Racism has been around for decades and is still very much evident in 2021. It has been used in education settings and the workplace. It may not be clear to most, but racism is very much used by the US government and the police system. Anti-Black racism, a special term used for a specific kind of prejudice, has been used countless times to justify enslavement, destruction of successful black communities, and the lynching and killing of all black people including men, women, and children. Then and now, racism has been used the exact way it was intended to, as a weapon.
What does it mean to weaponize something?
Using something to deliberately inflict harm is what’s known as weaponizing. The term itself has become widely misused and to an extent, appropriated by the media. Common phrases include “woke” and the N-word. Dixie D’Amelio, Nikita Dragun, and many other influencers have been accused of this even if these things weren’t deliberately said. They can also be non-verbal acts such as clothing or even hair.
Why are these things offensive?
For starters, the term “stay woke” found a way into society when people started using it to signify someone who is racially conscious. The intentions are not intended to cause ill-will but are still arguably problematic.
Influencers (oftentimes but not always, white) have been known to latch onto the term and weaponized it. How you might ask? Well, the term easily became weaponized when people started to use it to dismiss and excuse their racial issues and/or actions. It is a way for them to still be relevant.
Allyship, Oppression, and Suppression
This is it to constantly come at white people, the time and time again they seem to confuse me because they claim to understand where I’m coming from when discussing my stance on black issues, but at the same time, there is still a sense of naivety and lack of awareness as to how race is truly viewed in America. The standard will always be white.
White people in particular will try to relate to black people as a form of allyship but they don’t realize that discussing their oppression is problematic. One of the many examples comes from members of the LGBTQ+ community. This isn’t to say that members of this community don’t suffer in face oppression, but if your white, that discrimination Is nowhere near the same degree as black people. Many would argue that they don’t fully understand the race issue but at the end of the day, that’s just a form of suppression. That lack of discussion is why this issue has been a constant battle for decades.
The answer to whether or not racism can be used as a weapon should be evident by now. Racism is an oppressive weapon. I think one of the first steps is for people who are not of color to recognize their privilege and understand that disregarding the issue altogether isn’t going to make it better. Once white people can see that they are not the victim, I believe true progress can be made.
