“I am not racist.”
I have heard this self-serving proclamation too many times. Each time I question why people feel a need to tell me this. Each time I wonder if people know they are wasting their words with me. Each time I am break into my “actually-you-are-probably-more-racist-than-you-think” rant and attempt to explain why racism is not so black & white (pun definitely intended).
And here I go again.
Despite an increasing cultural sensitivity towards human diversity, racism is a social virus that continues to eat at the spine of our collective human body. Yet I often hear people proclaiming “racist innocence”. There are several reasons why it is pointless to say, “I am not racist”, and why the statement does more damage than good.
Firstly, to say that one is not racist, under the seemingly innocent claim of “I don’t see skin colour”, is a blatant lie (unless of course you are actually blind). When we pretend not to see skin colour, we refuse to acknowledge the realities that individuals experience. To be “colour-blind” denies the lived experiences of people who have actually been marginalized by racist beliefs and policy. We see skin colour. Don’t lie.
Secondly, in our current cultural climate, racist beliefs are increasingly socially unacceptable. Thus to proclaim innocence from any racist beliefs could simply be an individual’s attempt to adhere to social norms. If you tell me you are not racist, I have no idea if you are simply trying to be likeable or if you actually have a deep appreciation for diversity. In trying to create a positive social image for oneself, the statement is as effective as saying, “I don’t kill babies”. My response is, “That’s great, yet it doesn’t actually tell me anything about you.”
Thirdly, despite our movement towards the social unacceptability of racism, it is a prevalent issue in our cultural and political systems. Any claims of non-racism are negated by the fact that we buy into these systems all the time. Whether you are placing an electoral vote, purchasing cheap-labour produced goods, or paying your taxes, you are perpetuating the system – a system that ranks people according to their gender, age, physical abilities and, most definitely, the colour of their skin.
Need more proof? Systemic or “institutional” racism is evident in our primarily “white” parliament, in discriminatory immigration policies, and in the vulnerabilities of aboriginal and other ethnic populations to HIV infection, drug addiction, and suicide rates. We are all part of a system that perpetuates racism, thus we are not individually free of racism.
Finally (and a tangent of my previous point), there is a direct link between consumerism and racism. Why is there a tendency to fill minimum wage jobs with immigrant workers of colour? Why do we out-source so much of our production to overseas nations? Before you drop your next paycheck at your local Wal-Mart, think about how food, clothing, and other goods are produced. Can a person claim to be “un-racist” while supporting businesses that perpetuate poverty through impossibly low wages? Poverty and racism exist inseparably.
The underlying idea that I am hammering home is that we live in a culture with racism engrained into its framework. To say, “I am not racist” is to excuse oneself from acknowledging that systemic racial problems exist. It is not only pointless to proclaim, “I am not racist”, but also damaging. By refusing to recognize one’s individual role and responsibility in adjusting the system, we in turn perpetuate the status quo. We are each a part of the problem, and we can each chose to be part of the solution.
So what can we do? An appreciation for human diversity is communicated through words, but more importantly through actions. Here are some places to start:
• Think about whom you vote and the values of this individual or political party. Will your local representative reflect and honour the diversity of your riding?
• Educate yourself on Canada’s racist history: we have exploited, institutionalized, displaced, and colonized. Don’t deny people of their past; it has huge impact on their realities today (this starts with seeing colour).
• Think about what you buy. Our greatest power is that of a consumer. Who is impacted by my need to have the absolute lowest prices? Move towards responsible and critical consuming.
• Watch what comes out of your mouth (and the mouths of those around you). Are there ways to be humourous without targeting someone’s culture or skin colour?
Instead of wasting words on proclamations of innocence from racism, let’s think about the ways that we can foster inclusion, respect, and appreciation. Change comes slowly, but it starts at the individual level. Your actions will echo.
