Research publication · SSRN
The Fallacy of “I’m Not Racist”
The paper challenges the idea that racism can be evaluated primarily through an individual's self-description, intent, or personal relationships.
Central argument
Self-description is not its own evidence.
The paper develops a broader framework for examining racism through behavior, institutional effects, political alignment, hierarchy, and the conditions under which racial acceptance is granted or withdrawn.
It also examines neutrality, tokenism, selective inclusion, and what the paper describes as a wavelength of racism: different expressions of racial hierarchy that may look different on the surface while producing related structural outcomes.
Scope
This is not an argument that every disagreement is racism. It is an argument that “I’m not racist” cannot function as its own evidence.