UNCONSCIOUS RACISM
"Racism can be defined as views and actions that people might have or show of/to another race that might make them inferior or superior to other races." (Wikipedia, 2012)
"Unconscious racism arises out of viewpoints, fears and stereotypes of which people are unaware." (Carpenter, 2002)
Check out the first minute of this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvqXh83IJgM
Unconscious rasicm can create the view that this first nations individual was referring to a drug addiction but infact was not.
Unconscious racism occurs more than we would like to imagine and can occur almost everywhere.
Perhaps, this unconscious racism stems from or history of racism and what we are taught at a young age about racism.
Now check out this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOHbtM9463c
Ask yourself "what could be the causes/influences of the childrens answers to the questions being asked ?"
"In those with racist tendencies, a surge of activity was seen in part of the brain that controls thoughts and behaviour. Scientists believe this reflected volunteers' attempts to curb their latent racism. After interacting with real black individuals, the same group performed poorly in a task designed to test mental resources. The American researchers concluded that harbouring racial prejudice, even unintentionally, stirred up an inner struggle that exhausted the brain." ( Cline, 2003)
John Barnes has told ESPN that "we are all unconscious racists"
Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/172340.html#bjBVzGVVXzLZU1Yh.99
Sheri
Cline, A. (November 22, 2003). Identifying Unconscious Racism. In Agnosticism / Atheism. Retrieved November 14, 2012,
from http://atheism.about.com/b/2003/11/22/identifying-unconscious-racism.htm.
undefined. (November 8, 2012 ). Racism. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Retrieved November 14, 2012,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism
Hi Sheri,
ReplyDeleteI think unconscious racism is a problem primarily because it is unconscious, i think we all need to recognize that we are exposed to stereotypes an prejudices about different cultures almost daily through the media . I think it our job to not turn around and mirror these prejudices and instead learn from one another.
Hoda
Sheri,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading and watching this blog. The quote you chose for this blog, interests me. "The inner struggle of the brian" makes sense. Maybe, if we are not exposed to different skin colour on a regular basis, than our acceptance level may struggle. We all know, at one time, the reasons for different colour of skin was due to geographics and skin exposure.
Over the last few days I was exposed to a lot of racist remarks from ignorant family members and decided to just walk away. Today I realize the importance to address the issue appropiately and then walk away. Children are the next doctors, nurses, educators, ect. We are responsibile in teaching them to be diverse in all areas of life. It may be several generations until we have this issue corrected.
The above comment was made by Heather
ReplyDelete