Behaviour in the past that doesn't represent who you are now is something that shouldn't count against you, but you do need people to trust that it no longer represents you. I don't think anyone would assume that the behaviour of a 12 year old should count against them years later, whereas making a series of racist statements when you're older is likely to be considered a warning sign unless you've apologised and made it clear that you think that behaviour was wrong on your part.
So I think you're constructing a straw man scenario. Someone calling you racist doesn't make you a racist. Someone telling other people that you're racist doesn't make you a racist. It's your own behaviour that people should be looking at and making judgements about, and if they're relying on a third party's report of your behaviour then they should also be paying attention to your explanation of it and coming to an informed decision.
I'm not going to deny that some people may end up being accused inappropriately, and in some cases an unfortunate series of events may result in that being the general perception of them afterwards. The possibility of being wrong should always be taken into consideration in these scenarios, and everything possible done to reduce any harm that occurs. But the only way to entirely avoid that is to never call someone a racist unless they openly admit it, and that ends up extending to never claiming that someone assaulted you unless they openly admit it and beyond.
If it's socially unacceptable to say that someone engages in bad behaviour, people will find it easier to engage in bad behaviour. That's inevitable. So yeah, we can do more to protect people against false accusations of racism or assault, but in the process we make it easier for people to be racist or assault people. If someone is falsely accused, much of that damage can be undone. If someone is assaulted, that's much less true.
In any case, there's absolutely zero way I can guarantee that you'll be safe from misinterpretation. Communication is complicated and mistakes are made. What I can say is that if you are misinterpreted you should be given a fair opportunity to explain what happened, and people should be inclined to believe you if this isn't a pattern of behaviour on your part.
(It's not like you're special in this respect - there's absolutely nothing stopping anybody misinterpreting my behaviour as racism and talking about it publicly. I'm a notable figure in the community, and I'd understand if they didn't feel comfortable raising it with me directly because I'm potentially in a position to compromise their position in the community as a result. If I'm not able to provide a convincing explanation of why the accusation is wrong, people should hold a lower opinion of me as a result, and that would compromise my professional and social life. But it's not something I worry about, because it's something that's out of my control as long as I don't actually engage in racist behaviour.)
no subject
So I think you're constructing a straw man scenario. Someone calling you racist doesn't make you a racist. Someone telling other people that you're racist doesn't make you a racist. It's your own behaviour that people should be looking at and making judgements about, and if they're relying on a third party's report of your behaviour then they should also be paying attention to your explanation of it and coming to an informed decision.
I'm not going to deny that some people may end up being accused inappropriately, and in some cases an unfortunate series of events may result in that being the general perception of them afterwards. The possibility of being wrong should always be taken into consideration in these scenarios, and everything possible done to reduce any harm that occurs. But the only way to entirely avoid that is to never call someone a racist unless they openly admit it, and that ends up extending to never claiming that someone assaulted you unless they openly admit it and beyond.
If it's socially unacceptable to say that someone engages in bad behaviour, people will find it easier to engage in bad behaviour. That's inevitable. So yeah, we can do more to protect people against false accusations of racism or assault, but in the process we make it easier for people to be racist or assault people. If someone is falsely accused, much of that damage can be undone. If someone is assaulted, that's much less true.
In any case, there's absolutely zero way I can guarantee that you'll be safe from misinterpretation. Communication is complicated and mistakes are made. What I can say is that if you are misinterpreted you should be given a fair opportunity to explain what happened, and people should be inclined to believe you if this isn't a pattern of behaviour on your part.
(It's not like you're special in this respect - there's absolutely nothing stopping anybody misinterpreting my behaviour as racism and talking about it publicly. I'm a notable figure in the community, and I'd understand if they didn't feel comfortable raising it with me directly because I'm potentially in a position to compromise their position in the community as a result. If I'm not able to provide a convincing explanation of why the accusation is wrong, people should hold a lower opinion of me as a result, and that would compromise my professional and social life. But it's not something I worry about, because it's something that's out of my control as long as I don't actually engage in racist behaviour.)