As Long as I'm Avenue Qing: Are You a Little Bit Racist?

[Thumpalumpacus]

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)

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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.

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Thankfully, most racial situations don't approach that level of danger. But the insidious nature of the problem means that you have the enlightened literati on both coasts congratulating themselves for their enlightenment vis the flyover states, while at the same time racism remains a problem -- most often subtle, but too often blatant -- problem all across America.

It's an old cliche from the environmentalist movement to "think globally, act locally", but that really is the only way racism can be countered. (Mind you, I'm not talking about discrimination; discrimination is susceptible to treatment by law, and even this libertarian-leaning centrist agrees that that is an appropriate use of governmental authority).

But inside the mind of each man, there is an emotional center that no laws can touch. Sometimes, when worded right, compassion and empathy can get there and make the bigot rethink his views. Sometimes, the appropriate way to change minds is scorn and contempt. And then (perhaps most often?), the bigot is a lost cause, and the battle becomes a reargaurd action, aimed at preventing the spread of inimical memes.