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Racism, race-baiting, and making a real difference

By Scott Tibbs, October 4, 2017

What is racism? I mean that as a serious question.

I see a lot of posts denouncing racism in my social media feeds, and there is a lot of real racism out there. There are far more people who are not racist but are nonetheless demonized as such. Furthermore, fraudulent accusations of racism actually create racism. This is why race baiting is just as evil as racism.

Of course I know what racism is. The point I am making is we should not conflate fraudulent accusations of racism with real racism. It has gotten to the point that "racist" is synonymous with Republicans and/or conservatives, and tens of millions simply ignore accusations of racism from the boy who cried wolf. When everyone who opposes celebrity race-baiters is a racist, then nobody is a racist.

Neo-Nazis and white supremacists hate me and have directed obscene abuse my way. Obviously I do not have sympathy for people who hate me personally. But I am to the point where denouncing racism feels like punching down - like picking on the losers in high school that everyone hates. It is low-hanging fruit.

The problem faced by blacks is not the dorks and losers in the KKK or other associated "white power" groups. The guys living in their parents' basements and feces-posting on Reddit do not concern me.

What concerns me is police militarization, the War on Drugs, civil asset forfeiture, restrictions on civil liberties and due process, prosecutorial misconduct, and using heavy fines for traffic infractions as a revenue stream - all of which hit blacks and Hispanics harder than whites. Plus, those policies have entrenched interests behind them, from police unions to prosecutors and legislators. There is an actual cost to opposing those policies. There is no real social or political cost to opposing dorks and losers feces-posting on Reddit.

We should focus our efforts where it really matters and in a way that will actually benefit minorities.