As a rule of thumb I believe most people actively
misunderstand what racism is. I
believe that is because they misunderstand what discrimination is. Discrimination is the act of determining the value of one thing as opposed to another based on criteria set by the
person or by the social group they adhere to. Whenever you decide that you
would rather have orange juice opposed to cranberry juice this is an act of
discrimination no matter the reason you decide. We do it with all things, we make choices based on what we
desire and need in that moment, or what we historically have had success with.
Discrimination is a form of discernment. In some dictionaries it is listed as
the ability to make distinctions. Psychologically it is the ability to respond
differently to different forms of stimulus. The core of this is that it is the
process of treating something differently than you would treat something
similar. In essence every time you
make a decision that leads you to choosing one thing over something else you are
actively discriminating against the other thing. Whether it is positive or negative is strictly up to
you.
Now that we have discussed discrimination lets apply it to
racism, sexism or any other ism you can think of. In the case of racism you are deciding that one race is
preferable to another. It's not
about recognizing or acknowledging race, it's about using it as a qualifier for
who the entire person is in a positive or negative way. Note that it can go both ways. If I am asked if so and so is a certain
race, it is not racist to answer.
It isn't racist to make that the only way a single person is
described. It's dehumanizing, but
it is not racist unless this signifier has a positive or negative value to the
person using it. When you determine that you prefer a person of a certain race
over a person of another race for no other reason, or as a part of a set of
reasons, that is racism. When you
decide that you like Chuck because he brings you presents and not Billy because
he doesn't, that's a form of discernment that is based strictly on other
designations besides the physically constructed attribute of race. Clearly
Chuck is more considerate of who you are and Billy is not. But are you going to then treat
everyone named Billy badly because of it?
You shouldn't. But in cases
of racial discrimination everyone who is of a certain race somehow must answer
for the supposed crimes or well intentions of everyone else in that racial
group.
It gets confusing because people will make generalizations
connecting an unlikable attribute to a race turning a personal preference into
a racial distinction when it is not. They usually sound like this. "I don't like Black people because
they are loud." "I don't like White people because they lie." "I don't like Asians because they
drive badly." "I don't
like Mexicans because they won't speak in English." "I don't hate Black people I just
prefer White people." Yes while this may in fact be your preference, it is
a racist preference. "It's not that I dislike (Insert race here) they just
make me uncomfortable." Still racist. Even if you have a supporting story.
This works with entire countries of people as well. "Canadians suck."
"The French blow." You get the picture.
If the only way you can describe people is by the color of
their skin you have made a discerning choice to acknowledge this physical
attribute to the point that you cannot describe them beyond that. This isn't really anyone's fault. We are exposed to a constant stream of
education when interacting with people on a strictly racial basis. This is called media. Television, movies, advertisment,
music. There is a reason why it
took George Lucas 21 years to make Red Tails, the story about the Tuskegee
Airmen. Even though they are
American heroes they were black first and the words black and hero have a low
amount of association in media. In general audiences aren't conditioned to
accept this. It calls into question whether the movie will be accepted by a
mostly white America and an American culture exposed world who have been
conditioned to believe that black means criminal in the most negative and
perhaps athlete or musician in the most positive.
The key is in being able to actually confront this reality
within yourself and determine how to best combat this. Like all things the
first step is acknowledging that this is happening. No one is innocent.
There is no such thing as not seeing race. Which is why it's so funny when Stephen Colbert says
it. We are citizens of a country
whose actions have always somewhat hinged on race. Since the founding fathers came here and determined that
true Americans were one special kind of white and everyone else was either an
issue to be eradicated or property to be owned. All of us, myself included are
racists in some form or fashion.
We all have some preference whether we admit it or not. I'll start; my preference is to not
have a core of friends who are all one 'race' or ethnicity.
When someone asks me about someone I know and they mention
race as the first thing to describe them it takes me a moment to actually
remember that this person is of this 'racial' group. This is because I have identified them as many other things
so race becomes a none functional descriptor. Their race has not made them
compassionate, intelligent, or funny.
Their personality, their perspective, and their humanity have done
that. When race is the only
descriptor I question the ability of the person to understand that human beings
are separate from what they are 'racially' known as which is a constructed
instance. In essence a fantasy
casing that allows a person to not acknowledge who they are underneath. It is
the laziest form of human interaction.
But this casing rears its ugly head a lot more than I think
I'm comfortable with in this day and age. All the sunshine and hugs aside the
fact is there are still a lot of people operating under assumptions about
others based on race. The differing definitions on casual racism being part and
parcel to this. How funny are racist jokes supposed to be? I'm not wondering about this. I'm honestly wondering if we are
socially mature enough to understand the difference between ironic racial
joking and masked judgment based on racial stereotyping.