March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
2 comments:
Kudos to you Dan for putting yourself out there by writing about such sensitive and contentious issues on your blog. I appreciate you challenging readers to look inward and outward to learn how we understand these issues individually and collectively. I think the notion of 'not seeing skin color' comes from a couple of places, one is as you are suggesting-an inherent part of unexplored/unacknowledged racism, the other comes from people wanting to come from a place of respecting and valuing everyone regardless of the color of skin. However, I personally feel that if people aren't noticing that my skin is a bit darker than theirs perhaps, then they are not really seeing me for who I am and that doesn't feel good or respectful. Racism has become such an ugly word in our society that as people we become afraid to talk about it. Let's just acknowledge that we live in a world where skin color comes with a multitude of assumptions/biases and lets look at our assumptions and how we enact those and then perpetuate this thing we call 'racism', and then do as you are suggesting-take some responsibility for changing this. Cat
Wow, I'm shocked that there aren't a million and one posts on a wonderful topic such as this.
Let me tell you a story. I was with one of my work friends once and we had an experience that convinced me that I am, in fact, racist. Specifically, it involved a nice Indian girl working at the local Quizno's. I had known her personally for about the last year and we had that polite social flirting thing going on that boys and girls have sometimes. My friend was bugging me after our order and asked why I didn't go out with her. I didn't have any sort of response, and the more I thought of it the more puzzled I was. She was attractive, she was interesting, she was available... what more would be required for a date?
I couldn't figure it out and we kept talking about it as we returned to work. The kicker was when he asked "would you go out with her if she was white?" and I realized that I would have.
I did a lot of soul searching trying to piece it all together - it wasn't any social objection I was concerned with, it wasn't like there wasn't precedent within my own family and hers... it wasn't any deep seated moral belief that white people are better or worse. I have lots of friends that don't regard ethnicity as significant and it's never been an issue. Just something in me couldn't accept the concept regarding myself.
From a moral standpoint, I probably should have gone out on a date with her. We stayed friends and still are friends... Net result is that I was made aware of something about myself that I never would have guessed otherwise.
I feel defensive so I'll say also that I spent a summer on the native reserve out near Prince Rupert and that taught me more about the internal racism that occurs on reserve than I ever wanted to know. When you arrive and see the (1%) rich chiefs houses on the top of the hill and then you see the (99%) dirt roads, the three legged dogs, and the government office immediately beside the liquor store you immediate get a sense of what it means by "loaded deck".
Now, all that being said, I disagree with at least part of what you say about watching what comes out of your mouth. I think that cultural, racial and sexist humour has a time and place. I think that sexuality-based humour has its place. There are social boundries that cannot be extended without edgy humour. There are topics that cannot and will not be broached without humour. Comedians are the ultimate social scientists and commentators.
I remember hanging out with a mutual friend who is self-described as flaming. When I first met him, he was sitting in a pub with a purse on the table (he calls it a "murse"), reading a french fashion magazine and drinking a fuzzy navel with a curly straw. Of course, he was also impeccibly dressed, perfectly groomed, etc. I'm not trying to paint him as a stereotype - just state literal facts here. During the course of the evening he made an analogy between "male heteros" (as he called them) and knuckle dragging neandrathals that was particularly significant to me. Up until that point I don't think I'd ever understood the sense of pity that he felt for the redneck goofs that had been harassing him all his life. Perhaps I would have made the assumption that he was acting flaming to deliberately push buttons... The reality was that he really and truly was that sort of guy - it wasn't a false facade, it wasn't an act or a plea for attention, and he didn't feel like hiding himself any more. With one slightly inappropriate joke I felt my view of the universe shift slightly.
I still have a tendency to view the redneck anti-gay types as a bunch of cavemen, and if nothing else has helped to moderate my rage at such blind and ridiculous criticism. i.e. I literally had a mechanic tell me once that homosexuality didn't exist until the first world war - what can you possibly say to people like that?
Anyways, I agree overall with the blog post and think the final image is particularly good.
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