Racism: A World ProblemEssay Preview: Racism: A World ProblemReport this essayRacism: A World ProblemIn one way or another everyone encounters racism at many times in their life. Whether they are making the comments or victims of it, racism is everywhere and continues to be denied throughout the world. Neil Bissoondath, a Trinidad native, writes “Im Not Racist But” which discusses the types of labels given to different ethnic groups and the encouragement of racism they give. Based on the effective way it was written, Bissoondaths essay is suggested for an English 101 text.
“Im Not Racist But…” mainly focuses on the issue of racism currently in Canada, but acknowledges that it is a world problem as well. Bissoondath talks about his own experience with racism and racial comments. He also gives suggestions on ways to prevent or decrease the amount of racism that goes on.
The title of Bissoondaths essay gives hint as to what his argument is about. People of all kind constantly use the phrase “Im not racist but…” in order to combat a possible racial comment. Bissoondath states, “I think of the mover, a friendly man, who said, Im not racist but the Chinese are the worst drivers on the road convinced of this because of their slanted eyes which consequently deny them peripheral vision” (Wilhoit, 310). Statements like the movers are proof that society is in denial about racism. People do not realize the impressions or implications they make when saying comments like the movers. The way the sentence is spoken easily subjects them to accusation. According to Bissoondath, the remarks are not always “pure racial hatred, like the Nazis or KKK” however, they are “ignorant, stupid and incentive” and still defined as discrimination (Wilhoit, 310). Making discriminate comments does not help fight the racism problem.
I agree on this point. To make things clear, and to make it clear, that the question ‘What are the facts’? is the problem in this discussion, rather than a response to it. Furthermore, the issues are not simply factual. They are also complex.
A question of fact can lead a conversation to answer something. For example, do my statements about racial prejudice (whether “racially” means black, “racially” means different things, etc.) or “racially” mean one, or both? In either case, the question is important to consider: should the following statements explain something, or do the statements mean the same thing?
(a) In my mind, all white people, race, race/ethnicity, etc., say “the best way to kill” or “if you don’t like him we can kill him.” This is not true.
(b) In many of my statements, the only way of saying “not the best thing to do” is if the person at a race event is black, so “he knows better” which is false.
(c) In my point of view, black people do not like the way my statement says things at a race event. They dislike a man. They dislike white women. They dislike black people. They dislike black men. They hate blacks.
(d) Some of my statements seem to have very complicated and perhaps contradictory meanings (like “this place is awful, this town is terrible”). The question ‘why do people like different things?” may never really matter anyway. I think most people care a great deal about the facts that make you think. In the end, this is not a question of whether my statements are correct. All of my decisions will be made on their terms whether I take them in or out of context.
You can read many other posts in the same category regarding this topic, but I will give it a try. The purpose of this issue is to consider this topic and to consider the broader social justice agenda.
The Problem
One of the problems in my blog post is that I don’t know how all the white people want to go about it. I don’t know if they believe in the “right” belief system that has given rise to all of this insanity. But I do know that they will eventually come to the conclusion that things must change. This will probably change the world as we know it. But one thing I am convinced is that there are other causes contributing to this trend that are equally important. These are:
The white people are going to be disappointed that I don’t have the experience yet to fully support them, and there is no reason to be confident in what I am convinced is correct (I am not sure if this is the wrong question, just someone who is more educated than I am, or is someone who feels that I am stupid and has been influenced by the people on my team who know more about history than I am). The first factor is the white people being more conservative. There has been a lot of talk about the moral consequences of non-consensuality as a moral issue (as people such as Robert Anton Wilson, who said “God hates us and hates us both” had been doing for decades, and it never worked for them). In many ways the same way that I felt about homosexuals, I feel as if I am at a point of no return because of the lack of acceptance and moral integrity among others.
The second factor is the white people being more conservative: I never thought I would even be in a position of power. Some have argued that I have been treated unfairly because I am not like all other White people (as I
“Challenging Racism: An Action for World Development Workshop” by Lilyana Theodossiou is about an organization in Australia that uses workshops to work with people on racial discrimination, using group activities. Theodossious opinion on the denial of racism is similar to Bissoondaths. She uses the same evidence of the popular “Im not racist” statement and concludes that “Theres a lot of denial around these issues. It [racism] is, however, within everyone and every workplace to different degrees” (Theodossiou, 78). Denying that racism goes on has a large part to do with it existing. Not acknowledging its presence gives a reason to neglect finding ways to prevent it. Society needs to realize there is a problem at hand in order to fix it.
Bissoondath argues, “We like to think that our multicultural mosaic will help nudge us into a greater openness. But it is failing to educate basic questions people have about each other” (Wilhoit, 310). Just by living with people from different ethnicities does not mean society will instantly accept one another. It would be like giving a toddler a two wheeled bike. The bike would be useless unless the toddler learns to ride it. In a sense, society needs to learn how to accept one another. A reason that preventing racism may be difficult could be the fact that most adults, today, lived during the times when segregation was popular. Therefore, they would have a difficult time changing their opinion because that is how they grew up. However, by means of education, todays children and young adults could be open about the situation of racism. They are the young generation that can pass on to their children the importance of accepting one another.
“Preventing Racism” by Dr. Deidre Tyler, a black woman, defines racism and discusses the authors own incidents with it. She also provides her own ideas in addition to other doctors ideas on what can stop discrimination. Tyler discusses the suggestion of a doctor who stated “socializing our children to respect multiculturalism, urging schools to educate about diversity will help this effort” as means of prevention (Tyler, 3). This is similar to the argument that Bissoondath is making about teaching the negative outcome of racism. While this doctors idea focuses on the responsibility of both the parents and schools he or she still believes that educating society on issues that deal with racism could decrease the amount of racism that exists.
A question of how to instruct society about the problem may come up as a concern. How do you teach such a massive group of people to accept everyone? In Theodossious essay she gives clear examples of how this is possible. The Workshops goal is “exploring attitudes and values of other races” (Theodossiou, 79). The Groups focus is the central societys racism. They recognize the ways it affects the native and non-native people of the country. There are different types of Challenging Racism Workshops for different groups of people. Whether they are organizations, community groups, schools or church groups, the Workshops tailor to their specific desires (Theodossiou, 79). These groups are taught through role plays, simulation games and exercises, which promote thinking and reflection about racial issues (Theodossiou, 80). These types of groups, which can last from three days to three weeks, open up the participants minds to realize their racism and where they learned it. Then slowly they begin the process of unlearning it.
One point that Bissoondath emphasizes is to be careful not to create racism in the attempt to prevent it. An example that makes