Understanding racism today requires that one understand the subtleties of the language of those who perpetuate it.
Please contribute to the glossary in the comments section. I will add confirmed, relevant and accurate tropes to the glossary. Please read the entire article first.
Please note the difference between individual uses of prejudiced language and institutional racism. I encourage readers who have not yet already, to investigate this subject, which I’ll inevitably be posting on. The following post addresses use of racially prejudiced language and ideas in the context of institutional racism.
As a result of the abolition of slavery, then later desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement, and finally the combination of contemporary cultural pressures and demographic shifts, the language of racial prejudice and bigoted assumptions has changed dramatically, especially over the last 50 or so years. Words that start with N are no longer the haute couture of racists and privilege-denying whites. Although the old words are cropping up in specific places which guarantee anonymity and/or acceptance, the use of subtlety, context, subjective subtext and nuance have taken the place of open slurs and language. Here we’ll take a look at some of these words and tropes, their context, and their meaning. Many of these words are not new to the racist vocabulary, though many of the old words have taken on new aspects or are used in different contexts.
This will be a modified open-source project, the only restriction being that the author has discretion over the final product. Please put suggestions in the comments below.
All Black Panthers are New Black Panthers- trope. A problem of assumptions and lack of disambiguation. Used by people who have never read a factually correct book or article about the Black Panther Party(BPP). This trope occurs because users are not aware that the BPP were Black marxist revolutionaries, whereas the New Black Panther Party(NBPP), which is not an actual descendant organization of the BPP, is a Black Nationalist organization. A way for whites to trumpet their ignorance of Black history. See Hoodlums, Hooligans, Thugs. Fear of a Black Planet ensues. Associated with the old-school trope, They All Look The Same To Me.
Animal(s)- label. Used in context to describe a person of color. This becomes a trope and is multiplied by the factors of age group, gender/sex, and socioeconomic disposition. Multipliers therefore include Mob, Teen Mob, Welfare Queen and “young people” in Scare Quotes.
Barbarians- label. Used ambiguously to refer to people of color, especially in regard to growing demographic shifts in the U.S.: “Our socioculture[sic] is raising barbarians in greater numbers with each passing decade.” (Quoted from a typical comment at the Blaze, regarding a story about a white girl and some cops who were attacked by teenagers–most of whom were evidently POCs.)
Diversity- word/trope. Used to denote the idea that mixing of the races in culture and relationships is inherently bad. Users of this trope commonly cite any news event that they think proves their racism to be correct. Usually users have an obsession with this trope. As in: “This is what happens when Obama introduces diversity into western civilization.” (Apocryphal)
Entitlements aka “Entitlement Mentality”- word/trope. The brazen assumption that POCs are lazy and self-entitled. Also negates the fact that many persons who at one time receive social aid are the very people who at another time subsidized it in the first place. A blatant announcement of assumptions created by racial prejudice. See Welfare, Welfare Queens.
Fear of a Black Planet- trope. The hysterical fear of living in a society where whites are a minority and Blacks are a majority.
Feral youth- label/trope. This trope refers to poor people of color living in inner cities. It is often used interchangeably with Hoodlums, Hood Rats and similar tropes.
Hoodlums, Hooligans, Thugs- labels/tropes. These words/tropes are commonly used ambiguously to refer to the spectre or threat of Black power. Users commonly make correlation fallacies while reading news reports from sites that only present negative information about non-conservative people of color, such as the Blaze and WorldNutDaily. They then ascribe hoodlum status to urban youth of color; though the trope extends regardless of age.
Hood Rats- label/word/trope. Used ambiguously, this trope enables users to insult Black people two-fold: because not all supposed “hood rats” are non-white, this trope is not only meant to target Black folks but also targets Black culture’s influence on female-bodied white teens/children.
Inner City Youths- trope. This label enables white conservatives to bash people of color with its degree of ambiguity, which is very thin considering the common knowledge that inner urban areas most often have a higher population of people of color. See also Animal(s), Zoo, Hoodlums, Hooligans, Thugs.
Leave the Cities- trope. Also known among POCs as “white flight”, this trope is used by racist whites to denote the fact that urban areas often have higher concentrations of POCs, leaving white conservatives and supremacists to urge each other to “flee the cities!”
Mob- word/label. Used to describe more than two people who are persons of color. Frequently levied at teenagers. Used to describe a plethora of situations, such as people in urban areas, or gatherings of Black people. Extenuating circumstances may mean that this term will be applied to whites who are not conservative, such as Occupy Wall Street. Never applied to right-wing groups in these circumstances.
Obama is Kenyan (or Marxist, Muslim, Communist, et al.)- trope. With the radical reaction by conservative whites to the election of a Black person to the presidency of the U.S., this trope was bound to occur. It is a testament to the rabid fear of Blacks in power. Fear of a Black Planet ensues.
Political Correctness (PC) is Bad- trope. Used by conservative white people who themselves use politically correct language to employ subtle racism/bigotry. An error of projection, as no one has benefited more from PC language than white racists/bigots who use PC in the home or at work, but not in their minds, in private conversation or anonymously on the internet. PC allows bigots to socially function while still clinging to a bigoted mindset.
Prepare Yourself, aka Prepare for the Coming Racial Wars- trope. This trope comes in many forms and is favored especially by survivalist types, but is widespread among white conservatives. Its pathology is twofold: a desire by white conservatives to have an excuse to let their hair down and engage in open acts of violence against persons of color, and the overwhelming paranoia that is experienced by individuals who get their news sources from outlets that provide only negative pieces about persons of color. Also known as Fear of a Black Planet, Be Ready, The Shit Will Hit The Fan, When The Shit Hits The Fan, etc.
“Scare Quotes”- trope. The use of quotations to denote the un-humanity of the subject. Also used in tandem to make suggestions about violence and other retribution. Examples are, “If these ‘kids’ want to act like animals, let’s put them to ‘sleep’ like animals.” (Actual quote from comments in this article.)
“They” a.k.a. “They Have More Power These Days”- label/trope. Used ambiguously, always careful not to use an outright slur. “They” is used by some whites to refer to the Otherness of people of color. It is a form of lack of self awareness, in which one does not realize that they are referring to Black people or other people of color as a monolithic group. This trope has many variants, including Them, These People, Those People, There Are People Out There and more. Attached to old-school They All Look The Same To Me tropes.
Welfare, Welfare Queens- labels/tropes. Also an old-school favorite, this trope has never died but only become stronger with Republican attacks on social programs. Also referred to as Entitlements, this trope is a result of the conservative white perception that social programs threaten their white privilege, and the fear that this may result in upward social mobility for people of color.
“Young People”- label/trope. Often in scare quotes which signify young persons who are also persons of color, thereby inferring that they are not human at all.
Zoo- word/trope. An especially vicious trope, this one regards urban areas as the “zoo” or the slightly more old-school “Jungle.” Meant to infer that people in urban/inner urban areas, which are often populated heavily by people of color, are lesser human beings. See Animal.