Before I jump into today's topic, here's a disclaimer. This is a really casual research; this is nothing like an academic thesis. So, I would not be reading a hundred articles for each topic. This project is not intended to be professional, so please don't come to me and say, "Hey, this is so unprofessional."
Alright. Now let's talk about today's topic. Is everyone racist for some extent? Discussions concerning racism and tensions between different race or ethnic groups are very sensitive, yet it is also a very important thing to talk about. I read 3 articles from 3 different sites (Psychology Today, The Guardian, and The New York Times). I will list the links to all of the articles at the end of this post, so go check them if you're interested.
Now, think about yourself. It's actually impossible to be always fair. Maybe because of cultural backgrounds. They teach what is right and wrong; appropriate and inappropriate. Or maybe because of ignorance. You cannot know everything. And also because of human nature. We love categorizing things because it makes things easier and more comprehensive. We all know that there are always some exceptions, but we tend to label things, and be surprised when we encounter the exceptions.
In Japan, most people are ethnically Japanese. But you don't have to be ethnically Japanese to be a member of Japanese nation (i.e., Japanese). Some people don't look like "typical" Japanese. Well, look at my boyfriend. His dad is from the U.S., which makes him look a little different from most of Japanese. He was born in Japan, and raised in Japan; he's really a Japanese like rest of us. But there have been many times when people who don't know him didn't see him as "normal" Japanese. He has been told, "Wow, your Japanese is very good!" or asked, "Are you from here (Japan)?" by Japanese people. Some people are impressed when he writes kanji. (He may look like a "gaijin" (= foreigner, in Japanese), but he went through Japanese education system just like rest of Japanese, so he knows lots of kanji! Duh!) See? He has experienced so many biases and prejudices in his life, even though all those people who made those comments didn't mean to be rude, which is good that he knows it. These are biases are prejudices, not necessarily racism. I have asked him, "Do you ever feel mad at those comments or at those people who make those comments? Don't you feel tired of having to explain who you are?" He answered, "Well, no, I'm OK with that. Because first of all, I'm used to it. And I know that those people are not trying to be mean by asking those questions or making those comments."
What is important is for us to know that we are biased in some ways as the 2 articles say. The article from Psychology Today writes, "nature is not destiny." We can do better, and go beyond of our nature. But we cannot do this without knowing and admitting we're biased and prejudiced. And I think we have hope.
The article from The Guardian gives some interesting insights about the results of a survey that looked into racial prejudice in the United Kingdom, and the media headlines that make people think British people have become more racist than the past. You can jump to the data of the survey from the article, if you're interested. The author suggests that the data may be a sign that more people in the U.K. "are willing to admit to prejudice." Because the data was collected by asking people to self-report their attitudes, only people who admit that they may be prejudiced say that they are prejudiced. The most prejudiced people do not see that they are prejudiced, and most probably report that they are not prejudiced.
So, in conclusion, we are all biased whether we like it or not. What we need to do is to know it, and keep in mind of it. We need to know that "normal" is a social construct; it's not the ultimate, universal truth. It's important that we be open and accepting, and make sure to avoid or at least minimize bias and prejudice when we say things or make decisions. And also, we need to study, and learn about things we don't know, things we aren't familiar with, things we have taken for granted, etc. If you learn more, you'll quickly learn that there are so many things you don't know, and you can't just assume or say things decisively. It's not fun to admit that we're ignorant, and it's harder to admit that we may be wrong. But in a world like this, it's getting more and more important to admit that to move on, and make the world a better place.
References:
- Praet, D. V. (2015, December 15). Is The Internet Making Us Racist? - Psychology Today. Retrieved February 10, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unconscious-branding/201512/is-the-internet-making-us-racist
- Kristof, N. (2014, August 27). Is Everyone a Little Bit Racist? - The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2017, from https://www.bing.com/cr?IG=F2B22EE4BA7440CAAB8315DE5DAE8D5A&CID=29C72670352169731A082C5434106868&rd=1&h=ioKzrhMKgoqIq5YJuMPURdipG3BLt34NgV9ZB0eWMs4&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fwww.nytimes.com%2f2014%2f08%2f28%2fopinion%2fnicholas-kristof-is-everyone-a-little-bit-racist.html&p=DevEx,5063.1
- Burnett, D. (2014, May 29). Everyone's a little bit racist, sometimes. - The Guardian. Retrieved February 10, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/may/29/racist-racism-study-uk
No comments:
Post a Comment