I disagree.

We live in a world where, in the U.S., Black women are constantly told their hair is wrong the way it grows out of their head. Where white kids are raised to be afraid of Black men.

In the U.K., I was taught that Desi were unusually industrious, Black people were lazy, Roma were the utter scum of the Earth and not to be trusted. I was told that Pakistani boys were more likely to sexually assault me. I was literally told to be afraid of Muslim kids.

I. Was. Raised. Racist.

By people who would have said they didn't have a racist bone in their body. My mother was Jewish.

I was still raised racist.

Everyone in western society is raised with racism everywhere around them.

My parents taught me men and women were equal. Then I got to school "You can't do X. You're a girl." So even if your parents go out of their way to raise you in a way that isn't racist, society will fix them for it.

And when somebody says "There is not a racist bone in my body" and that person is a white person raised in Europe or America, I assume a lack of self awareness.

Can you seriously say that you were never taught stereotypes, by anyone? That you have never, even fleetingly, had the thought that "Obviously a Black guy did it"?

Pride is a problem...and pride is through every word of your statement. You are proud of "not being racist." But I doubt you have gone through your life and never thought, said, or even done something racist.

Not being racist doesn't work. You have to be anti-racist, starting with yourself.

None of us want to admit that we might have racist tendencies. That's understandable! Because we're also taught racists are bad people...but what's next to that image is a Klansman. We are good people. Ergo, we are not racist. Or the people we are racist against are bad people, and thus we aren't racist.

Do you see what I'm getting at here?