Hmm. Does that mean I think you're more ignorant than I am? That's pretty insulting right there. I may need to find a new hobby to replace blogging before I alienate everyone. Memo to self: Look into macrame.
Anyway, I said I just don't see much racism in my daily life. In fact, I can't think of anyone, young or old, rich or poor, white, black, brown or polka-dotted, who is a racist. I know a lot of people, too. The chap arguing with me said that was the problem. I didn't know how to recognize them.
Let's assume that's true. Let's also assume I'm a racist, but I don't think I am because my ability to detect racism is hopelessly ruined. Wouldn't I still be able to detect the inverse? That is, I would certainly be able to detect people unlike me.
Say I hate Martians. Every time a Martian moves into a neighborhood, it's ruined. Soon there are Qualdaffian mudbeasts in the storm drains and the trees are all dead because Martians eat them. Martians are going to be the ruin of this country, I tell you!
Now I know I'm not an anti-Martian racist because I know I'm a good person. After all, all good people think like I do. You, however, have no problem with Martians. The mudbeasts are kind of cute and those trees were dropping leaves all over the place and anyways, they might have been killed by the blight that has been going around. You're a Martian-lover.
Wouldn't I easily detect Martian-lovers and categorize them as members of some pernicious group? While I wouldn't detect racists like myself, I'd still classify the population into the same strata, only with good and bad reversed.
It seems to me that the detection of such things is assured, no matter which side you're on.
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| Whenever their kind are allowed in, the whole place turns into a wasteland. |
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make with this. I mean, in your example, there actually *are* both "anti-martian racists", *and* "martian lovers", with each group madly denying that they are doing anything wrong themselves, while casting the other group as some kind of monster. But the two groups still do exist. And there will be people who don't identify with either group. So what's your point?
ReplyDeleteThe question at hand is: Can you detect racism? I argue that everyone can because what you're really detecting are people who think differently about Martians than you do. It doesn't matter what you actually think about them, it only matters that you can detect people who think differently. Everyone can do that.
ReplyDeleteOf course, in a follow-up post, I'll argue the complete opposite. Seriously. I've got it written in my head and it just dawned on me that I disproved my own thesis. This blog is thinking out loud, not a completed manifesto, you know.
ReplyDelete;-)