I'm not racist, but...

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I'm not racist, but... is a phrase that often precedes a racist argument and provides a "veneer of political correctness".[1][2][3]

Interpretations[edit]

The phrase has been described as "hypocritical" and "apologetic". Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Tyrone Forman argued that it is used by "the new racists, all the nice Whites".[4][5][6] Alana Lentin, in a op-ed for ABC, cited the phrase as an example of "how denying racism reproduces its violence".[7] Deutsche Welle's Torsten Landsberg and Rachel Stewart wrote that the refrain is "usually followed by an opinion that belies at best ignorance and at worst a deep-seated prejudice or even racially fueled hatred".[8] Ibram X. Kendi felt that its usage is an ineffective means of combating racism.[9]

Frequency[edit]

"I oppose them, mainly because, I am not a racist but because I think you should have the best person for the job".[4]

Response in a survey of students' opinions on affirmative action.

Baugh (1991) found that when people were asked why the term African-American should or should not be used, many respondents prefaced their answers with "I'm not racist, but...".[10] Brown (2006) found that that the phrase was often used by Lancastrian interviewees who were concerned about the influx of racial minorities.[11] Simon Goodman of Coventry University wrote that the phrase encapsulates "a major feature of talk about immigration" in Britain: "the repeated denial that opposition to it is racist".[12]

Edwy Plenel ascribed the saying to the "average Frenchman". Mahfoud Bennoune expressed a similar opinion, exclaiming that "The typical French racist attitude is expressed in this manner, 'I'm not racist, but I find that the Algerians are the rabble that must be expelled; the syphilis that arises like arrows'."[13][14] Former American white supremacist Derek Black said he sought to recruit people who "start a sentence by saying, 'I'm not racist, but.' And if they've said that, they're almost there".[15] Pakistani political commentator and media personality Ibraheem Bhatti used the phrase when speaking of Jews, Indians and Americans.[16]

The Irish Times' Donald Clarke wrote that Halle Bailey's casting in The Little Mermaid "reveal[ed] the usual unconvincing qualification".[17] The Twitter account YesYoureRacist seeks to condemn "casual racism on Twitter" and "retweet[s] everyday users who say: 'I'm not racist but ...' followed by something, well, racist".[18]

Satire[edit]

In 2013, Rob DenBleyker released a Cyanide & Happiness comic satirizing the topic, featuring a character called the "Not Racist Butt". After one man in the comic says "I'm not racist, but", the Not Racist Butt appears and excitedly awaits hearing what racist remark the man is about to say. [19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hill, Jane H. (1998). "Language, Race, and White Public Space". American Anthropologist. 100 (3): 680–689. doi:10.1525/aa.1998.100.3.680. ISSN 0002-7294. JSTOR 682046.
  2. ^ Harris, Kate Lockwood; Palazzolo, Kellie E; Savage, Matthew W (2012). "'I'm not sexist, but...': How ideological dilemmas reinforce sexism in talk about intimate partner violence". Discourse & Society. 23 (6): 643–656. doi:10.1177/0957926512455382. ISSN 0957-9265. JSTOR 43496418. S2CID 144765339.
  3. ^ Every, Danielle; Augoustions, Martha (2007). "Constructions of racism in the Australian parliamentary debates on asylum seekers". Discourse & Society. 18 (4): 411–436. doi:10.1177/0957926507077427. ISSN 0957-9265. JSTOR 42889138. S2CID 145223804.
  4. ^ a b Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo; Forman, Tyrone (2000). ""I am not a racist but ...": mapping White college students' racial ideology in the USA". Discourse & Society. 11 (1): 50–85. doi:10.1177/0957926500011001003. ISSN 0957-9265. JSTOR 42888295. S2CID 145683232.
  5. ^ Wright, Michelle M. (2003). "Others-from-within from without: Afro-German Subject Formation and the Challenge of a Counter-Discourse". Callaloo. 26 (2): 296–305. doi:10.1353/cal.2003.0065. ISSN 0161-2492. JSTOR 3300854. S2CID 143466555.
  6. ^ Thorleifsson, Cathrine Moe (2017). "Peripheral Nationhood: Negotiating Israeliness from the Margins of the State". Anthropological Quarterly. 90 (1): 83–106. doi:10.1353/anq.2017.0003. ISSN 0003-5491. JSTOR 44246137. S2CID 151689809.
  7. ^ Lentin, Alana (2017-10-19). "'I'm Not Racist, but ...': How Denying Racism Reproduces Its Violence". ABC. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  8. ^ Landsberg, Torsten; Stewart, Rachel (July 7, 2018). "Rap against racism: 'I'm not a Nazi, but...'". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  9. ^ Nawaz, Amma (2020-07-08). "How anti-racism is a treatment for the 'cancer' of racism". PBS. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  10. ^ Baugh, John (1991). "The Politicization of Changing Terms of Self-Reference among American Slave Descendants". American Speech. 66 (2): 133–146. doi:10.2307/455882. ISSN 0003-1283. JSTOR 455882.
  11. ^ Brown, Cynthia (2006). "Moving on: Reflections on Oral History and Migrant Communities in Britain". Oral History. 34 (1): 69–80. ISSN 0143-0955. JSTOR 40179846.
  12. ^ Goodman, Simon (March 11, 2016). "Is it really not racist to oppose immigration?". The Conversation. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  13. ^ Sarkar, Salil (1985). "The Charms of Socialism". Economic and Political Weekly. 20 (12): 494–495. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4374198.
  14. ^ Bennoune, Mahfoud (1975). "Maghribin Workers in France". MERIP Reports (34): 1–30. doi:10.2307/3011470. ISSN 0047-7265. JSTOR 3011470.
  15. ^ Gross, Terry (September 24, 2018). "How A Rising Star Of White Nationalism Broke Free From The Movement". NPR. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  16. ^ Lieven, Anatol (1969). History - Pakistan: A Hard Country. Penguin Books.
  17. ^ Clarke, Donald (July 5, 2019). "Halle Bailey's casting as the Little Mermaid drove internet racists nuts. Or did it?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  18. ^ Domonoske, Camila (August 14, 2017). "On The Internet, Everyone Knows 'You're Racist': Twitter Account IDs Marchers". NPR. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  19. ^ "Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm.net)". Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm.net). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
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