The trouble with racism is that it implies one race is deficient in comparison with another. Racism cannot exist without this being the case. Any talk of racism supports the existence of value difference between races. The claim of reverse racism is typically used when people of the majority group feel racially stereotyped and prejudiced against by a minority group. Racism is not dependent upon majority and minority groupings, however, so this definition of so-called reverse racism is invalid. When it is believed that characteristics exist uniquely to a race there are grounds for racism. The prejudice comes into the equation when these perceived race-specific characteristics are used to classify and define people of a specific race with no foundation of truth. All racism exists upon the foundation of one race being superior to other races based on characteristics unique to the supposed superior race. There is no reverse racism, there is only racism.

In the United States reverse racism will likely be portrayed as prejudice against white Caucasians. Because whites still make up the single race majority in the country it may be thought that reverse racism includes unfair treatment from a minority group against a majority group, but this isn’t true, at least by definition. Racism can exist; hate can exist, but there is no reverse racism. In a sense, reverse racism would indicate perfectly fair treatment of a person because of an accurate understanding of race, which means people treating other people like people. This may end in a case of semantics, as racism from minority groups targeting majority groups does exist in the same way racism from majority groups targeting minority groups exists, and that is likely what is thought of when someone hears the term reverse racism.

Preferential treatment of one race over another as a reaction to claims of racism may also be defined as reverse racism, but this doesn’t meet the definition of racism either. Racism affects access to resources because of stereotyped judgment made about an individual on the basis of their race alone. Preferential treatment along these lines is itself racism, and is not reverse racism.  

Racism depends on ignorance, so in a way there is a bond between racism and reverse racism, as the latter also depends on ignorance. Someone ignorant of the definition of racism may believe that reverse racism exists. But for reverse racism to actually exist there would need to be a universal acceptance of racial differences that made one race absolutely superior to any other race. It is highly unlikely that such a situation of belief will ever exist as there doesn’t seem to be any unique characteristics of any race that give validity to such a claim. Unless one race is declared superior, and therefore a center point for all claims of racism to emanate from, there can be no legitimate claim to reverse racism given the definition of racism.