PFFT: I'm not racist! But...

Read my live journal entry on this topic. I found this site by typing "I'm not racist but" into Google. The following is WHY i chose to do this.

[from my 10/06/03 Livejournal entry]
You know, In all of my 21 years of living, it is my experience that nothing worthwhile or intelligent has EVER followed the phrase "I'm not a racist, but..." Think about it. Can you think of any instance in which something good has come out of this sentance starter? No. Without exception, its always actually an indicator that that person is about to prove JUST how racist THEY ARE. As if saying that they're "not a racist" gives them license to say anything racist that they want. By just saying the magical indicator "I'm not racist, but..." they erase any bad intent or destruction caused by their words to follow. That, however, is not reality. A bigoted comment is a bigoted comment, whether you preface it with some sort of phony, self-prescribed 'sympathetic qualification,' or not. And it is always the case too. I've never heard a white guy say, "I'm not a racist, but black people are totally awesome!" No. Why? Because he wouldn't need that qualifier in the begining if he did. Its still a blanket statement, but not a racially charged statement, obviously fueled by some kind of innate or even conscious resentment or hatred. This however is:
"I'm not a racist, but..." [Phil looks over at his friend Al, anticipating a true nugget of wisdom following that line] "It's not fucking fair that all those indians get to sit on their ass and get paid and not have to work for it."
First of all, most of the native americans on the reservation, do not qualify for this assistance. You have to be AT LEAST 25% native american, and be able to PROVE IT! You must ALSO prove a NEED, and you have to live on the reservation. You have to be a SAGINAW CHIPPEWA indian, and you have to be in good standing. Lastly, its only FIVE GRAND A YEAR! WHOOPTY FRIGGAN DOOO! While $5000 a year would definitey take a huge load off my back, I couldn't quit my job, or pay off my loans, or even not take out another loan for school. I could have MAYBE lived in Deerfield or Lexington instead of Union Square. MAYBE.
So, think about that next time that you hear that statement. Chances are you hear it at least once a week--especially if you're a white person, hanging at least occasionally with other white people of an income bracket background of 60K/year or more for their family. See how often you hear it, and if anything very intelligent follows. You'll be very surprised to find out who is actually hiding some secret racism in your life. It could be your roommate, your significant other, your professor, your boss, your parents, your Senate Majority Leader ('I'm not racist or anything, but Strom Thurmond should have been president of our country... so he could put all the darkies back in their place!') It could even be you. So be wary of those words. Blanket statements are not only false, they're signs of stupidity and total crudeness.