For white Gen-Y’ers, ‘racist’ is the worst tag of all.

The R-Word
By Michael Tunison

Master TV satirist Stephen Colbert frequently pokes fun at the notions of racial political correctness by having his brash conservative pundit character proclaim that he cannot see race. It’s a simple and reliably funny conceit that plays on the prevalent, if specious, notion that we live in a post-racial era, one that ignores, or optimistically shrugs off, the lingering and substantial issues between the races.

In furthering that joke, Colbert at one point decided to adopt “a black friend” named Alan (which became a running gag on the show, despite the fact that the guy who appeared in a photo as Stephen’s friend was never hired by the program). Though a throw-away gag, the adopted-friend bit ably illustrates some of the anxiety some white people feel about the need to be embraced by the black people. Colbert’s gag riffs on the idea that intolerance by whites has been replaced by a well-meaning uneasiness and that while there have been great strides in racial progress, racial harmony remains something of an awkward proposition.

As a white person with a number of lifelong friends who are black, I can say I don’t feel that awkwardness in my personal relationships with them, but I know that these relationships retain an oddly-charged, often convoluted quality among some whites.

Granted, it’s not rare for white people of my generation to have friends who are minorities. In fact, those who don’t associate with people outside their race have long been the exception in most areas of the country. But that doesn’t mean that mixed-race friendships are any less sensitive of an issue today. Now, instead of having mixed-race relationships that cause controversy, it’s the absence of such relationships that draws the raised eyebrows. White people now feel pressure to overtly demonstrate their lack of racism to each other and to minorities by making a big deal of their minority friends or by embracing cultural symbols and behaviors associated with other races.

Today, being called a racist is the most contemptible label for a white person. Some have complained that the racist label is tossed about so freely that it’s almost like being called a “communist” in the post-Cold War era. This is certainly preferable to a time when racism was tolerated or even encouraged. But one of the sad upshots is that it has also fostered a sense of paranoia that stems from the inability or unwillingness to distinguish between actual hate-fueled racism and ignorance.

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