I'd be the first to say that I can unintentionally be a little racist sometimes, and I don't always call others out on their discriminatory comments, so I'm definitely not the greatest person ever. But I'm trying to become less discriminatory, and I think that counts for something.
Here's an example of my personal racism: I sometimes stereotype Asians. E.g. they all are really smart, like studying a lot, get good grades, have pushy moms, etc. While this is true for some of my Chinese, Japanese, and Korean friends, it isn't for all of them. I know a half-white, half-Korean woman who is studying piano performance, is physically attractive, and likes to model. Her mom is pretty wealthy and fairly pushy, and her younger sister goes to MIT. I also know a half-Japanese boy who is really smart and gets straight A's, and neither of his parents is pushy. Then there's the Chinese girl who struggles with speaking English (but she isn't shy) and wants to have fun instead of being super studious.
There are also non-Asians who fit "Asian" stereotypes. I know a white girl who is two years younger than the rest of her grade (she's currently a senior in high school) and whose parents push her academically and culturally. She arrives late to youth symphony rehearsals because she's involved in a group ice skating competition.
The other day a couple of my family members made casually racist remarks that they probably didn't even realize were racist. As we were turning off one street onto another, a silver Suburban cut us off when the driver really should have let us go. My 15-year-old sister, in describing the driver, mentioned that she was black. A person of color might not personally take offense at this statement, but if the driver had been white, would my sister have mentioned that? No, because in her mind, white is normal.
A few minutes later, as we were parking, my dad said, "Don't run over the Indian lady." While his intentions were good, he wouldn't have said the same about a white woman. Why? Because our society has been conditioned into believing that white is normal.
I've never dated a person of color; all of my relationships have been with white people. Does that make me racist? I don't know. I've been attracted to people of all colors, but not all of them have felt the same about me. There are several cultural differences to consider in any relationship, even if it's with someone whose skin contains the same amount of melanin as yours does.
Racially, I am in a position of privilege that I personally did nothing to deserve, simply because I am white. I am more likely to be accepted to college and more likely to get a job, just because of an arbitrary genetic factor. I can say with all the idealism of youth that I don't want the color of my skin to give me privileges, but ultimately, those are just words.
Just a few of my thoughts on this topic! I wrote this a few weeks ago and it is unedited.
