Chris asked whether his friend should be labeled a racist because he took the pictures and posted them on Facebook. Chris maintains that his friend is NOT a racist, and that it seems unfair to label him a racist because of his actions in this particular case.
Here's a thought: can we productively distinguish between individual racists and a racist climate in general? That is, can we hold people accountable even when they are not (or claim not to be) racists when they say or do something that can be construed as racially antagonistic by others?
What those 2 SGA officers seem to be claiming is that they are not racists, and that those pictures were misunderstood. What this claim fails to acknowledge is that we still live in a climate that is racist, and we can't ignore that fact when we rationalize our behavior or the behavior of people we know.
What do you think?
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So if we say "I'm not racist but...." what does that mean? I was told once that everything before the "but" is bull.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of a parallel to this during class: I've heard on the radio and from certain guys that I know, the phrase "no homo". So that as long as you say that before saying something that might come across as homosexual, then you are exempt from being called such. It has turned into a big joke (not alright with it myself, but a lot of people find it funny).
HOWEVER, just because a guy says something that may come across as homosexual, this does not make him gay. But I feel that if someone says something racist, no amount of "not racist" is gonna change the fact that what was said was in fact racist.
so if saying "homosexual" things does not make one gay, then does saying racist things not make one racist?
I think you hit the nail on the head, Fathman. I'd also like to point out that, although I stood up for my friend, I'm also NOT condoning the actions of any of the 3 of them. Even my MEDICAL ETHICS teacher brought this up, and he just said, "They were just plain stupid.. and it looks to me like they had been drinking." How he inferred THAT, I don't know (and raised my hand and made an objection) - but the point that it was just STUPID is exactly that. I don't condone their actions, but when I stood up for my friend as NOT being racist, I meant to uphold the fact that he wasn't "secretly" racist; exactly what you pointed out above - there are people who *claim* not to be racist but truly are. I really feel for my friend, but I understand the repercussions he has to face. If anything, I think it's a good learning lesson on 2 accounts. 1) anything you post will always be out there. 2) exactly what you said - we live in a racist climate, and even people who don't embody this notion of "racist" can still give off racist comments.
ReplyDeleteSo with that, I definitely think we can and SHOULD hold people accountable for the stupid things they do - obviously including some form of racism. Now, this also gets back to forms of racism we talked about in the beginning of class. Like - does every racist thought make someone a racist? Does a joke about a black person make them a racist? Or does it go deeper than that - do you actually have to have a spite for a different raced because they are different? I don't think my friend is the LATTER - which is where I was coming from in saying he isn't a "racist". If it's the former, are we all guilty of it?
Regardless, I think what this points out, in their trying to deny the racial sentiment of the photo - is that it was EXACTLY that... racial. And we need to realize that and take it into account. Should this happen without groups like BSA blowing up about it - that is, should it be a calmer dialogue - or does it need to be explosive to bring about change.
My last question is, to get rid of racism, do we need to get rid of all jokes about race? Because I feel jokes are the hardest to get rid of because they're "small and don't carry much weigh" and that people make a distinction between a "simple" joke and this photo. What do you think?
Also, Miranda - I've heard about people doing the "no homo" thing. Have you seen this? Doesn't this construe a racial issue?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_uh0ozOf5c
And my gosh, look at this:
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2009/1/No-Racist-655454.html