Are We All Racist?

Hello Alyson,

Thanks for your kind words. Actually the quote in your signature is from the late Stephen Biko ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 ( http://genderracepower.com )

ohhh dayum, I loved the way you broke it down. I'd have to agree with you on that.

"The greatest tool of the oppressor, is the mind of the oppressed" - Unknown

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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 ( http://antibias.wordpress.com )

My Life As a Radical Whore/Madonna ( http://atenaoyadidani.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog... )

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

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.

Focusing on the psychology of racism ("Implicit Association Test" and such) misses the point of what racism is---a system of oppression ( http://blog.tubb.ca/blog/debbie/2006/05/25/institu... ). 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 ( http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/honkywannacrac... ) is key here. If we really wanted to be honest, we would say white supremacy ( http://academic.udayton.edu/race/01race/whiteness1... ) 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? ( http://academic.udayton.edu/race/01race/whiteness1... )"---I would have to say unequivocally NO.

Y. Carrington
The Primary Contradiction ( http://genderracepower.com )

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 ( http://www.timegoesby.net )

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 ( http://www.resonancepartnership.com )

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 ( http://jerseygoddess.blogspot.com/2006/11/beyond-c... ) 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 ( http://www.goddessblogs.com )

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

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.