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Whaddayamean racist way to denounce racism? What did I miss…
Oh, don't mind me. I just get a little picky, sometimes. And one of those times is when people use skin color in the same sentence in which they're accusing others of racism, looking down on others for being racist, etc.
Why?
Because to my way of thinking, people to whom skin color is *not* a significant, defining feature of a person wouldn't bother showcasing it in a sentence. They'd talk about people generically. For example, they'd say/write "someone built an igloo", not "a black person built an igloo".
I mean, maybe I'm just losing my mind on this. But to me the word 'black' is unnecessary in that last sentence *unless* it matters to the speaker/writer, unless there's some important message - even if subconscious - being communicated that leaving the skin color word out wouldn't communicate.
Here's maybe an even better example:
"It's racist to discriminate against black people."
Well, what's so wrong with merely "it's racist to discriminate"? Doesn't that cover more people? Doesn't that refrain from implying there actually is a group of people whose being/behavior is in some way(s) defined by the color of their skin?
I just think language matters. Especially when re-peated, given how re-ality seems to be whatever we mentally re-peat about it most....