When it comes to race relations in the U.S., tone-deafness isn’t uncommon even when it comes from so-called experts in anti-racism efforts. Since 2001 and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Islamophobia and anti-Arab animus have grown in prominence infecting all aspects of U.S. society. It was an era where liberals and conservatives alike agreed to launch wars that would kill and displace millions of people in Arab countries under the guise of a war on terror.
It’s become so prominent that there are now dozens of Islamophobic institutions funded by some of the wealthiest people in the West and anti-Arab sentiments are foundational to false accusations of antisemitism, terrorism and so much more. As a lifelong anti-racist and racial justice advocacy journalist, these are issues I’ve covered in great detail.
Background
Throughout history in the United States race was seen as simply a Black and White issue. It wasn’t until the 20th century and the broader expansion of the Western U.S. that racists began to see flaws in this mentality. Jim Crow laws passed to keep Black people oppressed were being challenged by Asians whose exploited labor helped facilitate Western expansion alongside Mexicans who were here long before the U.S. border with Mexico was established.
Because neither were Black, they tried to claim whiteness due to no other choice offered by the oppressive laws that were put in place. If race were determined by skin color alone, Asians would be white and since an abundant number of Latinos are white, they would be as well. But neither has direct connections to Europe so white supremacist leaders didn’t and still don’t see it that way. Even in the modern era, most of the U.S. operates in this fashion.
To the racist, Latinos are mixed-race mutts who can’t be white. To the average U.S. citizen, we are simply not white no matter how pale we may be. While racists from the birth of the U.S. to the Jim Crow era were caught off guard by this blatant blind spot, they simply altered laws to oppress other nonwhite groups alongside Black people.
Most U.S. citizens still see us as outsiders next to white people.
Tone-Deaf Activism
So it comes with some distress to see an anti-racism educator act much like the white people of yesteryear. Addressing race issues requires listening and attempting to address those issues accordingly. Considering the oppressive nature of domestic U.S. policy toward nonwhite groups, racial equity is not something to be taken lightly. And despite a blatant racist running against a Black woman for president, belittling non-white groups for being undecided is a step backward.
What Tim Wise does should be admired especially by white people but non-white people have often found blind spots in his commentary. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing until of course, those blind spots are exposed to the public domain such as social media posts. Admonishing mostly non-white people for being undecided sends a signal that such behaviors are okay.
This suggests that non-white groups should not have the ability to think or act for themselves and that they should obey the white man and his views.
Sorry, but no.
His post on X (formerly Twitter) gained a lot of traction. It prompted other white people to not only support his stance but to take it as a green light to do the same as if white people damning Arab Americans for being unsure about their support for Kamala Harris isn’t a growing problem. Maybe he bought into the white liberal hype but to people unfamiliar with his work, the way he came across in his post was ugly, anti-Arab, bigoted, and frankly, racist.
Wise does a lot of great work that is mostly centered around discussing and addressing the anti-Black racism that is foundational to the racial and ethnic hate in the U.S. He’s even spoken out against anti-immigrant hostilities that have been prevalent for decades and have only grown since former president Donald Trump came down the escalator to demonize Latinos as he referred to all of us as Mexicans. None of his work is lost on me. It’s pretty good stuff.
But we can’t deny the damage his statement is doing.
The Damage
Looking through the reposts you’ll notice the vast majority are white people. A quick peruse of the quote tweets and you’ll find one calling Arab Americans chaos agents. Instead of taking a page from their chosen candidate and taking the time to listen to the valid concerns of those who have doubts, they have all opted to jump in and attack. That’s not how you win voters over.
It’s not surprising to see Latinos and Black people as the most prominent voices clapping back on Wise and his supporters. Even if they are the same people he purports to speak for as he takes white people to task for their racism (whether they are aware of it or not). One thing is certain, this should serve as a lesson for him and the people he teaches as it falls in line with much of what he discusses: implicit racism.
Most white people in the United States are born into racism and bigotry. They are either taught it directly or the biases shown by their parents and community impact how they view people of other races or ethnicities. Wise’s tweet feeds into those biases and can be extremely dangerous because despite him not mentioning Arab Americans, that’s precisely who those who support his sentiments envision.
It’s the same phenomenon that occurs when racists and xenophobes mention illegal immigrants and people automatically think of Latinos, not the white Europeans overstaying their visas. The same thing happens when mentioning asylum seekers. No one thinks about the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have been granted asylum and given government assistance, jobs, housing, and government assistance, they immediately demonize Latinos.
Listening Matters
Wise’s post explicitly touches on anti-Arab sentiments that have only gotten worse since the start of Israel’s offensive targeting civilians, journalists, and children in Gaza. Whether intentional or not, it paints Arab Americans as people who are standing in Harris’s way in her quest to the White House. It creates a panic among those who rightfully fear another Trump presidency, Project 2025, and the push toward fascism in the U.S.
It also attempts to silence those who have lost family in Gaza. That’s the real shame in all of this. There’s no need to try and sell Harris to anyone using Trump as an example as everyone knows what’s at stake. What is needed is for people to listen, learn, and become educated so they can better understand what the obvious and glaring problem is.
Innocent Palestinian women and children are dying from U.S. bombs funded by your tax dollars. Undecided individuals want the violence to stop and demand accountability for war crimes.
With so much on the line, start there instead of being smartasses.
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