The "Cover up" words

 Whether we deny it, or not, we have all done it at least once. At one point in our lives we have said or done, or even thought something racist.  We may even found ourselves talking about the topic with someone. A common beginning to a racial conversation we have heard over and over again is “I’m not racist” or “Some of my best friends are...” In book Racism without Racists by Bonilla-Silva states “phrases such as “I’m not racist” or “Some of my best friends are black” have become standard fare of post- Civil Rights racial discourse” (Bonilla-Silva 57). What she means is that people have found different ways of voicing and talking about race without being consider racist. So why do we even say those phrases in the first place? In a personal experience, I was once having a conversation with my roommate. My roommate is black and she is also a high school friend from back at home. We both got into the topic how people do use those phrases. I told her that I would find myself saying the phrase “I’m not racist” to anyone I was talking to because people I found that people actually do get really offended if not.  It almost became like a disclaimer.  According to Bonilla-Silva “They act as discursive buffers before or after someone states something that is or could be interpreted as racist” (Bonilla-Silva 57). In other words the phrases work as a “cover up”.

This picture is a perfect example why do we even say anything in the first place? In most cases because to some people it can come off being racist if that "disclaimer" is not said. But it in hindsight, it is true, usually after saying the phrase nothing good comes after it. Telling people our beliefs can come off being harmful or even racist. We shouldn't make it a huge deal then what it really is.  The bottom line, as long as there is diversity in this world, there will always be some type of racist topics in our conversation.  The only alternative is not to talk about our differences at all, and that to me, is even worse.

Here is a video that i recommenced everyone should watch "Are we all more racist than we realize or would like to admit?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYHBrJIIFU