In the 1950's, the word racist meant a person who hated others based upon nothing more than the color of their skin.  This word has found new and more volatile meanings in the past decade.  New definitions that do not clearly define the word.

Dr. David Sue, a renowned social psychologist has coined a new phrase to help to define the term racist:  microagression.  This term means that a person might say something seemingly harmless but the comment may offend someone else.  For example, a microagression may be to tell a person who has darker skin that you wish that you had a permanent tan.  Depending on the way that the individual translates that comment, you may have committed the offense of microagression.

Regardless, there is no offense if no one is offended.  The offender is more to blame for the reaction than the person who has said the comment.  It is alright for a person of minority status to contend that the majority person is racist, without having the need to defend their own comment.

It is also Dr. Sue's contention that one cannot be racist against a majority population, and only the majority population can be accused of racism or microagressions.  This contention has brought forth another new word:  Reverse-racism.  There is no such thing as reverse racism as the original definition states.

Reverse racism is the term that Caucasians have created in order to define racism against the majority race in a community.  If a black person behaves in a racist way toward a Caucasian then they are accused of reverse racism.  This is not valid.

Racism, as stated at the top of this article, is hate based upon the race of a person.  This holds true whether it is a caucasian who hates a black man, or a black man hates a white one.  

The moment that we are beyond the idea that every comment made by a person is intended to offend, however, we will be able to grow as a country and eliminate racism from our vocabulary.  The color of a person's skin does not determine their intellect, their abilities, or their heart.  It is what is inside that counts.