Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
This is in the form of interracial accusations based on conjecture. Examples from whites: Obama was just elected because he is black, now we whites can stop feeling guilty over racism because that's what racism was all about (making whites feel guilty); examples from nonwhites: white people are afraid of a black presidency so we should be suspicious of the words and actions of whites--eventhough a lot of Obama's votes came from whites. Though there are power differentials at play, each side accuses the other side of something based on hasty conclusions or poorly put together facts (some of which are difficult to prove true or false so they pointlessly linger) and this perpetuates an atmosphere of distrust and apprehension. This atmosphere has the potential to cloud the real covert and overt racism that is going on. Diversion tactics make the racist structure "smile" because everyone's too busy being loony and silly over the silly and loony stuff. Similar to people who are preoccupied by looking for racists like they're playing a game of "Where's Waldo." To change it we ALL have to be critical of our language and actions as they contribute to a cycle in different ways. I'm just talking about the individual-level because that's the level that most people can touch and feel so they feel more empowered to change it. That is partially about prejudice and how people defend group position or respond to fear, however the individual-level alone will not break down the racist structure.
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My brain just said "ahhhhhhh." I enjoyed the read. Thank you!
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