bodhesatva
Well-Known Member
As another discussion, I feel like something needs to be pointed out about how racism works in the modern world. There are really three "tiers" of racism that can be broken down like this:
1) People who know they are racist and who will openly say so. Think of KKK members as examples here. These people used to be the majority of racists but today I think they are the distinct minority because it is so politically toxic to openly admit to racism.
2) People who know they are racist but who won't say it out loud. These are people who think much like KKK members, but are savvy enough to realize that they could be ostracized from social or political circles for openly admitting it.
3) People who do not even realize they are racist even inside their own heads. This group is, I believe, by far the largest group of modern racists, and it's really troublesome because it's so difficult to solve. Because humans are by definition not in control of their subconscious thoughts, it's possible for a person to avoid conscious racist behavior while engaging in subconscious racist behaviors they aren't aware of. As an example here, imagine a manager at a store that hires a suspiciously low number of black employees. Could it just be random chance? Sure, it could, and maybe the manager believes that's true, inside his own head. But it's also possible the manager subconsciously knocks black applicants down a peg or two without realizing it, so that black applicants have to be extra-super good to make the cut.
I think it's important to identify these different types of racism so you can figure out how to combat them. Fighting 1) is pretty straightforward, fighting 2) is harder but still doable, but fighting 3)? Goodness, that's tough.
1) People who know they are racist and who will openly say so. Think of KKK members as examples here. These people used to be the majority of racists but today I think they are the distinct minority because it is so politically toxic to openly admit to racism.
2) People who know they are racist but who won't say it out loud. These are people who think much like KKK members, but are savvy enough to realize that they could be ostracized from social or political circles for openly admitting it.
3) People who do not even realize they are racist even inside their own heads. This group is, I believe, by far the largest group of modern racists, and it's really troublesome because it's so difficult to solve. Because humans are by definition not in control of their subconscious thoughts, it's possible for a person to avoid conscious racist behavior while engaging in subconscious racist behaviors they aren't aware of. As an example here, imagine a manager at a store that hires a suspiciously low number of black employees. Could it just be random chance? Sure, it could, and maybe the manager believes that's true, inside his own head. But it's also possible the manager subconsciously knocks black applicants down a peg or two without realizing it, so that black applicants have to be extra-super good to make the cut.
I think it's important to identify these different types of racism so you can figure out how to combat them. Fighting 1) is pretty straightforward, fighting 2) is harder but still doable, but fighting 3)? Goodness, that's tough.
