Are We All Racist?
by lainad

If we are, that would explain a number of issues that have been raised by Michael Richard’s racial tirade last week. According to Time Op/Ed writer James Poniewozik he says that “politicians and entertainers, after all, succeed by knowing our hearts and minds.” By ignoring ‘softer’ bigotry in the real world perhaps the outbursts from Richards and Mel Gibson seem shocking:

We are, in a real way, implicated in their achievement and their disgrace. So you'd think this explosion of public ugliness might spur some kind of national soul searching. Did we somehow encourage their bigotry, by ignoring softer forms of it in our pop culture? Did they think on some level, conscious or not, that they spoke for us? Were they right?

But the media have become so focused on the business side of show business--and the offense-contrition-comeback cycle has become so familiar--that the scandals immediately became dispassionate meta-stories about scandal management.

In a similar article on Latimes.com, Michael Shermer uses the Implict Association Test to argue that unconciously, all people harbour some racist thoughts.

But these days, the word racism is tossed around so much that its definition is manipulated to serve a variance of purposes. While most people would agree that both Richards and Gibson are racist, not only harbouring racist thoughts but made their views quite public, Shermer does make a very good point:

The insidiousness of racism is because of the fact that it arises out of the deep recesses of our unconscious. We may be unaware of it, yet it lurks there.

Perhaps so. But does racist behaviour just 'happen'? If so, then it's nobody's fault, right? No one is to blame, right?

But it's not about blame. It's about people taking responsibility for their actions.

Part of me still believes that while both writers both make good points - as some have said that it's better to know who hates you than those who hide their true feelings - I think that the articles provide a justification for Richard's actions, trying to eleviate whatever (if any) guilt their readers might feel. Hey, if he's racist, chances are that you are too but that's okay because we all are!(You know us coloured folk are just a bit too sensitive...)

Submitted by lainad (view blog) on Mon, 11/27/2006 - 5:19pm
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I was really appalled when I

I was really appalled when I heard what Richards had done. And then to pretend it was part of the act, and never apologize, that just shows he has no remorse. It's sickening.

Submitted by Dana J. Tuszke on Mon, 11/27/2006 - 19:04
 

Everybody's A Little Racist

There's a song in the musical Avenue Q that has this as a theme, and it goes over like gangbusters.

I can probably concede that it may be human nature to try to codify the world around us, and that we all therefore indulge in generalization and assumption-making more than we should. This happens in regard to race, gender, religion, region, profession...a million things.

I still draw a big, fat line between that and true racism, sexism etc. To me those 'isms' are about inflicting harm or exerting power or sometimes both.

To try to say that what Richards or Gibson expressed is just what everyone really feels, only said out loud, is, I believe, utterly false. It may indeed be what racists feel, said out loud. But I cannot bear to paint "everyone" with that brush.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer and Worker Bees
elisa@blogher.org/elisa@workerbees.biz

Submitted by Elisa Camahort on Mon, 11/27/2006 - 20:49
 

I was thinking the same thing...

I think the term racist gets over used nowadays and often used for manipulative reasons.

I think the term needs to be redefined.

What is a racist?

What is the difference between a racist and someone who uses negative stereotypes to denigrate a person or race?

What is the diffence between negative stereotypes and racism.

Is there some underlying problem on both sides of the race card that need addressed to quel the negative stereotypes and attitudes.

The attitudes and stereotypes would not be still around if there were not at least a few examples.

What Richards did and Gibson did was inexcusable and showed lack of control and bad attitude. I don't know if it showed racism.

Submitted by Crunchy Carpets on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 08:40
 

Racism is a behavior...

I think your questions, "does racism just happen?" and then "no one is to blame?"are good ones and get to the heart of the issue...

Racism is behavior, it is voluntary operant behavior. It is observable, repeatable, and measurable and to be a racist is a choice. And regardless of the cause of the behavior or the intent it is the ultimate consequences of the behavior that really determine racism....denying access to privleges to one group while allowing access to another group.

So, I agree...its about people taking responsibility for their behavior and choosing not to behave as a racist; Racist behavior doesn't just happen and it is the "fault" of those who chose to behave that way. If we tell a single lie, we are not liars; but if we continually lie, then we are a liar.

There are probably lots of things in the deep recesses of our unconscious...but our behavior, our everyday, day after day behavior is conscious. We are only all racists if we let racists behaviors exist and let racism be regarded as acceptable for whatever reason.

