Thank you for your response there- I’m interested in why you see it that way- I was simply putting the concept up there for discussion, not outright endorsing it- my question is, if treating the racism as a thing that someone said or did that they could stop doing or saying, rather than treating it as something that is simply an intrinsic part of that person, could be effective in stopping a person saying or doing the racist things, why not try it? I think we all agree that people should be called out for racist deeds and words, but have you actually seen evidence that saying that people ARE racist is a more effective approach to getting them to do the work and change themselves than treating the racism as something that is not innate to themselves, something they, as the Rogers and Hammerstein song puts it “have to be carefully taught”?

Also, I’m sorry if posting this has given you the impression that I think racism is “no big deal”. It’s a massive deal and it blights the lives of BIPOC people and, in deforming them and erasing parts of our humanity, it does harm to white people as well.