Spring Break
A new breed of racism
By: Sean Jin
Issue date: 7/27/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 7/28/07 at 12:46 AM EST
Last update: 7/28/07 at 12:45 AM EST
Originally published: 7/28/07 at 12:46 AM EST
Last update: 7/28/07 at 12:45 AM EST
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Racism.
What images does that subject bring up? Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights marchers, probably. Lynchings and Malcolm X, perhaps.
To suggest that racism is still alive and kicking is something usually met with resistance. After all, the days of Jim Crow, benign neglect and Rodney King are dead and gone. Our modern culture of diversity and tolerance is brought up. Affirmative action is used as a sign of our progress. And to prove that they themselves are not racist, people will mention that, why, they have black friends!
Overall, people say, it's lamentable and sad that there are still some racist incidents here and there, but America is free of such racism now.
This is all good and true, and nobody is accusing white folks everywhere of being racist. However, that kind of racism isn't what minorities are talking about when we discuss racism. To us, racism is in the details, in the little things. It's daily crap that minorities have to ignore and put up with just to get through the day. It's a burden that sometimes even we forget about, because it's like air - constant, ubiquitous and unavoidable, something that we just get used to.
What do I mean by that, exactly?
Let's start small. I find thoughtless comments to be endlessly annoying (and annoyingly endless).
"You're very articulate!" is an easy one; a compliment that carries unintended racial judgment.
"Wow, you don't have an accent!" is another.
Then there are things like what happened the other day; as I walked into my communications class, a classmate that I'd never talked to before asked me to help with his math homework.
"Uh, sorry?" I replied. "I'm pretty terrible at math."
He blinked and looking me straight in the eye said, "Don't lie to me. I know you're good at math."
I couldn't believe this. Here was some guy I'd never talked to before, asking me to help him with his math homework, and refusing to believe that I, an Asian, could be bad at math.
What images does that subject bring up? Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights marchers, probably. Lynchings and Malcolm X, perhaps.
To suggest that racism is still alive and kicking is something usually met with resistance. After all, the days of Jim Crow, benign neglect and Rodney King are dead and gone. Our modern culture of diversity and tolerance is brought up. Affirmative action is used as a sign of our progress. And to prove that they themselves are not racist, people will mention that, why, they have black friends!
Overall, people say, it's lamentable and sad that there are still some racist incidents here and there, but America is free of such racism now.
This is all good and true, and nobody is accusing white folks everywhere of being racist. However, that kind of racism isn't what minorities are talking about when we discuss racism. To us, racism is in the details, in the little things. It's daily crap that minorities have to ignore and put up with just to get through the day. It's a burden that sometimes even we forget about, because it's like air - constant, ubiquitous and unavoidable, something that we just get used to.
What do I mean by that, exactly?
Let's start small. I find thoughtless comments to be endlessly annoying (and annoyingly endless).
"You're very articulate!" is an easy one; a compliment that carries unintended racial judgment.
"Wow, you don't have an accent!" is another.
Then there are things like what happened the other day; as I walked into my communications class, a classmate that I'd never talked to before asked me to help with his math homework.
"Uh, sorry?" I replied. "I'm pretty terrible at math."
He blinked and looking me straight in the eye said, "Don't lie to me. I know you're good at math."
I couldn't believe this. Here was some guy I'd never talked to before, asking me to help him with his math homework, and refusing to believe that I, an Asian, could be bad at math.
_____ ____________
posted 7/30/07 @ 8:53 PM EST
while i agree with your underlying premise that racism has evolved into a quieter, more underhanded form than the blatant hatred of decades ago, i have to contest the erroneous assumption that 'white people' as a whole are racist against minorities. (Continued…)