One of the most annoying things I've had to confront is the
effect casual racism has on building relationships because so many of us are
not sure what is acceptable and what is not. At first glance it would seem like a no brainer. Of course you as a person of color
cannot care for or truly love someone who is a casual racist. That is unfortunately a lie. If you
yourself are not restricted by skin color, religion, or background as crucial
factors to love you see potential in every relationship no matter the
circumstances. The issue usually stems from the other person being unaware of
how much of a problem they actually have.
The worst is the person not believing it is in fact a problem or
misunderstanding their own reactions and thoughts.
There are just day to day aggressions that are hard to
understand. Certain populations
get it. Those who experience
religious or nationality discrimination. Thoughtless assumptions based on being
a Muslim. The way most Latino
populations get generalized as being from Mexico. Canadians get their fair share of "but you're not
American" guff. It’s all part
and parcel to a bigger idea which is part and parcel to our value system.
Methods to determining the deserving and the none deserving. Casual
discrimination.
I don't believe casual racism is the unmitigated hate of
another group of people. Casual
racism, like all forms of casual discrimination, is more subtle. Usually it is defined as being humorous
in nature and not truly an indication of a deeper problem with racism. However
it is usually on the same lines as class elitism, religious, ethnic and
nationality superiority. If someone constantly makes jokes about bums and poor
people you consider them a snob or elitist. If someone is constantly downing another country they are
also considered a snob or elitist.
Yet if it is racially or culturally based they are not a racist because
they have not let this propel them into acting violently towards that
race. Or even worse they are
allowed because there are considered a member of the racial community they are
discriminating against. This is inconsistent because this humor represents the
way the person thinks and how their mind functions.
The truth is that they are racist but they cannot stand to
bare the stigma that this designation carries in society. As consumers of media
we have to be able to recognize when something is being displayed as satiric
irony or as truthful masking of discriminating dogma in entertainment and
especially in our own lives.
Social media has manifest two things. Our shameless desire for self-promotion
and our still exiting issues with discrimination. While there is shame in being
racist there shouldn't be in being honest. Some people just are and there shouldn't be this get out of
being a racist failsafe. Like any other illness of society it should be dealt
with and the only way it can be is to acknowledge it. I don't believe
discrimination can ever truly be weeded out of the human spirit, but we should
be able to deal with it and lessen its effects on the ability of people to
prosper and follow their dreams.
The criminal justice system is supposed to rehabilitate
criminals not just store them to keep them away from 'good' people. Yet we as
Americans have the highest imprisoned population in the world as repeat
offenders find it difficult to live life on the outside because they have been
so conditioned to being social outcasts. The ignoring of this population just
creates a cycle that grows instead of shrinks. We have a tendency to lock up
the problem and not deal with it appropriately. Racism is starting to look like a prison to me as we desperately
try to convince ourselves and each other that it doesn't exist and doesn't
factor in the outcomes of affected populations. While it is not as detrimental
as it once was, it has not dissipated enough that we can declare it has no
power here.
The foundation of all forms of discrimination is based on a
thought regarding the worthiness or acceptability of another option other than
the one the person considers to be the best. Casual racism is an indication of a belief that a race of p
eople are better or more acceptable than another because of
the attributes the discrimination enables. It is the blind acceptance that
certain human traits can be defined by race. Thus it makes certain behaviors
acceptable and expected and allows the claim that not associating with certain
people is a simple preference and not indicative of being racist. It allows people to use racist jokes,
stereotypes and ideologies without guilt and become defensive of consequence if
anyone takes it too seriously.
After all it was not serious.
It was only a casual observation that is not indicative to a bigger
problem. As they say there is some truth to every 'just kidding'.
A causal racist is not truly the evil person we would like
to paint them to be. They are
usually good people who are just painfully oblivious to their bias. They are
the people who will see an obvious violently racist situation, condemn it as
wrong, but then still lock their doors or clutch their belongings tighter if
they see a person of color coming near to them. They don't really disagree with
the prejudice, they disagree with the violence.
They are the people who will congratulate interracial
couples for their bravery and then quietly admit that they could never do what
they have seen done. They have developed a value system that has determined
that knowing and caring for a person of a different race and culture is not
worth the problems commonly associated with mixed race relationships. They have determined that this group of
people are less in value and not worth truly considering. This is an act of racism, determining
that a certain person cannot attain your affection with race or skin color
being the only deterrent. These people tend to assume that being a little
racist isn't really a problem because everyone is. It then becomes an accepted
condition of human nature.
The issue is that we as humans do not react automatically as
a natural reflex of nature in these situations. We respond the way we have been conditioned to. We have a
tendency to accept well-conditioned responses as byproducts of human
nature. Let me clarify, they
are. We follow patterns and
notions to their obvious conclusions and we are constantly trying to find ways
to streamline our processes. Our
natures require us to complete the pattern because this is how we associate to
the world. However it is not human nature to dislike or distrust someone
because of their differences from us. That is a conditioned response.
I've had friends of different races confront this in their
children as they are being raised.
