As I was thinking this through, it got me thinking about racial bias and racism and how it may be tied to this. If race is a natural constant, could it be that racial bias is as well. Unfortunately as humans, we tend to alienate and shy away from what we do not understand or from what is not similar to ourselves. I believe that racial bias can also be fluid and changing in the way that it is acted upon both on an individual and a large scale, but will it ever truly disappear. Unfortunately, I seem to feel that as long as race distinctions still exist, there will always be some kind of bias that it is accompanied with it. What are your thoughts?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
If race is a natural constant; is racial bias a natural constant by default?
This was one of my own questions at the end of the second set of discussion questions. As I was writing about the fluidity as well as the fixedness of nature; I got into thinking that this ties into race. My perception was that race fits perfectly into this concept. In our world race is every changing and evolving; as people adapt to new surroundings, mate with others of different races, we see true physical changes to what is considered race. There are no longer enough categories for all the races that exist, which is certainly a good thing. Yet I cant help but to believe that even though this is occurring, the different racial categorizations will never go away for good. There will never be one single physical form that humans will take on. There will always be distinctions, especially with race.
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Racial categories originated as a system of hierarchy and a tool to justify imperialism. Thus, bias is an inherent, and unfortunate, characteristic of the racial classification system and its application. Therefore, I definitely agree with your sentiments, Natalie.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the pessimist in me immediately comes out. As we have seen in class, we can break down the racial categories by using other classifications like ethnicity or religion. So, even if racial bias disappears we are not going to be out of the woods. We, as community building human beings that make distinctions of us and them, will just find a new way to create a biased system. The people who create that system will more than likely be the people on top of the current system. A system which is largely formed by race and the advantages and disadvantages that come with it. Maybe I am a little too pessimistic, but I cannot help but look at the way humans, largely, appear to love to differentiate ourselves from one another and use it to justify our advancement while keeping others down.
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ReplyDeleteMy first response to this is to one of your statements: "There are no longer enough categories for all the races that exist, which is certainly a good thing." - can you elaborate on WHY this is a good thing? I'm a little interested in your reasoning behind it, as I have something else in mind.
ReplyDeleteNow, I think racial bias is certainly fluid and changing. I mean, one only needs to look at history to realize the people groups picked on then aren't groups that are picked on now. Also, a kind of reverse bias can be practiced. Look at what America did to the Indians (which was absolutely horrid). No longer are we necessarily biased towards them in a negative way (here I'm referencing specific external actions, like the KKK actively pursuing physical and verbal harm to people), but have since incorporated them into our society. Additionally, we now give them certain grants and funds that help support their own culture. (This is not to say, however, they still don't face bias in job searches, etc., nor are we giving them enough dues). So this is one instance where racial bias can be fluid. And of course it changes as our concepts of race change, and the emphasis we put on those races change.
Now, as for your idea, "Unfortunately, I seem to feel that as long as race distinctions still exist, there will always be some kind of bias that it is accompanied with it."
If you know me, you know I like to deal with subconscious and conscious ways of dealing with things. So, will race distinctions always exist? I assume so. Like you said, there will never be a single, uniform physical way for humans to look - at least I certainly hope not (how boring... plus we'd then find other ways to discriminate). Therefore, there will probably always be racial distinctions of some kind. However, I don't think the argument "Racial distinctions = racial bias" will always be a valid one. We are raised in a society to believe and understand people that look different from us are different in some way - natural or not. However, I think this happens at a very subconscious level, and it builds as we grow. Just look at children - they have the largest uncanny ability to get along with absolutely anyone if they find something in common with them. I remember vividly that I never saw my black friends as "black, different, etc." when I was 7 years old - they were just another person to hang out with and have a blast with. However, as we grow we recognize these distinctions more and more, and while we now recognize them, I think we tend to not allow them to fully enter our conscious mind. I think bias, on the other hand, is an action - something we choose to do. Now, there are times where it can be unconscious - that is, I think we may not realize it; but often when we talk about bias we are talking about discrimination in a negative term. I think it is our duty to rid ourselves of this bias - by realizing racial distinctions exist, but to also realize that people are people, and their many differences from us correlate just as much to the differences we have in their eyes. Therefore, we need to realize the bias we place on our actions towards people of a different race - these actions, though derived from a seemingly subconscious aspect we've been raised to believe - is none the less controllable.
So the question is, does racial bias exist BECAUSE racial distinctions exist, or are the two mutually separate and we just create the bias because we see difference? I'm begging and hoping the latter and that with education people can learn to make informed decisions based on a person's history and experience, and not a category they assume that person to be in.