What is commonly being ascribed as "racism" nowadays, is often little more than a group of people with good self-awareness who practice thoughtful and effective language filtering.....all piling on top of others who demonstrate poor self-awareness and non-effective language filtering.
I'm not entirely sure there's any real "hearts and minds" progression occurring with all of this however. Sometimes it just feels like the smugness of one group who possess good, working filters on their speech habits (and know it)....pouncing all over those who for whatever reason....haven't quite got with the program yet.
Whether or not those who evidence themselves as being "not quite with the program" yet....are that way because they harbour racist attitudes or because they are perhaps just a tad slow on the uptake when it comes to modern propriety I'm still a bit unsure.
It just feels like, somewhere within the "zero tolerance" policy, there's a hell of a lot of band-wagon jumping by those who feel super-confident, that whatever their other sins in life are....they'll never let themselves be caught out when it comes to "words."
I think what I'm positing here, is that it's quite possible to be the biggest bastard that ever walked the earth, but at the same time....somebody whose intelligent enough to never put so much as a word wrong.....especially in any known place where "words" alone, fall under the greatest degree of scrutiny.
So this utter "bastard" for example, could actually be one of the most vociferous and condemnatory opponents of what we might call "vocalised" racism or prejudice, but its only a position he can bask in, because in spite of being the utter bastard that he is, he is smart enough to know that he'll never be caught sinning in this manner himself....because the one good thing this utter bastard has got going for himself is his tremendous self-restraint and good command of his own output.
He can then use this "virtue" about himself..... to join in with all of the other voices and place himself in camp "good-guy" because he knows its one camp he'll never compromise himself with, and knowing deep down what an utter bastard he really is, it might be quite useful to readily ally himself with anything which can hide this fact....as far as others might perceive him.
So...whilst the world's going super-crazy about anybody and everybody who just can't regulate their own output and end up being leapt upon as a "racist".....our utter bastard regularly joins in with the outrage, and he can only get away with doing this because in spite of all the many bastardly things he does and thinks....he CAN regulate HIS output.
As for the other poor sods who can't however.....well why not let the wider world think THEY are the utter bastards. Let their stupid "tongue-slips" and improprieties take all the judgemental heat that the modern zeitgeist can hurl at them.
But somewhere within camp "good guy" amongst the merry throng of outrage, there could well be lurking some of the biggest, most hypocritical band of bastards....whose only true "virtue" is their talent for never being likely to be caught uttering racist phrases.
Being the utter bastards that they are however, they can "think" what they like about racial issues and know it, because as things currently stand, its only those who use certain "words" who kop any censure....whilst thoughts.....as most utter bastards well know, will never compromise, so long as they remain just that.
I'm not saying that racial impropriety or discourtesy should not be greeted with the concern or censure it merits....
Merely that being all outraged and condemnatory about it is something that "anybody" who is intelligent enough to censure their own output can join in with....even if they have very little else to recommend them as a person of true virtue, and that in some cases, it's a very easy and "useful" bandwagon to jump on, in order to portray themselves as being a person of principle and integrity.
This has not been an easy point to raise, and I'm not necessarily making it in the context of those "who get offended on other people's behalf."
I'm merely saying that the opportunity to be disingenuous about racial issues is there.....and it is especially accessible by those who CAN regulate their own output. Regardless of other (less obvious) flaws they may possess in private.
"We can only respond and react to what we see and hear others doing or saying..."
...one may argue.
But whilst that's very true, it does provide the kind of fertile, societal ground that many an "utter bastard" can easily exploit.
