Are you racist?

[cloudni9e]

Watching a documentary called The Event: How Racist Are You with Jane Elliot.
And it is making me so angry how completely ignorant the white people on it are and it's reminding me of the thread I saw earlier on today on mumsnet. Please mumsnetters, check your white privilege if you are white and remember it's not enough to say you're not a racist. You need to be actively anti-racist or you are part of the problem. Racism IS violence.

So what's wrong with the people on the show?

Cloud is it on tv, Netflix or elsewhere. Would like to watch it. I agree that it’s not enough to say you’re not racist. Unless you challenge racism whenever you encounter it, you are colluding with it I feel. I kind of don’t know where I fit in as I’m white but not ethnically British/English. I’ve been on the receiving end of racism but overt and subtle. It’s shit and makes me so angry. There is just so much of it around and as I said on the other thread, it is worse since the referendum. It gave racists a mandate to say the things they’ve always wanted to but didn’t quite dare give voice to before.

Both overt and subtle I meant,

No I'm not. is that a good enough of a reply OP

*Cloudni9e
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May I ask what thread it was?
I saw one earlier and was livid with Mumsnet in whole. Was wondering if it was the same one?

It was the one with the woman asking about whether the fact she was followed all around a supermarket and then condescendingly talked down too by the same member of staff was because she was black with a whole load of obviously white people being racist and ignorant in response.

In response to @Radiostar91

I am. I try not to be, I actively call out both overt and subtle racism when I see it. I act (or make great attempts) to act fairly and justly to all. But I know racism is so very subtle, so subversive, so ingrained, I don't know that anyone can truly say they aren't, just that they really try not to be.

What is wrong with the white people on the show is how they are so incredibly defensive about racism not existing and it being so unfair for them to be discriminated against (the whole point of the experiment/programme) because they don't have to experience it every day and they just don't want to acknowledge that when you're not white you do experience it everyday and it's so deeply ingrained into society. It just really annoyed me and reminded me of the attitude on that thread.

Reni Eddo-Lodge this is a long read but worth it.

What hmmmbop says.

I would like to think I'm not, but I'm sure I am, unconsciously so, from time-to-time.

I think, if you're white, and you don't know what it is to experience racism, and how insidious everyday racism is, then it's unavoidable to occasionally display unconscious bias.

I live in a country with an indigenous population. Their education, health and justice-related outcomes are all significantly worse than the settler (dominant) population's.

I'm certain most teachers, HCPs, lawyers and judges wouldn't consider themselves to be racist, and yet...

It infuriates me when I see (especially on here) white people telling black people that something isn't racist.

Obviously I would have always answered no but now I think no, not consciously

I recently had teaching sessions on unconscious bias. It was so interesting and made me realise I need to be constantly challenging myself and the decisions I make especially when dealing with others.

Yes and I fucking hate it. I hate that I’m racist, I challenge racism whenever I see it and have to challenge it within myself all the time, I was bought up in a racist family and I’ve fought hard since childhood to try and reverse some of the bias and prejudice I’ve picked up, I have to catch myself a lot and say internally “fucking stop!” I don’t see my family much because I can’t stand the vile shit they spout, it’s like poison.

I'm the same as hmmbop

I have an internal bias/dialogue that's difficult for me to turn off. And like anyone assumptions are always made about people, race being the first thing that strikes you

I try so hard not to let this show but it's hard obviously

I don’t think I am, however the MN Jory will probably say that I am. It is what it is I guess.

I wouldn't consider myself racist and I do challenge racist behaviour when I see it.

However, I read this post last week saying that white people are racist just due to the white privilege.

I'm white and I have black relatives. I fucking hate it when white people start a (normally extremely racist) comment with the phrase 'I'm not being racist but......' and expect me to nod, smile and agree purely because I'm white. They see my white skin and assume I'll join in. I call them out. Every time.

I agree that everyone is a bit racist. It's a side effect of innate human psychology of ID and in groups and loads of other stuff i would need a massive post and more knowledge than I have to explain.

However much I try not to be there are ingrained national level bias and stereotyping ingrained at the sub conscious level. I have continuously challenged my own thinking and taken on others challenges over my adult life but I'm sure I have a way to go. I maybe dont challenge others as much as I could.

The most blatant bias i encounter is from my african immigrant friends who both will tell me that asians are untrustworthy in some regard! Everyone is vulnerable to biased thinking but as a predominantly white country we, as white people, are the ones with privilege and power and so it is incumbent upon us to put our house in order.

No, I'm not. But I learned about racist behaviour and white privilege from a young age as my best childhood friend was black and I saw the different treatment that she got compared to me.

White people telling people of other races what they should and should not be offended by is the absolute height of white privilege and is infuriating.

I used to think I definitely wasn't racist.

Now I think we all have biases towards people who feel familiar, ie usually people who look like ourselves.

I think being aware of that helps me be mindful of my thoughts and actions and modify them.

I really try to ensure I’m not. I work overseas so am one of the ‘outsiders’ - but I can see that being white makes a difference. I strive to be anti - racist but agree this needs constant work.

I am very aware of my white privilege, I have never been black so I have no idea what it's like to be black and to face the daily discrimination they face. I am aware that being white, I automatically have educational, social and economic advantage from the start of my life and I see the injustice that black people face. I am actively anti-racist. It took me a long time to understand what white privilege is but now I know what it is, it's so easy to see everywhere.

This is an interesting thread and makes me consider what racism really is. For those who say they probably are but try not to be, I wonder in what way?