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Essay / Letter to a friend: personal definition of racism and discrimination
My dear friend, Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay I know we don't always agree on some things, and that's okay. I actually think it's really helpful to be able to hear the opinions and ideas of those who disagree with you, and engage with those ideas rather than just dismissing them. This is why I'm writing to you about an essay on defining racism, because I know I'm about to tell you things that you probably won't agree with. But please listen to me. If I were to call you a racist, you would passionately deny it, but you and I know I wouldn't be the first person to say that. I don't know if anyone has ever taken the time to try to explain that maybe the definitions of racism are different and that maybe that's the cause of the disagreement. I believe your definition of racism is probably more or less an act to deliberately discriminate against someone based on their race – correct me if I'm wrong. That's not my definition, and I don't think it should be yours either, even if many people you know and agree with think that definition is correct. This is simply not enough and does not give the full picture of racism, as Robin DiAngelo argues in his book White Fragility. I know what I'm saying may not agree with mainstream culture or popular media - but when have they been the ultimate source of knowledge? That said, I recognize that what we see around us is often what we assume to be true. So when the media tells us that racism is a single, isolated, intentional act of discrimination, we often believe it. Combine this with the basic assumption we all have about ourselves that we are a good and moral person, and it is easy to conclude that we cannot, in any way, be related to the issue of racism. I know I came to the same conclusion not long ago. So what made me change my mind? I realized, quite recently actually, that I had a race. To some people, this may seem like the strangest statement. Of course you have race – you are human! To that I would say this: it’s not that simple. There are some things you don't notice or appreciate until you really focus on them, and quite simply, my race – our race – was never one of them. We had very similar childhoods, you and I, and I suspect you might feel the same way. We both grew up white, in white families, in white neighborhoods. Being white was the default, the unmarked trait, and if you talked about race, it was always someone else's race, not yours. I realized that not only is being white my race, but also that the entire society we live in is racialized. Race matters, and not just other races, but yours too, and that's the truth, even if you wish it weren't the case. We're both white, and that's never been a problem, has it? Why then? Do you think a person of color living in Australia could say the same thing? I don't think so, and I don't think you could say it without knowing you were lying to yourself. You know as I do that power in Australian society is held almost exclusively by white people, and mainly by white men. This clearly has something to do with race, since it is no coincidence that all elites andnot all powerful levels of society represent the racial diversity of Australian society as a whole. This is where your definition of racism needs to change. The structures of our society favor and privilege the white population, and this is the heart of structural racism. For a definition of racism to include this type of bias, inherent in a system, it cannot just be about immoral people committing individual acts of discrimination. The reality is that racism is a complex and nuanced social dynamic into which the entire population is socialized. When you consider just one action, isolated and removed from the society in which it was carried out, you lose a lot of the picture. The full picture includes a complex and interconnected system that is linked to the history of a particular society and it is important to recognize that history and who wrote it – that is, who had the power and why. the power is in Australian society. This phenomenon is hardly hidden, given the racial profile of the “elite” and politicians. We even had a White Australian policy, but we started from colonization with the persecution of the indigenous population. I don't believe you when you try to tell me, "Sure, but that was back then, and our society isn't like that anymore – everyone is equal." I wish I could believe you, but I can't because it's simply not true. You have to recognize that not everyone starts out on an equal footing, and recognizing the impact of these historical power structures and their role in the present day is essential to understanding that something like Adam Goodes' booing is, and must be. , racist. I can hear what you're telling me, that they were just booing, and how can that be a racist act. That's the problem, only a fraction of the story is about "the act". This is the historical context, which Coram and Hallinan highlight in their article. The concept of racism is misunderstood in Australian society as being about overt and intentional racism, but this is simply not true. I'm trying to show you how it should be considered as an element of social structure. I know this broader definition may seem too philosophical to you. It's harder to see and point the finger at than someone's individual act and it doesn't seem concrete enough, right? Well, yes and no. Structural racism often has no easily discernible boundaries and extends to all levels of society, but I believe the consequences are much easier to see. I know that once I became aware of it, I was able to recognize the impacts everywhere. When I was looking for a job earlier this year, I would research a company and its track record. What I found shocked me, but somehow it wasn't a surprise at all. On every “Our People” type page, almost everyone listed was an old white man. Sure, there have been some exceptions, but overall this pattern has happened time and time again. I know this would not have been intentional and these companies would not have actively sought out these people, but they went with the flow of the system, a system riddled with structural racism. racism, I hope you agree with me that structural racism exists throughout society and is a product of the historical context of our society. Now I want to discuss something that I know we disagree on, so again, hear me out. The Uluru climb was permanently closed in October this year, but the traditional owners, Anangu,.