# Confronting racism in oneself **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 19, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215 "2026-05-19T17:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/21 "2026-05-19T19:07:29Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > It helps if prejudice isn’t conflated with racism. EVERYONE is prejudiced, to some extent. it’s a natural human/societal condition. Racism is an act, taking those prejudices and using institutional and societal power to act on them in a negative and oppressive way. > > So, everyone harbors prejudices, but not everyone is racist. Yeah. A problem with “everyone is racist” is if people _believe_ that, they are likely to give up on fighting racism at all because there’s no point. Or start acting destructively towards themselves and others. If people people believe they are racist no matter what they do then they are likely to either then dismiss racism as important because that’s “just how the world works”, or hate everyone including themselves as irredeemably evil. You can control your actions and correct erroneous beliefs; you can’t control history much less some sort of inherited burden of evil. It’s the left wing version of “Original Sin”, which doesn’t lead people to try to make things better just to hate themselves and humanity in general as innately vile. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/22 "2026-05-19T19:09:51Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > If someone is only, say, 23% racist instead of 100%, Doper 1 argues, you mustn’t compare them to the evil Klansman as though it’s all or nothing. The problem with this: It implies there is an acceptable level of racism one may hold. There is no acceptable level of racism that a person may nurture in their soul. It _all_ has to be rooted out, and it’s everyone’s individual and collective responsibility to keep doing so. Those are your words. They say exactly what I said they say. You are the one insisting that **all** racism has to be rooted out or else you have an unacceptable level of racism. By my reading, everybody else here agrees with the rest of your post but breaks with you at this unachievable point. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/23 "2026-05-19T19:13:06Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery > None but ourselves can free our minds Have you accomplished this? Has anyone accomplished this? Or is this an unobtainable goal? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/24 "2026-05-19T19:20:11Z")
It’s to contrast with the stereotype of working class “Joe Sixpack” - Ardbeg is an expensive Scotch. The everyone is racist formulation isn’t hitting the mark even here, a crowd that is more likely open to it than the general populace. Maybe not the effective way to message it? Just blaming it on everyone not understanding doesn’t help. @Czarcasm’s reaction is not unreasonable. The challenge of demonstrating and becoming aware of our actions (and inactions) that have racist impact despite our lack of any explicit racist beliefs is an easier challenge to meet. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/25 "2026-05-19T19:21:38Z")
The notion that one is innocent until proven guilty seems to me to be a sound starting point. Maybe one IS a racist or frequently thinks racist thoughts. Then again maybe not. Since we don’t know what their thoughts are, we can only judge by one’s words and actions. Making an a priori assumption of guilt flies in the face of this with no evidence presented beyond _‘well, there’s a whole lotta racism going on in our culture. Stands to reason you think racist thoughts all the time too simply by virtue of existing within this culture’_. That kinda reasoning has a certain weakness. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/26 "2026-05-19T19:25:30Z")
To paraphrase: “All blanket assumptions are suspect…including this one.” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/27 "2026-05-19T19:41:08Z")
Jumping in to agree with the OP, other than the idea that you can really eliminate your biases completely. Also, I would change “racist” to “biased” or “bigoted”, because it could be ethnicity or gender or orientation that show up in ones biases. Inherent biases are very deep in our evolutionary history – tribes have been warring with each other forever. The best I can do is think about what biases I have and try to work against them, listen to feedback if someone tells me I’m biased or bigoted, and do what I can to point out those unconscious biases in others. But, all people of inherent biases based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, etc. The best we can do is try not to let them affect how we interact with people. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/28 "2026-05-19T19:53:00Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yeah. A problem with “everyone is racist” is if people _believe_ that, they are likely to give up on fighting racism at all because there’s no point > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is it not possible that some of us already have? I’m trying my damnedest to state my position, but Dopers keep misreading it. It’s an ongoing process. We keep running into this assumption that the anti-racism project is one and done, forevermore. Rather, it’s an ongoing process. It has no endpoint. There is always more to do. It’s the same as sanitation workers hauling away garbage. It’s the same as housekeeping. In my OP I drew the analogy with the immune system. Your immune system never thinks, self-satisfied, “Now that I’ve killed off all the germs, I’m permanently done and can retire.” There are always more germs. What’s so hard to understand about that? Ongoing process. Please confirm you understand this. I’m starting to feel like I’m talking to the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/29 "2026-05-19T20:00:39Z")
