borrowed from http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/03/06/sixteen-maneuvers-to-avoid-really-dealing-with-racism/ and added to and edited a little bit.
Try simple courtesy and respect with a desire to understand. Try not to grasp at straws in order to retain your position of privilege. Try asking people about their experiences. Try going to a community organization and asking what you can do to help. Try reading some literature on the topics. Try to understand that things are not always fair, for you, or for anyone else. Just don’t try any of these.
The Bootstrap Believer “Racism is a thing of the past… this is a free country, and anyone who works hard can make it in America. Come on, Obama is president!”
The Backtracker “Hey, wait a second, that’s not what I meant… I mean… you took my words out of context, don’t make it try to sound like I’m racist!”
The “I’m Offended That You’re Offended” “You’re too sensitive… if you weren’t so aggressive, vocal, hostile, angry, or upset, people would listen to you and you wouldn’t get in trouble!”
The Utopian Eye-Gouger “I’m colorblind, personally… why can’t we all just ignore race, it’s not like it’s even real… it’s not like I tangibly benefit from being white every day or anything! Can’t we all just get along? I’m also deaf to religion and mute to gender.”
The Table Turner “You’re being just as racist against white people, you realize. You’re being racist against me right now, you reverse-racist hypocrites!”
The Good White Person (not like those obvious racists!) “Whoa, that guy over there is SUCH a racist, unlike me… I know exactly the right things to say and I’m never racist. By which I mean overtly offensive about it. Hold on, I think I’m going to go spit on that guy. I hate him.”
The Unblemished Family History “Hey, my family never owned slaves, so it’s not like I, as an individual, get any benefit from racism!”
The Bent Over Backwards (makes you look flexible, but accomplishes little else) “You people of color are so right. I agree with everything you say. Because you’re right, of course… not just because I’m guilty and white and wrong!”
The Angry Self-Justified Rationalizer “But a black person, Mexican, mean old Asian lady, or Native American once cut in front of me in line, said something stupid, mugged me, or took my hubcaps! So as far as I’m concerned, they proved all of my prejudices!”
The Loophole Escapist “I can’t possibly be a bigot or a racist… I’m part of the oppressed due to the fact that I’m a woman!” (or gay, poor, young, trans, etc.)
The Inappropriate Appropriator “Damn, bro! You know I’m down with the homies, I ain’t no wack racist cracker, shiznit.”
The “Lean On You When I’m Not Strong ” “Teach me, help me. I’m just a white person, so I need your wisdom as a person of color to show me how not to be racist. Wait, is what I said earlier racist? How about this shirt I’m wearing? Can you come with me to this party, so they know I’m not a racist?”
The Attention Seeker “Unlike all those other white people out there, I’m an anti-racist.” (…) “I do anti-racist work and I try to educate other people about anti-racism.” (…) “Wait, did you hear me?”
The Fake Liberal “I totally agree. Racism is one system of oppression among many interlocking ones, that specifically awards more privilege and power to all white people, whether they like it or not, and serves to keep the existing power structure in place. Oh… what? You want me to volunteer in a community organization, contribute money, do security for your protest march? Uh… yeah maybe next time, I’ve got to wash my hair tonight. And walk my dog, see the latest episode of Lost, manage my stock portfolio…”
The Penitent and Paralyzed (will not truly absolve you) “Oh my god… that is so awful. I’m so sorry. Sorry. I can’t imagine what it must be like… I’m sorry. That’s so awful. I feel so bad for you. Sorry.”
The Best Friend “Hey, I’m not a racist, OK? Some of my best friends are black. See?” Best Friend: “Yeah, I’ve known him since we were kids, and he’s never said anything racist to me!”
…and one bonus one for all your folks of color out there.
The Ignorant Internalizer “What? I can’t possibly be racist. I AM a person of color. How can I be racist against myself, huh? No, I haven’t heard of internalized racism, and I still think affirmative action is reverse racism!”
The Red Herring Eater “Sure race has a lot to do with it, but I really think this is much more about cultural context/gender/class/etc. Can we talk about that?”
The Happy Multiculturalist “Racist? Come on, I went to culture day at school, watched Crash, and like world music. Plus, I eat a ton of Mexican, Chinese and Ethiopian food. How could I possibly be racist when the food is so good?”
The Hipster Racist “Steven Colbert and I aren’t perpetuating racism, we’re exposing it. I hardly think I’m exploiting social issues for profit. If people don’t understand that my racist behavior and language are ironic/comical/mocking, that’s not my fault! They don’t deserve to not be racist. Wait…”