The concerns are that their children have to some degree at very young
ages developed a distrust of people of color they have not frequently
interacted with. The same holds
true for children of color with other races. When I first meet a child who is
less than a year old, no matter their race they have no preconceived notions of
what is good or bad. They simply stare trying to absorb what they see. As the
child develops and you begin to teach it to discern from right and wrong they identify
with their parents and who their parents' trust. As soon as you introduce the
word no or prevent a child from doing something that is bad for them they begin
to associate everything from that perspective until they have more to work
with.
Children aren't in a bubble. They see what we see and they
associate life according to what you present them and how you respond to
certain situations. There are occasions where life prevents certain
associations. But in more cases
than not any aversions your children have to race has been supported by your
actions. Which in turn is more than likely unresolved issues from your parents
instilling these values in you. We forget that less than 60 years ago we still
had wide spread segregation. In many communities and areas we still do and our
knowledge of other cultures is embarrassingly incomplete considering our role
in their economies.
I suppose the issue comes with severity. People have an
unconscious thought regarding "acceptable" levels of racism. But it really
can't be parsed out like that. You can't acceptably kill someone. You either kill them or you don't. In
many cases the attempt is punished just as harshly as the success. By practice
people do not congratulate a person for not sexually abusing a child or comment on their bravery. Like in all
situations there are exclusions but as a general rule of thumb it sounds
absurd. It is expected that this
is unacceptable by societal standards.
Racist laws were repelled because life couldn't work that
way. You can't be somewhat right and somewhat wrong when it comes to civil
liberties. It’s why so much gray
is entering debates about healthcare, rape, and marriage. People want to
determine absolute right and wrong by too many degrees as it suits their needs.
They are making a basic argument about the details because we've trained
ourselves to be overly discerning when contemplating right and wrong. We
believe the jest is in the details as opposed to the big picture. It’s because
we have only dealt with our problems as particular instances and not as a whole. We patch
the bridge instead of building a new one.
We fix one little spot without examining the cause and effect making
only temporary progress.
So that leaves us telling people don't be racist while
supporting a system that insists they do. So in the meantime mixed race
children are still being forced to define themselves by a narrow margin of one
race when they are more. Legal systems still convict people of color at higher
rates even though more whites get arrested. Our media still grossly
underrepresents or misrepresents people of color and none American cultures.
Pay rates are still different, housing is still subpar and education is still
poorly funded for areas with higher people of color populations. With these examples and the insistence
that America's racial troubles have subsided confusion regarding race is at an
all-time high. Even 'good, proactive' so called none racists still have trouble
understanding what is and is not racist.
This issue presented itself again over the Super Bowl as
many people were up in arms about a 'disrespectful racist' commercial by
Volkswagen where they had people of multiple visual ethnicities speaking with a
standard "Jamaican" accent. The protesters of this were mostly white
and they thought they were being racially sensitive by condemning VW when in
actuality they just highlighted how big of a problem their protest represents.
The issue is that Jamaica is a country with different races like all countries
of the world. Because no one in the
commercial appeared to be "Jamaican" in the eyes of the protesters,
the assumption was that it was racially insensitive, when in actuality the
assumption that all Jamaicans have dark skin and certain features IS racist.
The commercial was actually representing cultural diversity that is usually not
represented when we pull to mind images of Jamaicans. Being Jamaican is a
nationality, not a race. But the imagery compared to the sound was so 'foreign' and
uncomfortable to viewers that they were upset by it and in assuming they
themselves were not racist they inadvertently proved that they were.
The problem is the casual nature of racism in America. It stems from an idea that we can't
help but to dislike each other because of racial differences and it breeds ideas
about children and how they have to choose what to be. It’s in hidden messages
we give each other as we either support or begrudgingly accept a situation. If
racism called down the same horror and outrage as child abuse or animal neglect
we as Americans wouldn't be so casual about it. The issue is people are not
forced to feel any substantial amount of shame for their racist thoughts or
none violent actions as often as they should be. The problem is twofold. Its people comfortable being racist and
people comfortable being discriminated against. The combination creates a chain
of inequity that will continue indefinitely.
The sea of casual racism places a person being discriminated
against in an odd damned if you do damned if you don't position. If you decide
to confront racism you are propagating the problem by talking about it and if
you don't you are propagating the problem by not talking about it. It has truly become a no win situation
because of the nature of victim blaming.
It matters not what the action of the victim is, they will always be the
one blamed for the outcome.
Racism in America is in many ways the trick the Devil played
on the world. Most people would
like to pretend it doesn't exist so they accept the lie of post raciality. However if you are not frequently
discriminated against it was just a saying you could agree with because you don't
have personal proof to counter the assertion. A surprising amount of people can willfully ignore the obvious
signs of it happening to other people.
The good thing is that more and more conversations like this
blog are starting to happen. More
people of color are realizing that just saying we are post racial and accepting the brunt of the ugliness is not
enough. And because of it more people not of color find themselves agreeing and following suit. It’s time to point out all
the ways we are not. And perhaps the truth will eventually set us all free.
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