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Overuse of word ‘racist’ may rob it of meaning

 
By The Associated Press | Published: September 18, 2009   

Everybody’s racist, it seems.

Republican Rep. Joe Wilson? Racist, because he shouted "You lie!” at the first black president. Health care protesters, affirmative action supporters? Racist. And Barack Obama? He’s the "Racist in Chief,” wrote a leader of the recent conservative protest in Washington.

photo - This Sept. 15, 2009 file photo shows Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House voted to admonish Wilson over his "You lie" outburst to President Barack Obama during the president's health care speech to Congress.(AP Photo/Harry Hamburg,File)
This Sept. 15, 2009 file photo shows Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House voted to admonish Wilson over his "You lie" outburst to President Barack Obama during the president's health care speech to Congress.(AP Photo/Harry Hamburg,File)

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But if everyone’s racist, is anyone?

The word is being sprayed in all directions, creating a hall of mirrors that is draining the scarlet R of its meaning and its power, turning it into more of a spitball than a stigma.

"It gets to the point where we don’t have a word that we use to call people racist who actually are,” said John McWhorter, who studies race and language at the conservative Manhattan Institute.

What the word once meant — and still does in Webster’s dictionary — is someone who believes in the inherent superiority of a particular race or is prejudiced against others.

This definition was ammunition for the civil rights movement, which used a strategy of confronting racism to obtain equal rights.

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Related Topics: Politics, Social Issues, U.S. Politics, World Politics, African-American Issues, Racism and Bigotry, Racial Issues, Government and Politics

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