"our brains do tend to categorize to create more efficiency. A common way to categorize is by the color of someones skin or ethnicity. Categorizing I would say isn't by itself a negative thing. The use of these categories to hurt people is definitely a bad thing to do and I would say this is now an uncommon occurrence and not done very overtly anymore."
"absolutely."
"I think everyone has prejudices but racism is an extreme held but some"
"No Im really racist"
"I know i can be at times.....its a safety precaution"
"Everyone is racist. Just the fact that this conversation is being had is racism. when a black person gets on a bus and we make a concerted effort to make sure they arent sitting in the back is racism. We are still thinking this person is different then me..."
I expected most the responses to be like this. I had some people take it seriously and then there were others who made a joke out of it. The overall reaction to my question was "yes, we are all a little racist". I think this has come about because of how we were all raised. We recognize the people around us and if they have a different skin tone, our brain registers that.
This question did get me thinking though...What is the difference between recognizing or categorizing and actually being racist. I would say that we all would recognize if someone with different skin color walked into the room, but is that being racist because we notice it?
8 comments:
Something I've noticed in a few other people's post is that people distinguish between racism and prejudice/bias. I do think there is a difference between racism and categorizing. Categorizing is a very useful tool we as humans naturally use for everything that we should be willing to change after increased exposure. I think racism is more of a stagnant negative view point.
I don't think it's the same thing. There is a fine line between it though. I think judgment is something in all of us. It's almost just human nature. Everyone judges, the question becomes how do we judge?
I don't know if it's a reaction to race. It's just a reaction to something different. If I'm on the bus, I would also look differently to really cute girl, a really big guy, a punk, a hippie, a business man, etc.
I definitely think there is also a difference between being unaware, and uniformed, and uncomfortable versus actually being a racist.
I really liked the first post written. Our brains do categorize automatically. They are programmed that way whether from tv, parents, or teachers. Stereotypes are powerful. It is manifest in the activity in class that we did by writing down the first thing you think you write down. Our brains just make connections from experiences.
I completely agree with the first and previous comments posted. Catergorizing is natural and we all do it. And Kate is right, we ALL judge regardless of age, sex or race it happens and what we think about, how we react when we come in contact with others is a reflection of our life experiences..or the lack of.
i’d say the difference between categorizing and being racist is in how we treat the person based on the observed categorization. when we go out of our way to try and appear not racist (affirmative action, making sure a black is not at the back of a bus), are we being racist? can racism occur in a positive way? is racism more than just negative thoughts and actions about a person or is it going out of your way to treat someone differently (either good or bad)?
I would agree with Patty - I think there is a difference between being racist and being prejudiced or having a bias. I decided to look up the word "racism" and merriam-webster defines it as, " a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race." When defined by such specific terms, I think people would answer the question much differently
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