Prejudice #1
My friend is a racist.
This is a serious area of friction within our relationship, as I find the notion of judging groups as inferior/superior (in any area) based on a perception of racial difference to be totally wrong.
Some of his phrases:
“I’m not racist; I just hate everything about Indian culture and don’t want have anything to do with it”
“Asian people are simply terrible drivers… How is that racist?”
In Australia today (and in most Western societies), there is an established dominant culture in which ‘whiteness’ is considered normal. If you’re a white person growing up in Australia, you benefit from something called ‘white privilege’. White privilege is described as being like an invisible parcel of bonuses that white people can expect to benefit from throughout their lives. Even though you may not realise it, if you are a white person living in a country with a similar social structure to Australia, you are at systemic advantage over another person who doesn’t have white skin. This system of (dis)advantage is propagated by the values within social, cultural and political domains. The very system of society we live in is (arguably) racist, as it tends to favour one broad racial group: ‘whites’.
Despite my friend’s failure (or refusal) to recognise it, the examples above clearly reflect his inherent racism. He views himself as ‘normal’, and sees non-white people as ‘others’. He makes generalisations about these groups, and his negative expectations and beliefs are then passed on to individuals. This is completely unjust. I fear that my friend is playing his part in contributing towards the system of inequality described above.
Now, I believe that most people are racially insensitive or discriminatory at times. Most of this insensitivity comes from ignorance or unfamiliarity with issues of inequality and discrimination (and exposure to a society which values and legitimises inequality). I believe that reflecting on your own identity (who you are and why) and becoming aware of your own prejudices and privilege (and where these originate from) is a vital first step towards changing these racist ways of thinking. This process, however, is something that needs to be personally initiated. This is a problem for the stubborn minded (my friend falls into this category), as they often refuse to acknowledge their mistakes.
I’ll try to educate him anyway.
