Thursday, February 12, 2009
What is Racism?
We have been discussing the topic of “race” in class a lot but have yet to delve deeply into what “racism” is. I would like to offer some of my thoughts on racism and allow yall to post on what your ideas of racism are. I feel like I have quite an extensive education on the subject from living in Alabama, Arkansas (current home to the KKK headquarters), West Virginia and here in Memphis. I am proud to say that I was raised in a family which promoted the equality of all people no matter what their color, heritage or religion. However, being raised in an area where ideas of hate and racial inequality are so prevalent I have been influenced and do make racial distinctions between people. On the other hand I do not hate or judge people based on these distinctions. From my personal experience and the observation of others I have come to the conclusion that there are two forms of “racism” one type is a normal human tendency to distinguish and categorize different types of things (similar shapes, colors, types of cars etc..) The other form of “racism” is where this normal human tendency to categorize is taken and manipulated so that negative attributes are applied to a certain group. By applying negative attributes to a group one can develop a hatred for this group as your view of them travels further and further away from your idea of what a moral human being is. Eventually this group is defined by purely negative characteristics and they become monsters in your mind. This negative form of racism is not a natural human tendency it is taught. I have come to believe that these negative group identities are developed through interactions between ones family and the environment in which you are raised. I have noticed that those people who are raised in a family who does not promote the idea of racism is far more likely to not develop this negative form of racism. There are certain cases in which a person’s friends can have enough influence as to develop this negative racism in a person, but if the family promotes equality it is far less likely that this form will develop. If a person’s family preaches hatred and discriminates between different people it is almost certain that this person will develop negative racial ideas. As long as people continue to teach their children to hate others it will be difficult to eradicate this form of racism but it can be done though education at an early age before the negative form of racism takes its hold. Negative racism is a virus which spreads through generations in order to stop it it must be treated early.
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I think that like Dr. J said in class before, discrimination is not negative! Discrimination is our natural ability to discern between things. I dont think that there is anything wrong to have preferences towards certain things over others. It is also important to recognize differences between people. I think that being "color blind" is not the answer to racism. Racism is a belief that you are superior to another race, but as a part of your race you have the power and privilege to marginalize and make another group inferior. I think it is important to understand that an important factor in racism is a groups POWER! (THIS MAY SPARK A LOT OF DISCUSSION) But therefore, blacks and other minority groups CANNOT be racist. Black people can stereotype or negatively discriminate against another group, but as a minority group, black people do not have the power to treat whites as inferior. But that's another discussion!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the main blog that racism can only be prevented if the generations stop encourging discrimination over time.Growing up in India, I saw "racism" as a term based on the discrimination between Hindus and Muslims though the skin color is mainly brown. All the riots and deaths that are created just because of the Hindu Muslim controversy is unbelieveable and I always wondered what excatly the riots and fights were for. So my understanding of racism was on based not on race but on religion. After going to school in Memphis I witnessed racism on the basis of race everyday is high school everywhere. There were certain tables in the lunch room that only black or white kids would sit at and there was no intermingling of "races" at those tables. The point of all this would be that racism is just the ability for people to see the difference in other people though it as becomes a negative term because of all the negative results that "racism" has created over time.
ReplyDeletebell.annie, do you mean minority groups as a whole cannot be racist toward white groups as a whole or that black, asian, latino individuals cannot be racist toward white individuals within the context of a society where whites dominate the power structure?
ReplyDeleteAnd for clarification, from your account, for something to qualify as racist it requires both an attitude that your race is superior to another race AND that the party with that attitude has the power to curtail the freedoms (is this just political? can it be economically, educationally, etc.?) of the "inferior" race.
I regard it in the context of the society we live in, which is that whites dominate socially, politically and economically. Minority groups don't have the power I think to combat and dismantle institutionalized racism, which is what I think still exists today. While we can see that individual relationships and interactions aren't as riddled with racists overtones, the institutions of our society are still based on racists ideas that label whites as superior and control society, which makes minority groups inferior and lack the power and resources to change it by themselves
ReplyDeleteI think I'd agree with that assessment.One immediate and clear manifestation of institutionalized racism leaps to mind: criminal justice sentencing differences for crack and cocaine.
