racism – the inability or refusal to recognize the rights, needs, dignity, or value of people of particular races or geographical origins. www.oxfordrefernce.com
racist – relating to or characterized by racism. www.merriamwebster.com
For a long while it has been acceptable argument to attack the character of those with differing opinion by treating them as evil, unworthy of a discussion. A common means of that treatment has involved name calling, such as when “dealing the race card” in sociopolitical arguments. Declaring an adversary racist is a sure way to avoid objective facts in an issue. The intent is to make the dealer sound morally superior by accusing the other of sinful behavior. This, even though there is no commandment in religion that says: “Thou shall not be racist.” The “shalt-nots” in the Ten Commandments are: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife; and thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
A more accurate moral scale would be the new commandment: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Truly, bigotry and hate are contrary to that commandment. But it is often the accuser who is guilty of the breach. And while it holds that being a racist is wrong, secularism’s command is relative to the circumstances and the players.
Common personal epithets are no more effective in settling disagreements than are emotional insults in a schoolyard. Accusing someone who is not of one’s own racial, religious, political, or other persuasion of being communist, fascist, racist, nationalist, sexist, or homophobic is nasty. Without defining the offensive term or offering objective evidence of the truth of the accusation, it is as meaningless as calling them “doo-doo head” (a common playground invective in my day).
There’s a difference between legitimate criticism and name calling. “There’s a criticism that is meant to help you and there is criticism that is meant to stop you.” (“The Woman Shaping A Generation of Black Thought,” by Mikalene Thomas, quoting Christina Sharpe, English professor, sociologist, author at York University, Toronto, Canada; nytimes.com (04/26/2023).) It is base criticism to call someone a bad name. True, if a person cannot capably argue his point, making a derogatory allegation usually works to end discussion. But, like a child, it only shows immaturity or ignorance. And it is unjust.
Opinion columnist Ross Douthat once referred to “the inherent human bias in favor of one’s own posterity.” (“Liberalism and the Politics of Low Fertility,” The New York Times, October 25, 2017.) Biases, preferences or prejudices, are natural to being human. Not all are evil or toxic. They are common in matters of culture, race, nationality, religion, and even (or especially) family. My native New Orleanian mother’s recipe for red beans and rice is superior to any in the world. That’s my opinion based on indisputable fact - - I’ve never tasted better.
In the past half-century, persons with legitimate convictions and innocent intentions have been subject to name calling arising out of the social justice of secular wisdom. I recall reading several years ago that an American teenage girl had posted a picture of herself at a costume party wearing a traditional Chinese dress. She was met with social media accusations of cultural misappropriation and racism. Ironically, at the same time a picture of the Chinese Communist Politburo could be found on the internet that showed every member in western business suits.
“In today’s world, being a non-white means you can get away with murder.” (American comedian and political commentator, Bill Maher, quoted in the Jerusalem Post, June 2, 2024; jpost.com.) In the instance of his monologue, Maher was referring to the oppression by anti-Israel protesters who claim racism against Jews (whites) for oppression against Palestinians (non-whites). He called out the hypocrisy by noting egregious instances of oppression by Muslim men against non-Muslims and even against Muslim women, including “honor killings” where males committing those heinous acts go unpunished.
Intoning race, critic John McWhorter recently questioned the appropriateness of “African American” to describe Americans of African descent. (“It’s Time to Let Go of ‘African American,’” July 10, 2025; nytimes.com.) His opinion is that the word “Black” should be substituted for the phrase. He described as “silly” that citizens, such as New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani of Asian descent and California businessman Elon Musk of European descent, can describe themselves as African Americans. Mamdani grew up in Uganda and Musk grew up in South Africa. To the curious point of his criticism, although not raised in his piece, Americans native to Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia in North Africa are also not indigenous to the sub-Sahara.
Many examples of unarguably racist and supremacist figures exist in history. Adolph Hitler is the first to come to mind. More obscure is another 20th century dictator named Idi Amin. In 1972, Amin ordered expulsion from Uganda of people who came from India. He claimed the country’s economic and social ills were due to African Indians. Saying that he wanted to see “black faces” in the business and government stations that were owned or occupied by Indians, Amin set a 90-day deadline for that minority to leave the country. Once expelled, most of their personal property and all of their businesses and land were confiscated by the dictator’s government and re-distributed to his favored supporters. (Source: World Book Encyclopedia (1982).)
In my unoriginal opinion, most of the name calling in this country could be reduced by showing respect for others and having intelligent discussions of the issues. Could be ended with love of neighbor. As for Idi Amin, if he wasn’t a racist and supremacist, I think he was surely a doo-doo head.
Chip Williams is a Northsider.
