Ironic racism
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Ironic racism is the emulation of racism as a joke. Doing this is looked down upon by many people in the left, and there are good reasons for this.
The contents of this article apply also for ironic anti-Semitism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. These are completely analogous phenomena.
How ironic racism helps racists
Even if you're not a racist yourself, subtle ironic racism will give racists the impression that their beliefs are acceptable. A cliché on the internet says that "Any community that gets its laughs by pretending to be idiots will eventually be flooded by actual idiots who mistakenly believe that they're in good company." A prominent example of this in action is the online imageboard 4chan, which originally used racist and homophobic slurs ironically as a deliberatively offensive joke to keep out outsiders. Over time the site shifted from having a predominantly a centre-left user base to being a notorious breeding ground of actual neo-Nazism and white supremacy.
Still, this cliché does not describe the full reality. Ironic racism does not just confuse racists into thinking they've found a home, it also creates a safe space for would-be racists to give new beliefs a try. Over time people will settle into the beliefs they originally espoused jokingly, and become indistinguishable from actual racists. This process is called irony poisoning.
Explicit racists will make use of this safe space as well, and use the opportunity to spread actual racist propaganda. When someone calls this propaganda out for what it is, they will be assured that it was just a joke, and they will have little means to prove that it is not.
How ironic racism hurts victims of racism
Ironic racism can function as a way to assert social dominance over a member of a racial minority.
Arguments in favour of ironic racism
Slavoj Žižek's controversial left-wing defence of ironic racism. |
In some contexts, ironic racism is arguably harmless and even useful.