Faux antiracism claims to be about fighting racism, yet doesn't say or do anything productive. The person has little interest in helping others or taking time to understand the issues. Instead, they aim for bold or catchy things to say for praise.
- Real anti-racism: "White people should be held accountable for their actions. It's wrong for people of color to get punished for things that white people typically face no consequences for."
- Faux anti-racism: "White people stink and need to shut up."
- Real anti-racism: "We need to talk about how people of color get treated in hospitals. A nurse told my 15-year-old daughter that she was drug seeking when she was crying in pain from her broken wrist."
- Faux anti-racism: "Only people of color understand what suffering is like. White people, sit down, because you've never felt true pain in your lives."
Faux antiracism can stir up controversies that distract from the real, important work that antiracist activists are doing. It may even prejudice less-discerning people against antiracism altogether.
Signs someone might not be genuine:
- They make broad, obviously false statements that any reasonable person would disagree with
- They don't learn from their mistakes
- They don't spend much time reading or listening to other advocates
- Their content heavily features self-promotion with very little time spent on substance
Of course, some of these people are actually trolls posing as activists because they can't think of better things to do with their time.
Misuse of the term[]
Of course, some people are eager to tear down anti-racist advocates and will accuse them of being fake. In reality, some of these "fake" people are well-meaning individuals who are:
- Dealing with limited resources—not everyone has time to coordinate protests or write dissertation-level articles
- Seeking attention for an issue they care about, less/not for themselves
- Young, immature, and still learning (e.g. most teenage activists)
If a mature activist makes a genuine mistake, they'll usually take time to reflect, learn, and then apologize. An immature activist will lash out against anyone who points it out, even if they were being polite and understanding about it.
Quotes[]
I tell you what's worse...people who pretend to be the defenders of racial equality by vilifying another race with a broad brush. — "Anon," 29. May, 2020.
Assigning worth to things specific to their makeup. I.E. giving races different assigned worth in the eyes of society. In other words, THE EPITOME OF RACISM.
--- @CarrionSoul[1]
As a criminologist and former senior detective I have interviewed numerous second generation Asian-Pakistani men convicted of grooming and sexually abusing young vulnerable white girls. The majority claimed they were innocent and put forward theories of how the government, police, judges and witnesses had conspired to wrongly convict them. It was also clear that they did not see their victims as children and therefore did not consider themselves to be sex offenders. An example of this mindset was the leader of the Rochdale grooming gang, Shabir Ahmed, who failed to overturn his convictions at the European Court of Human Rights by claiming an all-white jury was part of a conspiracy to scapegoat Muslims. During his trial Ahmed repeatedly accused the judge, the jury, and the police of being part of a racist conspiracy against Muslims and said: “It’s all white lies.” The story (focusing on the victims in this case) was subsequently made into the BBC drama Three Girls.Graham Hill, January 20, 2020
(Visiting research fellow, School of Law, University of Leeds).
‘Pseudoantiracism’ or ‘pseudo-antiracism’ is a term that has been use to refer to the instance of someone racist pretending to be antiracist.[2] Such a person can also be a crypto-racist, who hides their racism behind pretensions of "antiracism."
Rhizmoata[]
- Antiracism; Racism; Justice; Injustice; Narcissism; Malignant behavior; Malignancy; Ponerology; Sociopathy; Antisocial; Social pathology
- Wokeism; SJW
- Egalitarianism; Forced equality; Horrorism
- Crypto-racism; Pretend-antiracism; Anti-whiteness
- Pseudo-intellectual; Pseudo-intellectual movement; Black Supremacism