2017 was a year of increased tensions in the country, especially between the races, but some people went overboard in declaring certain items and activities “racist.” Here is a list of some of the most absurd things that were labeled “racist” in 2017.
1. Farmer’s Markets
“Farmers’ markets are often white spaces where the food consumption habits of white people are normalized,” said San Diego State University professors Pascale Joassart-Marcelli and Fernando J Bosco. “The most insidious part of this gentrification process is that alternative food initiatives work against the community activists and residents who first mobilized to fight environmental injustices and provide these amenities but have significantly less political and economic clout than developers and real estate professionals,” they wrote. In case you were wondering if there was some underlying evil behind home-grown fruits and veggies.
2. Being On Time
South Carolina’s Clemson University declared that expecting people to be on time is not “inclusive.” All employees were expected to partake in the exercise, which basically stated that it is improper to expect people to be on time. “[A] character named Alejandro schedules a 9:00 a.m. meeting between two groups of foreign professors and students. The first group arrived fifteen minutes early, while the second arrived ten minutes late,” reads one of the slides. It is impolite and racially insensitive to “politely ask the second group to apologize,” because “his cultural perspective regarding time is neither more nor less valid than any other.” Time is now a racial/cultural thing. And here I thought my clock was reliable.
3. Some Trees
A row of trees on the Tahquitz Creek Golf Course in Palm Springs, California was labeled “racist” because it separates the course from a historically black neighborhood. Many say that the trees were planted as a way to keep what was – at the time – a new housing development at a distance. Residents in the area complain that the trees are driving down property values, not allowing the homes to be listed as being along the golf course. One many even said that the trees were “nasty” and “environmentally-unfriendly.” As a result of these many complaints, the city is looking at a $169,000 fee to remove the trees. With such a ruckus being raised about the environment and climate change, is it really a smart idea to be tearing down trees just because some people think they’re “racist?”
4. Math
I hate math as much as the next sane, self-loving person, but it appears that there is something more sinister behind the art of calculations: Racism. According to Professor Rochelle Gutierrez of the University of Illinois, “mathematics itself operates as Whiteness,” and as we all know by now, “Whiteness” is bad. “Who gets credit for doing and developing mathematics, who is capable in mathematics, and who is seen as part of the mathematical community is generally viewed as White,” she wrote. She also believes that “curricula emphasizing terms like Pythagorean theorem and pi perpetuate a perception that mathematics was largely developed by Greeks and other Europeans,” making it “white math.” Wait, have I just stumbled across an excuse to stop taking math classes??
5. The Outdoors
Hiking, biking, skiing, camping, all of these things have something in common: They’re racist. How, exactly, could such activities be deemed as racially insensitive you ask? According to Malcom McMann, white people – specifically white males – have dominion over the outdoors, and feel more comfortable in that space than minorities do. This has to do, he says, with the white man’s history of conquering land. The word “outdoorsy” is also problematic, he says. “This whiteness manifests in the term “outdoorsy” – a descriptor for those who spend a significant time in the outdoors, who are equipped with the necessary gear, and who feel connected to nature,” McMann writes.“The image of the “outdoorsy individual” is an exclusive classification that gives white people the authority to venture into the outdoors freely, leaving people of color behind.” Who knew spelunking was so embroiled in controversy?
6. Jingle Bells
This holiday favorite became the target of a rather hateful accusation late in to 2017, when Professor Kyna Hamill from Boston University, located in the same city where the original song was written. According to her, the holiday favorite has deeply problematic origins, and should be stripped of its place in the Christmas season. “Although ‘One Horse Open Sleigh,’ for most of its singers and listeners, may have eluded its radicalized past and taken its place in the seemingly unproblematic romanticization of a normal ‘white’ Christmas, attention to the circumstances of its performance history enables reflection on its problematic role in the construction of blackness and whiteness in the United States,” she wrote. Later in her essay, she admits that it would hard to convince people that she’s not just making things up, but claims that “cracks have begun to form” in the “’Jingle Bells’ narrative,” whatever that is. Just let people enjoy things.
7. The Eclipse
2017 was full of ups and downs, but one of the highlights of the year was the total eclipse that took place during the summer. It was something that millions of people from around the world flocked to the United States to see, all of them migrating toward the “Path of Totality” where the sun would be completely covered. While some of us, like myself, lived in the path already, millions more did not and one author thinks that it is due to… you guessed it. Racism. “It has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse, and along most of its path, there live almost no black people,” writes Alice Ristroph, speaking of the event. “Presumably, this is not explained by the implicit bias of the solar system,” she states rather obviously.“It is a matter of population density, and more specifically geographic variations in population density by race, for which the sun and the moon cannot be held responsible. Still, an eclipse chaser is always tempted to believe that the skies are relaying a message.” Implying that the Universe is racist is rather… far-fetched, don’t you think?
8. White Nuclear Families
Are you white? Do you have a white partner? Do you have a white child? Do you want the best for your white child? If you answered “yes” to all of those questions, CONGRATS! You’re a racist! At least, that’s what sociology professor Jessie Daniels (who also describes herself as an “expert on race”) said in a Twitter rant in October. “[W]hat I’ve learned is that the white-nuclear family is one of the most powerful forces supporting white supremacy,” she said. Oh, but she wasn’t done there. “I mean, if you’re a white person who says they’re engaged in dismantling white supremacy but…you’re forming a white family [and] reproducing white children that ‘you want the best for’ – how is that helping [and] not part of the problem?” Daniels asked. So it doesn’t matter if you spent your whole life fighting racism and are planning to teach your children how to combat racists, you are automatically “part of the problem” Seems logical and not at all divisive, right?
9. “Baby Hairs”
While “baby hairs” themselves may not be considered racist, the use of that phrase by Lucy Hale prompted many to accuse her of “racism” and “cultural appropriation.” The actress and model posted a photo from a shoot with the caption “That time my baby hairs came in good use at a shoot.” Well apparently this was unacceptable to some people, who made a LOT of negative comments to the young woman, including one user who told her to “check urban dictionary” before using that phrase next time. “Baby hairs,” of course, are the fine, feathery hairs that grow on the hairline, and can make or break a hair day depending on how they are worn. African-Americans have mastered slicking down these bothersome little hairs and even styling them using a bristle brush. Apparently this means that nobody else can ever use the phrase “baby hairs” or slick them down, or else they’re racist. Hale later removed the photo and apologized, saying that she didn’t mean to offend anyone with her choice of words.
10. Milk
A lot of people hate milk, but it’s unlikely that you hate it as much as a student named Samantha Diaz, who claims that milk is an example of racism. “You, along with the rest of the nation, have been so accustomed to hearing the benefits of milk that you probably didn’t even realize the subtle racism hidden in our health facts,” she writes. After going on about how everything in the United States is racist, she focuses on one particular, seemingly-innocuous product: Milk. “The federal endorsement of milk in American diets contributes to the problem by uncritically pushing people to drink milk, despite the potential detriment it has on non-white people’s health,” she continues. “Our current federal dietary guidelines urge people to drink three cups of milk a day, according to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” she continues.“The main health benefit of milk is to guard against osteoporosis, a disease that weakens your bones — hence the ‘stronger bones’ rhetoric. While this is a very practical health benefit, osteoporosis affects Africans at a significantly lower rate than it does most Americans.” So basically, it has a better effect on white people than on black people, and it’s racist to encourage people to drink it.
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