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When I first heard about the shooting of Trayvon Martin, my first reaction was to contemplate what roll gun laws, and in particular, the so-called "Stand-Your-Ground" laws, might have played in creating the situations that resulted in this tragic incident. I find the underlying concept of these laws deeply troubling, and an ugly step down a path that makes violent vigilantism both commonplace and legal. However, the racial component of this incident have come to dominate my thoughts about this incident, especially conflicting views about whether this incident was racially motivated or not.
I like to believe that I am not a racist person, that I treat everyone fairly and equally, regardless of their race (or gender, sexual orientation, religion, hair color or any other trait). I would also like to believe that we, as a society, have moved beyond racism. If we look back at our history, I think we can safely say that our race relations have improved tremendously in the last few decades. But that doesn’t mean that racism is gone from our society. This is evident in the racist venom unleashed against Joel Ward after he scored the goal that lifted the Washington Capitals to victory over the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL playoffs this spring.
The public response to the shooting of Trayvon has included protests all around the country, with people wearing hooded sweatshirts and carrying signs that read “I am Trayvon”. When I saw prominent and successful blacks doing this, it made a powerful statement of solidarity and indictment of racism. However, I never felt a compelling desire to join this protest. It was a blog entry from the Jesuit Post that helped me understand why. It is impossible for me to truly identify with Trayvon Martin. If I were to try and join such a protest, it would really be a cop-out, a showing of a solidarity that simply does not (and cannot) exist. It would be a way to feel like I was fighting racism without any need to act as an actual instrument of change.
I can’t help but reflect on a conversation I had with my brother, probably more than a decade ago. I don’t remember all the details of the conversation, but I was arguing that racism isn’t as bad as claimed by certain vocal members of the black community. My brother made one point in his argument that has stuck with me. He pointed out that while I might not perceive any strong, overt racism in our society, that is largely because of my experiences and perspective. In order to appreciate the level of racism left in our society, you need to understand how things appear from the other side. Things that might not appear to be racist from my perspective, and in fact may not be at all racially motivated, can be perceived very differently by people who come from a long history of being discriminated against.
An example of this dueling perceptions can be seen in the ongoing debates about the merits of voter ID laws. When I first heard about states passing laws requiring voters to present a government issued photo ID to be able to vote, I didn’t see this a problematic. After all, in my world, everyone at least has a driver’s license. But the perspective from the other side is different. The poor, especially the urban poor, generally can’t afford to own a car and therefore don’t necessarily have driver’s licenses. Few would have any need for a passport. Unless they happen to work for a government agency (and therefore have a work ID that would qualify), the lives these people live simply don’t result in them possessing the necessary photo identification documents. When you put yourself in their environment and look at the issue from their point-of-view, it isn’t hard to appreciate how they would view such a requirement as discriminatory. Whether the law is intended as such is largely irrelevant, the fact that it will have an unbalance impact and will be perceived as discriminatory is sufficient cause for us to re-examine the issue.
I often hear people argue that minorities are using racism as an excuse, that they complain about racism anytime something goes wrong. I think this is a symptom of people not appreciating how complexly different our worldviews are. It might seem to them that racism is being used as an excuse, but from the other side, it might look entirely different. While we might know that our actions are not racially motivated, that does not mean that our actions will not have an impact that will have a racial disparity or be perceived as being racist in nature. Avoiding these perceptions requires us to not only examine our own motives, but to try to examine how our actions would be understood by those who have radically different life experiences and worldviews. Racism doesn’t end when we believe that we are acting impartially. It only ends when our acts are understood by others to not include as including any racial bias.
I like to believe that I am not a racist person, that I treat everyone fairly and equally, regardless of their race (or gender, sexual orientation, religion, hair color or any other trait). I would also like to believe that we, as a society, have moved beyond racism. If we look back at our history, I think we can safely say that our race relations have improved tremendously in the last few decades. But that doesn’t mean that racism is gone from our society. This is evident in the racist venom unleashed against Joel Ward after he scored the goal that lifted the Washington Capitals to victory over the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL playoffs this spring.
The public response to the shooting of Trayvon has included protests all around the country, with people wearing hooded sweatshirts and carrying signs that read “I am Trayvon”. When I saw prominent and successful blacks doing this, it made a powerful statement of solidarity and indictment of racism. However, I never felt a compelling desire to join this protest. It was a blog entry from the Jesuit Post that helped me understand why. It is impossible for me to truly identify with Trayvon Martin. If I were to try and join such a protest, it would really be a cop-out, a showing of a solidarity that simply does not (and cannot) exist. It would be a way to feel like I was fighting racism without any need to act as an actual instrument of change.
I can’t help but reflect on a conversation I had with my brother, probably more than a decade ago. I don’t remember all the details of the conversation, but I was arguing that racism isn’t as bad as claimed by certain vocal members of the black community. My brother made one point in his argument that has stuck with me. He pointed out that while I might not perceive any strong, overt racism in our society, that is largely because of my experiences and perspective. In order to appreciate the level of racism left in our society, you need to understand how things appear from the other side. Things that might not appear to be racist from my perspective, and in fact may not be at all racially motivated, can be perceived very differently by people who come from a long history of being discriminated against.
An example of this dueling perceptions can be seen in the ongoing debates about the merits of voter ID laws. When I first heard about states passing laws requiring voters to present a government issued photo ID to be able to vote, I didn’t see this a problematic. After all, in my world, everyone at least has a driver’s license. But the perspective from the other side is different. The poor, especially the urban poor, generally can’t afford to own a car and therefore don’t necessarily have driver’s licenses. Few would have any need for a passport. Unless they happen to work for a government agency (and therefore have a work ID that would qualify), the lives these people live simply don’t result in them possessing the necessary photo identification documents. When you put yourself in their environment and look at the issue from their point-of-view, it isn’t hard to appreciate how they would view such a requirement as discriminatory. Whether the law is intended as such is largely irrelevant, the fact that it will have an unbalance impact and will be perceived as discriminatory is sufficient cause for us to re-examine the issue.
I often hear people argue that minorities are using racism as an excuse, that they complain about racism anytime something goes wrong. I think this is a symptom of people not appreciating how complexly different our worldviews are. It might seem to them that racism is being used as an excuse, but from the other side, it might look entirely different. While we might know that our actions are not racially motivated, that does not mean that our actions will not have an impact that will have a racial disparity or be perceived as being racist in nature. Avoiding these perceptions requires us to not only examine our own motives, but to try to examine how our actions would be understood by those who have radically different life experiences and worldviews. Racism doesn’t end when we believe that we are acting impartially. It only ends when our acts are understood by others to not include as including any racial bias.
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-06 02:05 pm (UTC)This, to me, is significant. I got so annoyed with the so-called protests that consited mostly of people wearing hoodies and thinking they were somehow being bold and making a difference. Puh-lease. Does anyobody honestly think it's that easy to fight racism or make the world more just? Wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-08 01:12 am (UTC)Making things incrementally more difficult for those on the bottom of the pile merely provides incentive for them to tip the whole lot over, or at least to lash out at the injustice.