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RE: As Long as I'm Avenue Qing: Are You a Little Bit Racist?
October 8, 2014 at 12:52 pm
(October 8, 2014 at 11:22 am)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: 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.
I definitely agree. Theory of mind and empathy goes a long way here. I watched a video that was posted by a friend on Facebook. The description was something along the lines of "Cop shoots black guy for no reason" so I knew going in what to expect and what my response was expected to be. Normally, I stay away from watching these things, but for whatever reason I watched this one.
I'll break it down: (this is from memory)
(Ended up being pretty long)
The dash cam shows the front of a gas station. The black kid, maybe early 20's, pulls into the gas station and into frame. He hops out of his vehicle and attempts to walk towards the store, but before he can, the cop hops out and tells him to stop. Already we know this isn't a normal stop, because the kid has just pulled into the gas station to buy something, or whatever business he had. He's visibly surprised by the cop, as anyone would be in this odd situation. The cop tells the kid to produce his license and the kid taps his back pocket, then turns and leans into the car to retrieve it. The cop starts yelling and opens fire while running in front of his car and behind the kids vehicle. Luckily, the kid is only shot in the leg, and he drops. I think the cop ends up being fired.
So, apply the theory of mind and empathy to both situations.
The cop says the kid dove into his car, that's why he opened fire. On a second viewing, it does look like he moves quickly into his car, but it's clear that he was just eager to comply in the strange situation. He pats his back pocket, pauses for split second in thought, and realizes he left the license in the car and reacts almost at the same time. And so the cop is obviously wrong and he's an asshole and the video gets the expected emotional reaction.
But...
Because I had a fearful experience, I can also relate to the cop. Granted, the cop shouldn't have "pulled him over" while the kid was already out of his car; he basically fucked himself right there. He put himself in an uncontrolled situation. Also, he should be held to a higher standard in an uncertain, possibly dangerous, split-second situation than I would be held in my situation, but I still can't help but to apply the emotions I went through to the cops situation. It can only be speculated that the cops heightened emotions were the result of his own stereotyping of this kid, but it's probably a safe bet. So, when I put myself in the cop's situation, with my sense of equality, my views of racism being extremely wrong, would I have fared any better, or would my strongly held beliefs fall to the wayside?
This, of course, is an extreme example and may not be the best way to measure yourself, but my experience with it has definitely caused me look a little deeper into myself.
