The Oxford Dictionary defines racism as “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.”

While this definition is a widely accepted description, a contemporary definition has also evolved saying racism is equated to power and prejudice. Those with power have been historically denoted as Caucasians, therefore they are “allowed” to be prejudiced.

Minorities, on the other hand, have been denoted as those without power. Consequently, people have falsely come to assume that minorities can not be racist.

This reasoning cannot be justified in the diversifying society of today. First, if we are even to consider this neo-racism definition, we must explore what is meant by the word “minority.”

Some people define a minority based on the sheer number and presence of a group of people. Others define a minority based on the idea of a subordinate group with less control or power over their lives.

Since a universal definition cannot be reached, basing contemporary racism solely on one definition cannot be plausible.

Minorities can be racist, no matter your version of the word. Anyone one can be a racist, and it’s ridiculous to assume that you nor anyone else can be excused from that.

So why does the media excuse racist behaviour from “minorities”?

On popular websites such as Twitter, hashtags like #StopWhiteGirls2014, #WhyDoBlackPeople or #MexicansBeLike have become common. These hashtags are demeaning and racist, but when you look at who is posting them, you’ll find people from all races participating. Minority or not.

This popularized racism has spread to our school. Minority students banning others from using certain ethnic terms and names, minority students using racial slurs and demeaning ethnic terms to refer to other minorities, anyone excluding a group of people from participating in an event based on whether they are white or not. This is all considered racism.

We cannot allow this thinking to continue to occur. Racism is not based on faulty and unjustified power structures. We cannot excuse or pass off any acts of racism simply because the person who committed it was a minority.

Racism is racism, no matter the ethnicity of the person it comes from.