Instincts
or Ignorance
I have always been told never to
assume things or to have assumptions of how things could be. But I often ask
myself can people really stop themselves from having assumptions or initial
instinctual reaction? Of course I would
like to think that when it comes to judging people based on their skin color
and other physical features, people do not prejudge. However, I do believe that
it is beneficial to have assumptions in some case. For example, if I saw a
person with an axe and some red liquid substance was dripping from the blade,
then of course I would jump into alert mode. I would put my safety first and
put all my past experiences and ideas together to assume that this may not be a
safe situation to be in. However, I still would consider the thought that
person with an axe may possibly be of no threat, but that is something I would
rather find out later when I feel that I have put myself in a safer place.
I used this example to show that America is not at a color blind stage, just as Bonilla-Silva points out in his book Racism without Racists. Bonilla-Silva reveals the underline prejudices that most people believe they are free from. People like to generally believe that things should be equal for everyone and have the same opportunities regardless of color. Most white people today would not say or agree to the slavery of Blacks or any other race and would not mind if there were interracial marriages.
As seen in Bonilla-Silva’s survey results, most agreed to interracial marriages, affirmative action, and equal opportunities across the board for all races. This part of the results reflects the part in my scenario I described earlier in my example about the person with the axe. The part I am referring to is when I mentioned that I considered the possibility that the person with the axe may have no intentions of harming or putting me in any dangerous situation. The person may just be holding an axe that they watermelon juice on it and that they were coming over to serve me some.
The second study that Bonilla-Silva conducted was interviews. The results of the interview question reflected people’s true reaction to certain scenarios. When some White people were asked if they think interracial marriage was okay they would say “yes but” or “it is and isn’t”. For the people that said it was okay had follow up questions asked. They were asked if it is okay then would you marry outside your race, and other question that resembled that one. They found it hard to answer this question. They were stumbling over their words and used excuses. One excuse that was said was that since they only lived by White people they can relate more and feel more comfortable with other White people.
The results from the interview question explain the other part in my “person with an axe” scenario. This part points out the issue of making sure you are safe. In my axe situation I described that I would collect all my past experiences and ideas of what comes to mind when I see someone with red marked axe and assume it is not safe. I believe that people want to believe that everyone is not out to get them or are possible threats but what people are exposed to through their life’s may say otherwise. If a White person was feed that all black people that sag their pants or have dreaded hair or use slang or loud or all the above, including any other stereotype, are dangerous or bad people. Then of course they are going to jump to their safety first and ask questions later. As much as we like to believe that we can put all judgments to the side and accept people based on their credentials and merits, we can’t. This maybe due to instincts or ignorance but until we stop portraying people in bad images we cannot fully be a color blind nation.
I used this example to show that America is not at a color blind stage, just as Bonilla-Silva points out in his book Racism without Racists. Bonilla-Silva reveals the underline prejudices that most people believe they are free from. People like to generally believe that things should be equal for everyone and have the same opportunities regardless of color. Most white people today would not say or agree to the slavery of Blacks or any other race and would not mind if there were interracial marriages.
As seen in Bonilla-Silva’s survey results, most agreed to interracial marriages, affirmative action, and equal opportunities across the board for all races. This part of the results reflects the part in my scenario I described earlier in my example about the person with the axe. The part I am referring to is when I mentioned that I considered the possibility that the person with the axe may have no intentions of harming or putting me in any dangerous situation. The person may just be holding an axe that they watermelon juice on it and that they were coming over to serve me some.
The second study that Bonilla-Silva conducted was interviews. The results of the interview question reflected people’s true reaction to certain scenarios. When some White people were asked if they think interracial marriage was okay they would say “yes but” or “it is and isn’t”. For the people that said it was okay had follow up questions asked. They were asked if it is okay then would you marry outside your race, and other question that resembled that one. They found it hard to answer this question. They were stumbling over their words and used excuses. One excuse that was said was that since they only lived by White people they can relate more and feel more comfortable with other White people.
The results from the interview question explain the other part in my “person with an axe” scenario. This part points out the issue of making sure you are safe. In my axe situation I described that I would collect all my past experiences and ideas of what comes to mind when I see someone with red marked axe and assume it is not safe. I believe that people want to believe that everyone is not out to get them or are possible threats but what people are exposed to through their life’s may say otherwise. If a White person was feed that all black people that sag their pants or have dreaded hair or use slang or loud or all the above, including any other stereotype, are dangerous or bad people. Then of course they are going to jump to their safety first and ask questions later. As much as we like to believe that we can put all judgments to the side and accept people based on their credentials and merits, we can’t. This maybe due to instincts or ignorance but until we stop portraying people in bad images we cannot fully be a color blind nation.
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