Unconscious Racism (Mainpage Story)...
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Soloman_The_Wise
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They used to lynch us. They don’t do that anymore.
They used to buy and sell us. They don’t do that anymore.
They used to call our fathers “boy” and send them around back. They don’t do that anymore.
Now it’s unconscious, so all they have to do is think.
Racism has gone underground, upgraded its look to be more stylish and user friendly. In fact, it’s undergone such a dramatic face lift that racists themselves don’t even know they’re racist. That’s impressive.
Racists these days have black friends and get along with their black coworkers. They have Jay Z and Usher songs in their iTunes accounts, and they readily compliment black women on how nice their natural hair looks. And they really mean those compliments. They wouldn’t ever want their hair to do that, but they really do like the way it looks on someone else. I guess that’s just one of the perks of the new unconscious racism.
It made the trans Atlantic slave trade okay. It made colonization and Apartheid okay. It made the Holocaust and Japanese concentration camps okay. It made the slaughter and relocation of Native Americans okay. All inhumane treatment of non-white people is justified in the eyes of racism. Twisted stuff, ain’t it? But don’t be fooled. This new racism, polite and understated though it may be, is still the same old racism. It still runs on that inherently-flawed and extremely delusional belief that ? is white (European) and has a natural preference for his own. That’s the thinking that made the world’s human atrocities okay.
Racism Goes Underground
But this new racism is tricky. It’s ninja-like in its ability to operate without detection. It isn’t as in-your-face. It lies dormant most of the time, silently feeding off of reinforced stereotypes, media misinformation and fear. It nestles itself so deeply in the subconscious that most who are affected by it can honestly say, “I am not racist.” As far as they know, they aren’t. They don’t hate black people. They don’t think black people deserve to be treated badly. But they do believe, way back in the recesses of their mind, that certain things, places and people are designated for whites only. Not in a “colored entrance” kind of way, but in a “I get uncomfortable when I see black people overstepping their bounds” kind of way.
That’s why Trayvon Martin looked suspicious. His presence in that particular neighborhood made Zimmerman uncomfortable. He would have felt perfectly fine had he seen Martin in a predominantly black, poor neighborhood—not being racist or anything, but that is where blacks live, right?—but he couldn’t conceive that Martin possibly belonged in that neighborhood. The mere sight of that hoodied young man (not to be confused with a “hooded” young man) in that gated community was enough to activate the unconscious racist within. In an instant, all the stereotypes and fear he’d gathered and stored in his 28 years flooded Zimmerman’s conscious mind and instructed him to save the neighborhood and himself from this incredibly threatening black male.
That’s also why some disgruntled Hunger Games fans have found fault with the color of particular cast members. Despite the fact that casting directors make small (and large) changes to book characters all the time, their unconscious racists within were activated when they saw that such powerful and positive characters were played by…dramatic pause… black actors (cue shock and awe now). According to some of the upset tweets, the author made no mention of color. This actually isn’t true, but it doesn’t matter. When they discovered that the book characters where strong, positive and actually of significance to the story, they automatically assumed the author meant for them to be white, because, well, what else could they possibly be? And those unconscious racist thoughts were actually strong enough to edit out the parts of the book that literally describe their skin as “dark brown.”
Wow.
I don’t know if you’re getting the magnitude of that. Let me say it again. Those unconscious racist thoughts were actually strong enough to edit out the parts of the book that literally describe their skin as “dark brown.” Tell me that’s not deep. The unconscious racist’s ideas of whiteness and blackness and so entrenched in a hierarchy of value that their minds literally blotted out printed text so as not to disturb their preconceived notions about what “good” really looks like.
That’s why stereotypes are so prominent. They reinforce the ideas unconscious racists already have. When they see a black man who really is a criminal, they take notice, but when they see one who is an educated, peaceful loving father, they ignore it or write it off as an isolated incident. Racism survives this way.
Until we get away from the idea that ? is white (or any other color for that matter) racism will live on. It’s form will continue to change, but its roots will remain sturdy.
Originally published on NadirahAngail.com
I knew where this needed to be since it was on the Front page of the site brought it in here to chop it up and get the ill spin on it...
Comments
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It's time, for a revolution. The way to end all racism according to Paul Mooney " ? all white people" and we will end all racism. Either we do that or let's go home Africa
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Real ? . This is why I love Allhiphop.
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Perfectly written piece
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Nice piece.
I like how when it's a thread on some important ? you got people lurking but no one wants to comment, but if it's a thread about some ? people flock to that ? with their two cents. Must be too real to touch. -
It is a nice piece, doesn't apply to ALL whites but a nice piece nonetheless...