We can choose to behave better.

Marianne Richmond
resonancepartnership

Submitted by Marianne Richmond on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 01:16
 

What a thoughtful piece this

What a thoughtful piece this is and the comments too. Elisa, I couldn't agree more and Marianne, what you write is central to all the -isms. You can bet I'll be referencing this entry as I see it relating to ageism...

Ronni Bennett
Time Goes By

Submitted by Ronni Bennett on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 02:48
 

Power and dominance

Focusing on the psychology of racism ("Implicit Association Test" and such) misses the point of what racism is---a system of oppression. What both these articles are describing is personal prejudice, the usual wariness or distrust that arises when we encounter people we perceive as different. While I'm wary of the idea that prejudice is natural, I think we can safely say that most people in the world are prejudiced to some degree.

Racism is a whole nother animal entirely, because it based on the premise that one group of people should be dominant over another---which usually means controlling the subordinate group's movement, their access to resources, even their basic human rights. The ability to exercise power over others is key here. If we really wanted to be honest, we would say white supremacy rather than racism, because the dominant class for the past five hundreds years has been so-called white people. White supremacy is the driving force behind such oppressive systems as colonialism, slavery, apartheid (in the US and South Africa), and imperialism. To this day, the global ruling class is white supremacist, and most people who are "white" directly benefit from the privilege that living in a white supremacist world accrues. There is real power that comes with being white, just as there is real power in being a man in this world.

So to answer the question "Are we all racist?"---I would have to say unequivocally NO.

Y. Carrington
The Primary Contradiction

Submitted by ycarrington on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 04:04
 

Inspirational quote

Hello Alyson,

Thanks for your kind words. Actually the quote in your signature is from the late Stephen Biko. He was an activist who died fighting apartheid in South Africa, and the famous quote is from one of his essays. It is one of the most powerful truths ever written.

Y. Carrington
The Primary Contradiction

Submitted by ycarrington on Wed, 11/29/2006 - 23:07
 

Is Michael Richard a racist?

I am afraid that Michael Richard’s racial comments was no mistake....There is a known proverb "The true colors of a person is revealed when you are drunk!" Hope he realizes that there are consequences when you drink...
beverlyk.blogspot.com

Submitted by beverly kline on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 09:21
 

I very much agree that

I very much agree that racism is behavior. I also agree that racism is a system of oppression.

I do not agree that all racist behavior is deliberate. That seems to be a common theme in what I'm reading (I could be mistaken - let me know if I am). Racism may inflict harm, but not always intentionally. Racism may be rooted in the dominance of one group over another, but each racist action is not necessarily because the individual believes in such a system of oppression.

I think that most racist behaviors that happen are actions taken be everyday people who consider themselves nice, good people, who consider themselves not at all racist. Because it is more complex than that.

We have to be willing to admit that everyday people do racist things. We have to stop saying RACIST! like it's the damn dirtiest word ever, because no one will ever want to admit to their racism if they feel like racist behavior = bad person. People won't take responsibility for their racism if they're too afraid to admit to it because they think you can't be a good person and have ideas and feelings based in racism.

So I don't think "everyone's a racist." I do think everyone has racist thoughts and feelings. Because it's actions and behaviors, not a declaration of personality. Differentiate.

Atena

Assumptions, Biases & Irrational Fantasies

My Life As a Radical Whore/Madonna

Submitted by Atena on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 18:06
 

I continue to believe racism is a spiritual
disease

And I've addressed it from that standpoint often. I'm not saying religious but spiritual because people of all faiths, some most zealous, and even those who believe only in themselves seem to suffer from it. It mutates and spreads through fear and ego-driven mania. I think whether people believe in a supreme creator or not, racism is a disease that goes so deep into the psyche that it takes an epiphany in the racist to exorcise it and repeated visitations to one's spiritual well to avoid relapse.

Didn't mean to go soapbox, but I'm 46, grew up in the south, live in the north, and have lots of experience with this deadly virus. Nevertheless, I know it's not the root of all evil. Our dichotomous natures, pride and belief in our personal goodness or superiority to others juxtaposed to our suspicion that we are not as hot as we claim to be drives a lot of nonsense, including racism.

"Love is liquid. Be drunkards!" ~~Nordette

Submitted by Nordette on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 16:25