being called a racist is really not the end of the world.

white ppl often act as if being called a racist is the equivalent of being tortured or murdered or something. it's not!

if you are white (and even if you're not) you're likely to do racist things and say racist things in a racist society. people telling you how to do better is a good thing, and often a compliment that they even think you're worth bothering with.

sometimes you get accused of having done something racist and you'll think it's unfair. it may even be unfair! that can be painful. but again, it's generally not the end of the world.

it's just important to keep that in mind because the idea that accusations of racism are super traumatic and dangerous and life threatening justifies a lot of backlash and powers reactionary politics.

white people often have a sense of entitlement to their own self image of moral purity, and when that's challenged they can become very dangerous.

I don't mean to say being accused of racism is costless. it can be personally painful, and sometimes there are other consequences like damaged relationships. it can be unpleasant! but!

generally to have real consequences (like losing a job) you need to do something really hyperbolically horrifically racist. for the most part there are too few consequences for racism, not too many. and...

making these accusations is the thing that can be super volatile and dangerous, often. calling out the racism of a white colleague or friend can legitimately destroy people's lives, if the white colleague or friend decides to go that route.

the worst dogpiles on here are inevitably against people from a marginalized group saying, "this is bigotry", who get framed as trying to get above their station to take down some deserving white person.

in that vein, while it's been painful when I've been accused of racism, the absolute worst dogpile I've ever been subjected to was when I mildly pointed out that they live uses antisemitic tropes.

this isn't just for racism. you see similar dynamics when people are accused of sexism, or homophobia, or transphobia.