When I spoke of “they,” I meant racist people, the people that did those things. And yes, in this case they were white. But I don’t believe that only white people can be racist, just like I don’t believe that all white people are racist. The idea that white is best has infected everyone, not just black and white people, so it is very possible for Zimmerman, a Hispanic man, to still have this type of thinking. So much of the world is color struck, convinced of a color hierarchy that puts white at top, black at the bottom and everyone else lined up in the middle. It’s so much deeper than just black and white.

You’re right, I have no idea what color or religion the Hunger Games tweeters are, but that doesn’t matter. They could have even been black for all I know (though I doubt it). My point still remains: “The unconscious racist’s ideas of whiteness and blackness and so entrenched in a hierarchy of value that their minds literally blotted out printed text so as not to disturb their preconceived notions about what “good” really looks like.” Anyone can have racist thinking, so the race of those tweeters is irrelevant.

I know Americans in general have actually grown less religious over time, but the images of whiteness as king is still very pervasive and its roots lie in religion. It doesn’t matter if you particularly believe in that religion. What matters is that most of us have been thoroughly exposed to and affected by it, regardless of if we realize it or not (hence the unconscious part).

“Racism was definitely started by whites, but the racism that continues today transcends the White vs Black argument in a big way.” <– Your words, and I agree with them 100%. I never meant to imply that it's just a black and white issue.

Thanks for commenting:)

While the two assumptions of your article do have some validity, in my opinion, your examples were terrible at illustrating your point. Let’s start with George Zimmerman.

First of all, Zimmerman is not what most people would characterize as “white.” According to a Huffington post article, “His father called him a ‘Spanish speaking minority’ with many black relatives and friends.”

In the beginning of your article, you spoke in great detail about the people (“they”) who would buy and sell you, and call your father “boy”. Now, those people (“they”), have black friends, and listen to black artists on their Ipods. From the way you characterized these people (the ones that “lynched” you, and “made the trans Atlantaic slave trade okay”), I naturally assumed you meant “white” people. You drove your point home with, “It still runs on that inherently-flawed and extremely delusional belief that God is white (European) and has a natural preference for his own.”

How does this apply to Zimmerman though? He isn’t white, and his ancestors weren’t the ones (“they”) you were referring to. Since his background is inherently different than typical white Americans, it is illogical to assume that he was indoctrinated with the exact same form of “unconscious racism.”

You only have to look inside American prisons, or gangs to see how many different types of racism there are. Whites hate blacks and hispanics, blacks hate whites and hispanics, hispanics hate blacks and whites. Plenty of Hispanic minorities hate black people for reasons completely removed from the White vs Black discussion. The hispanics that are racist towards black people are not racist because they believe their “God is white, and has a natural preference for his own”.

If Zimmerman did act based upon unconscious racism (which I do believe occurred), this racism was a completely unique form, and can’t be automatically connected with the white racists and bigots of the past.

As far as your Hunger Games example, I believe you have made an incomparable parallel. You’ve aligned the murder of a young African American boy at the hands of a Hispanic male, with the disgruntled tweets of who?

You have no idea if these outspoken tweets are from people of white, asian, or hispanic backgrounds, AND you also have no inclination as to their religious backgrounds either. You concluded your article with, “Until we get away from the idea that God is white (or any other color for that matter) racism will live on,” but all tweets from disgruntled Hunger Games fans could very well be from Asian atheists. The framework of racism and “unconscious racism” that you alleged to in the beginning of your article would then be completely incomparable.

I am not saying that unconscious racism doesn’t exist, because I confidently believe it does. In addition to that, I also believe that it could perpetuate old stereotypes. I just have significant issues with people simplifying the complex issue of racism into White > Black, AND tying racism into some theological debate. Racism has nothing to do with religion anymore. Racism was definitely started by whites, but the racism that continues today transcends the White vs Black argument in a big way.

Again GREAT write.