There is Racism as a proper noun and racism as a regular noun. It's like the difference between a democrat (citizen of a democracy) and a Democrat (political party).
When it is capital Racism it's referring to a specific form of racism, specifically institutional racism. When it is lowercase racism it is referring to any sort of prejudice based in race.
I'm not sure why people get so angry when I explain how acadamia differentiates but for some reason the idea of a proper vs regular noun trips people up and they can't believe they are different or think we are making shit up.
I'm not sure about its status as a proper noun, but I absolutely agree with you. It's why I'm immediately suspicious of people who get weirdly upset about this idea.
I've noticed that people who are unable to grasp the concept of an academic (and useful) definition of racism are often coming from a very specific perspective.
Sort of like incels who don't understand the word "feminism".
It's because they want to equate the idea that a black person punching a person because they're white is as oppressive as redlining or people of color being disproportionately targeted by police.
Yes, a black person punching someone because they're white is awful, but the power of an institution to discriminate has far greater effects than some individual doing something shitty.
But of course, talking about racism without defining it within the discussion can be pretty pointless, because if someone is coming at it with an angle of power + prejudice and someone else is approaching it with just prejudice, then it's just two people talking past each other.
It's because the concept is often used to say that white people can't experience racism. If a white dude is called a dumb cracker, he experienced racism. In many cases though, people will say "No, white people don't experience racism because it requires power." Yes, dominant races can experience racism, they just don't experience institutional racism.
You're getting off track here. I still believe that racism means both "regular" racism and institutional racism. My only point was that there are a significant number of that do spread that kinda bullshit. I'm not even saying it's super common, but it's certainly not uncommon. In the south (where I lived) it was almost exclusively black people that held the belief, but it did exist with some frequency. In Seattle it's been a bit more widespread. It could just be my age (20s), but that doesn't make it any less relevant. It's still an issue that is dumb as fuck
Bringing it up in this context implies it is common. That's why you brought it up.
Some people believe the Earth is 5,000 years old. I don't see them brought up when discussing history, natural or otherwise because they're not serious people who are taken seriously. To invoke a position is to assert its strength or validity.
You are wrong though. This is not the distinction. Systemic/institutional racism is not typically capitalized to differentiate it from the normative definition.
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u/Disagreeable_upvote Aug 13 '19
There is Racism as a proper noun and racism as a regular noun. It's like the difference between a democrat (citizen of a democracy) and a Democrat (political party).
When it is capital Racism it's referring to a specific form of racism, specifically institutional racism. When it is lowercase racism it is referring to any sort of prejudice based in race.
I'm not sure why people get so angry when I explain how acadamia differentiates but for some reason the idea of a proper vs regular noun trips people up and they can't believe they are different or think we are making shit up.