“I Can’t Be A Racist”

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Dear Thought Catalog writer who claims she can’t be a racist (and everyone like you),

This past week, you published two incredibly strange letters on Thought Catalog viciously attacking Asian women’s dating choices and then just as energetically defending your blatant racism two days later. According to you, you are justified in using racist and sexist rhetoric because — here’s the kicker — you’re not racist. You can’t be racist, because you love Chinese food, and, as a ‘strong and beautiful white woman’, you’re on a mission to save us poor little Asian women from the evil, fetishizing demons that all White men are.

Your argument is not only incoherent and weighed down with misdirected anger and confused rhetoric, what was perhaps most irritating about reading you was the fact that you truly think you’re fighting the good fight:

You’re all just hating. I can’t really be wrong, I am studying Women’s Studies, and I’m pretty good at it. I learn about this stuff all day, so unless you have a magically superior education, I’m the authority on this subject.

Well….sorry, but you can be wrong. I’m genuinely sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, since apparently life and a higher education impressed nothing upon you, but not all White men fetishize Asian women, not all Asian women are fetishized, not all Asian men are unattractive, not all White men are attractive, and…well…basically everything you stated in your article was an overgeneralization and a lie. And every time you say ‘you people’, you are driving an even deeper rift between yourself and the rest of the much-more-rational world, so if you want to stop infighting….then stop infighting.

Yeah I admit it, maybe I used some stereotypes in my piece, and I apologize if you took offense, but you people are focusing on those little words more than the serious bigger picture.

We need to stop the infighting and direct our cannon towards to real enemy, The Patriarchy. You all are obviously just so brainwashed by the oppressive structures in today’s society, that your knee-jerk reaction is to attack a strong assertive, beautiful woman like myself.

Oppression is a problem. Fetishization is a problem. Stereotyping is a problem. And now, you are a problem.

Little words matter, because every piece of dialogue matters in the bigger picture. You can’t have a high-res photo without pixels, and if just a few are missing or discolored or misplaced, the accumulation of flaws can ruin the whole image. And you, as a Women’s Studies major, whose diploma is already being used as representative of your ‘authority’ on this subject, will unfortunately be taken quite seriously in some circles. And we simply can’t have you doing that, because I’ve never seen so many different types of ‘wrong’ in so many shades of strange.

Who are you to cram us Asian women into neat little packages of fetishism and deny that we might be loved because of our personalities, our intelligence, our traits independent of race? No one is stealing your men from you—your successes or failures in romance are yours and yours alone.

You’re all saying I’m jealous of Asian girls too. Me? Jealous of Asian girls? Don’t make me laugh. Why would I be jealous of a group of women who are being blatantly victimized and exotified by oppressive white men and brainwashed enough to turn on the white girl trying to defend you.

Also, you’re saying that “If white guys are so bad , why do you want them at all?” Well believe me, I wish I was lesbian, but since I am straight I have to deal with men. White men are like the hottest in my (and most of my friends) opinion. They’re tall, handsome and have muscles. I can’t help that I’m not attracted to nerdy Asian guys and creepy Indian guys. Like how can you blame me for my personal preferences? I’m not trying to take these men away from you, you’re perfect for each other. You can have them.

Also I’m not racist. I thought you people were smart? I am anti-racism like all feminists. That’s why I’m trying to save you from racist white men’s racism. What is it about this that you don’t understand?

You probably are jealous, because we’re awesome. But in all seriousness, I hope you realize how angry and bitter and brainwashed you sound. Did you think twice before you posted this? Did it occur to you that not only are you offensive, but your argument is circular and always comes back to ‘I’m right, and you disagree, so you must be wrong.’ If you want to rescue us, put yourself in a better place first.

There are simply too many things wrong with what you’ve written to address them individually, so speaking generally, I don’t think you missed a single stereotype in your messy sashay through what I’m sure you thought was a constructively provoking piece. Not all feminists are anti-racism, clearly, and no matter how many labels you throw around, what does not change is your racism. What concerns me is that you seem to be perfectly content with sitting on your self-made high horse and judging everyone according to your strangely narrow views. I say strange because you, with all your experience and education and enthusiasm, should know better.

The point of open dialogue is to both talk and listen, so that everyone leaves the conversation better informed and more educated than when they had entered. Not only are you unwilling to accommodate any conflicting views in your zealous war on ‘The Patriarchy’, you are too quick to put down all your ‘haters’ who are just trying to get you to listen. If you are so comfortable in your skin and sexuality, then why bother asserting how strong, beautiful, and White you are? You add nothing to the conversation but more racism and your own narcissism and insecurity. We’re not fighting White men here, we’re fighting racism. And stereotyping. And, apparently, people like you, who can’t see how racist and misguided they really are.

In conclusion, Anne Gus and all people like you, please shut up for a minute and check yourself, because when you say ‘I can’t be racist’ or ‘I’m trying to save you people’, it sounds a whole lot like ‘racism is excusable’ and ‘I don’t value you as a race or as fellow female human beings’.

Sincerely,

You’re Definitely Racist.

Update: Apparently Anne Gus is a fraternity boy who attempted to write satire. Regardless, the writing is abysmal and my point stays the same.

PS: Before you play the satire card, no, it’s not satire.

This article originally appeared on Generasian.