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This article didnt tell me nothing I didnt already know, but nice introspect. Personally I judge people the color of they're auras.
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It is a nice piece, doesn't apply to ALL whites but a nice piece nonetheless...
That's the thing, it does actually apply to ALL whites.
Individual white people like to act they're different, but their actions say different. The sooner black people understand this, the better. -
Also, it's not white individuals that are the real problem per se. It's that the whole system is a white supremacist construct.
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It doesn't apply to ALL whites, you can't just group them as you please because you assume things.
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You cant generalize and say all whites... because it is truly impossible. Just as you cant say all blacks are such and such...
the premise of the article still stands however. -
BK Product wrote: »You cant generalize and say all whites... because it is truly impossible. Just as you cant say all blacks are such and such...
the premise of the article still stands however.
correct, which is why I said it's a good piece nonetheless. I only disagree with the notion all whites are this "unconscious racist", simply not true. -
I know enough white ppl to not believe that ? , blanket statements are for lazy thinkers
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cosign the last 3 posts...
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i'm trying to figure out how this is "unconscious racism" when the people in question were flipping out all over the internet about it immediately. wouldn't that just be racism?Soloman the Wise wrote:That’s also why some disgruntled Hunger Games fans have found fault with the color of particular cast members. Despite the fact that casting directors make small (and large) changes to book characters all the time, their unconscious racists within were activated when they saw that such powerful and positive characters were played by…dramatic pause… black actors (cue shock and awe now). According to some of the upset tweets, the author made no mention of color. This actually isn’t true, but it doesn’t matter. When they discovered that the book characters where strong, positive and actually of significance to the story, they automatically assumed the author meant for them to be white, because, well, what else could they possibly be? And those unconscious racist thoughts were actually strong enough to edit out the parts of the book that literally describe their skin as “dark brown.” -
^^ agreed...
but i think he was stating that if you asked those who voiced their displeasure they would say that they are not rasict and just viewed the character to be white/lightskinned etc. -
Sad but true things in this
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yes this is definately just outright rascism, disgusting -
Last Of My Kind wrote: »
yes this is definately just outright rascism, disgusting
Yo b what movie are they talking about.Or is it a book. -
hunger games
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Cabana_Da_Don wrote: »Last Of My Kind wrote: »
yes this is definately just outright rascism, disgusting
Yo b what movie are they talking about.Or is it a book.
Hunger Games the movie which is based on the book. -
It is a nice piece, doesn't apply to ALL whites but a nice piece nonetheless...
I hate this phrase it's ? . It's the same when cops say not all cops are bad just those few, but at the end of the day they are gonna cape for the police before they defend someone being abused by them. If push comes to shove I expect a vast majority of white people to overwhelmingly cape for one another even in the face of something obviously wrong. -
Vast majority doesn't = all, so I still stand correct.
It's cool though, you don't know me. I never cape just because "white must be right", I cape for what is right and if that means a black man is right, or Hispanic, asain etc over a white person? Then I stand up and agree for what is right. -
Vast majority doesn't = all, so I still stand correct.
It's cool though, you don't know me. I never cape just because "white must be right", I cape for what is right and if that means a black man is right, or Hispanic, asain etc over a white person? Then I stand up and agree for what is right.
Standing up and agreeing is different from doing. It's easy to cape when there is not action, and not that I say or presume your inaction, but there will come a day when you will have to do more than speak your thoughts you will have to act on them.
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perhaps, but in this case he's using as an example something where we saw people (as evidenced by the picture(s) Last Of My Kind posted) get outright racist pretty quickly. maybe it's just a poor example for the argument above.BK Product wrote: »but i think he was stating that if you asked those who voiced their displeasure they would say that they are not rasict and just viewed the character to be white/lightskinned etc.
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PublicEnemigo1 wrote: »Vast majority doesn't = all, so I still stand correct.
It's cool though, you don't know me. I never cape just because "white must be right", I cape for what is right and if that means a black man is right, or Hispanic, asain etc over a white person? Then I stand up and agree for what is right.
Standing up and agreeing is different from doing. It's easy to cape when there is not action, and not that I say or presume your inaction, but there will come a day when you will have to do more than speak your thoughts you will have to act on them.
If there ever came a day where two races, whites & blacks, faced off, I'd stand on the blacks side. I grew up w black friends, best friends and a school of blacks who respected me and stood up for me at times.
Push comes to shove, I'll be on the other side. No lie. Now that probably wouldn't go over too well and I'd get my ass killed.
