We’ve all heard people say that statement before. From your local gardener to a drunken random down at the pub, your ears perk up and your head starts to shake as soon as you hear those four little words.
‘I’m not racist, but…’
You can just tell that the thing that’s going to be said after those words is going to be offensive to people. There’s no other way to explain it really, you just have a feeling that whoever has said it is going to say a racist statement and then claim that they’re just speaking the truth. Either they’ll say it’s the truth, or then say the racist thing and then say that you can’t say that anymore because of political correctness gone mad, which seems to be a popular opinion as of late.
It’s almost like when you hear people say ‘no offence, but..’ and then they proceed to say the most offensive statement you’ve ever heard, whether it’s their opinion on your outfit or their opinion on whether babies on planes should be allowed on red-eye flights, because really, “they’re just keeping everyone up and ruining the flight for everyone.” You’re just sitting there in a daze of confusion and annoyance, because you can’t believe that someone just said that, and they may or may not kind of sound like Trump.
I’m not about to suggest that people should stop saying what they’re thinking, because that would be bad. I’m just trying to point out that if you have a feeling that something is offensive or racist to people, you probably shouldn’t say it outloud. Maybe mutter it to a close friend and then gauge their opinion on it, but if they’re your friends, they might have the same viewpoint as you. Which could potentially be an offensive or racist one.
There’s nothing you can say to these people to change their minds, which is a bit disheartening. If anything, you may try to fight them on their viewpoint and they may get more ingrained on it than before and you’ve basically just wasted your time and everyone else’s around you. I literally have no idea how to change it. My only plan of action at the moment is to laugh politely and not agree, but these penguins seem to have it down pat.