Once again, almost everybody here agrees with you when you say that. It was your other statement about partial antiracism being equivalent to zero antiracism that we have a problem with. We are reading your words exactly as you wrote them. Since almost everybody here has exactly the same interpretation of those words, perhaps you did in fact write them that way. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/30 "2026-05-19T20:01:57Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I’m trying my damnedest to state my position, but Dopers keep misreading it. It’s an ongoing process. We keep running into this assumption that the anti-racism project is one and done, forevermore. Rather, it’s an ongoing process. My point is that most people who hear “everyone is racist” and believe it aren’t going to think there _is_ a process. Just that everyone is evil, forever. That there’s nothing you can do or try that will mean you are anything other than a monster, that _everyone is and always will be_ a monster. There’s no room in “everyone is racist” for _good_ people. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/31 "2026-05-19T20:03:35Z")
I’m arguing that no level of racism is acceptable. If you disagree with that, does it mean you’re arguing that some level of racism is all right? I’m trying not to put words in your mouth. I’m really trying to understand what’s the logical outcome of your criticism. I’m standing on the principle of not tolerating intolerance. Refer to Karl Popper’s [paradox of tolerance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance). It’s a soundly established principle. Given that, it’s logically impossible to establish _any_ acceptable level of racism. Whenever a racist thought scuttles like vermin through the basement of my mind, I squash it immediately. It takes vigilance. We need a mental immune system. Not pushing the loathsome filth back into the darkness to ignore it and allow it to fester. Force yourself to _look_ at it for the purpose of seeking and destroying it on sight. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/32 "2026-05-19T20:07:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > There’s no room in “everyone is racist” for _good_ people. Absolutely 100% fucking wrong as hell. What a pernicious and self-defeating attitude. A good person actively seeks and destroys any trace of racism in themself. Is there any other way? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/33 "2026-05-19T20:08:26Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > a racist thought Personally I don’t give a shit about people’s private racist or other -ist thoughts that they are aware of or are beneath their conscious awareness. Actions and inactions are the concern that matters to me. Mine in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/34 "2026-05-19T20:08:40Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Absolutely 100% fucking wrong as hell. What a pernicious and self-defeating attitude. A good person actively seeks and destroys any trace of racism in themself. Is there any other way? If everyone is racist, then there are not and never can be any good people; only evil ones. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/35 "2026-05-19T20:12:00Z")
There’s that copula _is_ again. I warned yous about that right off, but yous didn’t listen. Am I using too technical terminology? Nobody knows what a “copula” is? (Hint: it has nothing to do with copulation or cupolas). Then l’ll put it in words of one syllable: Don’t say “you are” X. Say: We all have this task to share, let’s get on it. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/36 "2026-05-19T20:17:51Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Then l’ll put it in words of one syllable: Don’t say “you are” X. Say: We all have this task to share, let’s get on it. But how do you convince people who _don’t_ think they share this task (because they don’t think they’re racist) that they do, in fact, share this task (because they actually are)? Feels like this is a good way to preach to the converted but not very useful for convincing anyone who isn’t already on the same page. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/37 "2026-05-19T20:18:29Z")
What’s so hard about “We’re all in the same boat together?” ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/38 "2026-05-19T20:19:48Z")
I don’t believe you. Now what? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/39 "2026-05-19T20:21:15Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > Point 2 is recognition that each of us have internalized racist thoughts, and that is not a fault in ourselves, but a fact of our upbringings > > Not sure I can agree with this. It may be true to some extent for many people, but _everyone_? I don’t see how this could be established. See point 1. There are no nonracist societies. It’s impossible for humans to avoid absorbing racism. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/40 "2026-05-19T20:22:05Z")
That, sir, is no debate. Take it to IMHO. “Look, this isn’t an argument.” “Yes it is.” “No it isn’t. It’s just contradiction.” “No it isn’t.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215.md?page=3)