3 Vital Concepts When Thinking About Racism
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Politics and Activism

3 Vital Concepts When Thinking About Racism

I know for a fact it needs to reach out to a bigger audience. This is important.

sambudiartho
Oct 30, 2018
University of Southern California
144
3 Vital Concepts When Thinking About Racism
Sam Budiartho

Everyone has implicit bias. As humans in society, we grow up with TV shows, food, culture, advertisements and everything else that creates a stigma of believing that there is one dominant race - and thus, implicit bias was born. Yeah that's right, I'm saying that those who aren't racist, are - subconsciously. And if you don't believe me take the Implicit Associations Test by clicking this link: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

So I've compiled three important concepts that are crucial to think about when dealing with the topic of racism and discrimination.

1. We are afraid of the unfamiliar.

Funny enough, there's been a study showing that newborns develop preferences for soap opera theme songs based on what they've heard in the womb when their mothers are watching TV. The findings indicate that these newborns prefer the theme songs they've listened to compared to the ones they are unfamiliar with. Because as humans we prefer the familiar over the unknown.

2. We mix up identifying race with racism.

If you look at it through the psychoanalysis POV, race is a byproduct of computational machinery for tracking alliances. Race is NOT automatically encoded through our brains to build social networks; race IS an arbitrary cue. This doesn't mean that you should be colorblind to race, because you should immerse yourself in it and understand the different races that exists in our society. And PLEASE don't mix up identifying race with antagonism directed against someone BASED on their skin color.

3. Overcoming implicit bias by broadening your horizons. 

So how do we overcome this implicit racism that has been deeply rooted into our society? We immerse ourselves with cultures that we are unaware of. And this doesn't mean we have to fly across the continent to do so; it can be done with simple everyday activities, like watching TV and reading articles from cultures we are unfamiliar with. Because turning the unfamiliar to the familiar is what's going to fix the unbroken cycle of a cataclysm of this society we hate and simultaneously created.


If we are slowly able to as individuals, why not change the way we perceive race? Why not change unfair judicial systems and stop police brutality? Why not restore humanity?

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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