He Might be a Racist.

The tricky thing about racists (at least educated ones) is that they know how to avoid really sounding like they’re racist. He’s not going to use the N word. He’s not going to spew white power propaganda. He’s not going to promote ethnic cleansing.

But he’s going to use a lot of stereotypes. He frequently references race and ethnicity as a part of the conversation. In a way that makes it apparent that race and ethnicity are something he is keenly aware of. At all times. To an absurd degree. He wants to know my ethnic background. And not in a “get to know you, what’s your family history” kind of way. In an “I’m examining your facial features and bone structure to try to figure it out” kind of way. In a vaguely White Power, anti-mixing of the races, “race and ethnicity should be easily identifiable so I know how to treat you accordingly” kind of way.

**For the record – I’m Polish, Czech, and German. And half-Jew. And the half-Jew part is a little sensitive to ethnic profiling. For historical reasons.**

He’s going to quote “scientific” studies that support his economic theories – which coincidentally have some serious racial undertones to them. Want to talk about the genetic IQ aptitudes of different racial groups? (No, I’d prefer not to, actually). It’s not racist to say that Asians are the smartest and some other groups are just inherently less smart. Like the Blacks. (In case I was unclear who he was talking about. Yeah, I got it.) That’s not racist; it’s just a scientific fact. And he’s just quoting it. Without any apparent regard for the serious criticism The Bell Curve rightfully earned. And for no apparent reason. (Really. I have no idea why he started talking about this. At all. Except that it seems to be a topic of great interest to him.)

And let’s not forget women. When Larry Summers said that innate differences in intelligence account for the lack of women in the fields of math and science, that wasn’t offensive, it was scientific. And if it’s science, how can that be offensive? Only a women’s studies, Femi-Nazi, lesbian would be offended by that. I point out - among other things - that scientists once “proved” that women shouldn’t be educated because education diverted blood to their brains, thereby causing their uteruses to wander about their bodies. Who wants women’s uteruses wandering around their bodies all willy-nilly? Can’t have that. Better not let them be educated. And that wasn’t sexist; that was science. I’m not so convinced that science really has all the answers. Or at least all the correct answers. Especially when it comes to “proving” something about a minority group.

He’s going to pepper the conversation with comments that aren’t overtly racist but leave me with that uncomfortable feeling. That feeling when someone gives you a backhanded compliment – you know that on it’s face, the comment isn’t objectionable, but the subtext of it just strikes you as wrong and insulting, on a gut level.

And the best part about this kind of racist is that it’s nearly impossible to call him out on his racism. Because it’s protected by a layer of plausible deniability. It’s the passive-aggressive racism. If I object to what he says, he says that I misunderstood what he was saying. That he didn’t mean it like that. That I’m being overly sensitive. That I’m too concerned with being politically correct. That, “sure, there are exceptions, but stereotypes exist for a reason…”.

I’m pretty sure he’s a racist.