Letter to the Editor: Racist or Offensive?

The other day, someone asked me whether I would be offended if Trader Joe’s named its Polish sausage “Trader Stash’s,” and I said yes, I would.  But why would I be offended? I don’t think that you could call “Trader Stash’s” racist, but it’s definitely offensive – at least to me.  

The point is that we need to be careful about throwing around the word “racist” when we may really mean “offensive.” Is the distinction important? Heck, yes! All racists say offensive things, but not all people who say offensive things are racists.  

Racism is thoughtful – that is, intentional – but being offensive is thoughtless in that offenders may simply have not thought through the implications of what they were saying. Racists never apologize for their racism – in fact, they flaunt their racism – but I know that I have blurted out offensive statements that I deeply regretted just moments after thoughtlessly blurting them out.  

Racists do more than just say belittling, degrading and hurtful things to others; they purposely do belittling, degrading, hurtful things. Racism is a chronic disorder, whereas saying offensive things is curable through the development of empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. But ultimately empathy is a two-way street. Before labeling someone as a racist, apply some empathy to the person.

Mark Polczynski

Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin