When I see "racism" treated as simply and solely a matter of bad words, I think of a point Barbara Fields makes in her and Karen Fields's book Racecraft that I find immensely clarifying and *at the same time*, as she notes, all too easily forgotten.

It's on p.17. "Racism is not an emotion or state of mind, such as intolerance, bigotry, hatred, or malevolence. If it were that, it would easily be overwhelmed; most people mean well, most of the time...."

"Racism is... a social practice... an action and a rationale for action, or both at once. Racism always takes for granted the objective reality of race [the idea that "nature produced humankind in distinct groups"] so it is important to register their distinctness. ..."

"... The shorthand [of "race"] transforms racism, something an aggressor does, into race, something the target is, in a sleight of hand that is easy to miss."

I take a few things from this judgment, which is grounded in Fields's careful and long study of US history.

Like racism, talk of "anti-white" or "reverse racism" presumes the existence of a real "white" race. It then infers a practice of "reverse racism", alleging as evidence expressions of hate against "whites" (which, on closer inspection, are themselves often replies to racism).

But AFAICT unless attacking affirmative action (an attempt to redress racism's social effects) or "demographic change" (code for PoC multiplying) it rarely shows effects of "reverse racism" on the shape of society or the life chances of "white people". It complains about tweets.

While just such real effects -- on the material lives, opportunities, health, safety, etc., of PoC -- are, of course, central to accounts of racism. These effects are the essence of racism. Slurs are ugly. But racism is not, fundamentally, a matter of slurs or bad tweets.

And yes, there are a lot of bad tweets out there. But I'd say that if you are tempted to think that racism's toll is best measured in bruised egos or uncomfortable conversations, you might look into the past five centuries or so of history. There's more to it than that.