25 Signs You Might Be Racist

1. You have to precede any statement with: “I’m not racist, but…”

2. …Or follow any statement with: “But I’m not racist though.”

3. You say that there are certain races that you’re just not attracted to. No matter how you try to spin this it’s prejudice and racist. You can’t just decide an entire race of people are not attractive, unless you’ve met every single person in that group. It’s really not that hard to keep an open mind.

4. You use any variation of the n-word (either the traditional spelling or version ending with an “a”). No, you don’t get to say it because people in the black community do. You can’t reclaim a word that was never used against you. Let’s please take a moment to get over the elementary school logic that just because someone else is doing something that you can do it as well. And if it’s just a word like non-black proponents of the word would like to argue why are they so butt-butt when people tell them not to use it? It’s just a word after all.

5. You change your voice and get snappy and sassy when talking to a black woman (e.g. “HEY GURLLL!”)

6. You try to explain away your racially controversial statements by letting folks know that you have a friend in the group you commented on. Because, of course we can’t forget about the Racist-Exemption Card that’s given to people when they befriend others of a different race!

7. You refer to all Asian people as Chinese.

8. You attempt to validate prejudice against a certain group by citing negative examples of things that may have occurred in your life. How would you feel if someone looked down on you because a person that looked like you pissed them off or hurt them?

9. You were offended by the coverage and attention on the Trayvon Martin case.

10. You use the phrase, “Turning it into a race thing,” when that does nothing more than perpetuate the idea that we live in a post-racial world. It also attempts to silence discussions and debates about race, which then stops the potential for progress on a large-scale, or even in everyday life. Racism is still alive and well in this world. Instead of throwing this phrase out, people should look inward and question why they are so uncomfortable and defensive in the first place.

11. You think you have permission to touch a black woman’s natural hair…and then you actually touch it.

12. You stop pronouncing the L’s in your sentences to mimic a stereotypical Asian person.

13. You believe that there needs to be a White History Month.

14. You oppose scholarships that take race into special consideration because you think it’s unfair.

15. You try to explain away your racism by saying, “Everyone is racist.”

16. You are offended that BET (Black Entertainment Television) exists and that there’s no WET… even though in reality every channel that’s not BET is WET.

17. You are wholly convinced that Iggy Azalea and Macklemore are the best rappers out there.

18. You call every Latino/a person you see Mexican.

19. You attempt to mimic “Asian Eyes” for photos.

20. You use 9/11 to justify prejudice against persons of Middle Eastern descent.

21. You frequently refer to people of color as ghetto.

22. You were/are mad that the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four is black.

23. You don’t think White Privilege exists.

24. You oppose the potential name change of Washington’s football team, The Redskins.

25. You got really mad as you were reading this article.

Oh, and one more thing… if you’re white and took this all as a condemnation of white people you should check your guilty conscience, because I never once said that these were specific to white people.