I Don’t Want to Hear Your Racist Views of Others

Leave your baggage of bigotry at the door. I’m not going to carry it.

Give a racist an ear and they will use the opportunity to bend it into submission. If a potential audience is within earshot the chance to break the air with hate speech, in their minds, is permission enough.

As a Black man who lives each day reminded how America actively tries to reverse any advancements people of color have made, my optimism routinely takes a hit leaving little room for hope. Even if not the target of someone’s toxicity, being exposed to their racist views towards others is something I can’t stomach.

Given the world’s current love affair with racism, it’s difficult to avoid the venom expelled by those who swim in hate and love to let you know about it. This is nothing new. Hate speech and expressing one’s distaste for other racial groups have a storied history in this country. Though it’s trending now, voicing one’s prejudice is as old as time; no matter who is in their crosshairs — no matter who is listening.

Where did you park?

One night after work, I left the office at the same time as a colleague. I wasn’t too familiar with this person as he had only been with the company for a couple of months. On our way to the parking lot, he gifted me his outlook on the plight of a neighboring town — where he did not live.

“Heavy convo,” I remember thinking especially for such a short walk and with someone he did not know well. He went a step further and launched into his distaste for the Latinx community, which accounts for roughly 80% of said town. Immediately confused (and offended) by his over-the-top racist remarks, I volleyed back a few objections. However, my retorts didn’t seem to land with him. With his jovial demeanor, he continued… “Those people are the reason for that town’s economic and social decline, and why the living conditions are subpar.” “Why would anyone want to even go there?”

Aside from the obvious, what was disturbing about his choice of subject and clear penchant for racism, was that he espoused it to a Black person. Without prior knowledge of his audience’s ethnic origin, had he stopped to think about what he was saying, or realized to whom he was speaking, I wonder if he might have quelled his views.

Though you can’t expect much from a racist.

The heartbeat of antiracism is self-reflection, recognition, admission and fundamentally self-critique… A racist when charged with racism will say, ‘I’m not a racist,’ no matter what they said or did. An antiracist would be willing to confess and recognize what they just said or did was, in fact, racist. — Ibram X. Kendi

He was neither deterred nor did he seem affected by his megaphone approach. He clearly had no issue with offering his racist opinions regardless of the racial makeup of his audience. This I found to be most vexing since even if you are not the target of someone’s hate, how easily they will share their toxic mindset with anyone in the vicinity. No filter, no concern — just letting the hate fly untethered.

After that night, I avoided this person at all costs. Fortunately, he and his lust for hate speech did not last long at the company. Soon after his departure, I learned he tried to engage other colleagues in discussions of his racist ideology; often evincing great pleasure in discussing his favorite target… the Latinx population.

What is it that makes some people comfortable enough to share their deep-seated hatred of others? Aren’t they aware of this character flaw? Perhaps they simply don’t care and are more concerned with recruiting like-minded sympathizers.

Catch a fire

While on summer vacation in Jamaica (one of my favorite places) with my then-girlfriend, I was involuntarily drawn into a similar situation to the one in the parking lot on that horrible night after work. One afternoon we were at the beach absorbing the day air when a couple chatted us up. Eventually, they invited us to join them for drinks later that evening.

Hours later, the four of us found ourselves back on the beach, settling in at a table. The conversation began as you’d expect; how our respective vacations were going, and how is it we came to be in Jamaica. After a few rounds and loose conversation, the man of the couple segued effortlessly into his disdain for the Asian community, specifically Chinese people. What came next was a barrage of insults; hate-filled motifs, and much, much more — all beyond disturbing.

Oblivious to whom he was speaking with, he actually said to me… “I don’t have a problem with the Blacks. It’s those ch**ks that are ruining our city.” Though I don’t recall which city he lived in, they were both very proud Texans who had no problem amplifying their state and how superior it was to any other place on earth.

Occasionally in the past, I have been told by racists that they don’t have a problem with Black people — as if by telling me this to my face, gives them a pass to continue on their racist road trip with permission to hate f*ck other races. The dots never seem to connect in the minds of those who cherry-pick their racism based on whom they’re talking to.

Refusing to self-edit, he continued on with his breakdown of the societal issues he felt were destructive and causing him personal strife. After ten minutes of dodging toxic hate speech landmines, we made up an excuse to leave. This abrupt halt to his monologue jolted a response and plea for us to stay and continue the “conversation” but we had enough.

On the way back to our hotel room we were discussing how awful these people were and how conveniently they side-stepped this part of who they really were earlier in the day. It was as if, when we first met, they were sizing us up for later indoctrination — trying to gauge whether we would reinforce their wack beliefs. Though I’m not sure what gave them the impression, we would have welcomed such poisonous bigotry.

I can’t help but wonder, had the audience resembled a different demographic, perhaps the tactic by these two individuals might have been to put another ethnic group on blast. Given their aversion to the Asian community, an anti-Black declaration could just as easily have been the chosen topic for the evening’s discussion — certainly if in the presence of non-Black people.

Wouldn’t have made a difference, an audience is an audience. Racism is racism.

La la la, I can’t hear you

Often, racists need an audience no matter who occupies the seats. Be it on social media, out in the streets while disrupting innocent protest, or simply searching out whom next to oppress. Desperation, insecurity, call it what you will. An instinct to keep a divide among people almost becomes their mission.

In some twisted fashion, it makes their agenda even more disturbing as the compulsion to force-feed strangers with ideological trash becomes the vehicle by which to further their beliefs. You’ll notice this especially when they are being video recorded. They double down as if their noxious behavior deserves a forum and has no consequences. This chest-thumping bravado is like a superpower, or a high they can’t seem to come down from — a privilege.

The power of “I don’t care who witnesses my BS” is a superpower of ignorance. A “Supremacy-power.” All that is missing from these folks are capes and a book on how not to fail at social interaction.

Yes, racism extends beyond the white community, and yes all races can have a deep prejudice for other ethnic groups. However, I would argue that in a country with a majority, and certainly with what people of color experience from said majority… should we worry ourselves with who can outdo whom in the racist Olympics?

I try to surround myself with those who value the differences in people — no matter race or ethnicity. If you have hate in your soul, you are not someone I want in my orbit.

When I witness someone spouting racist views about anyone’s ethnicity, not just my own, it makes me sick. I have always been this way and continue the fight when faced with any injustice. I guess this comes with being more in tune as a member of a historically marginalized group in a country that has little care for my well-being.

Thank you for reading!

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