jeudi 10 juillet 2014

What racism does NOT refer to: A new analysis by a person of color





The epithet of "racism" or "racism" does not mean that you find the other person's views or feelings about a particular racial group different from your own and even that you find them disagreeable or unfair.

They are simply that:  Subjective impressions of a particular group that may or may not apply to most members.

Take an example.

Firstly, I may find that the incident of violent crime within Group X to be disturbing.  

Secondly, I may have personally experienced (as in having been attacked or robbed by persons belonging to Group X).

Thirdly, I the culture of Group X, as manifested by common behaviors or attitudes may not exactly be my cup of tea--even offensive and disrespectful.  The frequency of my observations about behavior among persons belonging to the group that makes me uncomfortable may be much higher than that the frequency of the same sort of observations about other groups.  Inevitably, I become annoyed, and a feeling of resentment comes into being.

This is not prejudice:  this is direct personal experience, with all its attendant complexity of affect and cognition.  

As a consequence, I have negative feelings about Group X even though I realize that my generalizations may not or do not apply to most persons of Group X.   Just enough to make me wary.

Unfortunately, the state of discussion about race in the United States today is hemmed in by misconceptions, emotional reasoning, and fear.

Cries of "racism" or "racist" drown out dispassionate conversation that would seek to inform rather than condemn others.









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