Portland.

[Tgo01]

So does the word "racist" bear weight, or not? I need a verdict here.

That's the thing; the same group that has watered down the word to mean nothing are also the ones who think every accusation of racism should not only be believed at face value (as long as it comes from this same group) but they also want the consequences to remain the same. I wouldn't care about these accusations if they didn't have a real world impact.

Look at that one NBA announcer who lost his job after like 20 years because he said "All lives matter" because that term is also somehow racist. It's nuts.

Becoming aware of implicit biases allows you to change your thinking or behavior in a way that's less harmful, both individually and (ultimately) systemically.

If you're aware you're doing it then isn't that an explicit bias?

There aren't different words for different "degrees" of racist, which is unfortunate... that's why context matters.

Exactly, because you're either racist or you're not racist. You either treat people differently based on race/think one race is superior than others, or you don't. You're not "sort of" racist, you either are or aren't.

It all good though, because some dictionaries have promised to "redefine" racism to better encompass modern day usage of it so I can't wait to see what definitions they come up with.