"...but some of my best friends are black"

[perlmonger]

bradhicks points out how the events of hurricane Katrina demonstrate how deeply ingrained racialism is in US society. Read it.

And in UK society.

And in me.

Being aware of a problem, acknowledging it openly, is the first step in dealing with it; it's not the last step. Also, while I'm at it, what's your first reaction to the word "Muslim" as contrasted to, say, "Christian"? How about "woman" and "man"?

Comments

[easterbunny.livejournal.com]

I think it's something I have a problem with and I wish to god I could vapourize it right out of my psyche. For any group of people that I find my internal monologue whispering "I mustn't treat this person any differently from anybody else," there is an indication that I still conciously recognize that I might treat that person differently. Which results in me being over-chipper or too friendly or generally making a jackass of myself. But other people are occassionally jackasses to me for being female or a damn foreigner, so at I know that an awful lot of people struggle with it.

[perlmonger.livejournal.com]

Yah. That's a good marker.

Given that I know of no way to cancel a lifetime's conditioning instantaneously, I'd kind of like to find some way of translating that awareness of prejudice (in the literal as well as colloquial meaning of the word) into not overcompensation but rather dissolution. Any helpful hints welcomed :)