I guess something that I have experienced is that what is racist to one person is not racist to another. This could also be a reason that people are so nervous to talk about it, because they do not know how the other person will take it. A lot of times if I am talking to a black person, Indian person, Asian person, even another white person that I do not know very well, I sometimes wonder what they are thinking about ME. I wonder if they are taking what I say at face value or if they are trying to look into it as being racist or ignorant. When I was in Europe I was always worried about sounding ignorant because I know that Americans are often viewed as such. Does that make any sense?
I was waiting in line at a haunted house this past Halloween and the line was very long. I was with two white guys, but we had been talking and getting to know the groups in front and behind us. The group behind us were mostly black girls with a white girl too. They were a lot of fun and we were all getting along until...... We were at the front of the line and we had to wait while the "express line" got to go through. Well the guard wasn't paying attention and a lot more people went in than should have. We were all trying to get the guard's attention and then one of the girls behind us asked if we could see anything inside. My friend responded "I see a big black guy guarding the door". I was a little startled at this--why did he feel the need to say that? If circumstances were different would he have said "A tall Asian guy" or "some Indian guy" guarding the door? If it was a white guy I know he wouldn't have made a distinction. I don't know my friend to be a racist, and he didn't see anything wrong with it. Was he being racially aware? Was he being a passive racist? I feel like if we asked a black guy if he could see anything and he said "a big white guy guarding the door" no one would make a big deal about it. However, the girls behind us were completely outraged and they started yelling at us calling us racists. "Did you hear what he just said?? I heard it!! And I know it was RACIST!!"
So to them it was racist. My friend didn't mean it that way, he was simply being descriptive. Sometimes I feel that it is alright for black people or others to call us white or refer to us as white in movies in media in every day lives (ex/ "hey white boy"), but it is not the same as if a white person said "hey black boy".
What are your thoughts?
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I've been in similar situations to that as well. I think people find it necessary to point out differences when it is not the same as the majority; for example, saying "that guy" in China assumed a Chinese man, and if it were anything different folks would say "that white guy" or "that Indian guy". To some, especially those who are sensitive, that simple distinction is enough to prove that you are conscious of racial differences and are thus being racist by recognizing it. I think those people behind you were an example of folks trying to be "color-blind" and anyone who does notice color would be guilty of being racist.
ReplyDeleteThese 2 posts illustrate brilliantly the concept of markedness. In China, the Chinese guy belongs to the unmarked category, while the white or Indian guys belong to a marked category. In our society, the white guy is unmarked while the black or Asian or Indian guy is marked.
ReplyDeleteThis is what we must disentangle: markedness and unmarkedness are culturally and socially constructed, not categories that we each make up on our own. But they serve to identify a difference between "us" and "them" or "belonging" and "different." Those girls in the line were (I believe) responding to the remark about the black guy because they knew on a cultural level that he was being marked, and, by extension, so were they. And because the marekdness was racial, they claimed that the white guy was being a racist. From your point of view (Miranda) the guy was being sort of dumb and insensitive, but not a racist. He was making an observation that included identifying someone on the basis of his race. To those girls he was exerting his ability to remain unmarked while calling attention to the markedness of the guy inside.
This is an example, I think, of Hartigan's attention to embodiment (white people are less often called "white guy" by other whites, but are black guys called "black guy" or other race-based identifiers by other blacks?). Are there other things going on there that merit our attention?
I as well have been in similiar situations and I believe that the defensiveness for different race groups are rated by how they grew up.
ReplyDeleteFor instance my boyfriend,
we went apartment hunting last friday and there was a left handed woman writing and he called her a leftie so I secretely text him, "be careful you have no idea how comfortable she is with that label"
Racist remarks at times are not based off the person saying them but the person receiving them, thier background, heartache, attitude, troubles, and life observations. As humans we categorize everything from the black gorillas all the way to the nerdy kid and we think nothing of it because we are human and we realize we categorize ourselves, who we are, and what we can do as well.
Unfortunately the hard thing about racist remarks and categorization is asking yourself "Can they handle that remark?" before asking
I think Miranda makes several interesting points. Does making a reference to race when you are providing a description of someone makes you a racist? I don't think so. Traits that are related to race like skin color and hair color are some of the few visible features that you notice (often subconsciously) when you meet someone for the first time. Thus, referring to race is often the best way to describe a person you don't know. It helps make your description somewhat selective and vivid.
ReplyDeleteRacial identification is also practical as well. Police use witnesses' description (often involving racial features) to help catch suspect. If you can identify a person as Asian, well, you have narrowed your search down to 4% of the population.
Also, I have notice that there is a racial double-standard in America that is imposed upon white. White people are more pressured to be cautious about what they say in regard to race than other racial minorities. Some of my white friends often try to restate and clarify their points when we get in a conversation about racial issues. They go out of their ways to show that they are not racist.
It's like racial minorities are believed to be non-racist until they act racist, while whites have to prove that they are not racist. This double-standard is probably the result of historical events and the fact that white is still the dominant group today. However, I feel this has a negative effect because white people sometimes cannot public state how they truly feel without be afraid of sounding racist so a lot of their thoughts may go unheard. These thoughts may or may not be racist, but if they are, it is even more important that they should be heard. We don't want people walking around not knowing they are racist or fearing they are racist when they are not.
I think a lot of people can relate to this situation because it is always so tricky. What one person finds offensive, another may not. So while your friend probably assumes he was using a descriptor, it clearly was very upsetting to the people around him. Sometimes with descriptor words, which is what your friend considered the adjective "black" to be, people dont think about the possible connotations that go along with them. Sometimes I have found that it is best to leave them out entirely because what seems harmless to one person might really offend someone, or simply seem unneccessary to throw out. I dont think comments like that should be considered racist, but sometimes people might use that word because they aren't sure how to vocalize the fact that they did not like race was even brought up. I think it is hard for white people to understand because historically, being white was never a negative thing. It has always been the dominant race so to our generation it might seem a little unfair, but its necessary to look backwards and see where people get this feeling from. And even if we dont understand it, being sensitive to others is crucial to getting along in society.
ReplyDeleteSo markedness can be related to numerical majority then, right?
ReplyDeleteLike Lauren says, it's hard to know what offends people; however, perhaps it helps who you're talking to envision the person you're referring to by mentioning physical traits as Thoa suggests. I guess it depends on the situation; we should just use our judgements when to bring it in or when to leave it out! We can't all be people pleasers, unfortunately...