The Silence of Racism
Today when people hear the term “racism” they usually think of the time before the Civil Rights movement. A time of Jim Crow laws, segregation throughout the town, Ku Klux Klan, and racism was considered normal. Many people believe the world has changed and racism is not as prevalent and people believe the color of one’s skin does not matter. However, many people would be surprised to find out how much common racism is still in today’s society. It is the obvious as segregation and it is known as “silent racism.”Silent racism is very subtle and many people do not realize they exhibit these qualities. According to Barbara Trepagnier, “silent racism is not the same as prejudice….silent racism, on the contrary, is not limited to intolerant whites-it inhabits the minds of all white people wheter or not they acknowledge it or are aware of it” (6). It is the subconscious thought of whites being better than people of different skin color. However it is not only causation people who subconsciously believe in their race being dominant, but also all other ethnic groups subconsciously believe whites are better.
I thought the idea of silent racism was very interesting, especially since this notion is all over the world in many different ethnic groups. At first I was wondering what would be the factors which contribute to silent racism. My first idea was the media and how it portrays different ethnic groups. Many times European white people are seen as the victim in crimes and the criminals are usually of a different ethnic group. Also in many movies or TV shows, gang members are portrayed of being African American or Hispanic which gives a negative image of these different ethnic groups. Also, I believe the United States is still not diverse in where different ethnic groups live. Many students talked about how there was no ethnic diversity in their high schools and even at CSB/SJU there is very little of it, especially in rural central Minnesota. I believe these factors contribute the idea of silent racism and how people strongly believe in equal rights exhibit silent racism.
Sarah
Graded Reply #5
ReplyDeleteI too found the concept of 'silent racism' to be interesting. The readings, gave me a very new view of racism to consider. Previously, I thought that a person must perform some kind of action against a particular race to be deemed racist. It was interesting to read that an action (or intent) does not need to be present for racism to exist. Instead, the fact that racism has been an ongoing occurence for so long, has caused it to become a part of the culture and has been engrained in the economic system. Consequently, it remains that persons can be considered racist, even if the action was unintentional.
Your point about all other ethnic groups believing whites are better is also interesting. Here in America, I am considered a minority, since I am black. However, back home in my country, The Bahamas, blacks are the majority. Even at home, I have seen instances where companies would rather outsource certain jobs internationally (to white companies) instead of seeking a local (black) company to complete the job. Its interesting, as I think now, that such a thing occurs globally.