- I've got a challenge for you.
Try talking about racism with your friends,
family, or coworkers, and get ready to watch people squirm.
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So let's push through the discomfort.
Don't worry, you can do it.
We're gonna talk about racism.
Well, the dictionary defines racism as,
"The hatred or intolerance of another race or races."
Well, yes, but racism's a little more complicated than that.
The dictionary offers a very simple explanation,
because it's just the dictionary.
If you want to understand racism,
you need to talk sociology,
and sociology explains racism as
a combination of prejudice and power.
Well isn't that just convenient.
Let's just ignore what the dictionary says.
No, we're not ignoring the dictionary.
Just going a little deeper.
Think of it this way.
If your car breaks down, you don't look up car
in the dictionary to try and fix it,
you go to a mechanic.
So when it comes to getting to the nitty gritty
of understanding how racism works,
I say we should probably defer to sociologists.
Because, you know, they study how people,
organizations, and institutions work.
It's kind of their job.
So here are five things everyone
should understand about racism.
Ugh, talking about racism is so exhausting.
It's like no matter what I do or what I say,
someone's gonna call me a racist.
Good people can unintentionally say and do racist things.
Racism isn't just burning crosses and racial slurs.
It's not always a conscious hatred or dislike.
People automatically associate saying something racist
with being a bad person.
And while we can agree that being racist is bad,
good people can say racist things,
or just wind up supporting racist institutions
and practices, without even realizing it.
Oh, so now it's my fault
if I accidentally do something.
We're not playing the blame game here.
But accidents can still be hurtful.
It's important to remember that intent
isn't the issue, it's the impact.
Like if I accidentally step on your toe,
it's an accident, but it still hurts.
And I can't just pretend that I didn't step on your foot.
I have to acknowledge it, say that I'm sorry,
and be more careful with my big-ass feet.
If you want to get technical,
there's really no such thing as race.
We are all the human race.
It's a social construct.
Race is a social construct,
but that doesn't mean racism isn't real.
A social construct is a category,
perception, or idea created and developed
by society, and then it's applied to individuals or groups.
So, yes, we're all part of the human race,
but the human race did this funny thing
where they categorized everyone
based on skin tone and regions.
Even though social constructs are made up,
they're still real.
I mean, money is a social construct.
Fundamentally it's just a piece of paper.
But it still keeps people up at night
and has a huge effect on our day to day lives.
Marriage, fashion, good and evil,
they're all social constructs,
but they're still real things.
The same is true for race.
White, black, pink, purple, polka dots,
I don't know why we need all of these labels.
Let's just not see race.
Just see everyone the same.
Colorblindness is not going to fix racism.
It's a good idea in theory,
but ignoring race is not gonna solve racism.
Race isn't the problem.
Treating people differently based on race is the problem.
It's okay to see my race.
I mean it's kinda hard to ignore how someone looks.
There's nothing wrong with seeing our differences.
Our differences make us kinda cool.
Okay, but when are we gonna talk about reverse racism.
Reverse racism is not a thing.
I've been bullied, beaten up, and called all sorts of names
in my lifetime, and you're gonna tell me
that's not racism?
Whoa, that sounds awful.
I'm sorry, none of that stuff is okay,
but those are examples of racial prejudice, not racism.
That's because racism isn't just about individuals.
It's about institutional power.
Racial prejudice is not cool,
but when a person of color discriminates
or stereotypes a white person because of their race,
in the United States, they don't have
the institutional power to back them up
and say that those feelings are okay.
Institutions are things like schools, government,
the military, corporations, and our justice system.
All of these things shape how people of color
are treated as a group, and as individuals.
That's because racism is not just on a
person to person basis.
it's big picture things, like people with
traditionally Latino, or "black" sounding names,
having a harder time getting job interviews,
even when they have the same qualifications
as white people applying for the same job.
Or people of color facing harsher prison sentences
for petty crimes in comparison to white criminals.
It's also harder for people of color to get home loans
on top of housing discrimination
that often keeps them out of
predominantly white neighborhoods.
This is how individual feelings about people of color
are supported by institutional power.
Prejudice of any kind isn't okay,
but it's important to understand that
prejudice and racism aren't the same thing.
Oh, I never thought about it like that.
Well, you are not the only one.
Racism is complicated,
and overwhelming to think about,
even for me, but understanding what
racism is and what it isn't
is the first step in fighting against it.
So what are some misconceptions
that you've heard about racism?
Or maybe some misconceptions
that you had in the past?
Let us know in the comments,
and we'll see you next week.
In our last vlog, I went to Vidcon
and asked fans about racism and stereotypes on YouTube.
Here are some of your comments.
Yeah, Magical Kappas, there's nothing worse than
being afraid of the police when you haven't
done anything wrong.
When I was in LA, I had to drive,
and the entire time I was looking over my shoulder,
like, "I hope I'm not doing anything wrong."
Lizzie Heyward, I love Swoozie.
His Disney stories are hilarious.
Ucamr13, you've got really good taste.
This is an awesome list.
Some of my favorite YouTubers are on here,
so you guys should definitely check them out.
And on our last sketch,
we wondered what some of our favorite movies would look like
if they were starring black actors.
Here's what you had to say.
You know, LoLaS2011, I really Idris to be James Bond, too,
but I heard he doesn't want to do it.
Linda Mitchell, you are brave to want to go
back to 1955, because there is no way I'm going back there.
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