vulnerable and so candid in this on-going discussion.
My 2 cents – the Shirley Sherrod case is sad but I am glad it occurred. By no means am I glad she lost her job or of the humiliation she has endured or the bumbling by both the Obama Administration and the NAACP – I am glad that it gives us another lesson – learning moment to see what we truly have to tackle on this topic.
We are not “there” yet. We are no living MLK jr’s dream, yet. We are much closer than we were in his time – but by no means are we there.
Thanks for making forums where we can discuss this.
I’m definitely late to this conversation but i also wanted to thank you Ed for your humility and openness to other viewpoints. i LOVE the Anna Deveare Smith quote. I couldn’t agree more. Anything less than that is just a defensive posture of our thoughts and experiences.
I guess when it comes to race issues and cultural biases, I just start with the assumption that we all have them. Therefore, I am not terrible shocked when many of these situations arise. We are all broken, we are all tempted to think more highly of ourselves than another, and we all would rather defend our own position than understand someone else’s. Perhaps the sooner we realize this about ourselves, the easier these discussions will be! 🙂
Calling a white person a racist is definitely not the equivalent of calling a black person the ‘N’ word, but it can definitely have its similarities when the white person has not earned the label.
It seems that people on all sides of this issue want to call a person racist simply for having a different point of view on racial issues. I expect black people to probably have a different view of race relations than me because I’m white and have grown up with different experiences.
Like raisingcains said, we all have prejudice and bias to some degree. And I think this fact would hopefully have us approach this issue with some humility.
Thanks for posting. A customer was mad at me at my sales job for not being as efficient as they assumed I should be and threw the r-word at me as a result (out of no-where!). It completely caught me off guard! My mental, emotional and physical response sort of threw me off guard as well – I was completely offended, hurt, humiliated, defensive, shocked and I literally could not operate the rest of the day. It affected me deeply in many ways. It was interesting to see just how much it affected me! I was in a funk for days.
I am someone who very much works to be open-minded and see beyond my persective in regards to race. And that insult affected me so deeply, that on that day I realized it is probably the worst thing anyone could say to me.
That same week, my husband’s co-worker was called the n-word in his customer service job (the first time he’d ever been called that in his life). He expressed his shock, and after discussing it, my husband mentioned my racist experience that I also had that week. My husband’s co-worker initiated that our experiences and reactions were not very different. The effects we felt were quite similar, he said.
Since that experience, I have come to think that while it is definitely not on the same plain, the n-word and r-word are both humiliating, degrading, insulting words that deeply hurt. There is sort of a comparison on some level. It was very affirming to read this blog and see that other people have thought something similar.
Good thoughts, Ed. I appreciate them.
I wouldn’t presume to say that I have any idea what it’s like for a black person to have someone judge him and call him names based solely on appearance. That’s a kind of hurt I haven’t experienced; I can only say that I think it must be horrible.
But I do know what it’s like for someone to hear what my political views are and instantly label me a racist and worse. (By “worse” I mean something like this: There’s one liberal forum I belong to, where most conservatives, especially conservatives against same-sex marriage, are seen as monsters with no sense of decency, deserving of no respect. I do not exaggerate.) And I can tell you from experience, that hurts too. Not as badly as the n-word does, I’m sure. But it does hurt.
I too love the Anna Deveare Smith quote. I love the fact that it puts the onus of racial progress not only on whites, but on everyone. As a Black man, I feel that we often excuse ourselves from hard work re: racial conversations because of history; we would rather believe that it’s solely the work of Whites. I don’t believe that.
I also think that you are on to something regarding the similarities (not equality) of the r-word and the n-word. Part of the problem is that Whites frankly don’t have an equivalent word to the n-word. However it may make them feel like the r-word is “an unassailable weapon that smears and dehumanizes them and, more or less, shuts down the possibility of any further discussion…” I think the comparison is great.
On another note, as a Christian, I would prefer to not working to live “King’s Dream”, but Christ’s dream. A far deeper and greater challenge. And more do-able, because of God’s empowering Holy Spirit…
Thanks Ed!
The two words are different in kind. The N-word classifies someone as subhman. “Racist” is an insult to honor; the equivalent of calling a man in centuries past a coward or a liar. The first dehumanizes, the second demonizes. They are both insults, but differing kinds.
It seems to be my experience that people react strongly to being called racists because it insults their honor. But people who are racists will rarely admit it to themselves or anyone else; that is the nature of prejudice.
I am white, and a jazz musician. My experience among black jazz musicians is that your race doesn’t matter, only how you play. But early in my life I was faced with my own prejudice; I was raised in the south, and my own prejudice was revealed to me by a wonderful black man, and mentor, “Kid” Thomas Valentine. I’m convinced that everyone is prejudiced in one way or another. Kid Thomas taught me that admitting one’s own prejudice is the first step to curing it. Fifty years later, I’m still working on it.