Combatting Racism
Video Links: [TikTok] [YouTube]You know that bad smell in the fridge that you don't always notice until someone points it out, and then you realize that it's been there for way too long? That's racism. It’s like playing hide and seek with mold. Let’s be honest, racism is like that high school math problem no one could solve. Everyone knows it's there, but nobody wants to admit they don’t really understand it, and where the hypocrisy is so rich, it could be served at a five-star restaurant under the name “Double Standards à la Mode.” Well, in today's episode, boys and girls, we’re here to break it down, solve it, and maybe even have a laugh in the process. Because if we’re going to tackle this problem, we might as well have some fun along the way.
"The city crouches, steaming in the early morning half-light. The sun is still a rumor, and the night is still a threat. Slipping through the dark streets and the echoes and the shadows, something stirs behind me and my palms begin to sweat."
Racism is that awkward family member at a reunion who insists on telling the same offensive joke from the 90s. You know, the one that everyone groans at, but no one wants to confront because it’s just easier to let it slide. Well, guess what? We’re going to confront it — because if we don’t, it’s just going to keep hanging around like tube socks and underwear on the shower rod.
Racism, in all its glory, proudly boasts a logic that even a pretzel would find too twisted. In medieval times, racism was simple. The “enemy” was often whoever wasn’t part of your local fiefdom. Back then, racism was a bit like a medieval tournament—if you didn’t belong to the right lineage or weren’t wearing the correct tunic, you were out of luck. If your accent was different or you didn’t speak Old English, you were likely to be mistaken for a sorcerer or a spy, or both!Medieval racism often came with a side of superstition. If you had a different skin color or came from a distant land, you might be accused of consorting with dark magic or being part of a nefarious plot. Foreigners were often seen as either exotic creatures or malevolent villains, and the only thing more baffling than the stereotypes was the lack of actual evidence to support them.
Consider this: Racists love to claim that people of their own race are just superior because of some mystical qualities that no one can quite define. At the same time, they insist that everyone is essentially the same, except for those people over there. It's like saying, “We’re all cut from the same cloth, but clearly, some cloth is just more ‘fabric’ than others.” It’s a special kind of hypocrisy where everyone’s equal, but some are “more equal” than others. [Hark! Look! The ghost of Orwell comes hither!]
"The menace threatens, closing, and I'm frozen in the shadows. I'm not prepared to run away, and I'm not prepared to fight. I can't stand to reason or surrender to a reflex. I will trust my instincts or surrender to my fright."
One of racism’s greatest hits is its astonishing ability to rewrite history with the flair of a soap opera scriptwriter. Racists often tout the "good old days" when things were, supposedly, much simpler. They conveniently forget that these "good old days" were steeped in social injustice, inequality, and good old-fashioned discrimination. It's a bit like arguing that you’d rather live in a time when the only cure for a headache was leeches, but hey, at least you had no pesky civil rights to worry about!
If you were a medieval explorer and came across someone who wasn’t European, the default assumption was that they were either a mythological being or a very confused person who had accidentally wandered into a quest for the Holy Grail. Maps often labeled unknown territories as “Here Be Dragons,” which, let’s face it, was a euphemistic way of saying, “We have no idea, but it’s probably bad.”
"Sometimes we freeze until the light comes. Sometimes we're wrong and sometimes we're right. Sometimes we fight against the darkness. Sometimes we fly into the night."
Racism’s claim to fame is its remarkable ability to be “not racist” while simultaneously engaging in every conceivable form of prejudice. Picture it as a social buffet where everyone insists, they’re just here for the salad bar, but somehow, their plates are overflowing with discriminatory practices. “Oh, I have no problem with [insert group here] ... I just think they should stick to their own neighborhoods and not be so loud about it.”
One of the more entertaining aspects of racist hypocrisy is the “But I have Black friends!” defense. It’s a classic move, like saying, “I can’t possibly be a bad cook because I eat at fancy restaurants!” The irony here is that having friends from different backgrounds doesn’t automatically nullify one’s prejudiced views. It’s like saying you can’t be allergic to cats because you occasionally visit a pet store. As any true food critic (or allergy sufferer) will tell you, proximity doesn’t necessarily mean appreciation — or immunity.
"Coiled for the spring or caught like a creature in the headlights, into a desperate panic or a tempest of blind fury, like a cornered beast or a conquering hero."
And then, there's the old chestnut: “I don’t see color.” On the surface, this sounds like a wonderfully progressive sentiment. But in practice, it’s a little like saying, “I don’t see hunger” while standing in a buffet line with your plate piled high. Ignoring someone’s race — or any of their identities — doesn’t make you more inclusive; it just makes you the person who’s avoiding the conversation while munching on your privilege. It’s like saying, “I don’t see the rain,” while dancing through puddles in your snazzy new rain boots.
Finally, let’s marvel at the grand spectacle of racism’s ultimate contradiction: the simultaneous embrace of diversity while actively fighting against it. Imagine a carnival where everyone is parading around in colorful costumes, all the while trying to exclude certain groups from joining the festivities. It’s like hosting a potluck and complaining that someone brought a dish you didn’t expect — while declaring, “We welcome all kinds of food, as long as it’s exactly what we like.”
"Blood running cold, mind going down into a dark night of desperate panic or a tempest of blind fury like a cornered beast or a conquering hero."
Medieval racism was a grand affair of superstition and ignorance, with a healthy dose of “Here Be Dragons.” It was obvious, often theatrical, and more about keeping the “other” out of your kingdom. Modern racism, on the other hand, is subtler, wrapped in the cloak of sophistication and social media, and less about literal dragons and more about navigating complex social landscapes. From its twisted logic to its selective memory and paradoxical practices, racism remains an endlessly fascinating, if deeply problematic, spectacle.
Both eras feature their share of bizarre and unfounded beliefs, but the key difference is that today’s racism is more insidious and often disguised as “normal” behavior or “just the way things are.” The challenge is to continue pushing for understanding, empathy, and equity, turning the dragons of old into mere fairy tales of the past. So, the next time you encounter a display of racist hypocrisy, remember: You’re not just witnessing a historical anomaly; you’re witnessing the most elaborate farce in the modern era. And as with all great farces, it’s best to meet it with both a raised eyebrow and a hearty laugh.