Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Mil
I was rather surprised at the immediate 'racist' comments. When I read the original poster's message, that never occurred to me. Had she said a young white man, you wouldn't have even commented on it. She was just describing the guy.
|
That's the point, really, IMHO. It would be unlikely for someone to write "a young white guy" in the first place. The fact that it was pointed out
is what makes it racist. The fact that it wasn't deliberately racist makes it a different kind of racism, but racism nonetheless.
Racism is not necessarily about disliking or distrusting people of another race. Racism is about making assumptions or even having subconscious fears about someone because of their race or the way they look without having other information.
My parents are open to all kinds of people. No one told me directly to be afraid any 'kind' of person, or to make assumptions about a person's education based on his or her skin color. It is everywhere in our culture- TV, ads, books, pop culture, even embedded in our institutions. Everywhere.
Would someone
typically be as likely to be afraid to see a red haired freckly kid with a backpack bending down to tie his shoelace? Honest now. I wouldn't. Do I like that? No. Is it wrong? Yes. I have to tell myself my response is racist, because it is. And I have to change my thought pattern. I'm working on it.
Just some thoughts...