Not feeling very funny rn so here’s a thread on a minor shift in thinking that can make identifying racism easier and more effective
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The fundamental flaw in identifying racism is the attachment of that term to a person rather than an action.

No one wants to assign titles to people based on behaviors if they are anything less than pervasive.

You might sing but not think of yourself as a singer. If you don’t identify that way, I’ll hesitate to identify you that way. We don’t like to put people in boxes.

And this is where our conversation breaks down sometimes.

Me: Shmonald is a singer!!

You: He’s not a singer! He said he wasn’t! He has lots of friends who don’t sing! He only sang a few times! We’re all human.

And dammit, you’re not wrong. Somewhere inside even the stoniest of us waver. I have, in fact, sung. I have loved people who sung frequently. They raised my family. They served me meals. Were they 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴?

Now the point is fully obfuscated. I’ve got grandma in my head, next to the president. I’m doing math. How many songs make a singer? Do little songs count? Whistles? Songs from a long time ago?

Naming people, be it 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 or 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵, is inherently more debatable and divisive than naming actions.

So next time you hear it, say “Hey! THAT is a song.” Naming it when we hear it, when we are all hearing it, is way more effective than asking someone to apply what they may or may not have noticed in the past.

Then next time somebody says “He’s not a singer!”, it’ll be easier to remind them of a few of his most powerful tunes.

This thread is very much informed by Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be an Anti-Racist.” It’s worth your time.