Passive-Aggressive Racism

Forget about those KKK sheets and burning crosses. The most destructive, soul-killing kind of racism is that underhanded verbal kind that tries to fly under the conversational radar and usually succeeds. It’s that indirect — seemingly meaningless — kind that comes, then quickly leaves in the blink of an eye.

No, it’s not a chokehold that can kill an innocent citizen. But it does effectively perpetuate the belief of white supremacy in a way that encourages and excuses deadly behaviors like chokeholds. It’s the racism that enables this 21st Century lynching to continue. It’s the racism that makes more racism possible. And yet, it seems so harmless. Just like a little choke weed in your garden that ultimately kills all the other plants right under your nose. It’s there, right in front of you. But it’s also psychologically designed so you won’t notice it. Or confront it.

You hear it. But you can’t believe it. Then in the 2 seconds it takes you to get over your disbelief and to realize the remark was unacceptable and inappropriate, the seemingly friendly racist leaves. The mouthpiece of passive-aggressive white power has either physically left or quickly moved on to other topics. And there you are, scratching your head and wondering if you actually heard this person say it. Whoa! Did he actually say what I thought I heard? Did she really mean that?

Well, he probably DID say that, and she probably DID mean that. But the remark’s drop-speed was so fast, and more importantly, so indirect, that holding the speaker accountable for it becomes almost impossible. That’s why this Passive-Aggressive-Racism holds such an attraction for the white elite. You can be racist and insult non-white people and still get away with it.

I call it Passive-Aggressive Racism in order to better define it for this discussion because some white people still don’t get it. They know it exists, but they don’t know what to call it. They know it’s around, but they don’t think it’s any big deal. BUT. IT. IS. Non-white people — especially black people — have been dealing with it for years. And they of course recognize it for what it is. It’s Bona-fide Racism. It might be the sneaky, snarky kind, but it’s still racism.

Here’s a good working definition: Passive-Aggressive Racism is that indirect — yet insidious — verbal racism that infiltrates seemingly friendly conversation.

Look at the classic examples of “you people” and “those people,” so ubiquitous in so many conversations. Almost always, the one who uses these terms is white, while the people spoken about aren’t. The identity of these non-white people is never mentioned, but listeners usually know they’re NOT white. No one ever stops the conversation to ask, either. No one ever interrupts to verify the race in question. No one ever says, “Wait, are you talking about Black or Hispanic or Asian people?” That’s because most White people understand that these remarks imply that the people aren’t white. And that implication means that “those people” just aren’t as intelligent or adept or intrinsically good as The White People are.

But remember, if The White People actually verbalized any racial identification, everybody — even the other white people — would think they’re racists. And White People never want anyone, especially racial minorities, to think that. They want to continue to drop these subtle racist barbs that remind them and their white friends of their innate superiority without any angry blowback from the non-white people. Like, they want to be racist but they don’t want the people they verbally yet subtlety attack to get mad at them. No matter what they actually say or do, they hate, they hate being called racist.

In other words, they want to get along with everybody in every ethnic minority group without “giving up” their position of superiority and power. Ah, white people. I once heard a white guy from Iowa actually say, “Black people have matching outfits, white people have clothing ensembles.” And he and his listeners laughed. But they were all of the same mind. They actually believed that white people WERE better in every way, even when it came to simply defining their wardrobes.

And yet, isn’t that the essence of racism? To truly believe that skin color automatically makes people better or worse than other human beings?

Well, duh. Yeah, that’s racism all right.

As a white person, I can’t begin to tell you how much this absurd discrimination makes me feel. It has no place at all in 21st Century America, yet it persists. It has seeped so pervasively into every nook and cranny of American culture that often no one ever recognizes it as Passive-Aggressive Racism. For example, I like to watch old movies from the 30’s and 40’s. Unfortunately, my enjoyment wanes when this P.A. Racism appears in the silver screen’s best movies.

Look, I understand that white performers used to put on “black face” when they sang and danced in minstrel shows. I also know that black performers themselves started these minstrel shows because they couldn’t perform in so many “Whites Only” venues. And yet, it soon became easier for white people to smear themselves with black shoe polish than to give black people the right to perform where they wanted. Okay. I get it. I know the history behind white performance in minstrel shows.

But why did the scripts in these musicals require white actors to even perform in minstrel shows? No doubt the real George M. Cohan and family probably did get into blackface to perform some minstrel show numbers at the turn of the century. But did audiences really need to see the song and dance montage of James Cagney & company singing and dancing as ersatz Negroes? What was the point of doing that anyway?

For those of you who say “That’s what really happened, it was just historical fact,” here are some other facts to chew on. The studio who presented Cagney as the charming, multi-talented Cohan also ignored the animosity of the real hard-drinking Cohan who had troubled marriages and estranged family in real life. The same studio also had no qualms about “rearranging” history when it came to biopics of George Custer and Robin Hood. Okay, Okay, Robin of Loxley might have have been a fictional character. But (ATTENTION: Spoiler Alert) even Errol Flynn in all his swashbuckling glory could not have helped Richard the Lionhearted regain his rightful throne because the real Richard died in a German prison.

But I digress. These examples of racist images in film don’t fit the true definition of P.A. Racism. They were merely musical images of Whites pretending to be Blacks that flashed across the screen with no verbal references to what they were doing or why. They only remain now as unfortunate reminders of another time. A much better example of Passive-Aggressive Racism from that era would be the dialogue itself.

I’m referring to the ubiquitous line, “That’s mighty white of you.”

Because so many characters were conspicuously saying it in movies from the 30’s, I thought the trope had originated in that time period. Not so. According to Mark Liberman from the online “Ask Language Log,” the phrase seems to have originated in the 1890’s and was used by Americans to “identify behavior felt to be stereotypically associated with WASPS, or at least with those of the better classes, as opposed to the dishonorable behavior to be expected from blacks, Indians, jews, and pretty much everybody else.”

So it was really an Equal Opportunity Racist put-down. Regardless of the race the comment meant to disparage, however, the implied sentiment was that the white person being commended for doing or saying something was of course more honorable than any non-white person would be. (Again, with the implied white superiority!)

What’s interesting, though, is how many examples of this phrase’s sentiment Liberman was able to find in usage even before 1913. ( And they’re listed if you Google “That’s mighty white of you” and look at the question asked by KH in June, 2011.) Even more interesting is how Liberman ends his summation:
“Originally used under colonialism and before civil rights, this phrase expressed appreciation for honorable or gracious behavior, under the assumption that white people were inherently more virtuous. Today, it is genuinely used sarcastically in reference to underwhelming acts of generosity.”

Nowadays, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, could a phrase like “That’s mighty white of you” even be considered sarcastic? I doubt it. Maybe it could, in 2011. But now, nine years later, it just sounds stupid.

Of course, it IS possible that some people who use such phrases aren’t trying to be malicious or hurtful or racist. Who knows? The only way to really know is to ask them about it. So start a dialogue and passive-aggressively educate them.