Reverse racism isnt real. No, really.

The reverse racism card is often pulled by white people when people of color call out racism and discrimination, or create spaces for themselves (think BET) that white people arent a part of. The impulse behind the reverse racism argument seems to be a desire to prove that people of color dont have it that bad, theyre not the only ones that are put at a disadvantage or targeted because of their race. Its like the Racism Olympics. And its patently untrue.

It really all comes down to semantics. At some point, the actual meaning of racism got mixed up with other aspects of racism prejudice, bigotry, ignorance, and so on. Its true: White people can experience prejudice from black people and other non-whites. Black people can have ignorant, backwards ideas about white people, as well as other non-white races. No one is trying to deny that. But racism is far more complex.

Before you cry outrage and send me a nasty email about how reverse racist this article is, calm down. Listen.

This scene from 2014s Dear White People breaks down the concept pretty succinctly:

Some people simplify racism as one group not liking another, and think "racist" and "prejudiced" are interchangeable. But racism is a concept that operates on both an individual and institutional level.

At its core, racism is a system in which a dominant race benefits off the oppression of others -- whether they want to or not. We don't live in a society where every racial group has equal power, status, and opportunity. Yes, white people all over the world and throughout history have experienced atrocities like slavery and persecution. But in the very specific context of American history, white people have not been enslaved, colonized, or forced to segregate on the scale that black people have. They do not face housing or job discrimination, police brutality, poverty, or incarceration at the level that black people do. This is not to say that they do not experience things like poverty and police brutality at all. But again, not on the same scale -- not even close. That is the reality of racism.