When a person has witnessed a victim being physically, verbally, psychological, or cyber-bullied repeatedly and has stepped forward to identify the aggressor as a bully – this is not using the bully card. A bully repeatedly harasses his/her prey, however, the bully never defines its act as bullying and will in turn label the challenger a bully. Or a rat. Or both. 

When a person born in India is called Punjab repeatedly to call out and disparage his ethnic background or when a person is called Obaman to call out and disparage his ethnic background – this is racism, pure and simple. When a person has identified himself/herself as superior (bearing self-defined superior qualities based on race, culture, tradition, intellect, class, gender, religion, etc.), and uses their assigned status to debase another individual or group that is not of their assigned status, and acts in a manner to put down, disparage, provoke, slander, refuse admittance, disbar, question abilities, intellect, etc., the aggressor is identified as a racist – this is not using the race card. 

A racist that repeatedly harasses people of color/nationality/culture/gender, etc., will, in an effort to justify his/her behavior as normal and righteous, label his/her accusers as being racists. Or discredits their origins. Or questions their agenda. A racist will never own their racism, they see their prejudice as righteous and religiously mandated. Acts of racism purifies their standing within their group; it increases their worth even though they may be of a lower class than their racial target. It strengthens their sense of superiority.

When a man of color repeatedly harasses a female of color this act is rightly labeled bullying. If the female is not of his race and he chooses to harass her with racial epitaphs directed at her gender/background, etc., this is racism. If the person is white and the target being harassing is not white, the act is racist. If the person is of color and the victim is of a different tone/shade within the same color range, and the tirade is based on color/culture, etc., then the act is racist. 

Superior perceived qualities – less than desired qualities = racism. 

When I witness a racial act – I will call it racism, and when I witness an act of bullying – I will call it bullying. I won’t be playing any cards. 

There is no way to qualify/beautify an act of racism; racism is ugly; it is dirty and despicable. Racism is amoral. There is no such thing as good racism; no one benefits from racism. Stop racism cold in its tracks. Bob Schieffer has identified racism; stand against racism and stop its ugly hatred from continuing to poison America’s soul.