Grabs Turds Bare
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Prior to today, I had believed that I was clearly not a racist. After reading about it today, I'm still fairly confident that I'm not a racist, but it took a troublingly long time to determine that.
Ph - your comments on the racial slur thread were insightful and got me going down this rabbit hole. So, thanks, I guess.
Check out this definition of racist:
That's per the ol' Google. Bolded language is new to me and I'm fairly confident that it wasn't there three or four years ago. I figured that prior to the addition of the "prejudice clause" of the definition, I was very clearly not a racist. I held/hold no belief that one group of people is superior to another based on their skin color.
However, now I have to learn what prejudice is in order to be sure that I'm "not a racist." I thought I knew what prejudice was - just sort of assuming a certain number of things about a person based on their presentation (be it online, in person or whatever). Turns out, I'm wrong there too - prejudice has to be based on things that aren't actual experiences or logical reason.
So, when I go up to the Hispanic looking guy on a construction site and I open with, "mucho gusto"? That doesn't seem to be prejudice. Is he Native American sometimes? Yeah, my bad. I gotta figure out the word for the assumptions that I make about people based on their initial appearance. I used to think it was prejudice, but that's clearly wrong now. I'd like to be a better communicator and build away from potential prejudice in my assumption-making building blocks.
In order to be a racist, as above, you either believe that a particular race is better than another (the original Uncle Ruckus savings clause), or show/feel discrimination/prejudice which is not reasonable or based on actual experience. That seems like a pretty high bar, and I'm not sure what the addition of the prejudice clause really adds. Frankly, I'm uncomfortable with how hard it seems to be a racist per the definition. I'm even more uncomfortable with how often the label is watered down.
Here's what kills me, this sort of definition logic loophole is really close to what has been used in the past to perpetuate very serious unfairness.
I'm not gaslighting - racism in present day America is real. Systemic or otherwise. And I also acknowledge the collateral and lasting consequences of the history of racism in America. There's no "but" here. Hell, the job I've done for the past five years and will likely continue to do for the rest of my life is both an everyday fight against institutional racism and also a cog that perpetuates it. Fucking unfair.
At any rate, this post sort of exposes me to some pushback, but I hope it will open a discussion on what racism is and isn't - and how we/I can help address the things that are and foster the things that aren't.
A White Man Asked C-Span How to Stop Being Racist
Ph - your comments on the racial slur thread were insightful and got me going down this rabbit hole. So, thanks, I guess.
Check out this definition of racist:
That's per the ol' Google. Bolded language is new to me and I'm fairly confident that it wasn't there three or four years ago. I figured that prior to the addition of the "prejudice clause" of the definition, I was very clearly not a racist. I held/hold no belief that one group of people is superior to another based on their skin color.
However, now I have to learn what prejudice is in order to be sure that I'm "not a racist." I thought I knew what prejudice was - just sort of assuming a certain number of things about a person based on their presentation (be it online, in person or whatever). Turns out, I'm wrong there too - prejudice has to be based on things that aren't actual experiences or logical reason.
So, when I go up to the Hispanic looking guy on a construction site and I open with, "mucho gusto"? That doesn't seem to be prejudice. Is he Native American sometimes? Yeah, my bad. I gotta figure out the word for the assumptions that I make about people based on their initial appearance. I used to think it was prejudice, but that's clearly wrong now. I'd like to be a better communicator and build away from potential prejudice in my assumption-making building blocks.
In order to be a racist, as above, you either believe that a particular race is better than another (the original Uncle Ruckus savings clause), or show/feel discrimination/prejudice which is not reasonable or based on actual experience. That seems like a pretty high bar, and I'm not sure what the addition of the prejudice clause really adds. Frankly, I'm uncomfortable with how hard it seems to be a racist per the definition. I'm even more uncomfortable with how often the label is watered down.
Here's what kills me, this sort of definition logic loophole is really close to what has been used in the past to perpetuate very serious unfairness.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/...ay-to-get-rid-of-racism-just-redefine-it.html
I'm not gaslighting - racism in present day America is real. Systemic or otherwise. And I also acknowledge the collateral and lasting consequences of the history of racism in America. There's no "but" here. Hell, the job I've done for the past five years and will likely continue to do for the rest of my life is both an everyday fight against institutional racism and also a cog that perpetuates it. Fucking unfair.
At any rate, this post sort of exposes me to some pushback, but I hope it will open a discussion on what racism is and isn't - and how we/I can help address the things that are and foster the things that aren't.
A White Man Asked C-Span How to Stop Being Racist