ReplyDeleteThere is about a 100:1 ratio between the amount of powder cocaine and crack cocaine that result in equivalent sentencing. Also, despite evidence that whites and hispanics are about 2/3rds of the crack user and crack trafficker populations, African-Americans are disproportionately convicted and sentenced. This reflects both a significant level of racial bias in the police force and criminal justice system, as well as how the concept of race subtly weaves its way into political discussions about being "tough on crime." Willie Horton's use in 1988 presidential election is an egregious modern example of how effective appealing to racial fears can be politically.
http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/dp_cc_sentencingpolicy.pdf (Even though the stats from this article are all from the early-mid 90s, there hasn't been a significant enough reform in policies and attitudes to assume that this problem has nearly vanished by 2009.)
Returning to the main post, I agree almost entirely with what you said, Lowery. Growing up in South Carolina, I can relate a good deal. With that being said, something has been troubling me. To pick up the analogy of racism as disease: there are more symptoms of this disease than varied manifestations of hatred.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, your description of racism as "where this normal human tendency to categorize is taken and manipulated so that negative attributes are applied to a certain group" probably does nail racism down. Yet, from the examples given and the general tone I don't believe fully explore the many forms this approach takes.
Here is my example of a phenomenon that started in the 50s & 60s of racism subconsciously and subtly weaving its way into action: White Flight to the Suburbs.
Now, its overly reductionist to characterize this as always simply fear of interracial mixing, concerns for safety, or hatred of minorities (although many times that is what it boiled down to for white families). There were many varied reasons why white people fled the cities for the suburbs: lower taxes, organizing themselves into political blocs to surround themselves with similarly oriented individuals, to get their children educated in better schools, to raise their property values, to "keep up with the Jonses" [this one is absolutely huge], etc.
So why does this pose problems? Many of these people who did leave were believers in the liberal consensus and did believe in the fundamental equality between the races. But did their decision to effectively de facto segregate themselves from minorities structurally reenforce racial inequalities? Absolutely, a quick glance at zoning laws and school districts demonstrates as much.
All this is to say that we can't completely divorce racism from its relationship to other things such as class, gender, etc.
Lowery, I also agree with most of what you said in your post. I am from a very small, rural town in Maryland, and can also relate to racism being an unfortunate part of the society. Although Maryland is the “middle ground” between North and South and between the stereotypes of the two, the racist tendencies that the South is unfairly associated with exist. I believe that it doesn’t matter where in the US you are, you will always encounter racism. North, South, it doesn’t matter, there are racist people everywhere. I also agree with your suggestion that the negative form of racism is not natural human tendency, that it is taught. I also agree with what Annie said that racism is institutionalized. While individual racism may be lessening with the modern times, institutionalized racism is still a problem that must be corrected.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to power and racism, I feel like even if a minority group does not have the power to oppress the majority as a whole, they can still hold individuals of the majority in contempt for their race, which is often what I experience. By having someone “stereotype or negatively discriminate against” me, even as a white person of the dominant majority, I am treated as inferior because they have judged my humanity as contemptible and lesser merely because of my race. Even if I have the best interests of all parties involved, they have judged me to be less than trustworthy as a representative of the white race, the oppressor. Sometimes I don’t even get the chance to speak. Or if I do, it’s not taken seriously. Now, I may have a better social standing because of my race, but in that person-to-person interface where my goal is to commune in mutual recognition between two human beings, I am judged to embody the faults of the race without any regard to my own person integrity and choices. And I will say that this type of interaction has mainly occurred to me when I was in a predominantly minority area, where interracial interaction may have been limited and negative. Still, I don’t want to be judged for the color of my skin or the culture associated with it before someone even meets me. Racism can go both ways and we all feel smaller for it.
ReplyDelete