Facing Race 2008: Revealing and concealing race (Quick hit!)
Techniques for Concealing Racism:
- Denying and Exceptionalizing
- Coding and Scapegoating
- Deflecting and Confusing
Techniques for Revealing Racism:
- Name it!
- Frame it!
- Explain it!
So, what does this look like? Any examples of how you have seen or used any of these strategies?
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I did a presentation for one of my classes about accounting for your race and there were four ways that the article i read discussed.
The first was humorous accounting (using humor to undercut people and explain yourself), the second was educational accounting (educating people about your heritage), the third was confrontational accounting (using force and anger as a way to challenge the opposition), and the last one was passing or avoiding (trying to pass yourself off for another race).
Similar discussion ^_^
awesome list.
normally I just mumble about foucault or say "nazi punks fuck ofF" 10 or 15 times
Oh sweet coincidence. I'm working on a chapter in my book about the period of 1979-80 and the Trans-wars. I'm going to mention Gordon Alport's "Nature of Prejudice" in opposition to the bigotry of Janice Raymond's "Transsexual Empire".
Exceptionalism is just the term I was mentally searching for as to why I wasn't trashed when so many others were.
I try to be ready for teachable moments. Always. call. it. out. is my philosophy. I don't know how many times people around me who consider themselves anti-racist activists have told me about something fucked up another white person said to them with the assumption that a white person is going to sympathize/understand/agree. And they don't jump on such a teachable moment. For some, confrontations with other white people break an unspoken white solidarity.
For me it starts with some courage and some guts. Even if you're afraid it's not going to come out right, or you don't know how to confront someone, try to at least say something. You'll get better at handling these situations. Indecision ends up making you do nothing, and you miss the moment. And it sucks to have it weigh on your conscience later on.
I'm slightly amused that there aren't many comments on this post...
I work and volunteer with teenagers of all elasticities and backgrounds, and feel very comfortable confronting and questions assumptions they have, not just on race, but sexual orientation, gender, and other identities. It was a struggle at first, but I feel comfortable doing it now. For most kids, it's an issue of simply recognizing what they said, and I use a humorous/non-confrontational tone, and a question-answer format, never putting words in their mouths. I've had a couple of bad responses, but mostly the teenagers seem open and inquisitive about such ideas.
However, I struggle when it comes to doing to same with adults and my peers. Maybe because people, once they hit a certain age, are more solid in their preconceptions. I've gotten in a couple of stupid arguments I didn't really want to be a part of, or gotten written off completely. Sadly, unless it's a an egregious statement or a close friend/family member, I tend to let it pass. I just don't feel like anything I say can make a difference.
I think it is wonderful that you have made the conscious decision to confront assumptions and prejudices that the teenagers you work with bring up. Unfortunately, I think that many other volunteers would choose to change the subject in the hopes of avoiding any confrontation.
Maybe you could combat the racism you hear from your peers and the adults that you know, by explaining the difference between blatant racism and aversive racism. Blatant racism is “old fashioned” racism and includes anything from racist remarks to hate crimes. Many people in today’s society unconsciously and unintentionally participate in “contemporary racism” or aversive racism. Aversive racism represents a subtle form of bias, where the person consciously endorses egalitarian values while simultaneously denying their negative feelings about blacks. Instead of discriminating openly, they will unintentionally discriminate when their behaviors can be attributed to some factor other than race. Since unconscious negative feelings and beliefs are rooted in normal psychological processes, it is difficult for people to realize when they are being aversive racists. It may help to point out to these adults and peers that although they think they maintain a non-prejudice self image, emotion associated with blacks, such as anxiety, social awkwardness, and avoidance coupled with their beliefs that they are not prejudice, makes them aversive racists. I think what you say can and does make a difference… keep it up! : )
If anyone wants to learn more about aversive racism (which is still alive and well, despite the fact that this election just supposedly ended racism), read Racism without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. I guarantee you will have heard many of the things that white people say in this book.
Tim Wise, in White Like Me, also has a very good chapter in this very good book about interrupting white bonding over racism.
In response to imwmwriter, I would argue that responses to casual/aversive racism, of the type we're talking about, are going to vary according to person and instance. It's all well and good to tell people to just get over their fear and the intense pressure to go along with it and tell people when they're being racist, but it is really, really hard. And sometimes, whether it's because you're burned out, or stunned by what you just heard, or because you're sick of telling the same person over and over that what they said is offensive (because you know they've stopped listening to you), you're going to end up saying nothing. I think this is not necessarily a failure. I think we need to view anti-racism as a project taking a lifetime, where we are going to have some successful encounters, some failed encounters, and we can learn from both. I don't want potential white allies to give up because they missed a potential teachable moment. If, on the other hand, there's someone taking everything home to complain about it, and never speaks up, then that's less defensible.
On a positive note, I just had a breakthrough moment with my family. My sister told me something racist a close relative said about me and my partner's future children, and I had to explain why it was so messed up. I had always thought that she and my mom were mad at me for being the annoying person making them uncomfortable by bringing up race (they'd both told me before that they feel like they can't say anything around me or my partner for fear of being called racist). But on this occasion, amazingly, my sister responded by thanking me for always pushing her to see racism where she wouldn't have before. My point is that years of painful conversations with my family may have resulted in us all coming to a better point where we can all just discuss race and racism without it being seen as an attack on them. I think this is a major hurdle all white people face in their process of realizing that they are raced, they have privilege, and that aversive racism and racially coded language are everywhere.
And I, too, am interested but not surprised to see the number of comments below this post. If only we could get a sexist commercial to fit into this conversation somehow, everyone would be all over it.
This is so perfect that this was posted so recently. I'm a 25 year old adult and I just returned from spending the weekend at my parent's house, where my dad made an subtlely/aversively (?) racist comment. Right after he said it, I confronted him, and he blew up at me and went on a rant about everyone trying to "make him talk a certain way" and "censor our speech" and shoving political correctness down his throat. He is super conservative, and generally ignorant/resistant to anything related to social justice, plus I lived with him for 18 years. So I knew how he would react, but I went for it anyway.
I have been trying to confront any oppressive speech and behavior that I see among my family and friends and have been struggling with how to do it the right way for some time... Unfortunately, I come up against resistance almost every time. But still, I'm trying to continue raising awareness through these gentle confrontations. It's just so funny that for the rest of the weekend, I mulled and mulled over how I responded and how I could have done it differently, and here is a post about exactly that! I don't feel quite as alone now in my struggle :)
However, I definitely wish there were a manual with examples of possible types of offensive/oppressive comments/behaviors, and how to respond in the right way to each one...I know that's probably a stretch and would be next to impossible to achieve in precisely that way, but does anyone know if there's something even *remotely* like that out there? Or do we just keep trying our best and hoping that someday we'll figure out more effective methods??
I let the people talk, listen to what they're saying, let them dig their hole, then specifically point out what they've said. And call them on it.
I agree that much racism I encounter is that 'aversive' sort. I am Native American, but honestly, I 'pass' for white if I wish. For a long time I did. No longer. The fact I grew up not understanding the identity I was born to, sorta rejecting it annoys me greatly now.
The best response I've ever heard to racism was from another NA girl I knew in college. She's of a different tribe than I (I'm East-coast, she's West-coast), crossed the country for school, very visually not local. When a local lady ran into her in a rather welcoming/open study space she asked, in what she thought was a flattering way(don't you look so exotic!) "What are you?" This girl's response? "Human! WTF are you?". The lady, shocked, taken aback, and hopefully willing to think twice in future.