Racist Compliment

Racist compliments are demeaning. They strip people of their agency.

Last week someone made a comment to me that's been on my mind and I want to get it out there. The person told me that I have a 'strong work ethic' because of my ethnic background. It was meant as a compliment, but it stripped me of my agency. It stripped me off all the conscious choices I had made to be who I am today. It stripped me of all the effort and hard work I had put in to be where I'm in life today. It all boiled down to my ethnicity. And I think that is racism. 

Yes, it was a compliment, meant with good intentions. But, good intentions alone are not enough.

Even though other people might not have taken such a comment to heart, it hurt me. 

At the time it was a shock. And the fact it was compliment made it harder to confront. I could only say 'I'm where I am today because of my strong work ethic'. I'm still unsure if my response was adequate to confronted and acknowledge the racism. 

Since then I have had time to think about it and I feel it's important to raise awareness of racial compliments and the hurt it can cause. It's better to acknowledge people for who their are, not their ethnicity, background, skin colour, gender, etc.