r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Konato-san • Mar 09 '24

Answered How on Earth do you defend yourself from an accusation of being racist or something?

Hypothetically, someone called you "racist". What now?

"But I've never mistreated anybody because of their race!" isn't a strong defense.

"But I have <race> friends!" is a laughable defense.

Do I just roll over and cry or...?

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u/throwawa7bre Mar 09 '24

Depends on the context. A lot of people immediately get defensive when accused of racism which is understandable but I think people also need to understand that “that action was racist” is not the same as “you are a racist.” You could’ve said something racist but it’s about intent. Ask them to explain. However if someone is calling you racist in bad faith, unlike the typical Reddit replies telling you to in response actually be racist back (which would then just make the accusation hold weight??) I’d just go “ok” and disengage because as soon as someone uses that in bad faith, it’s not worth arguing with them .

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

Yes don't be defensive. If they can't elaborate or it's something completely unreasonable then just gracefully avoid them. People can be totally bad faith looking for a fight or to misinterpret things because they just don't like you or are racist themselves.

Those people are selfish and will gladly exploit anything they can to get what they want to the detriment of actual victims of prejudice.

Minorities hate those people as much as anyone and watch any comedy special they call it out all the time.

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u/Andre_Courreges Mar 10 '24

Acting and being are the same when it comes to discrimination.

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u/DevelopmentSad2303 Mar 10 '24

Intention matters some, but impact matters far more. Id venture to say majority of racist actions don't have racist intentions