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A racist nation?
April 27th, 2008 · 2 Comments
I have long believed that the vast majority of people in Britain are racist.
Put simply, most people - including, i suspect, many black people - feel far more nervous walking at night around young black men than young white men. This is based, in part, on the slightly higher black crime rate. But it nevertheless is racism, because it makes assumptions about individuals, and alters our reactions to them, based purely on the colour of their skin.
Until we stop talking about racism as a rare and evil crime, and instead recognise it as something we’re all capable of, we’ll never have a real conversation about it.
But I’ve said this to friends and they’ve looked at me like I’m mad. What do you think?
UPDATE: This article on the American election cites interesting evidence about the widespread nature of this sort of instinctive racial stereotyping.
Filed under: Politics, Quick thoughts
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