RE: As Long as I'm Avenue Qing: Are You a Little Bit Racist?
October 8, 2014 at 11:22 am
(This post was last modified: October 8, 2014 at 11:36 am by Thumpalumpacus.)
(October 8, 2014 at 6:31 am)Exian Wrote: Alice, I think you cut to the heart of my unsettled feelings after that experience. I can sort of relate it to the stories that popped up after 9/11 about people making a big deal when a middle-eastern guy boarded a flight they were on. In the comfort of my home, I would classify those people as ill-informed and quick to judgement; another part of me understood their point of view, but mainly I would distance myself from them. I'm well aware of the affect the media can have on me, and I liked to think I was able to temper any bias with either just acknowledging it or informing myself, but none of that ultimately mattered when faced with what I thought was a real threat. Maybe in the end, I was too quick to judge those people.
And this goes exactly to what I was saying earlier, about profiling being a form of stereotyping, and why I feel deeply uncomfortable when it pops up in my head.
I reckon it is a form of racism, but I also reckon that being aware of it, and acting fully in the conviction that it's wrong, allows me to make corrections to my behavior -- things like taking note of non-sterotypical behavior, asking what-if questions, imagining myself being on the receiving end of it.
